Stanford’s 2023 AI Index Report — from aiindex.stanford.edu
On 04/11/2023,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Asia, business, colleges, community colleges, computer science, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, ethics, experimentation, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, platforms, policy, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, research, science, skills, society, the downsides of technology, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
On 03/31/2023,
in Adobe, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Australia, creativity, design, education technology, experimentation, graphics, innovation, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Canva’s New AI Wonder Tools — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan
A magic eraser, a branding kit, AI presentations, and more new features
Excerpt:
Canva launched a bunch of new features at a live event viewed by 1.5 million people globally. The Australian company is no longer an upstart. 125 million people use it monthly, including 13 million paid subscribers yielding $1.4 billion in revenue. Canva’s increasingly competing with Adobe to help people create eye-catching visuals. Here are its most useful new tricks.
On 03/31/2023,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, creativity, digital learning, experimentation, Google, ideas, innovation, Microsoft, productivity / tips and tricks, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
How to use AI to do practical stuff: A new guide — from oneusefulthing.substack.com by Ethan Mollick
People often ask me how to use AI. Here’s an overview with lots of links.
Excerpts:
We live in an era of practical AI, but many people haven’t yet experienced it, or, if they have, they might have wondered what the big deal is. Thus, this guide. It is a modified version of one I put out for my students earlier in the year, but a lot has changed. It is an overview of ways to get AI to do practical things.
…
I want to try to show you some of why AI is powerful, in ways both exciting and anxiety-producing.
Also see Ethan’s posting:
Power and Weirdness: How to Use Bing AI
Bing AI is a huge leap over ChatGPT, but you have to learn its quirks
On 03/31/2023,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, ideas, music, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, tools, United States, visualizing information,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
After seeing this…
“Make me an app”—just talk to your @Replit app to make software pic.twitter.com/U1v5m5Un1U
— Amjad Masad ? (@amasad) March 24, 2023
…I wondered:
- Could GPT-4 create the “Choir Practice” app mentioned below?
(Choir Practice was an idea for an app for people who want to rehearse their parts at home) - Could GPT-4 be used to extract audio/parts from a musical score and post the parts separately for people to download/practice their individual parts?
This line of thought reminded me of this posting that I did back on 10/27/2010 entitled, “For those institutions (or individuals) who might want to make a few million.”
And I want to say that when I went back to look at this posting, I was a bit ashamed of myself. I’d like to apologize for the times when I’ve been too excited about something and exaggerated/hyped an idea up on this Learning Ecosystems blog. For example, I used the words millions of dollars in the title…and that probably wouldn’t be the case these days. (But with inflation being what it is, heh…who knows!? Maybe I shouldn’t be too hard on myself.) I just had choirs in mind when I posted the idea…and there aren’t as many choirs around these days. 🙂
On 03/27/2023,
in 24x7x365 access, accessibility / UDL, active learning, adjunct faculty, colleges, community colleges, education technology, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning theories, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, teaching & learning, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
On 03/21/2023,
in 3D, Adobe, animation, art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, creativity, design, digital audio, digital photography, digital video, experimentation, graphics, media/film, multimedia, photography, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Meet Adobe Firefly. — from adobe.com
Experiment, imagine, and make an infinite range of creations with Firefly, a family of creative generative AI models coming to Adobe products.
Generative AI made for creators.
With the beta version of the first Firefly model, you can use everyday language to generate extraordinary new content. Looking forward, Firefly has the potential to do much, much more.
Also relevant/see:
Gen-2: The Next Step Forward for Generative AI — from research.runwayml.com
A multi-modal AI system that can generate novel videos with text, images, or video clips.
No lights. No camera. All action.Realistically and consistently synthesize new videos. Either by applying the composition and style of an image or text prompt to the structure of a source video (Video to Video). Or, using nothing but words (Text to Video). It’s like filming something new, without filming anything at all.
