Week One
Hello! I'd like to start by saying that I can't believe that we were asked and encouraged to have a conversation with an AI tool. I have tried to avoid using AI myself even though I have had to do my fair share of investigating into its use in the classroom... I know that there is good to come from it, but I cannot help but fear what it can do in a pair of wrong but capable hands.
Initial Reactions
The first time I used ChatGPT was this summer during a Welcome to [Insert New District's Name Here] session, and I was surprised that my new district was so transparent about the professional use of AI. My previous district was very oppositional to discussing AI or showing us, the educators, how to use it effectively and teach our students how to ethically use it as a tool for learning rather than an easy way out of assignments. I admire that this course's first assignment centered on having a conversation with our choice of bot; I've only worked with ChatGPT, so that is why I decided to use it again. Because I, too, am still learning just like my students.
Confidence in the Output
Since I've had experience with ChatGPT during this school year, I am confident in the accuracy and validity of the output I received in my conversation about edtech linked below. I base my level of confidence on Chat's responses to the follow-up questions that I ask. Whether I need help making an assignment or creating a supplemental activity or mini-lesson, I can ask for clarification, alternatives, or for a complete re-write, Chat provides numerous opportunities for me to find something to use in the classroom in a meaningful, engaging way.
I feel that after reading through the initial output and considering the responses to my follow-up questions that I have a more firm grasp of the historical development and evolution of educational technology and the key concepts that educators need to understand. Without intending to, I often limit my scope of consideration of edtech in the classroom to the 1990s/Y2K because when I hear "technology," my immediate thought is something involving the internet or a screen as a conduit of change and information sharing. ChatGPT went back to the Medieval Age and Industrial Revolution to remind me that technology hasn't always been synonymous with screens.
When it comes to verifying the information that I was given in the initial output as well as the continuation of the conversation from my follow-up questions, I would ask ChatGPT to provide updated and scholarly sources to serve as verification of the information it provided. I do appreciate that the CRAAP method was mentioned by Chat because it's the fact checking method I encourage my students to use in class and in their daily lives.
I usually ask for videos as another way to verify and deliver the information as well, but I wonder what other ways I can prove that the information I am being given is the most accurate information out there. In the same breath, how can I teach my students to verify, or fact check, what they get from their own AI outputs in a way besides the CRAAP method? I fear inherently trusting AI/ChatGPT, but I don't know a concrete way to ensure that the information is true.
Effectiveness of Prompts
Reflecting on that 45 minute AI Deep Dive session during in-service, I remember vividly that my instructors said to be polite to Chat and spoke of it like a person. Treating these AI bots like people yields more worthwhile and meaningful responses to whatever prompts I enter. That's why you'll see so many pleasantries and niceties from me in all of my chats with Chat. That being said, I think that the prompts provided and the ones that I used as follow-ups definitely strengthened the quality of the responses that I received each time. I feel that I was given more depth and perspective rather than shallow, regurgitated knowledge. I don’t think that I needed to rephrase, but I do think that looking at the output from the bot helped me hone in on how to phrase my follow-up questions during those portions of the conversation. If I wanted even more in-depth responses, then I could have further inquired with follow-ups to my first rounds of follow-ups. Since my questions pointed to specific moments in the conversation–even quoting the output–I didn’t feel the need to provide more context in search of clarity.
Opportunities for Improvement
To learn more, I would have asked for references to the information that I was provided with during the conversation. I always tell my students to fact check, and I love that the method I use--the CRAAP method--was mentioned in the output with ChatGPT. I wonder if there is another method that I could implore my students to use when fact checking rather than innately trusting everything they see on the internet or on social media. My district started piloting BRISK this year to check if students are using AI to do their work, but AI can also be used for good, not just as a tactic of avoidance.
Use in My Teaching
I will need to explore ChatGPT more and also venture out into the AI bot universe to see that other AI services have to offer both me and my students. I know that AI is now a part of our educational and pedagogical world and that it cannot be ignored. Even my students who don't use it still know it exists, so why don't I try to find ways to make using it a meaningful learning experience for them when/if they do decide/need to use it? The response that Chat gave to one of my final follow-up questions did give me some solace--that AI cannot replace the integrity and importance of face-to-face learning as we have seen in the aftermath of the pandemic. So many students were dealt the hand of AI to survive during that time away from a brick-and-mortar educational institution, and that experience has now developed into a reliance for some. What do we do about that? What will the next generation of learners look like when AI is something they have always known?
Overall, I would trust ChatGPT in the hands of my students. That double-edged sword of the AI universe still slices me though... It's there, we all know it. Some who swear that they will never use it might find it is the only option later on. Rather than ignoring the artificially intelligent elephant in the room, I'm going to give it a peanut and invite it into my classroom circus conversations because I owe my students that much.
Thank You, AI
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