CRITER Weekly Roundup
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Hey everyone! We have another guest CRITER post today (thank you, Serena!). I’ll be back in your inboxes next week. Stay tuned!
—Jen
Hello from Serena Morales in the College of Education at Boise State University! This guest edition of CRITER has a pedagogy slant, and is organized around problems I’ve worked to solve in conversations around AI in Education this fall. I hope you find something useful (or entertaining!).
Mark Your Calendars!
Talk, Meet, Interact (TMI): Using AI in the Workplace - New Tools for the Future of Work
Tuesday, October 22, noon – 1:00 p.m.
This session explores how AI tools are reshaping the future of work, specifically focusing on approved tools like Gemini and ChatGPT, and how they can be used in education and administration. The title alone cracks me up–TMI??! How ironically perfect!
AI Prompt Engineering for Educators
Thursday, October 24, 2024, 10:00 – 11:15 a.m.
This workshop focuses on helping educators effectively use AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini in the classroom. Learn how to craft prompts that maximize learning outcomes for students.
Keep It Simple, Serena
I’m sure no one else here is guilty of overthinking, but I often assume if I haven’t done something the hard way, it’s not as valid as the outcome that cost me some sweat and tears. MagicSchool might be a resource to help me get over it. Initially designed for K-12 teachers, MagicSchool is now serving university faculty. Here are three of my favorite tools:
Text Dependent Questions: Generates questions from any linked text based on type, theme, or critical thinking level. I’m using it for a quick warm up activity, reading quiz, or in-class reading activity (Am I the only instructor whose students don’t read before they come to class?!).
Choice Board (UDL): Generates several assignments or assessments aligned to course learning outcomes and the Universal Design for Learning. I have plugged the same CLOs into the Rubric Generator to create a draft of authentic assessments.
Tool Recommendations: I don’t always know what I need, and this tool decreases my scrolling by curating tools based on my intended resource. Better than my afternoon coffee for motivation.
Berlin Fang and Kim Broussard have gathered some “low-hanging fruits” in using GenAI for course development. The authors keep it simple with a list of tools that support specific course planning processes, moving the blinking cursor catatonia we’ve all experienced facing a course design task. Their aligned resources begin with course mapping and move through assessment planning, instructional strategies, and developing content.
A reminder that learning technology works best when an aligned tool “enhances pedagogies and extends learning environments.” GenAI resources might be considered “agents-to-learn-with” in addition to navigating “what to learn” or “how to learn.”
Rabbit Trails on GenAI Training
I’ve been thinking about how instructional perspectives around GenAI impact students’ accessibility to AI literacy: If instructors are hesitant to embrace tools, how will students become literate in GenAI? Which disciplines are more likely to experience AI integration? How much does AI literacy matter in education? Engineering? Music performance? Nursing? Research in the September issue of Online Learning notes how instructional designers (IDs) “leverage GenAI to improve the accessibility of learning environments” and explains how AI acts as a thinking partner for faculty, particularly when they work alone. This made me wonder: How do we move the expertise from a limited number of IDs to university-wide faculty? It reminded me of the “short course” for online teaching during COVID-19.
There is a growing demand for AI-focused training programs for faculty and staff in educational institutions. The offerings are like the cereal aisle in Winco–overwhelming–especially when I think beyond what I need and consider how to systematically create training for students. In addition to those shared in the local context, here are a few more:
GenAI for Educators: Offered by Google + MiT, free, 2 hours
AI for Educators: Offered by Microsoft, free, 3 hours
An Essential Guide to AI for Educators: Offered by AI for Education, free, 2 hours
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education for Teachers: Offered by Coursera, free, 16 hours
“Discrepancy between positive opinions about AI versus active implementation of the technology is reflected in Carnegie Learning’s The State of AI in Education report. In this survey of educators, 77% of respondents think AI is useful, but only 56% are actually using it.”
Of Note
Researchers at Stanford University note that "despite advancements in AI, new research reveals that large language models continue to perpetuate harmful racial biases, particularly against speakers of African American English as dialects are translated into text.”
Review cautions and actionable strategies to address covert racism in LLMs in Forbes’ “Exorcizing The Scourge Of Covert Racism From AI Output.” Thanks to Donna Llewellyn for this resource.
Image of the Week
Meet “Critter.” Who doesn’t need a mascot with “just the right mix of eerie and approachable vibes.” All hail ChatGPT4.0!
