AI In The Classroom: Chat GPT.
By now, you have all probably heard of Chat GPT, the internet’s cool artificial intelligence chatbot. Chat GPT is such a hot topic in education right now. It is all we hear and see. In a matter of seconds, a chatbot can spit out essays, complete homework, write reports, and do so much more. I am not going to lie, initially I did feel threatened by it. My first thought was, “Great, homework is dead and these kids are going to have a robot writing their essays!”
It’s important to understand that while it's true that some kids may try to use Chat GPT to take shortcuts and cheat, cheating has been a problem in schools for as long as there have been schools. If anything, the reaction that students are now going to cheat shows how much we value the final product versus the journey and process.
Despite advances in technology, the majority of students still strive to complete their work honestly and to the best of their abilities. It's important to remember that not every student in the classroom is relying on an AI chatbot to provide them with the correct answers.
I do think that Chat GPT can (and probably should) be used to supplement learning, and if used the right way, it can completely transform a student’s learning experience for the better.
Here are some examples of how you can use Chat GPT with your students and in the classroom:
Writing: Chat GPT can help students in improving their writing skills by suggesting appropriate words, phrases, essay outline structures, and sentence construction. Encourage students to use Chat GPT as a writing tool to enhance their vocabulary and writing skills.
Research: Chat GPT can work as an aid for students in conducting research by generating essential questions, providing definitions, and recommending relevant resources.
Summarization: ChatGPT can summarize long texts and extract key points. It is really great at text summarization and can help your students navigate through large texts. Instead of reading the entire text, students can ask the bot to provide summaries or highlight key information. This feature can be incredibly useful in streamlining the reading and comprehension process for students.
Creative Writing Prompts: Chat GPT can generate creative writing prompts that inspire students to write creatively and unleash their imagination. I will often use Chat GPT to provide students with writing prompts tailored to their interests and abilities.
Generating Basic Lesson Plans: Let’s face it; sometimes we struggle coming up with a lesson plan. While the AI-generated plan may not be perfect, it can serve as a starting point for teachers to incorporate their own unique style, creativity, and teaching expertise.
Chat GPT is now my right-hand best friend. It’s not going anywhere; and it’s only going to improve. Rather than remaining silent about ChatGPT and hoping that your students won't discover it, have open discussions with your students about the ethics of AI and encourage them to share their thoughts and opinions. It's now our job to help our students understand when it's acceptable to use AI bots and when it's considered cheating.
“Because today’s students will graduate into a world full of generative A.I. programs. They’ll need to know their way around these tools — their strengths and weaknesses, their hallmarks and blind spots — in order to work alongside them. To be good citizens, they’ll need hands-on experience to understand how this type of A.I. works, what types of bias it contains, and how it can be misused and weaponized. This adjustment won’t be easy. Sudden technological shifts rarely are. But who better to guide students into this strange new world than their teachers?”
Kevin Roose
