Ideas for AI in the classroom - AI Text Generation

Mid 2022, my colleagues and I became aware of AI text generation using OpenAI. As educators, a number of staff were immediately concerned about potential 'AI plagiarism'. As with many other people whose lives were about to be impacted by innovation change, the first reaction by a few was to batten down the hatches and suggest the removal of tech from classrooms. All assessed work should be handwritten under exam conditions, they said. An understandable reaction and I have written about the solution in my post on Milestones.  What I'm moving onto in this post are some ideas that demonstrate the huge potential of AI text generation for learning.

AI text generation using OpenAI has the potential to revolutionize the way students interact with technology and learn. By generating text from user input, AI text generation can be used for a wide variety of purposes. They can easily be adapted for use in the classroom. I will not be able to identify all use case scenarios - these are coming thick and fast as educators start to experiment with the technology. But I will go through a number I have developed myself or am aware other educators are using.

Teaching students about bias

It can be difficult to teach students how to recognise bias. If a student is familiar with a media source, they may not be aware of bias being present. I realised with the advent of  ChatGPT that it could rewrite text to remove bias.

To do this activity, you need to locate a source, and extract the text omitting any extraneous info such as image credits or adverts. I used the OneNote Clipper for this and then did a text-only paste into Word for the editing.

You then enter the prompt Please rewrite this article without bias: and then paste in the complete article. It will then condense the article to the basic facts.

I tried this today using an article in The Sun about Prince Harry and William (you can find the source article here).

The output from ChatGPT was the following:

Prince Harry's upcoming book, "Spare," is expected to address the conflict between him and his older brother, Prince William. The book, which is set to be published next week, is expected to provide a detailed account of their falling out and Harry's feelings of being unfairly treated as the "spare" to William, the heir to the throne. The book is being ghostwritten by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist JR Moehringer and is expected to delve into Harry's resentment towards William's perceived preferential treatment due to his higher place in the line of succession, as well as the impact of Princess Diana's death on Harry. A TV interview with Harry about the book is expected to air on Sunday, two days before the book's publication.

If you compare the before and after, the article has been cut to the very basics. The two versions can then be compared, and students directed to focus on why sections were removed or altered.

There are websites (such as Biasly.com) that provide a rating for online content to identify biased content. This can be used to find appropriate articles.

Providing Exemplar Exam Answers

AI text generation is powerful enough to be able to work out the answers to some (but not all) exam questions. I tried this with a recent science exam - posting the question given in a real exam paper where the mark scheme had not yet been made available. It typed out a good answer:

Now, you need to remember AI is an unreliable narrator. The first time I did this, the answer was incorrect, so care is needed to check the answer. But, even then, incorrect answers can still be used in the classroom. For example, in the past, I have gotten permission from my students to use their incorrect answers in class. Students in the current cohort would circulate around the room to write better answers. Using AI, I can generate these answers rapidly with deliberate errors in them for the students to identify.  Plus, there is no danger of embarrassing a past student.

Personal Mentoring

I am learning Te Reo Māori as a second language, attending an in-person class. I need to take time to process what I hear in class, as do many of my own students. There are times when I have missed a nuance or misunderstood what the teacher has said. This led me to use AI as my learning assistant.

...this is potentially the biggest positive use of AI in the classroom.

Using language learning as an example, I tested it with a phrase for asking someone whether they wanted a cup of tea. The result was different to what I had expected, so I asked it what the difference between the two phrases was. This is what I got back:

In Te Reo Māori, the phrase "Me hiahia koe te kapu tī?" can be translated as "Would you like a cup of tea?", while "Kei te hiahia koe ki te kapu tī?" can be translated as "Do you want a cup of tea?".

The main difference between these two phrases is the verb tense being used. "Me hiahia koe te kapu tī?" is in the present tense, indicating that the speaker is asking about the listener's current desire for a cup of tea. "Kei te hiahia koe ki te kapu tī?" is in the present continuous tense, indicating that the speaker is asking about the listener's ongoing or habitual desire for a cup of tea.

Both phrases convey a similar meaning and can be used to ask someone if they would like a cup of tea, but the specific tense used may change the connotation slightly. For example, "Me hiahia koe te kapu tī?" might be more suitable for a casual or spontaneous request, while "Kei te hiahia koe ki te kapu tī?" might be more suitable for a more formal or planned request.

This is an example of just-in-time support that generally would require 1:1 intervention by the teacher or a support assistant. It is not restricted to language learning either. A student could ask questions about something they have read in a book or on screen- e.g. what does X mean when they said this?

I think that this is potentially the biggest positive use of AI in the classroom. It can easily be used in classes by students and could lead to increased learning quality and speed. I am learning Te Reo Māori faster now and will apply this to my other areas of interest.

Someone Else's Shoes

Getting students to put themselves into the shoes of someone else with a different viewpoint can be difficult. I have run activities where students have been given roles, such as environmentalist, oil company exec, government minister etc. It can be time-consuming to generate content that accurately reflects those positions. AI can be used either by staff or by the students themselves to help create realistic roles that are not stereotypical.

Improve Writing

As mentioned, AI is an unreliable narrator. It also writes responses that are devoid of a 'voice'. Basic responses produced by AI can be generated, and the class asked to improve the writing - in style and voice.

You can also use it to generate written work with specific phrasing, e.g. as a pirate, a Glaswegian or an Australian!  This means that the work can be analysed to see what parts of language make it identifiable as a pirate etc. This can also be used to generate interesting content for student worksheets or e-resources.

E.g.

Arrr, ye can use it to generate written work with specific phrasings, like a scurvy pirate! This means ye can analyze the language to see what makes it sound like a bloody pirate. Ye can also use it to create interesting content for student worksheets or e-resources, ye scallywags!

All in all, AI text generation has the potential to revolutionize the way students and teachers interact with technology and create content. I hope these examples inspire you to come up with other innovative ways to use AI text generation with your classes. If you do, please let me know!

Next Time...

I've already touched on some ways teachers can support students in this post. Next time I will go through ways that teachers can make use of AI to reduce workload. See you then!