Deepfakes: An evidentiary tsunami! — fromthebrainyacts.beehiiv.com by Josh Kubicki

Excerpt: (emphasis DSC):

I’ve written and spoken about this before but the rise of deepfakes is going to have a profound impact on courts throughout the world. This week we saw three major deepfake stories.

Whether you are a lawyer or not, this topic will impact you. So, please consider these questions as we will need to have answers for each one very soon (if not now).

  1. How will we establish a reliable and consistent standard to authenticate digital evidence as genuine and not altered by deepfake technology?
  2. Will the introduction of deepfakes shift the traditional burdens of proof or production, especially when digital evidence is introduced?
  3. Will courts require expert witnesses for digital evidence authentication in every case, and what standards will be used to qualify these experts?
  4. Are there existing technological tools or methods to detect deepfakes? (yes there is but it is not 100%) How can courts keep abreast of rapidly advancing technology?
  5. …plus several more questions

From DSC:
What are law schools doing about this? Are they addressing this?


And speaking of legal matters and law schools, this might be interesting or helpful to someone out there:

 

Student Use Cases for AI: Start by Sharing These Guidelines with Your Class — from hbsp.harvard.edu by Ethan Mollick and Lilach Mollick

To help you explore some of the ways students can use this disruptive new technology to improve their learning—while making your job easier and more effective—we’ve written a series of articles that examine the following student use cases:

  1. AI as feedback generator
  2. AI as personal tutor
  3. AI as team coach
  4. AI as learner

Recap: Teaching in the Age of AI (What’s Working, What’s Not) — from celt.olemiss.edu by Derek Bruff, visiting associate director

Earlier this week, CETL and AIG hosted a discussion among UM faculty and other instructors about teaching and AI this fall semester. We wanted to know what was working when it came to policies and assignments that responded to generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, Google Bard, Midjourney, DALL-E, and more. We were also interested in hearing what wasn’t working, as well as questions and concerns that the university community had about teaching and AI.


Teaching: Want your students to be skeptical of ChatGPT? Try this. — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie

Then, in class he put them into groups where they worked together to generate a 500-word essay on “Why I Write” entirely through ChatGPT. Each group had complete freedom in how they chose to use the tool. The key: They were asked to evaluate their essay on how well it offered a personal perspective and demonstrated a critical reading of the piece. Weiss also graded each ChatGPT-written essay and included an explanation of why he came up with that particular grade.

After that, the students were asked to record their observations on the experiment on the discussion board. Then they came together again as a class to discuss the experiment.

Weiss shared some of his students’ comments with me (with their approval). Here are a few:


2023 EDUCAUSE Horizon Action Plan: Generative AI — from library.educause.edu by Jenay Robert and Nicole Muscanell

Asked to describe the state of generative AI that they would like to see in higher education 10 years from now, panelists collaboratively constructed their preferred future.
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2023-educause-horizon-action-plan-generative-ai


Will Teachers Listen to Feedback From AI? Researchers Are Betting on It — from edsurge.com by Olina Banerji

Julie York, a computer science and media teacher at South Portland High School in Maine, was scouring the internet for discussion tools for her class when she found TeachFX. An AI tool that takes recorded audio from a classroom and turns it into data about who talked and for how long, it seemed like a cool way for York to discuss issues of data privacy, consent and bias with her students. But York soon realized that TeachFX was meant for much more.

York found that TeachFX listened to her very carefully, and generated a detailed feedback report on her specific teaching style. York was hooked, in part because she says her school administration simply doesn’t have the time to observe teachers while tending to several other pressing concerns.

“I rarely ever get feedback on my teaching style. This was giving me 100 percent quantifiable data on how many questions I asked and how often I asked them in a 90-minute class,” York says. “It’s not a rubric. It’s a reflection.”

TeachFX is easy to use, York says. It’s as simple as switching on a recording device.

But TeachFX, she adds, is focused not on her students’ achievements, but instead on her performance as a teacher.


ChatGPT Is Landing Kids in the Principal’s Office, Survey Finds — from the74million.org by Mark Keierleber
While educators worry that students are using generative AI to cheat, a new report finds students are turning to the tool more for personal problems.

Indeed, 58% of students, and 72% of those in special education, said they’ve used generative AI during the 2022-23 academic year, just not primarily for the reasons that teachers fear most. Among youth who completed the nationally representative survey, just 23% said they used it for academic purposes and 19% said they’ve used the tools to help them write and submit a paper. Instead, 29% reported having used it to deal with anxiety or mental health issues, 22% for issues with friends and 16% for family conflicts.