On 03/18/2023,
in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, art, assistive technologies, Augmented Reality (AR), creativity, education technology, memory, productivity / tips and tricks, special needs, tools,
by Daniel Christian
This AR Art App Helps You Paint Giant Murals — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick
Here’s another interesting item along the lines of emerging technologies:
AR-Powered Flashcards Offer A Fresh Spin On Learning — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick
Excerpt:
Each SmartCard features a special marker that, when scanned with a tablet, unlocks informative virtual content students can interact with using basic hand gestures and buttons. According to its developers, Justin Nappi and Sudiksha Mallick, SmartCards can be especially useful for neurodivergent students, including those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, or dyslexia.
On 03/18/2023,
in adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, assessment, colleges, community colleges, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, science, skills, teachers, teaching & learning, universities, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
On the K-12 side of things:
6 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Save Time — from edutopia.org by Todd Finley
Teachers can use the artificial intelligence tool to effectively automate some routine tasks.
Excerpt:
In the paragraphs that follow, I’ve divided these tasks into the following categories: planning instruction, handouts and materials, differentiation, correspondence, assessment, and writing instruction and feedback. Welcome to the revolution.
Lesson plans: Ask ChatGPT to write a lesson plan on, say, Westward Expansion. The tool composes assessments, activities, scaffolding, and objectives. Want that in the form of problem-based learning or revised for a flipped classroom? ChatGPT can adjust the lesson plan according to your instructions.
I’m a high school math and science teacher who uses ChatGPT, and it’s made my job much easier — from businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org by Aaron Mok; with thanks to Robert Gibson on LinkedIn for this resource
Excerpt:
- Shannon Ahern, a high school math and science teacher, was afraid that ChatGPT would take her job.
- But her mind changed after she started using the AI for class prep, which saved her hours of time.
- Here’s how Ahern is using ChatGPT to make her job easier, as told to Insider’s Aaron Mok.
On the higher education side of things:
Using AI to make teaching easier & more impactful — from oneusefulthing.substack.com by Ethan Mollick
Here are five strategies and prompts that work for GPT-3.5 & GPT-4
Excerpt:
But one thing that is not changing is the best way for people to learn. We have made large advances in recent years in understanding pedagogy – the science of learning. We know some of the most effective techniques for making sure material sticks and that it can be retrieved and used when needed most.
Unfortunately, many of these advanced pedagogical techniques are time-consuming to prepare, and many instructors are often overworked and do not have the resources and time to add them to their teaching repertoire. But AI can help. In the rush to deliver AI benefits directly to students, the role of teachers is often overlooked.
Teaching: What You Need to Know About ChatGPT — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie
Excerpt:
Digital literacy is more important than ever. Artificial-intelligence tools, and generative AI in particular, raise a host of ethical, political, economic, and social questions. Plus, this tech is soon going to be everywhere, including students’ future professions. (The technology behind ChatGPT, in fact, just got an upgrade this week.) Colleges need to figure out how to graduate digitally savvy students in all disciplines.
“The integration of technology into our lives is so pervasive that the restriction of education about AI to the computer scientists and the computer engineers makes no more sense than the restriction of taking English classes by English majors,” said Weber.
On 03/18/2023,
in active learning, adjunct faculty, adult learning, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, faculty, higher education, ideas, instructional design, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, liberal arts, pedagogy, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, skills, teaching & learning, universities, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Designing Virtual Edtech Faculty Development Workshops That Stick: 10 Guiding Principles — from er.educause.edu by Tolulope (Tolu) Noah
These ten principles offer guidance on ways to design and facilitate effective and engaging virtual workshops that leave faculty feeling better equipped to implement new edtech tools.
Excerpt:
I share here ten guiding principles that have shaped my design and facilitation of virtual synchronous edtech workshops. These guiding principles are based on lessons learned in both my previous role as a professional learning specialist at a major technology company and my current role as a faculty developer at a university. In the spirit of James M. Lang’s book Small Teaching, my hope is that the principles shared here may prompt reflection on the small yet impactful moves academic technology specialists, instructional designers, and educational developers can make to create virtual learning experiences whereby faculty leave feeling better equipped to implement the edtech tools they have learned.
Somewhat relevant/see:
Evidence-Based Learning Design 101 — by Dr. Philippa Hardman
A practical guide on how to bake the science of learning into the art of course design
Excerpt:
As I reflect on the experience and what I’ve learned so far, I thought I’d share a response to the question I probably get asked most: what process do you use to go from an idea to a designed learning experience?
