In the latter part of the 1900s, my wife and I traveled to the west coast. In preparation for it, we dug around in the car's glove box and found the Rand McNally US map. We needed to chart our course, determine stopping points for overnight stays, and gauge how long it would take to get to our destination. Deciding the tiny numbers on the map were not usable, we purchased four state maps to aid in our planning. We calculated the mileage, divided by 55 (m.p.h.), and then started researching hotels to call and make reservations. Our collective natural intelligence made us feel good about the itinerary, path, and timing. It was a good investment in the HOURS it took.
I just asked (literally ASKED) Waze for directions to Cotter, AR, and it gave me three options with mileage and trip time in about four seconds. How? Artificial intelligence (AI)--the power, speed, and accuracy of technology to accelerate human processes. Fortunately, Waze also knows where most speed traps are located and the time impact of traffic. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Rand and Mr. McNally. (That information was gleaned from Siri--in about 12 seconds. I wasn’t able to locate a World Book to fact-check it.)
Now this technology is found in many daily products and is available to all. Most will know it by “ChatGPT,” which is just one of the AI resources developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT was made available to the everyday user on November 20, 2022. In late January, Microsoft gave them $10,000,000,000. To show fairness in this post, Google released an AI tool called Bard in March. It’s the same but different. To get an account, you will need to use a personal Gmail account. It does not connect to school Gmail--yet.
For those who may still be asking, “What is ChatGPT?”
Here is what one new site gave as a return:
“ChatGPT is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) language model that can chat with humans in a natural language format. It is similar to Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant that you might have heard of, but instead of just answering direct questions, ChatGPT can have a full conversation with you. For example, if you ask ChatGPT, "What is your favorite color?" it might respond with, "I don't have eyes, so I don't have a favorite color, but I do like the color blue because it reminds me of the sky."
Here is what one new site gave as a return:
“ChatGPT is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) language model that can chat with humans in a natural language format. It is similar to Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant that you might have heard of, but instead of just answering direct questions, ChatGPT can have a full conversation with you. For example, if you ask ChatGPT, "What is your favorite color?" it might respond with, "I don't have eyes, so I don't have a favorite color, but I do like the color blue because it reminds me of the sky."
ChatGPT has been trained on a huge amount of text data from the internet, which means it has a lot of knowledge to draw from. It can understand and respond to questions on a wide range of topics like science, history, movies, and more. It’s really good at knowing the logic of words!
One interesting fact about ChatGPT is that it was created by OpenAI, a research organization that aims to develop AI in a safe and beneficial way. OpenAI is funded by some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk, who is the founder of companies like Tesla and SpaceX.
Overall, ChatGPT is an exciting development in the field of AI, and it has the potential to make our lives easier by providing us with quick and accurate answers to our questions.”
(The site used is called explainlikeimfive.io or ELI5. It’s been quite useful in other complicated questions: What is the difference between weather and climate? What is lightning? Is the debt ceiling important? etc…)
(The site used is called explainlikeimfive.io or ELI5. It’s been quite useful in other complicated questions: What is the difference between weather and climate? What is lightning? Is the debt ceiling important? etc…)
So what does this mean?
It depends on the context. Whatever context is used, it is significant. We are talking printing press, wooden pencil, light bulb, Model T, typewriter, calculator, Internet, spellcheck, and iPhone significant. This technology will create change. It will cause some jobs to become obsolete, but in just the first six months, many jobs have been created. As much as we smirk at students who want to become "WWE wrestlers" or “YouTubers,” we should not laugh at students who want to become prompt crafters. As Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, said, “ChatGPT currently is great at tasks, not great at jobs.”
It depends on the context. Whatever context is used, it is significant. We are talking printing press, wooden pencil, light bulb, Model T, typewriter, calculator, Internet, spellcheck, and iPhone significant. This technology will create change. It will cause some jobs to become obsolete, but in just the first six months, many jobs have been created. As much as we smirk at students who want to become "WWE wrestlers" or “YouTubers,” we should not laugh at students who want to become prompt crafters. As Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, said, “ChatGPT currently is great at tasks, not great at jobs.”