Part of the disconnect dividing teachers and students, researchers found, may come down to gray areas. Just 40% of parents said they or their child were given guidance on ways they can use generative AI without running afoul of school rules. Only 24% of teachers say they’ve been trained on how to respond if they suspect a student used generative AI to cheat.


Embracing weirdness: What it means to use AI as a (writing) tool — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
AI is strange. We need to learn to use it.

But LLMs are not Google replacements, or thesauruses or grammar checkers. Instead, they are capable of so much more weird and useful help.


Diving Deep into AI: Navigating the L&D Landscape — from learningguild.com by Markus Bernhardt

The prospect of AI-powered, tailored, on-demand learning and performance support is exhilarating: It starts with traditional digital learning made into fully adaptive learning experiences, which would adjust to strengths and weaknesses for each individual learner. The possibilities extend all the way through to simulations and augmented reality, an environment to put into practice knowledge and skills, whether as individuals or working in a team simulation. The possibilities are immense.

Thanks to generative AI, such visions are transitioning from fiction to reality.


Video: Unleashing the Power of AI in L&D — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
An exclusive video walkthrough of my keynote at Sweden’s national L&D conference this week

Highlights

  • The wicked problem of L&D: last year, $371 billion was spent on workplace training globally, but only 12% of employees apply what they learn in the workplace
  • An innovative approach to L&D: when Mastery Learning is used to design & deliver workplace training, the rate of “transfer” (i.e. behaviour change & application) is 67%
  • AI 101: quick summary of classification, generative and interactive AI and its uses in L&D
  • The impact of AI: my initial research shows that AI has the potential to scale Mastery Learning and, in the process:
    • reduce the “time to training design” by 94% > faster
    • reduce the cost of training design by 92% > cheaper
    • increase the quality of learning design & delivery by 96% > better
  • Research also shows that the vast majority of workplaces are using AI only to “oil the machine” rather than innovate and improve our processes & practices
  • Practical tips: how to get started on your AI journey in your company, and a glimpse of what L&D roles might look like in a post-AI world

 

10 Free AI Tools for Graphic Designing — from medium.com by Qz Ruslan

With the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), designers now have access to a wide array of free AI-powered tools that streamline their creative process, enhance productivity, and add a touch of uniqueness to their designs. In this article, we will explore ten such free AI tools websites for graphic designing that have revolutionized the way designers approach their craft.


Generative Art in Motion — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper
Animation and video tools create an explosion of creative expression


World’s first AI cinema opening in Auckland to make all your Matrix fantasies come true — from stuff.co.nz by Jonny Mahon-Heap
Review: My HyperCinema experience was futuristic, sleek – and slightly insane as I became the star of my own show.


AI That Alters Voice and Imagery in Political Ads Will Require Disclosure on Google and YouTube — from usnews.com by Associated Press
Political ads using artificial intelligence on Google and YouTube must soon be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered

Google will soon require that political ads using artificial intelligence be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered.

AI-generated election ads on YouTube and other Google platforms that alter people or events must include a clear disclaimer located somewhere that users are likely to notice, the company said in an update this week to its political content policy.


 

A Guide to Finding Housing For The Previously Incarcerated — from todayshomeowner.com by Alexis Bennett & Alexis Curls

For many individuals stepping back into society after incarceration, finding a stable place to call home can be complicated. The reality is that those who have been previously incarcerated are almost 10 times more likely to face homelessness compared to the general public. With over 725,000 people leaving state and federal prisons each year, the quest for housing becomes not only a personal challenge but a broader societal concern. Stable housing is crucial for successful reintegration, providing a foundation for building a new chapter in life. In this article, we’ll shed light on the challenges and offer empowering resources for those on their journey to find housing after prison.

Table of Contents

  • Understanding the Housing Landscape
  • Utilizing Support Services
  • Creating a Housing Plan
  • Securing and Maintaining Housing
  • Continuing Personal Growth and Reintegration
  • Conclusion

From DSC:
I’m posting this in the hopes that this information may help someone out there. Also, my dad used to donate some of his time in retirement to an agency that helped people find housing. He mentioned numerous times how important it was for someone to have a safe place to stay that they could call their own.


 

What value do you offer? — from linkedin.com by Dan Fitzpatrick — The AI Educator

Excerpt (emphasis DSC): 

So, as educators, mentors, and guides to our future generations, we must ask ourselves three pivotal questions:

  1. What value do we offer to our students?
  2. What value will they need to offer to the world?
  3. How are we preparing them to offer that value?