So, let’s do a rapid review of the four step process I and my bootcamp alumni use – aka the DOMS™? process – to go from zero to a designed learning experience.
On 03/18/2023,
in 24x7x365 access, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, content development, aggregation, repositories, emerging technologies, experimentation, Google, Microsoft, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, usability, user experience (UX), vendors, writing,
by Daniel Christian
Copilot — A whole new way to work — from news.microsoft.com
- Copilot in Word writes, edits, summarizes and creates right alongside people as they work.
- Copilot in PowerPoint enables the creation process by turning ideas into a designed presentation through natural language commands.
- Copilot in Excel helps unlock insights, identify trends or create professional-looking data visualizations in a fraction of the time.
- Copilot in Outlook can help synthesize and manage the inbox to allow more time to be spent on actually communicating.
- Copilot in Teams makes meetings more productive with real-time summaries and action items directly in the context of the conversation.
- Copilot in Power Platform will help developers of all skill levels accelerate and streamline development with low-code tools with the introduction of two new capabilities within Power Apps and Power Virtual Agents.
- Business Chat brings together data from across documents, presentations, email, calendar, notes and contacts to help summarize chats, write emails, find key dates or even write a plan based on other project files.
Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot – your copilot for work — from blogs.microsoft.com by Jared Spataro
“Today marks the next major step in the evolution of how we interact with computing, which will fundamentally change the way we work and unlock a new wave of productivity growth,” said Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “With our new copilot for work, we’re giving people more agency and making technology more accessible through the most universal interface — natural language.”
Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot — A whole new way to work — from microsoft.com by Colette Stallbaumer
Excerpt:
Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365 in two ways. It works alongside you, embedded in the Microsoft 365 apps you use every day—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and more—to unleash creativity, unlock productivity, and uplevel skills. Today, we’re also announcing an entirely new experience: Business Chat. Business Chat works across the LLM, the Microsoft 365 apps, and your data—your calendar, emails, chats, documents, meetings, and contacts—to do things you’ve never been able to do before. You can give it natural language prompts like “tell my team how we updated the product strategy” and it will generate a status update based on the morning’s meetings, emails, and chat threads.
A new era for AI and Google Workspace — from workspace.google.com by Johanna Voolich Wright
Excerpt:
As we embark on this next journey, we will be bringing these new generative-AI experiences to trusted testers on a rolling basis throughout the year, before making them available publicly.
With these features, you’ll be able to:
- draft, reply, summarize, and prioritize your Gmail
- brainstorm, proofread, write, and rewrite in Docs
- bring your creative vision to life with auto-generated images, audio, and video in Slides
- go from raw data to insights and analysis via auto-completion, formula generation, and
- contextual categorization in Sheets
- generate new backgrounds and capture notes in Meet
- enable workflows for getting things done in Chat
Here’s a look at the first set of AI-powered features, which make writing even easier.
On 03/14/2023,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, colleges, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, IT in HE, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, teaching & learning, tools, UK, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
ChatGPT as a teaching tool, not a cheating tool — from timeshighereducation.com by Jennifer Rose
How to use ChatGPT as a tool to spur students’ inner feedback and thus aid their learning and skills development
Excerpt:
Use ChatGPT to spur student’s inner feedback
One way that ChatGPT answers can be used in class is by asking students to compare what they have written with a ChatGPT answer. This draws on David Nicol’s work on making inner feedback explicit and using comparative judgement. His work demonstrates that in writing down answers to comparative questions students can produce high-quality feedback for themselves which is instant and actionable. Applying this to a ChatGPT answer, the following questions could be used:
- Which is better, the ChatGPT response or yours? Why?
- What two points can you learn from the ChatGPT response that will help you improve your work?
- What can you add from your answer to improve the ChatGPT answer?
- How could the assignment question set be improved to allow the student to demonstrate higher-order skills such as critical thinking?
- How can you use what you have learned to stay ahead of AI and produce higher-quality work than ChatGPT?
On 03/07/2023,
in animation, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital storytelling, experimentation, graphics, media/film, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, story, storytelling,
by Daniel Christian