Professor's Typewriter Trick Beats AI Cheating

0:00A German professor at Cornell University named Grit Matthias Phelps is bringing back manual typewriters in her classes to fight off AI cheating. Once each semester, her students ditch laptops and phones for these old school machines, typing essays without spellcheck or delete keys. She started this in spring of 2023, after getting fed up with perfect papers turned out by online tools. Phelps hunted down dozens of typewriters from thrift stores and online spots, turning her classroom into a 1950s vibe. It's all about forcing students to think and write the hard way. Just like before, computers took over everything. This analog assignment hits right in her syllabus, making kids produce work they can truly own. Students show up confused, staring at these relics they've only seen in movies. They learn to crank paper in, slam keys just right to avoid smudges, and hit that carriage return when the bell dings. No distractions mean they chat more with classmates for help, slowing down to focus on one task at a time.

1:01The real win goes beyond typing kids peck with index fingers, since pinkies aren't up to touch. Typing, and they embrace messing mistakes by crossing them, out. One freshman with a broken wrist even got creative, playing with spacing like old poets. They save crumpled sheets as keepsakes, buzzing to friends about the wild experience. This typewriter push fits a bigger wave across schools, swapping digital tests for pen and paper or oral exams to keep AI at bay. Phelps says it sparks joy in the grind, and her students are walking away hooked on that raw human flow. That's the story for today, Hartford News Today, driven by AI.