Why Lapmin works this way

Only retrieved pages appear as sources

What Lapmin does. Lapmin does not invent sources: it shows a page as a source only after retrieving it for that question and checking that it fits the topic.

What the researchers found. Researchers asked the 2023 ChatGPT models to write short academic literature reviews on 42 topics, then checked the 636 references they produced. More than half of GPT-3.5’s references and just under a fifth of GPT-4’s were fabricated. Some genuine references also contained substantial errors. The newer model was clearly better, the researchers said, but the problems remained.

What matters is how AI helps

What Lapmin does. Lapmin leaves solving the assignment and writing the text to be submitted to the student.

What the researchers found. Nearly 1,000 students in grades 9–11 at one school in Turkey practised maths. Whole classes were randomly assigned to three groups: no AI, unrestricted AI that gave complete answers when asked, or AI that gave hints only.

Unrestricted AI lowered scores on a later test taken without AI. The test scores of the group given hints did not differ significantly from those of students who had practised without AI.

Students using unrestricted AI most often asked directly for an answer, and the data showed signs of answers being copied. Students using AI that gave hints sent more messages, and their conversations dealt more often with the substance of the work.

During practice, scores were 48% higher with unrestricted AI and 127% higher with hint-giving AI than without AI. The researchers say students can easily use unrestricted AI as a crutch, making the tool’s design a matter for careful consideration when introducing AI.

Connection to Lapmin. The unrestricted AI in the study gave complete answers to assignments. Lapmin answers factual questions directly, but gives hints for problems students must solve and text they must write, even when a student repeatedly asks for the complete answer.

Limit. The study used a different system from Lapmin. The hint-giving AI had the teacher’s solutions to the assignments in its instructions. The study covered one school, maths and four practice sessions.

Simpler words and clearer connections

What Lapmin does. In Finnish answers to students marked S2—the Finnish-as-a-second-language designation used in Finnish schools—Lapmin uses techniques from easy-to-read Finnish. It chooses everyday words, explains the subject terms students need, and makes causes and the order of events clear. The aim is to keep the content needed to understand the subject.

What the studies found. In experiments with English texts, simpler wording helped particularly when readers found the language difficult. In a US maths test for students in grades 7–8, linguistically modified questions helped students who struggled with the English wording. In small Finnish samples of adult readers, difficult words hindered understanding, while short sentences without clear connections remained unclear. Familiar words, explained terms, and visible causes and sequences are therefore reasoned choices for how to write an answer.

Limit. None of these studies tested easy-to-read Finnish or AI-written simpler Finnish with school-age S2 students. They do not show that Lapmin improves understanding or learning. The support a student needs varies with language proficiency and familiarity with the topic.

AI as a learning partner, not a shortcut

What Lapmin does. Lapmin explains and guides, while students solve the assignment and write the text they submit.

What the publication says. The OECD publication brings together research on generative AI in education and notes that results still come mostly from very short trials. It says that relying too heavily on tools that give direct answers can reduce students’ own engagement and improve task performance without a matching gain in learning. For decision-makers, it sets the goal of AI serving as a learning partner rather than a shortcut.

Teachers lead lessons that use AI

What Lapmin does. Students can join Lapmin only in a lesson whose code the teacher shows. The teacher can pause or end that lesson.

What the sources say. The OECD says AI tools should be used in learning situations carefully planned by teachers, whether the tools were built for education or general use. Finland’s national core curriculum for basic education, issued by the Finnish National Agency for Education, says each teacher is responsible for their group’s activities, learning and wellbeing.

Students need no account of their own

What Lapmin does. Students join with the code their teacher shows and select their name from the teacher’s class roster. They do not need an account.

What the source says. According to the obligations compiled by the Finnish National Agency for Education and Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture, teaching staff cannot require a student to register or create a personal account for a service that the education provider (usually the municipality) does not offer. This obligation applies to staff; it does not mean the Finnish National Agency for Education has approved Lapmin. The education provider decides whether to adopt it.

AI use designed for children

What Lapmin does. Lapmin is built for teacher-led lessons with students aged about 9–15. It checks a student’s message before replying and uses a prepared reply when a safety concern arises.

What the source says. UNESCO’s guidance says most generative AI applications are designed primarily for adults and present significant risks for children, including inappropriate content and manipulation. It recommends that governments set a minimum age of 13 for independent conversations with AI platforms. The guidance does not address teacher-led use or message checks.

Students can see where information comes from

What Lapmin does. When an answer has a source, students see it beneath the answer and can check it.

What the curriculum says. Finding and evaluating information are part of multiliteracy and digital competence in Finland’s curriculum. In grades 3–6, students are guided to compare and assess the usefulness of information they have found. In grades 7–9, they practise source criticism. Students also learn to search several sources themselves; a source shown by Lapmin does not replace that practice.

Guiding questions in maths

What Lapmin does. Lapmin asks students to work out the next step. For addition, subtraction and multiplication, it can draw a column grid.

What the curriculum says. Guiding questions and similar examples are ways to support mathematical work when students demonstrate what they know. In grades 3–6, students practise and consolidate addition, subtraction and multiplication algorithms. The curriculum also emphasises tools, mental arithmetic and comparing different methods; the grid does not replace them.

An education tool for younger students

What Lapmin does. Lapmin is built for lessons in Finland’s basic education with students aged about 9–15. Students do not use the language model directly.

What the source says. The OECD says AI tools designed for education are increasingly appropriate the younger and less proficient students are. It also says primary school students probably should not be encouraged to do homework with general-purpose AI. There is no reason to discourage AI-based tutoring systems in primary education if they are effective and safe; Lapmin’s effectiveness has not been measured.