Introducing Q-Chat, the world’s first AI tutor built with OpenAI’s ChatGPT — from quizlet.com by Lex Bayer
Excerpt:
Modeled on research demonstrating that the most effective form of learning is one-on-one tutoring1, Q-Chat offers students the experience of interacting with a personal AI tutor in an effective and conversational way. Whether they’re learning French vocabulary or Roman History, Q-Chat engages students with adaptive questions based on relevant study materials delivered through a fun chat experience. Pulling from Quizlet’s massive educational content library and using the question-based Socratic method to promote active learning, Q-Chat has the ability to test a student’s knowledge of educational content, ask in-depth questions to get at underlying concepts, test reading comprehension, help students learn a language and encourage students on healthy learning habits.
Mixed media online project serves as inspiration for student journalists — from jeadigitalmedia.org by Michelle Balmeo
Excerpt:
If you’re on the hunt for inspiration, go check out Facing Life: Eight stories of life after life in California’s prisons.
This project, created by Pendarvis Harshaw and Brandon Tauszik, has so many wonderful and original storytelling components, it’s the perfect model for student journalists looking for ways to tell important stories online.
ChatGPT: 30 incredible ways to use the AI-powered chatbot — from interestingengineering.com by Christopher McFadden
You’ve heard of ChatGPT, but do you know how to use it? Or what to use it for? If not, then here are some ideas to get you started.
Excerpts:
- It’s great at writing CVs and resumes
- It can also read and improve the existing CV or resume
- It can help you prepare for a job interview
- ChatGPT can even do some translation work for you
- Have it draft you an exam
Chatbots’ Time Has Come. Why Now? — from every.to by Nathan Baschez
Narratives have network effects
Excerpt:
There are obvious questions like “Are the AI’s algorithms good enough?” (probably not yet) and “What will happen to Google?” (nobody knows), but I’d like to take a step back and ask some more fundamental questions: why chat? And why now?
Most people don’t realize that the AI model powering ChatGPT is not all that new. It’s a tweaked version of a foundation model, GPT-3, that launched in June 2020. Many people have built chatbots using it before now. OpenAI even has a guide in its documentation showing exactly how you can use its APIs to make one.
So what happened? The simple narrative is that AI got exponentially more powerful recently, so now a lot of people want to use it. That’s true if you zoom out. But if you zoom in, you start to see that something much more complex and interesting is happening.
This leads me to a surprising hypothesis: perhaps the ChatGPT moment never would have happened without DALL-E 2 and Stable Diffusion happening earlier in the year!
The Most Important Job Skill of This Century — from theatlantic.com by Charlie Warzel
Your work future could depend on how well you can talk to AI.
Excerpt:
Like writing and coding before it, prompt engineering is an emergent form of thinking. It lies somewhere between conversation and query, between programming and prose. It is the one part of this fast-changing, uncertain future that feels distinctly human.
The ChatGPT AI hype cycle is peaking, but even tech skeptics don’t expect a bust — from cnbc.com by Eric Rosenbaum
Key Points:
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with new funding from Microsoft, has grown to over one million users faster than many of dominant tech companies, apps and platforms of the past decade.
- Unlike the metaverse concept, which had a hype cycle based on an idea still nebulous to many, generative AI as tech’s next big thing is being built on top of decades of existing machine learning already embedded in business processes.
- We asked top technology officers, specifically reaching out to many at non-tech sector companies, to break down the potential and pitfalls of AI adoption.
ChatGPT and the college curriculum — out at youtube.com by Bryan Alexander with Maria Anderson
AI in EDU: Know the Risks –– from linkedin.com by Angela Maiers
Take Your Words From Lecture to Page — from chronicle.com by Rachel Toor
What compelling lecturers do, and how their techniques can translate to good writing.
Excerpts:
Thing is, many of the moves that the best lecturers make on the stage can translate to the page and help you draw in readers. That is especially important in writing textbooks and other work for general readers. If you can bring the parts of yourself that work in the classroom to the prose, you will delight readers as much as you do your students.
Narrative can be key. Data and research aren’t enough in either the classroom or on the page. People like to be told stories. If you want to be persuasive in both realms, use narrative to make arguments. Don’t forget that much scholarly work is really a quest. What journey can you take a reader on?
…
It’s a performance on the page, too. A great lecture is a performance. So is great writing.
…
Raise real questions the reader will want answers to.
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Beyond Courses: Instructional Approaches in 2022 — from learningguild.com by Jane Bozarth
Excerpts (emphasis DSC):
In researching “upskilling for L&D practitioners” earlier this year, Learning Guild members were asked what they feel has been the biggest shift in their work over time: While technology has driven much change, sometimes seemingly exponentially, nearly everyone talked about a different sort of shift. This was true even of those who landed on the younger end of the experience spectrum. According to respondents, the biggest change is the move away from the idea that the primary role of L&D is to create “courses.” Technology changed and became easier to use, enabling development of myriad digital solutions. As noted in that report, respondents viewed this change as welcome and positive.
