Turnitin announced it will expand its offerings to advance classroom digitization through AI-powered grading, enhanced AI writing detection and customizable individual feedback for students. The launch comprises a Paper to Digital add-on for Turnitin Feedback Studio, helping educators provide faster online grading for paper assignments, ensuring prompt feedback to students, and an enhanced Similarity Report to help educators identify when content generated by AI writing tools may have been submitted.
With India’s National Education Policy (NEP) urging digital literacy and the integration of technology in education, Turnitin’s new features assist Indian educators in achieving these goals. The NEP’s emphasis on critical thinking and the cutback of rote learning makes Turnitin’s AI-powered tools most relevant for the Indian classroom.
Education-related AI is predicted to be a $6 billion market by next year. Yet, according to Tyton Partners,* students continue to lead in regular GenAI adoption rates at 59 percent compared to approximately 40 percent of instructors and administrators. The 2024-2025 school year is anticipated to be the year of AI, and educators need resources that help them adopt the technology in the classroom.
The academic year is rolling on and with it we expect an increased use of AI tools in the classroom by educators and students alike, helping them with operational efficiency and productivity,” said Chaitali Moitra, regional director, South Asia at Turnitin. ”However, a gap remains between using AI to enhance efficiencies and to assess student’s critical thinking skills. Turnitin’s tools are designed to work alongside Indian educators’ expertise, as well as academic policies, so educators and students can integrate AI effectively into their teaching practices.”
New paper to digital add-on improves grading accuracy and consistency
AI in education goes far beyond plagiarism detection. If used correctly, this technology can simplify the challenges of grading paper-based assessments, and eliminate unintended bias while streamlining customized feedback for students and improving the learning process overall.
A recent preprint paper by University of Michigan researchers revealed a significant correlation across 30 million grading records: students with surnames lower in the alphabet tend to receive lower grades. This bias stems from sequential grading practices compounded by the default alphabetical ordering of student submissions in learning management systems.
The new Paper to Digital add-on for Turnitin Feedback Studio uses handwriting recognition, AI-assisted grouping, and horizontal (question by question) grading of paper quizzes, tests and assignments. By streamlining grading and strengthening the consistency of instructor feedback, institutions can foster a fairer and more effective assessment environment. The new innovative tool also offers faster feedback, enhanced security and integration directly into learning management systems (LMS).
Enhanced similarity report helps identify AI-generated content
In April 2023, Turnitin launched its AI writing detection feature to help educators identify AI-generated content in student work while safeguarding students’ interests. Since the launch, Turnitin has sourced pedagogical feedback from educators and administrators to inform product improvement and additional tech support features.
As a result, Turnitin’s enhanced Similarity Report provides a new foundation for Turnitin’s AI writing detection feature. The tool helps educators identify unoriginal or improperly cited student writing, facilitating productive conversations on proper citation practices and accidental plagiarism. The new report has been thoughtfully redesigned with an intuitive interface and new categorization of match types, making it easier to interpret and use as a formative learning tool to strengthen academic writing skills.
This update comes shortly after the launch of Turnitin’s AI paraphrasing detection feature, which is integrated within Turnitin’s AI writing capabilities – as an Originality add-on – enabling educators and publishers to identify when AI paraphrasing tools may have been used to modify AI-generated text to avoid detection.
Turnitin and the company’s innovative product portfolio have received numerous accolades recently, including the 2024 Bett Awards nominee, EdTech Breakthrough Awards 2024 winner, 2023 Tech & Learning winner and 2024 GSV 150 winner.