Reinventing assessments with ChatGPT and other online tools: Opportunities for GenAI-empowered assessment practices

The recent emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, has brought profound changes to higher education. While many studies have examined the potential use of ChatGPT in teaching and learning, few have explored the opportunities to develop assessments that facilitate the use of multiple technological innovations (i.e. traditional AI and GenAI tools). We conducted qualitative research to address this gap. The assessments of an elective English course in Hong Kong were re-designed to incorporate GenAI and other tools. Students were asked to employ and reflect on their use of these tools for their writing assessments. We analyzed the written reflections of 74 students and conducted focus group interviews with 28 students. The results suggest that the students possess an acumen for choosing the appropriate online tools for specific purposes. When they can choose freely, they develop skills that allow them to evaluate and select between traditional AI and GenAI tools when appropriate. Some students mentioned concerns with the different features of the free and premium versions. The results of this study call for (1) assessment practices that allow the flexibility to use different AI tools and (2) the equitable use of various AI tools.