In what ways will AI tools affect education?
AI tools will accelerate many processes we (students and teachers) have been doing with our natural intelligence. We have done them for a long time, so it will seem awkward the first few times or even like cheating. Do we even remember our first right click for spell check instead of grabbing the Webster’s and spending two minutes looking up a word? Currently, we start most edu-centric conversations with how it can HELP us as leaders and teachers. We have to learn to engage with the tools as if we have a REALLY smart, REALLY fast, REALLY powerful “assistant” standing at our desk. In our use of GPT, we have found that asking the first question is not the skill--the skill is in the follow-up question(s).
AI tools will accelerate many processes we (students and teachers) have been doing with our natural intelligence. We have done them for a long time, so it will seem awkward the first few times or even like cheating. Do we even remember our first right click for spell check instead of grabbing the Webster’s and spending two minutes looking up a word? Currently, we start most edu-centric conversations with how it can HELP us as leaders and teachers. We have to learn to engage with the tools as if we have a REALLY smart, REALLY fast, REALLY powerful “assistant” standing at our desk. In our use of GPT, we have found that asking the first question is not the skill--the skill is in the follow-up question(s).
What might a leader do with GPT or Bard?
Letters of recommendation, board communications, press releases, disciplinary write-ups, grant verbiage, letters of resignation, social media posts, convocation/back-to-school activities, presentations, or any other task that normally involves our natural intelligence. Other points of impact on education (given by ChatGPT) include Personalized Learning; Intelligent Tutoring; Data Analysis; Automated Grading (including Extended Constructed Responses!!); Language Translation/Transcription; Intelligent Content Creation; Early Intervention and Support (both Academic and Emotional/Behavioral).
Letters of recommendation, board communications, press releases, disciplinary write-ups, grant verbiage, letters of resignation, social media posts, convocation/back-to-school activities, presentations, or any other task that normally involves our natural intelligence. Other points of impact on education (given by ChatGPT) include Personalized Learning; Intelligent Tutoring; Data Analysis; Automated Grading (including Extended Constructed Responses!!); Language Translation/Transcription; Intelligent Content Creation; Early Intervention and Support (both Academic and Emotional/Behavioral).
How could a teacher use it?
That question has been answered approximately 37,000 times from a Google search. It seems every thought leader in education is weighing in on the topic--50 prompts for teachers…
What has been demonstrated for teachers is the ability to create an original 400-word grade-level, cross-curricular passage based on a specific TEKS, converted into a multi-type question (New item types) quiz, and assigned via a Google Form to Google Classroom in less than five minutes!!! It can also write detailed lesson plans with differentiated activities, provide scaffolded resources, create questions at various thinking levels, assist in writing IEPs/PLAAFPs, difficult emails to parents, and T-TESS goals with measurable outcomes--just to mention a few. When using material(s) created by AI tools, teachers must vet the information. (In the quote from ELI5 above, Grammarly had a fit with how it was written!!) AI tools have great potential for helping teachers who may be new to the profession and who might not have an EDU degree. We often refer to our use of AI in the classroom as “the first couple of snowflakes on a giant iceberg!”
That question has been answered approximately 37,000 times from a Google search. It seems every thought leader in education is weighing in on the topic--50 prompts for teachers…
What has been demonstrated for teachers is the ability to create an original 400-word grade-level, cross-curricular passage based on a specific TEKS, converted into a multi-type question (New item types) quiz, and assigned via a Google Form to Google Classroom in less than five minutes!!! It can also write detailed lesson plans with differentiated activities, provide scaffolded resources, create questions at various thinking levels, assist in writing IEPs/PLAAFPs, difficult emails to parents, and T-TESS goals with measurable outcomes--just to mention a few. When using material(s) created by AI tools, teachers must vet the information. (In the quote from ELI5 above, Grammarly had a fit with how it was written!!) AI tools have great potential for helping teachers who may be new to the profession and who might not have an EDU degree. We often refer to our use of AI in the classroom as “the first couple of snowflakes on a giant iceberg!”