…
When asked what other types of content respondents created to be delivered OUTSIDE of a traditional course, the most common responses were creating video and job aids/performance support materials. Microlearning and curated content were also frequently mentioned, and curated collections of existing material was popular with those engaged in traditional design.
Also relevant/see:
Games, Organizing, & Motivation: ID Links 10/25/22 — from christytuckerlearning.com by Christy Tucker
Curated links on games built in Twine, storytelling, organization, useful tools, motivation, and transitioning from teaching to ID.
From DSC:
Under the Storytelling and CYOA books section, it was interesting to see the Random Plot Generator, where Christy wrote: “A writing prompt tool to generate two characters, a setting, situation, theme, and character action. This could be a fun way to start scenarios if you’re feeling stuck. h/t Jean Marrapodi.”
I thought this might be a good tool for developing writers, improv actors, and likely others as well! 🙂
Also from Christy Tucker, see:
- Voice Over and Video in Branching Scenarios
When should you use voice over and video in branching scenarios? Use them for stable content and when multimedia improve skill transfer.
If the content is very stable and unlikely to change much over time, voice over might make sense in a branching scenario. Investing in creating video also makes more sense for more stable content and skills than for something that changes every 6 months.
A Brilliant MIT Professor Shared 10 Simple Rules That Will Teach You How to Give a Great Speech — from inc.com by Justin Bariso
Excerpts:
How much would your life change if people valued all of your ideas?
In a recorded lecture that’s been viewed over 13 million times, MIT professor Patrick Winston takes a deep dive into how to be a better speaker. He explains that your success in life depends on your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas — in that order.
His point? No matter how amazing your ideas are, no one cares unless you can convey them in a clear, compelling manner — and with emotional intelligence.
Use an empowerment promise to explain to your listeners exactly what you can teach them, how they will benefit, and why it’s important.
Nikolas Badminton – Elevate Festival 2022 Keynote — futurist.com by Nikolas Badminton
Excerpts/words/phrases:
- Shifting from “What is?” to “What if? (i.e., paradigm shifts)
- Megatrends
- Potential futures
- Signals of change
- Scenarios
- Trajectories
- Think about the good as well as the bad
- Telling stories
- Black swans/elephants
- Making your organization more profitable and resilient
Arts Integration and STEAM Resources for K-12 Educators
Official Trailer (Art Works for Teachers)
Excerpt:
Introducing the Art Works for Teacher Podcast Trailer! Get a quick sneak peek at what you can expect from this new show, launching September 22, 2022. New episodes will be available each Thursday on your favorite podcast platform, on YouTube, and right here on our site.
From DSC:
Along these lines, also see WEST MICHIGAN CENTER FOR ARTS + TECHNOLOGY. Such a learning environment builds skills and creativity while supercharging participation and engagement!
Augmented Books Are On The Way According To Researchers — from vrscout.com by Kyle Melnick
Excerpt:
Imagine this. You’re several chapters into a captivating novel when a character from an earlier book makes a surprise appearance. You swipe your finger across their name on the page at which point their entire backstory is displayed on a nearby smartphone, allowing you to refresh your memory before moving forward.
This may sound like science fiction, but researchers at the University of Surrey in England say that the technology described above is already here in the form of “a-books” (augmented reality books).
The potential use-cases for such a technology are virtually endless. As previously mentioned, a-books could be used to deliver character details and plot points for a variety of fictional works. The same technology could also be applied to textbooks, allowing students to display helpful information on their smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs with the swipe of a finger.
From DSC:
- How might instructional designers use this capability?
- How about those in theatre/drama?
- Educational gaming?
- Digital storytelling?
- Interaction design?
- Interface design?
- User experience design?
Also see:
Attend a metaverse job fair in VR later this month: https://t.co/gE1VIDewBT pic.twitter.com/l4t5RgZ9xa
— VRScout (@VRScout) August 6, 2022
Matthew Ball on the metaverse: We’ve never seen a shift this enormous — protocol.com by Janko Roettgers
The leading metaverse theorist shares his thoughts on the sudden rise of the concept, its utility for the enterprise and what we still get wrong about the metaverse.
Excerpts:
What are the biggest misconceptions about the metaverse?
First, the idea that the metaverse is immersive virtual reality, such as an Oculus or Meta Quest. That’s an access device. It would be akin to saying the mobile internet is a smartphone.
We should think of the metaverse as perhaps changing the devices we use, the experiences, business models, protocols and behaviors that we enjoy online. But we’ll keep using smartphones, keyboards. We don’t need to do all video conferences or all calls in 3D. It’s supplements and complements, doesn’t replace everything.
Also relevant/see:
A former Amazon exec thinks Disney will win the metaverse — from protocol.com by
Excerpt:
This month, Ball is publishing his book, “The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything.” The work explains in detail what the metaverse is all about and which shifts in tech, business and culture need to fall into place for it to come into existence.
How will the metaverse change Hollywood? In his book, Ball argues that people tend to underestimate the changes new technologies will have on media and entertainment.
