Is the hum of Artificial Intelligence present in your classroom? I’ve tried to make it a part of my role as an instructional designer and as an adjunct instructor. From crafting workshops to unlocking the untapped potential of AI-driven brainstorming sessions, my journey with ChatGPT is closer to a rollercoaster ride. I’ve had some successes and some failures, but I continue to climb the hill towards integrating Generative AI into the very fabric of teaching and learning.

Artificial Intelligence is now a part of our world. We use it when we ask Siri for the weather forecast or when we type a new restaurant into our phone to find directions. We’ve been using some form of AI for years on a regular basis; it’s just a part of how we operate in our daily lives. Yet, when ChatGPT and other Generative AI (GenAI) models made headlines, we weren’t sure how they might become part of our daily lives. 

Although many have not tried to use these new tools, others are becoming more familiar with their use and capabilities. No matter where you are with your understanding of GenAI, they are here to stay and will impact our everyday lives including our jobs. 

The education world has been struggling with how and if to use GenAI technology. As with any new tool, some instructors are early adopters while others question its use or dismiss it entirely. I’ve been an early adopter. I believe it will significantly change how we teach and how we learn, so I want to be on the cutting edge of this change. One of my goals for creating these blogs is to get more people interested in how these tools can help with teaching and reduce workload. 

When I first used ChatGPT and tried some basic  prompts,  the responses I received were sub-par. I asked the Large Learning Model (LLM) for help with marketing a workshop I had created for faculty. The response sounded like a commercial for a kids’ Saturday morning TV show. The tone of it was so over the top, I feared  no one would take the workshop seriously. However, I kept prompting ChatGPT to tone it down a bit and eventually received a short paragraph that clearly described the workshop. I only had to revise a couple of words for it to sound more like what I wanted. 

I don’t think my first experience with using the tool saved me any time since I had to keep prompting the tool in order to get it how I wanted. I’m pretty sure I could have written it on my own much faster. But, I kept playing with ChatGPT for other tasks and started to get the hang of it. My favorite use of the tool is its brainstorming capabilities.  I used it to brainstorm ideas on how to begin a class about understanding credibility, relevancy, and currency when conducting research. I received ten different ideas. After choosing one of the ideas, I asked ChatGPT to provide sample articles for my students to explore. It gave me ten articles, brief summaries, and explanations on their credibility. In under five minutes I had a class activity for my students. It would have taken me hours to find the articles and determine the credibility for each. I was impressed with how much time it saved me and the quality of the activity. 

I do want to caution people about hallucinations. ChatGPT and other GenAI tools hallucinate, which is basically making up responses. Of the ten articles I received from the brainstorming activity, one did not exist. I found all of the other articles, but I could not find one of the articles although it sounded legitimate. Still, nine articles is better than no articles, and it saved me an incredible amount of time. 

The brainstorming capabilities of ChatGPT continue to impress me. Often the ideas it suggests lead me into a new direction. It has opened me to more creative ideas, so I will continue to ask for more ideas. I’m also getting better at writing prompts and explaining exactly what I need. Writing prompts for AI is a skill in itself, but I learn more each time time I try. I’m still not in the habit of turning to the tool for everything I do, but I am beginning to explore other ways to use it. 

Reflecting on the integration of Generative AI into my educational toolkit, the evolution has been both fascinating and transformative. As an early adopter, the initial hurdles with ChatGPT’s responses showcased its learning curve. Despite the early skepticism, persevering through prompts led to a revelation: the true power lies in its unparalleled brainstorming capabilities. From generating innovative class activities in minutes to effortlessly unearthing relevant articles, ChatGPT became more than a tool—it became a collaborator in my teaching journey.

As I close this blog, I want to be transparent. I wrote the entire blog except for the last paragraph (the paragraph above this one). I asked ChatGPT to give me suggestions to improve my blog. It told me to begin with a hook and to add a concluding paragraph that summarized my main points. It had a few other suggestions that I completely ignored. I wrote the introductory paragraph with a hook and then asked ChatGPT to write the concluding paragraph. I didn’t change anything so you could see what it does. I think it is a solid paragraph, but it did not capture my voice and tone; it’s a little stiff. What do you think?