From information overload to clear answers: AI in exam prep — a personal story

I’m currently studying towards a master’s degree in educational sciences with a focus on digital media at FernUniversität in Hagen. It’s a distance university in Germany that allows me to study part-time while working and enjoying life. I can study anytime and anywhere, even from the comfort of my home in Aotearoa New Zealand – literally at the other end of the world from my professors and lecturers.

From spellcheck to AI in education

When I started studying in October 2022, generative AI for consumers wasn’t really a thing yet. The release of ChatGPT was still two months away and the best digital support we had was spellcheck. Since then, I’ve watched my university embrace AI and grow into a leader in this space. For example, right now the professor of my current module is advising the German government on media and AI competencies in education.

The university also offers excellent guidance on using AI for academic work and access to KI:connect.nrw (a state-wide AI portal with a strong focus on study support and data protection), as well as workshops and courses for those just beginning their AI journey.

Why I'm not using AI for writing exam papers

Despite these opportunities, I've been very reluctant to let AI help me with my studies. Most of my exams are research papers, and I only use ChatGPT or Perplexity to untangle a few clunky sentences, not to write anything for me or to determine the direction of my research. Across five papers, I probably used AI three or four times at most. My personal rule of thumb is simple: if it's something I’d ask my husband to help with, then I’d ask AI too. Otherwise, I'll do it myself. I feel that relying more heavily on AI undermines the skills I'm so keen to prove in my exams.

Facing an oral exam

But last semester everything changed. For the first time – and thankfully the only time in my whole degree – I had to prepare for an oral exam. At first, I tried my usual study methods. But the material consisted of three module books and one published book totalling nearly 1,500 pages, packed with references that sent me down (very interesting!) rabbit holes. I had to absorb all of this and become able to discuss it fluently at expert level with my professor during the exam. With limited time, I realised I wouldn’t manage without support.

AI to the rescue

That’s when Google NotebookLM became my best friend. I uploaded all the materials and had conversations with the AI to identify the most important areas. My “artificial tutor” explained complex topics in plain language, the audio summaries stuck in my head better than reading alone, and it helped me distil the content into a manageable set of key points with all the necessary jargon.

Towards the end I also experimented with creating a tutor agent in Autohive. Sadly, I didn’t use it much because I set it up too late – but in hindsight, it could’ve been a brilliant addition to my learning toolkit.

Passing with flying colours

In the end, I passed the exam with flying colours. I’m relieved I’ll never have to face another oral exam in this degree – but I’m also grateful. Without AI support, I doubt I’d have succeeded as well as I did. Now I have just one more module to finish before starting my thesis. I’m not yet sure if, or how, I’ll use AI for that – but for preparing an oral exam, I can absolutely recommend it.