How would your kid self react to the unveiling of ChatGPT? If you were in school right now, do you think you'd use it to help you with your work?
I bet the news rush of ChatGPT over the last few months hasn't shocked a lot of Gen Z.
AI has been influencing education for a minute.
If you have strong opinions on whether or not it has a place in learning and the edtech industry, you should remember that tech "helping students out" isn't brand new.
Students have been using AI to learn for awhile
AI has been giving students an edge for over a decade by
solving math equations typed into a website
computing uploaded screenshots of homework pages
answering open-ended questions on Google
That's right—the most popular search engine uses AI in every search. You've been using AI whether you realize it or not.
What's making ChatGPT ring the alarm bells is its complexity. It's a few steps ahead of Google.
Instead of combing the pages of Google results to look for a homework question, this AI brings the needle in the haystack right to your screen.
Honesty in education is one of the biggest questions raised when weighing the use of AI in the classroom.
The latest AI is penetrating the edtech market
Some AI integrations in education aren't about cheating at all. Prof Jim is a platform that turns textbook PDFs into lectures narrated by famous historical figures.
I don't know about you, but I would've been thrilled to learn "directly" from Cleopatra or Sacagawea every once in awhile.
The edtech founders of Quill and Presto shared how their products are leveraging AI to help students unlock the power of the written word, in a recent event hosted by StartED.
The founders are braced for students to take advantage of the tech, but also see a bright side:
1. There's an overlap between what AI and our students can do.
Once students master the basics, AI can take them over, letting students focus on learning more advanced skills.
2. We can develop safeguards to stop students from using AI as their own.
Teachers can look at student version history edits to see if the student is partnering with the AI, or letting it do their work.
3. Let students use AI to demonstrate how they're putting their thoughts together.
If they ask AI the right questions, they can get the right answers.
Through criticism, AI is making strides in the edtech market.
Channel your edtech kid to consider AI at your edtech job
So how would your kid self react to the unveiling of ChatGPT? You'd probably feel more open to testing it out than you might be now.
It's here whether you like it or not. It's impacting the edtech industry and eventually more and more kids across the world. We owe it to our industry and these kids to at least understand how the AI is making its impact.
Ready to give it a try?
Get comfortable with ChatGPT by giving the AI silly prompts like
give me life advice in Bill Maher's voice or
how many bagels fill up Madison Square Garden?
If ChatGPT is rumored to change the face of learning and the edtech industry, consider how it would impact your work. Maybe it could
automate a tedious email generation process.
find an open time in your calendar to schedule an appt.
aid a struggling brainstorming sesh.
As you get to know what it can do, try not to judge it as good or evil...yet.
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