Digital Innovation: Grammarly

Audio Transcript

00:07–00:38Andrew ColettiHello and welcome to this episode of The T in Teaching. This episode is focused on Grammarly, a tool for writing better regardless of what type of writing. In this episode, our hosts Angelica Finley and Laura Izzo discuss how to use Grammarly, the features it offers, and its compatibility with other technology. If you're interested in more information on how to write better, tune in to our next episode, coming in early April, where our host Laura Izzo interviewed Stephen Kelly, the assistant director at Temple Student Success Center. 

00:38–00:48Andrew ColettiThank you for listening, and please enjoy. 

00:48–00:57Laura IzzoAnd I've been pretty swamped this semester. I keep trying to keep up with all these emails from professors. Do you have any tips or ideas to help me with all this writing? 

00:57–01:03Angelica FinleyHey Laura! I definitely have been there, and I do have a tip for you. Have you ever heard of Grammarly? 

01:03–01:09Laura IzzoSort of. I remember using it in college to spell-check a paper. Can that really help me here? 

01:09–01:23Angelica FinleyAgain, many people don't know this, but you can actually download Grammarly as an extension to your browser and as a desktop app. So, either of those will automatically assist you whether you're doing any writing in your browser or through any applications. 

01:23–01:28Laura IzzoOh, wow, that's actually really handy. I do use a MacBook. Is that going to be a problem? 

01:28–01:38Angelica FinleyGood question. Grammarly works on Windows or Macs. It also works on tablets and phones, so you can really use Grammarly wherever you go. 

01:38–01:42Laura IzzoAwesome. Love to have something like that. To check my writing wherever I go. 

01:42–02:02Angelica FinleyWhile the spell check feature is great. You can also do a lot more with the application. You could do a lot more with the application besides doing the same basic spell correction stuff that Microsoft Word has been doing for years. It actually adjusts feedback based on your writing style. So, for example, if you're writing an email, it can detect your writing style. 

02:02–02:23Angelica FinleyIt can also give you some feedback on a specific goal. So, unlike other tools, Grammarly will try to detect your tone and your conciseness as you continue to write. You can think of Grammarly as more of a personal editor in a sense that adapts as you continue to write, rather than just your basic old spell checker. 

02:23–02:32Laura IzzoThat is incredible. Where was this? When was I in college? I always got intimidated by a blank page. This really would have saved so many all-nighters for me. 

02:32–02:49Angelica FinleyRight. I feel the same. I find it really helpful in my day-to-day work now, so it's nice to have that little assess and a sort of second set of eyes when writing emails or drafting instructional guides. But believe it or not, Grammarly also offers more than just the features that I mentioned. It works as a cloud service, too. 

02:49–03:05Angelica FinleySo, say you're writing a paper or you're creating a guide. You submit it to Grammarly for feedback. You can then access that paper on any other computer. If you log into your Grammarly account, this can be really helpful as it backs up your work frequently. 

03:05–03:13Laura IzzoThis sounds like a really fabulous tool for students, but can faculty get something out of this too? I mean, you teach courses, right? 

03:13–03:36Angelica FinleyYeah. So along with what I mentioned, Grammarly offers AI and plagiarism detection features that will actively search for AI created content. This means a professor could be reviewing discussion boards on canvas, and Grammarly will tell them if any of the replies seem like AI. So from my experience in my class, grading certain assignments in discussion boards, something like this would be really useful to have. 

03:36–04:03Angelica FinleyGrammarly AI detection tool shows a percentage of the text that appears to be AI generated and offers guidance on interpreting the results responsibly. So ChatGPT and other AI plagiarism detection software such as Turn It In and Grammarly are for sure still unchartered territory in higher education. So I would say Grammarly is not a fool proof detection method. 

04:03–04:24Angelica FinleyTheir AI detection isn't their flagship product at this point, but they focus more on improving your writing rather than identifying the origin of your writing. It's nice to have the option or that second set of eyes that I mentioned before to check for plagiarism. There's nothing at the moment that proves if a student sort of copy and pasted something from ChatGPT. 

04:25–04:35Angelica FinleySo, this feature is a can be a game changer in a sense, but it's not something Grammarly offers in the free version. It does come with the premium subscription. 

04:35–04:49Laura IzzoWell, that makes sense. But man, I had no idea that Grammarly packs a punch with all their products. This seems like an all-in-one writing assistance tool I could use for a lot of circumstances. Now I just need to see if it's affordable. 

04:49–05:09Angelica FinleyGood news. All the features besides that, plagiarism detection come with the free version. But like any free version, some of the features are limited. So, if you're really loving Grammarly, you can still upgrade to that premium version if you want to get that enhanced feedback. But the free version will still analyze all of your work and give you in-depth feedback. 

05:09–05:15Laura IzzoIt's official. I'm definitely going to have to get Grammarly and break it in ASAP. Thank you and you are a lifesaver! 

05:15–05:16Angelica FinleyNo problem.