Instructional Support

Evolving AI

• Commonplace to see it in virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, recommendation systems (Netflix, Amazon) and smart home devices.
• 2 years ago OpenAI introduced ChatGPT and Generative AI to the world.  The impact has been an explosion in the number of software tools and the integration of AI into tools to make them more efficient (from Website creation tools to search engines to writing tools like Grammarly)
• Still not Artificial General Intelligence where machines have human like intelligence.
• There are more Large Language models showing up daily but the big five with most backing right now are:
  • • •  
    • ChatGPT (by OpenAI): Leading Model, multimodal, Search the web feature just added, advanced voice mode, supports Microsoft Copilot
    • • •  
    • Claude (Anthropic) : Relied on most by writers, partially multimodal (can analyze images), good for coding, new computer use agent
    • • •  
    • Gemini (Google): Partially multimodal, can work with video and search the web, starting to be integrated into google search.
    • • •  
    • Llama (Meta): Open Source, not yet multimodal
    • • •  
    • Grok (X.AI – accessed within X): Late entrant but catching up, image output with Flux has minimal guardrails

1. 1. Software that is AI-Powered Tools are being integrated into much of the software produced.  Some examples include the following (most have you sign in or use a google account) :
      1. Research : Perplexity, Semantic Scholar, ResearchRabbit.ai, scite.ai
      2. Summarizer: QuillBot, Scholarcy, NotebookLM
      3. Image and Visual Content Generators: DALL·E (by OpenAI), Adobe Firefly,  Stable Diffusion, Canva Magic Design, Krea.ai
      4. Presentations: Gamma, PowerModeAI
      5. Education: Poe, Quizlet, Characterai, Khanmingo, WolframAlpha..

Issues with AI use

• Ethical - information for models has been "scaped" often without permission from many sources
• Best Use - without guidance it is often used as a shortcut for learning
• Writing quality - this continues to improve with each iteration but is still based on the best next word prediction
• Bias - still biased based on the information used to train as well as the people used to fine tune them
• Privacy - still train on data inputted in (could be a big concern for researchers writing up their results)
• Prompt effectiveness - whole courses designed around making better prompts.  As tools evolve, the need for great prompting will diminish.  Generally prompts are more effective if you include information on who the AI is (role), the objective, context, format, style and constraints.  There is no perfect prompt and sometimes it is easier to just start with something and then add more requests to adjust the output until you get what you want.

AI Generated Formative Assessments

Use Large Language model to create recall practice questions

"You are an education expert in assessment.  Please create a 5 question multiple choice test on photosynthesis.  This is for freshman college students in a bioscience class.  Give the correct answer with an explanation and an explanation for each of the distractors as to what misunderstanding they are testing.  Create it in a format that I can easily copy into a word document."

Generating Analogies with AI

Generate solid analogies to help explaining difficult topics

"You are Max Planck the father of quantum mechanics.  I want to use your understanding of quantum mechanics to create 2 analogies for quantum entanglement.  This is for students in a freshman college physics class.  Use language that a high school student would understand."

Expert in the classroom

Ask a Large Language model to take the perspective of a historical figure in discussing a relevant topic

"You are Louis Riel.  You are writing this for freshman college students taking a course in Canadian History.  I would like you to respond to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission."

Other ways to use AI for deeper learning

1. Generate discussion prompts and questions that are open ended and high up on blooms taxonomy - "Transform this into a higher-order question that promotes critical thinking."

2. Help develop real-world problems that challenge student to think critically - "Create a complex business scenario where students must apply principles of supply and demand."

3. Generate opposing viewpoint or controversial statements to encourage critical evaluation - "Provide arguments for and against the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture".

4. Create case studies for analysis and problem solving exercises "Develop a case study about a healthcare organization facing cybersecurity threats."

5. Giving personalized learning support for students - "Explain 'supply and demand' to a High School student", and "Explain supply and demand to a graduate level economics student".

6. Developing research questions - "Help me formulate a research question on the impact of remote work on team productivity."

7. Metacognition - "Create a reflective question for students after completing a project on environmental sustainability."

8. Supporting project based learning - "Suggest a capstone project that integrates principles of economics and environmental science."

