(CHICAGO) – PowerNotes, a provider of tools that help students and professionals create high-quality research quickly and efficiently, has added Composer, an advanced, web-based word processor, to its PowerNotes+ platform. The new tool provides a semi-proctored environment for organizing research and writing in an AI-enabled environment.
PowerNotes+ is a reading, research, and writing platform that helps educators and institutions have control and confidence using artificial intelligence (AI)—and addresses questions of intellectual integrity using transparency and evidence, not suspicion. Composer is a new tool that allows PowerNotes+ users to see the full picture of writers’ research and writing, from AI-assisted text to outside sources to original thoughts, all color-coded for easy identification.
“AI is still a new tool, but it’s already incorporated in a lot of spaces,” said Dr. Catina Mitchum, Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Maryland Global Campus. “And it’s constantly changing. Developing the skills to use these tools ethically is an essential part of digital literacy that will carry forward to help them succeed in school and in life.”
Composer enables users to minimize the inappropriate use of AI and gain greater clarity into research and writing work, supporting them in using AI with integrity and effectiveness. Features of Composer include:
- The ability to write within PowerNotes+, providing proof-of-work from initial research to final assignment;
- A familiar interface similar to Microsoft Word and Google Docs;
- The ability to drag and drop research from outline to paper, including the citation;
- Timestamps and version history of work;
- The ability for educators or managers to give feedback in real time;
- The option for educators and system administrators to turn specific AI tools off; and
- AI integrations that can fact-check, suggest ideas, and review grammar, providing tools to use AI in an ethically responsible way.
Composer is designed to improve source-based writing for students and researchers who use a variety of research, note-taking and writing software, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. By weaving source tracking and citation management into the research and writing process, Composer frees writers to focus on higher-level tasks such as analysis of their chosen subject matter and synthesis of ideas. Composer allows teachers to create assignments and then closely observe the entire process their students follow, from gathering information to writing and revising.
PowerNotes built Composer in response to feedback from educators who wanted a word processor that could protect academic integrity as AI is being integrated into existing Microsoft and Google products. It is essentially impossible for one machine to determine if a piece of writing was produced by another machine, so PowerNotes takes a different approach by making it easier to use AI ethically. For example, because AI is integrated into and research content is stored in PowerNotes, copying and pasting information from another source should be very limited and will be flagged by Composer.
If a teacher or manager does suspect the inappropriate use of AI, PowerNotes+ and Composer help shift the conversation from accusation to evidence by providing a clear trail of every action a writer has taken and where things came from. Putting clear parameters on the AI-plagiarism conversation keeps the focus on the process of developing an idea into a completed paper or presentation.
“At PowerNotes, we believe that AI can be a powerful tool to supercharge research and writing,” said Wilson Tsu, founder of PowerNotes. “We do understand, however, that educators and companies have legitimate concerns about the ethical use of AI tools. That’s why, even as we launch Composer to provide real-world solutions to those challenges, we are partnering with educational institutions and organizations on our AI Unity initiative in an effort to broaden the coalition dedicated to using AI safely and ethically.”
For more information, or to pilot PowerNotes+, please visit PowerNotes.com.
About PowerNotes
PowerNotes is a platform designed to help students and professionals create high-quality research and writing confidently and efficiently. With features including auto-citation, note-taking, library integration, AI usage management, and copy-paste detection, PowerNotes is now used by writers and researchers of all ages, from elementary schoolers to PhD students and working professionals. More than 160 academic institutions nationwide have adopted PowerNotes, with some college instructors building their coursework around the PowerNotes approach, which is focused on meaningful and transparent student engagement throughout the reading, research, analysis, and writing process. Learn more at PowerNotes.com.
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