Navigating the moral panic: encouraging appropriate use of GenAI in the classroom rather than condemning innovation as disruption

Faculty are divided on how to respond to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Many respond in similar ways to how faculty responded to other disruptive technologies (e.g. calculators, word processors), fearing that students will cheat more and learn less. Rather than fear GenAI, we view it as the next disruptive technology that will become normalised in the classroom and examine how intentionally integrating it into instruction increases both academic integrity and authenticity. Using data from eight iterations of a lower-division Data Visualisation course, we compare student performance on two quiz types (knowledge and application) in three conditions (pre-GenAI, GenAI-available, and GenAI-integrated). In the GenAI-integrated condition, GenAI use was taught and encouraged. During the GenAI-available quarters, performance on the applied questions decreased and variability increased, indicating that only some students were using GenAI, and ineffectively. When GenAI was embedded into the assessments, applied performance and variability returned to pre-GenAI levels. Knowledge questions fell below baseline with the new format, but so did variability, potentially indicating greater equity across the quiz. By teaching students to use GenAI, we aim to support long-term learning, improve accountability, ensure authenticity, and support instructors in addressing concerns about potentially problematic technology in the classroom.