Experiment with LLMs to Build Your Comfort
- ChatGPT 3.5. This is the free version of ChatGPT that came out in November 2022. It’s very fast but it’s not connected to the internet. If you ask it to look up anything beyond 2021, it will get it wrong (and may even lie about it).
- ChatGPT 4.0. This is the new version of ChatGPT, available for a fee. It’s very powerful and the most capable of the models. It’s also not connected to the internet, but it tends to be more accurate about what it knows and what it doesn’t.
- Bing AI. This LLM is connected to the internet. If you ask it to look something up, it will produce links to online content. In “Creative Mode,” it uses the same advanced AI model as ChatGPT 4.0. “Balanced” and “Precise” mode results are not as good for most teaching tasks, as they use less powerful models.
- Google Bard. Google’s LLM is not connected to the internet and is not as good as the other models. Future versions may be more powerful.
- Anthropic Claude. This model is also not connected to the internet, but it is very good at writing tasks, though it’s not as popular as the others.
Educators have a hard job. They must be experts on content, pedagogy, and class management. They must get students’ attention and keep it. And they must do all this while planning lessons, keeping track of student performance, providing instruction to students at various skill levels, and pushing students to think critically about what they’re learning.
Simply put, teachers are at the center of education, and their ability to apply effective pedagogy remains key to successful classes.
But preparing pedagogical techniques is time-consuming, and instructors are often overworked. This is where generative artificial intelligence (AI) can help. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have shown considerable promise in helping teachers improve classroom outcomes and reduce workload.
Used thoughtfully and intentionally, AI can support teachers in the implementation of strategies that would otherwise take prohibitive amounts of time and effort to create. Here, we’re sharing more details about what LLMs are and how you can use them as knowledgeable teaching assistants—teaching assistants who have access to vast resources, but who also tend to lie to please you.
Let ChatGPT Be Your Teaching Assistant
Artificial intelligence (AI) panic is spreading across the education sector. The newest wave of generative AI tools, released without guidance or clear suggestions for educators late last year, might be among the biggest and fastest transformations to hit academia. Its rapid adoption instantly challenges the existence of a valuable and widely used type of assignment—the essay—along with dozens of other assignment types in fields from programming to poetry.
Cheating is an obvious concern among educators. Evaluations may require a return to oral exams and writing longhand in exam books. Or maybe AI-written text will be identifiable by other AIs. Or assignment types will adjust to the new reality. Either way, the cheating problem will be solved eventually.
But focusing on the problems distracts us from the opportunities AI can provide—including helping us teach in new ways. That starts with educators becoming familiar with AI tools, especially large language models (LLMs) like those underlying ChatGPT and OpenAI Playground, and taking time to experiment with these systems and get a sense of what they can and cannot do.
Why All Our Classes Suddenly Became AI Classes
Unlocking the Power of AI: How Tools Like ChatGPT Can Make Teaching Easier and More Effective
