ChatGPT is a type of language processing technology that uses artificial intelligence to generate human-like text responses to prompts given by a user. It is designed to provide users with a conversational experience like chatting with a real person. This capability sets it apart from other AI writing aids. But like those tools, ChatGPT can generate lengthy responses, especially to detailed, well-articulated questions and prompts.
The roles ChatGPT and other AI technologies will play in teaching and learning will emerge over time and are likely to vary according to individual course contexts. Although educators vary in their degree of concern versus excitement about AI, all agree that instructors will want to learn more about ChatGPT and other AI tools and decide what role these types of tools will play in their courses.
To get started, the Center for Transformative Teaching recommends beginning with advice from Nancy Gleason in ChatGPT Advice Academics Can Use Now from Inside Higher Ed:
- Become familiar with AI writing aids. ChatGPT is one among many that can generate blog posts, essays, and articles. ChatGPT is free of charge while it is in research preview mode where conversations with the system may be reviewed to improve the system.
- Consider these types of tools and what role they might play in your course. What tasks should students do without AI assistance? Are there situations in your course or discipline in which your students may need to know how to use AI effectively?
- Most importantly, talk with students about your expectations for their use of these tools in your courses.
The CTT has created Teaching and Generative Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT, which provides an overview of the technology, a quick guide to experimenting with it, and ideas for how teachers and students might use it.
- ChatGPT Advice Academics Can Use Now by Susan D'Agostino — An extensive article in which 11 academics propose ideas for “harnessing the potential and averting the risks” of AI technology in the classroom.
- AI Text Generators: Sources to Stimulate Discussion among Teachers by Anna Mills — A large collection of resources and articles sorted into several categories among which are Sample Academic Integrity Statements about Text Generators, Student Perspectives and Marketing to Students, and Understanding AI Text Generators/Large Language Models.
- ChatGPT: Understanding the new landscape and short-term solutions by Cynthia Alby — A resource in question/answer format that addresses many initial questions.
Additional Resources
- Collaborative Creative Writing with OpenAI’s ChatGPT by Andrew Mayne — A conversation with ChatGPT helps the human writer create a story by providing prompts.
- ChatGPT: Poems and Secrets by Jack Cushman — A director at Harvard’s Library Innovation Lab asks ChatGPT to write poetry in order to reveal its “opinions.”
- Tips for writing AI prompts that yield more useful output by Reid Robinson — A resource for GPT-3, a predecessor to ChatGPT, which is also helpful for interacting with ChatGPT.
- 7 lesser-known ChatGPT prompts that will transform your productivity by Alex Banks — A tweet thread that illustrates how to use ChatGPT for productivity purposes.
More details at: https://teaching.unl.edu/ai