The answers to these questions are crucial, and they will redefine the trajectory of our education system.

We need to create an environment that encourages curiosity, embraces failure as a learning opportunity, and celebrates diversity. We need to teach our students how to learn, how to ask the right questions, and how to think for themselves.


AI 101 for Teachers



5 Little-Known ChatGPT Prompts to Learn Anything Faster — from medium.com by Eva Keiffenheim
Including templates, you can copy.

Leveraging ChatGPT for learning is the most meaningful skill this year for lifelong learners. But it’s too hard to find resources to master it.

As a learning science nerd, I’ve explored hundreds of prompts over the past months. Most of the advice doesn’t go beyond text summaries and multiple-choice testing.

That’s why I’ve created this article — it merges learning science with prompt writing to help you learn anything faster.


From DSC:
This is a very nice, clearly illustrated, free video to get started with the Midjourney (text-to-image) app. Nice work Dan!

Also see Dan’s
AI Generated Immersive Learning Series


What is Academic Integrity in the Era of Generative Artificial intelligence? — from silverliningforlearning.org by Chris Dede

In the new-normal of generative AI, how does one articulate the value of academic integrity? This blog presents my current response in about 2,500 words; a complete answer could fill a sizable book.

Massive amounts of misinformation are disseminated about generative AI, so the first part of my discussion clarifies what large language models (Chat-GPT and its counterparts) can currently do and what they cannot accomplish at this point in time. The second part describes ways in which generative AI can be misused as a means of learning; unfortunately, many people are now advocating for these mistaken applications to education. The third part describes ways in which large language models (LLM), used well, may substantially improve learning and education. I close with a plea for a robust, informed public discussion about these topics and issues.


Dr. Chris Dede and the Necessity of Training Students and Faculty to Improve Their Human Judgment and Work Properly with AIs — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard
We need to stop using test-driven curriculums that train students to listen and to compete against machines, a competition they cannot win. Instead, we need to help them augment their Judgment.


The Creative Ways Teachers Are Using ChatGPT in the Classroom — from time.com by Olivia B. Waxman

Many of the more than a dozen teachers TIME interviewed for this story argue that the way to get kids to care is to proactively use ChatGPT in the classroom.

Some of those creative ideas are already in effect at Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor, about an hour from Seattle. In Erin Rossing’s precalculus class, a student got ChatGPT to generate a rap about vectors and trigonometry in the style of Kanye West, while geometry students used the program to write mathematical proofs in the style of raps, which they performed in a classroom competition. In Kara Beloate’s English-Language Arts class, she allowed students reading Shakespeare’s Othello to use ChatGPT to translate lines into modern English to help them understand the text, so that they could spend class time discussing the plot and themes.


AI in Higher Education: Aiding Students’ Academic Journey — from td.org by J. Chris Brown

Topics/sections include:

Automatic Grading and Assessment
AI-Assisted Student Support Services
Intelligent Tutoring Systems
AI Can Help Both Students and Teachers


Shockwaves & Innovations: How Nations Worldwide Are Dealing with AI in Education — from the74million.org by Robin Lake
Lake: Other countries are quickly adopting artificial intelligence in schools. Lessons from Singapore, South Korea, India, China, Finland and Japan.

I found that other developed countries share concerns about students cheating but are moving quickly to use AI to personalize education, enhance language lessons and help teachers with mundane tasks, such as grading. Some of these countries are in the early stages of training teachers to use AI and developing curriculum standards for what students should know and be able to do with the technology.

Several countries began positioning themselves several years ago to invest in AI in education in order to compete in the fourth industrial revolution.


AI in Education — from educationnext.org by John Bailey
The leap into a new era of machine intelligence carries risks and challenges, but also plenty of promise

In the realm of education, this technology will influence how students learn, how teachers work, and ultimately how we structure our education system. Some educators and leaders look forward to these changes with great enthusiasm. Sal Kahn, founder of Khan Academy, went so far as to say in a TED talk that AI has the potential to effect “probably the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen.” But others warn that AI will enable the spread of misinformation, facilitate cheating in school and college, kill whatever vestiges of individual privacy remain, and cause massive job loss. The challenge is to harness the positive potential while avoiding or mitigating the harm.


Generative AI and education futures — from ucl.ac.uk
Video highlights from Professor Mike Sharples’ keynote address at the 2023 UCL Education Conference, which explored opportunities to prosper with AI as a part of education.


