This week, we discussed the role of AI in education. AI is a significant topic for educators to explore. Students now have access to an extremely powerful informational tool. For example, if I were to assign a short story homework assignment, I can expect that some students might use an AI tool, like ChatGPT, to write a short story for them. Instead, I could provide a short story for students to identify literary devices. I could also ask students to produce a short story during class time. If students are writing short stories in class, I can ensure that they are creatively producing their own work.
“Original sonnet by Chat GPT” by readerwalker is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
How students are using AI should be strongly considered by educators when designing their classes. That being said, educators should also consider how they can utilize AI tools to enhance classroom learning. AI can be used to brainstorm lesson plans and grading rubrics. I am not saying that educators should blindly use lesson plans designed by ChatGPT. However, I do think educators can use ChatGPT or other AI tools to come up with ideas that they critically analyze and possibly incorporate certain ideas into their teaching. It is the responsibility of the educator to critically use AI and this is something that can and, in my opinion, should be modeled to our students. I think that it is naive to think that our students will not use AI to complete certain tasks that we assign. Therefore, we should be teaching students how to use AI in a responsible way that extends learning rather than impeding learning opportunities.