9. Performance based assessment - "You are an expert teacher, skilled in crafting unique educational assessments......"

10. Creating Exemplars - "I will upload an assignment and it's rubric.  I would like you to create an exemplar of a ...."

11. Unique discussion/writing prompts - "Create an image to signify the new relationship between United States and Russia"

12. Put your assignment into AI with the rubric.  See if it gives you the kind of output you are looking for.  Also, this will give you an idea of what students will give you if they just use AI.

13. Giving timely feedback to students 

14. Can be instructed to use strong pedagogy to support development of a lesson (including a script of high level questions.)

15. Could even be used to design an entire course (as a starting point.)

16. Require students to use AI on an assignment.  Have them document all their prompts and how they used the results.  Then have them reflect on what they learned doing it with this support.

Top Educational Uses

1. Generating Ideas
2. Research
3. Editing/Reviewing assignments
4. Summarizing publicly available information
5. Writing essays or reports

Non Educational Uses

1. Social Media Interaction
   • Engaging with AI chatbots on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram
2. Content Creation
   • Generating content for blogs, social media posts or creative writing
3. Voice Assistants
   • Interacting with AI assistants like Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant

1.  Interactive Learning Experiences
   • Engaging with AI-driven simulations or virtual labs
2. Personalized Learning Paths
   • Using AI platforms like Khanmingo that adapt to individual learning needs
3. Advance Research Support
   • Leveraging AI for data analysis and interpretation in research projects
   • Tools to focus on academic papers and support creating of citations
4. Critical Thinking
   • Using AI to challenge assumptions and provide alternative perspectives
   • Evaluate positives and negatives of feedback from AI
5. Brainstorming
   • Generate and refine ideas
6. Making Learning Stick
   • Generate review questions from notes to practice recall of previous materials
7. Improving Summarizing Skills
   • Get AI feedback on student created summaries
8. Used as a supportive writing tool to reflect on
   • Use tool to support at each stage of the writing process, documenting prompts used responses received and how the experience shaped their thinking
9. Used as a coach to improve writing (could use a prompt like the following)
   • "Please provide your original paragraph below" and wait for me to enter my paragraph, then proceed to the next step. 2. I will analyze your descriptive paragraph and suggest an area for improvement. Based on my suggestion, please provide a new detail or description to enhance the paragraph. 3. I will incorporate your new detail into the paragraph and display the paragraph so far. 4. We will repeat steps 2-3 four more times, each time focusing on a different aspect of the paragraph. 5. After five rounds of enhancement, I will present the final version of your improved paragraph.

(n.d.). From Threat to Opportunity: Empowering Teachers to Lead the AI Learning Revolution. Medium.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://medium.com/@chrislele/from-threat-to-opportunity-empowering-teachers-to-lead-the-ai-learning-revolution-871954ec0417

 (n.d.). Make AI Part of the Assignment. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://www.chronicle.com/article/make-ai-part-of-the-assignment?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_11299276_nl_Academe-Today_date_20241008&sra=true

(n.d.). Turning the Tables on AI. The Academic Platypus. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://michellekassorla.substack.com/p/turning-the-tables-on-ai

(n.d.). Ace Your Semester: Harnessing AI for a Head Start. Faculty Focus. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/ace-your-semester-harnessing-ai-for-a-head-start/

[Https://www.Youtube.com/User/Thewhartonschool/?Sub_confirmation=1]. Practical AI for Instructors and Students [Video]. Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZorvXYUZtRg

KPGM (n.d.). Students using generative AI confess they’re not learning as much. Https://Kpmg.com/ca/en/Home/Media/Press-Releases/2024/10. Retrieved November 8, 2024, from https://kpmg.com/ca/en/home/media/press-releases/2024/10/students-using-gen-ai-say-they-are-not-learning-as-much.html#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20survey%2C%20as,assignments%20(38%20per%20cent).

Mollick, E. (n.d.). A guide to prompting AI (for what it is worth). OneUsefulThing.org. Retrieved November 12, 2024, from https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/a-guide-to-prompting-ai-for-what

Pantana, J. (n.d.). A guide to prompting AI (for what it is worth). Jasonpantana.com. Retrieved November 12, 2024, from https://www.jasonpantana.com/blog/5-essential-elements-to-supercharge-your-ai-prompts