- Instead of just seeing a movie play out in 360 degrees around us, we’ll want to be part of the movie and play a more active role.
- One way to achieve that is through games, which have long blurred the lines between storytelling and interactivity. But Ball also predicts there will be a wide range of adjacent content experiences, from virtual Tinder dates in the “Star Wars” universe to Peloton rides through your favorite movie sets.
Addendum on 7/24/22:
Neurodiversity, Inclusion And The Metaverse — from workdesign.com by Derek McCallum
Excerpt:
Innovation in virtual and augmented reality platforms and the vast opportunities connected to the metaverse are driving innovation in nearly every industry. In the workplace, future-focused companies are increasingly exploring ways to use this nascent technology to offer workers more choices and better support for neurodiverse employees.
It would be nearly impossible to list all the challenges and opportunities associated with this technology in a single article, so I’ll keep things focused on an area that is top-of-mind right now as many of us start to make our way back into the office—the workplace. The truth is, while we can use our expertise and experience to anticipate outcomes, no one truly knows what the metaverse will become and what the wide-ranging effects will be. At the moment, the possibilities are exciting and bring to mind more questions than answers. As a principal and hands-on designer in a large, diverse practice, my hope is that we will be able to collectively harness the inherent opportunities of the metaverse to support richer, more accessible human experiences across all aspects of the built environment, and that includes the workplace.
Best Sites and Apps for Digital Storytelling — from techlearning.com by Diana Restifo
Digital storytelling can help boost communication and presentation skills
Excerpt:
…storytelling is a great way for kids to learn to love reading and writing. But almost any school subject can be considered through a dramatic frame, from history to geography to science. Even math can be taught through narrative (word problems, anyone?). Most importantly, storytelling gives kids the opportunity to be inventive with language, graphics, and design, and to share their creations with others.
The following sites and apps for storytelling range from basic to advanced. Many are designed for educators or include guides for use in education. And while most are paid products, the prices are generally reasonable and nearly every platform offers a free trial or free basic account.
6 best classroom noise meters for teachers — from educatorstechnology.com by Med Kharbach
Excerpt:
One of the effective ways to monitor and reduce noise levels in classrooms is by making noise visible. Enabling students to visualize their noise raises awareness to their sound levels and makes them noise conscious. There are several noise meter tools and apps to use in your classroom to bring down students noise and therefore help in creating optimal learning experiences. Below is a collection of some of the best noise meters for classroom use. They are simple, easy to use, and cost-effective.
Digital age classroom projects — from thetechedvocate.org by Matthew Lynch
Excerpt:
Classroom learning today has left the era of flipping through textbooks trying to be on the same page with the teacher, though not for every class lesson. Educators today are seizing the opportunities of digital devices and media to expand learning opportunities beyond pencil and paper homework. Also, assessment is not just a multiple-choice test.
Consider trying one of these projects:
The Education of Incarcerated Youth with Disabilities Ep.14 — from edcircuit.com
Excerpt:
The School Justice Project (SJP) champions an extremely vulnerable population: incarcerated youth with disabilities. The SJP’s mission is to ensure every learner, in or out of prison facilities, receives the education they were promised and deserve. Their current class action lawsuit against the DC prison system underscores the impact of their efforts. Featured guest, Claire Blumenson, pulls no punches as she forces us to look, and not to look away, in this pivotal moment.
We are educators, parents, siblings, and friends who aren’t satisfied with the quality of the content our students are exposed to. We know they deserve better, and are committed to bringing authentic, engaging, diverse and accessible content to all learners.
Business Leaders Say Computer Science Needs to Be A Core Subject — from edsurge.com by Daniel Mollenkamp
Excerpt:
[On July 12], a collection of more than 500 prominent business, education and nonprofit leaders called on states to update their K-12 curriculum to make computer science a core subject.
In a letter sent to governors from all fifty states, they write, “computer science provides an essential foundation—not only for careers in technology, but for every career in today’s world,” and call upon state leaders to update curriculum to ensure that all students have an opportunity to learn computer science in school.
What is Microsoft Sway and How Can it Be Used to Teach? Tips & Tricks — from techlearning.com by Luke Edwards
Microsoft Sway is a presentation tool that works really well for teaching
Excerpt:
Microsoft Sway is the company’s alternative to PowerPoint as a presentation tool that embraces collaborative working. As such, this is a powerful system for teachers and students to use in the classroom and beyond.
The idea behind Sway is to offer a super simple setup that allows anybody to create presentation slideshows. This makes it good for both younger students and teachers for in-class or online-based presenting.
For a somewhat related item, see:
- [Teacher Tips] The Pros and Cons of Popular Instructional Strategies — from blog.edmentum.com
Exploring some different instructional strategies and discovering how to incorporate them into the classroom process can rekindle a love affair with teaching. Finding the right instructional strategy to fit your classroom can make a world of difference to your students by allowing them to make meaningful connections with what they are learning. Take a look at a few different strategies, and see which one might suit your students this academic year.