About the Episode
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About the Episode:
In this special episode recorded on site at SXSW EDU, Dustin chats with Annie Chechitelli, Chief Product Officer at Turnitin. Annie shares the exciting launch of Turnitin Clarity, a new tool designed to support both educators and students in navigating AI’s role in academic writing. From AI detection to responsible AI use in the classroom, this conversation unpacks the evolving challenges and opportunities in maintaining academic integrity.
Key Takeaways
- Turnitin Clarity introduces a student composition space that provides visibility into how writing is developed and how AI is used—offering transparency and context for educators.
- The tool supports AI literacy by demystifying responsible AI usage for students, helping them gain confidence and clarity on what’s acceptable in academic writing.
- Educators gain better insights into student work, with tools that allow them to see writing evolution, identify AI-assisted sections, and provide targeted feedback.
- Turnitin Clarity is designed to reduce academic integrity stress, ensuring students don’t feel penalized for responsible AI use while maintaining fairness across classrooms.
- Future enhancements include customizable AI use permissions and feedback summarization tools, helping instructors save time and focus more on student growth.
What is Turnitin Clarity and Why Was It Created?
Turnitin Clarity is the newest innovation from Turnitin—a platform long known for its leadership in academic integrity. Annie Chechitelli, Chief Product Officer, explains that Clarity was born out of the changing educational landscape, where AI writing tools like ChatGPT have introduced new complexities. Initially, Turnitin responded with an AI detection feature. But as feedback from higher ed institutions poured in, the need became clear: educators wanted more context around AI use, and students needed a safer, more guided way to explore AI in their writing.
The purpose of Clarity is twofold. First, it helps educators understand the writing process by showing a timeline of how student work was developed—AI prompts included. Second, it empowers students to explore AI responsibly without fear of penalties or accusations. It’s not just about catching misconduct anymore; it’s about building a shared understanding of what ethical AI use looks like in academia.
How Does Clarity Improve the Student Experience with AI?
Students today are navigating a tricky landscape: they’re told AI can be helpful, but unclear boundaries often leave them anxious about how much is too much. Turnitin Clarity addresses this by allowing them to use AI transparently within an assignment—if the instructor permits it. Students can input prompts, receive assistance, and refine their work, all while knowing their process is documented and understood. This alleviates concerns around fairness and misuse.
Chechitelli emphasizes that Clarity was developed with students, not just for them. One key insight from user testing: students were okay with teachers seeing their process, but they didn’t want instructors peeking before they hit submit. This led to the "no peeking" feature—a student-first decision ensuring trust and autonomy. It’s these nuances that make Clarity more than just a monitoring tool—it’s a platform for learning and ethical exploration.
How Does Clarity Support Faculty and Reduce the Integrity Burden?
From the faculty perspective, Clarity acts as both a formative feedback tool and a time-saver. It allows educators to view a student’s writing timeline, including AI-generated content and writing progression, after submission. This transparency eliminates guesswork and suspicion, freeing up instructors to focus on meaningful feedback rather than detective work. Chechitelli notes that when integrity becomes a non-issue, instructors are more inclined to invest time in developmental support.
Future updates will bring even more faculty-friendly features, such as AI-generated summaries of margin comments—saving instructors from having to rehash all their feedback at the end of a paper. This reinforces Turnitin’s goal of improving—not replacing—the educator-student relationship. As AI becomes a more permanent fixture in the classroom, tools like Clarity help ensure that it's used to deepen learning, not shortcut it.
Turnitin Clarity is a timely and thoughtful step forward in addressing one of the most pressing questions in education today: How do we responsibly integrate AI into teaching and learning? Whether you’re an administrator crafting AI policies or a faculty member trying to support digital-native students, this episode offers a glimpse into the future of AI in higher education—and the tools helping us get there.
About the Show: The Higher Ed Geek Podcast explores the impact of edtech on the student experience by speaking with diverse leaders from institutions, companies, and nonprofit organizations. Each week we aim to provide an engaging, fun, and relevant dose of professional development that honors the wide range of work happening all across the higher ed ecosystem. Come geek out with us! The Higher Ed Geek Podcast is hosted by Dustin Ramsdell and is a proud member of the Enrollify Podcast Network.
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