Iowa Technology & Education Connection

Webinar Recordings

ChatGPT: Exploring Potential & Pitfalls of AI in Education

ChatGPT is an AI-based conversational model that has recently gained significant attention in the educational world. It has the ability to generate human-like responses to text-based input such as writing you a song, telling a story, making lists, providing advice and even writing your lesson plans.

In this webinar, we’ll hear from a panel of education stakeholders (parent, coach, admin, etc.) to explore both the potential and pitfalls of ChatGPT. We will discuss and generate a variety of ideas for potential uses as well as discussing how we can help navigate potential misuse.

Join us to learn more about this powerful technology and how to harness its potential while avoiding its pitfalls.

Resources
ITEC is exploring how we might connect and continue the conversation around AI in education. In an effort to gauge interest and determine next steps, if you would like to be part of this potential future community and conversation fill out our interest form!

Want to expand your knowledge of AI and ChatGPT in education? Explore this Wakelet Collection of curated resources!

Webinar Conversation Highlights:

Co-host Andrew Fenstermaker was able to capture some of the highlights of each panelist’s answers to the questions posed. Below is a summary:

Question 1: What might be some potential ways that AI might enhance education from your lens (this is where you might share some ways you’ve personally used ChatGPT, some potential you’re seeing, etc.)

💡 Adam→ increase efficiencies of lower level tasks, (ex. Automate script creation), ask it to write a script which will provide a starting point but the “owner” of the prompt still has to review, test, etc. EFFICIENCY

 

💡 Wren→ will AI stop us from learning or doing the hard word? AI challenges→ opportunities for kids to investigate ChatGPT. Ask it four questions (1) something you don’t know much about then fact check it (2) Explain something impossible (ex. How to move a mountain) (3) Write something shady (4) Explain something you know a lot about and fact check it. Measure what kind of information it is giving us. ChatGPT doesn’t know everything. OPPORTUNITY→ Teach kids about digital literacy

 

💡 Tammy→ social studies, use ChatGPT, take standards and inquiry based unit, give to us at 2nd grade, then a 5th grade. Reading them over for ideas. Opened up discussion about differentiating. Translating content. Ideas for design challenges for middle school students. 

THEME→ Prompt then direct it to give at a specific grade level. Streamlines personalization

 

💡 Melissa→ making modifications to student work, launching point to get our thoughts started. Create outlines and provide to students. Sentence frames. 

 

💡 Aaron→ AI has shaken education as the institution. It is not about replacing human thinking. AI is here to augment the learning. Not about more or less work, but better work. We need to know how to interact with these tools. Garbage in and garbage out. We have to prepare. What are the outcomes we want to achieve? Chatbot→ can continue the conversation with it. Humans refine the words and augment what has been provided. Real-time feedback to not cheat the system but enhance the learning. 

 

💡 Zach→ Rubric scoring, teacher perspective, can’t take the human element out of it. This AI is the weakest it will ever be. As this continues to progress, we need to learn how to use it effectively. HS ELA teacher who has to grade hundreds of paper. Make time more focused with kids. Version History→ see copy/pasting

Question 2: What are some things to be mindful of or intentional about when integrating various AI opportunities?

💡 Zach→ Curipod: provides teachers with a starting point→ interactive presentation. Provides starting points but have to do fact checking. Teachers and students can leverage it but there needs to be fact checking along the way.

 

💡 Adam→ current generation of 3.5, it has supreme confidence in answers that are just wrong. Asked to write a biography of Caitlin Clark and it made many incorrect facts. As AI progresses, it will likely present even more of a challenge of “plagiarism”. Equity→ important opportunities AI can provide for learners and teachers, if blocked, then we are creating inequity.  

 

💡 Melissa→ Kids need a model/experience to learn. Kids need to understand how to appropriately use these tools so they can expand, grow and learn.   

 

💡 Wren→ there are schools that have blocked it but we need to be thinking about equity. What kind of a divide are we perpetuating? Some districts need a moment to pause, gather some insights and approach it with poise and intent. Deep Fakes, AI generated voice. So many tools available to do great things, but we need to figure out our fear and determine how we can get over it. We can’t just stop at this conversation. We have a mission to support our students and our fears can’t get in the way. 

 

💡 Aaron→ push back on education system as a whole. Pillars have been shaken. Excited→ ChatGPT as an opportunity to do what we have been talking about for decades but haven’t turned into reality. AI tool is not a silver bullet. If ChatGPT can allow us more time to be with kids. If ChatGPT can overcome DOK1 and allow us to get DOK2 and 3, we can’t burry our head and ignore the potential. Digital and Media literacy skills. Attitude and mindset→ can’t be resistant. 

 

💡 Tammy→ Equity, when we venture down the path of blocking, we are furthering gaps. Can’t lose site of the human element. You can steer ChatGPT to the results you want. Need to be mindful of bias.