What will students do with it?
Well, ask them. They are already a few clicks ahead. The use of AI tools will require a reset in what we are doing in the classroom. When a product is the primary focus of an assignment, students will often look for ways to accelerate the completion of the product (cheat). We have to start finding ways to assess process over product. Here is an example--this assignment was given to a sophomore in a Humanities class (English II and World History):
Well, ask them. They are already a few clicks ahead. The use of AI tools will require a reset in what we are doing in the classroom. When a product is the primary focus of an assignment, students will often look for ways to accelerate the completion of the product (cheat). We have to start finding ways to assess process over product. Here is an example--this assignment was given to a sophomore in a Humanities class (English II and World History):
What a great project-based assignment that cannot be Googled!!! However, it can be ChatGPTed (now we have new verbs!). The teacher had the students present the information in a ten-slide-paced presentation (Pecha Kucha) from memory. Students had to internalize some of the content.
In the early stages of helping teachers combat the use of AI tools, we are suggesting they find ways to assess the process along with the product.
- Another idea is to lean into the tool--have students generate an essay from GPT, copy and paste it into the document and then rewrite it.
- Use the history tools or the Draftback extension in Google Docs.
- Have students use video to speak about what has been created--it’s challenging to fake it when you haven’t done the work).
- Require some personal connection to the assignment (ex., Write a summary of Ferinhiet 451 and provide two references to your personal experience.). GTP is amoral and won’t write personal connections.
Blocking the site(s) via the school filter will not keep students from using GPT. It will be challenging to determine how much a student used AI tools. There are “resources” available to assess the level of computer-generated text, but currently, they are VERY unreliable. School leaders should use caution when relying on the accuracy of these tools in disciplinary situations. In our testing, we had ChatGPT write a paragraph. We submitted it in ChatGPT’s Text Classifier and the paragraph was returned “very unlikely” written by a computer. Our human-constructed paragraph was scored “possibly” generated by AI. (I am delighted the readers of this blog don’t know how often spellcheck and Grammarly were used!!)
In one recent post, the writer spoke of how ChatGPT won’t take your job, but someone using it will. Not allowing students to access it will put them behind other students who use it. They will be competing for scholarships, college acceptance, and who knows how many jobs in the future against those fluent in chatting with AI. (And don’t forget that prompt crafter job!!)
In their current state, AI tools cannot take over the world (aka Skynet), but when I use them, I include “please and thank you” in my prompt entries--just in case. I try to imagine I am speaking with a personal assistant. AI tools will be used to do many good things, but others will use them for nefarious activities. The truth will continue to be more challenging to verify as AI is used in image, video, and voice creation.
Remember that quote about “we are currently teaching students to answer questions that haven’t been asked using technologies that haven’t been invented?” Yeah, well, it’s really true now.
For more information or support on AI and the school ecosystem, please contact the Digital Learning Department here at The 7. We’d love to come work with you, your leadership team, and /or teachers.
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In 1993, armed with the knowledge gained from Howard Payne University, Andy Adams started his teaching career in Abilene, Texas with a room full of 5th graders. He taught 4th and 5th grade for 11 years with other stops in Nacogdoches and Kilgore. During this season of teaching, he added the letters ESL to his teaching certificate. For some reason, he obtained a Master’s degree from Stephen F Austin University and found himself as an assistant principal and then principal working with the stakeholders of Kilgore Intermediate School. His last role with the district was serving as the Instructional Technology Coordinator. Since 2014, Andy has had the privilege of “clicking for a living” as the Digital Learning Coordinator at Region 7 ESC. His purpose is twofold--find tools and resources to allow students to THINK, CREATE and LEARN and help teachers become teaching gurus who use technology, not tech gurus who teach. Most of what he knows comes from Twitter and YouTube!! As a recovering campus principal (It's been 3,500+ days since his last ARD meeting), he has a unique perspective on how technology affects campus/district leaders. His mother thinks he is an engaging presenter with relevant ideas to implement in the classroom to impact student achievement. Ps. He's retiring in August 2023!! |