Bringing AI Literacy to High Schools — from by Nikki Goth Itoi
Stanford education researchers collaborated with teachers to develop classroom-ready AI resources for high school instructors across subject areas.

To address these two imperatives, all high schools need access to basic AI tools and training. Yet the reality is that many underserved schools in low-income areas lack the bandwidth, skills, and confidence to guide their students through an AI-powered world. And if the pattern continues, AI will only worsen existing inequities. With this concern top of mind plus initial funding from the McCoy Ethics Center, Lee began recruiting some graduate students and high school teachers to explore how to give more people equal footing in the AI space.


 

Excerpts from the Too Long Didn’t Read (TLDR) section from AIxEducation Day 1: My Takeaways — from stefanbauschard.substack.com by Stefan Bauschard (emphasis DSC)

* There was a lot of talk about learning bots. This talk included the benefits of 1:1 tutoring, access to education for those who don’t currently have it (developing world), the ability to do things for which we currently don’t have enough teachers and support staff (speech pathology), individualized instruction (it will be good at this soon), and stuff that it is already good at (24/7 availability, language tutoring, immediate feedback regarding argumentation and genre (not facts :), putting students on the right track, comprehensive feedback, more critical feedback).

* Students are united. The student organizers and those who spoke at the conference have concerns about future employment, want to learn to use generative AI, and express concern about being prepared for the “real world.” They also all want a say in how generative AI is used in the college classroom. Many professors spoke about the importance of having conversations with students and involving them in the creation of AI policies as well.

* I think it’s fair to say that all professors who spoke thought students were going to use generative AI regardless of whether or not it was permitted, though some hoped for honesty.

* No professor who spoke thought using a plagiarism detector was a good idea.

* Everyone thought that significant advancements in AI technology were inevitable.

* Almost everyone expressed being overwhelmed by the rate of change.


Stefan recommended the following resource:


 

‘A second prison’: People face hidden dead ends when they pursue a range of careers post-incarceration — from hechingerreport.org by Tara Garcia Mathewson
Nearly 14,000 laws and regulations restrict people who have been convicted or even just arrested from getting professional licenses

For Wiese, it was all a big, expensive gamble — and, in one form or another, is one millions of people with criminal records take every year as they pursue education and workforce training on their way to jobs that require a license. Yet that effort might be wasted thanks to the nearly 14,000 laws and regulations that can restrict individuals with arrest and conviction histories from getting licensed in a given field.

Jesse Wiese served seven years in prison, but says that the barriers he found to working after leaving amount to a “second prison.” Credit: Noah Willman for the Hechinger Report

 

Students can use AI on applications, Arizona State law school says — from reuters.com by Sara Merken

July 28 (Reuters) – A week after The University of Michigan Law School banned the use of popular artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT on student applications, at least one school is going in the other direction.

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University said on Thursday that prospective students are explicitly allowed to use generative artificial intelligence tools to help draft their applications.

 

Navigating the Future of Learning in a Digitally-Disrupted World — from thinklearningstudio.org by Russell Cailey

Are we on the frontier of unveiling an unseen revolution in education? The hypothesis is that this quiet upheaval’s importance is far more significant than we imagine. As our world adjusts, restructures, and emerges from a year which launched an era of mass AI, so too does a new academic year dawn for many – with hope and enthusiasm about new roles, titles, or simply just a new mindset. Concealed from sight, however, I believe a significant transformative wave has started and will begin to reshape our education systems and push us into a new stage of innovative teaching practice whether we desire it or not. The risk and hope is that the quiet revolution remains outside the regulator’s and ministries’ purview, which could risk a dangerous fragmentation of education policy and practice, divorced from the actualities of the world ‘in and outside school’.

“This goal can be achieved through continued support for introducing more new areas of study, such as ‘foresight and futures’, in the high school classroom.”


Four directions for assessment redesign in the age of generative AI— from timeshighereducation.com by Julia Chen
The rise of generative AI has led universities to rethink how learning is quantified. Julia Chen offers four options for assessment redesign that can be applied across disciplines

Direction 1: From written description to multimodal explanation and application

Direction 2: From literature review alone to referencing lectures

Direction 3: From presentation of ideas to defence of views

Direction 4: From working alone to student-staff partnership




15 Inspirational Voices in the Space Between AI and Education — from jeppestricker.substack.com by Jeppe Klitgaard Stricker
Get Inspired for AI and The Future of Education.

If you are just back from vacation and still not quite sure what to do about AI, let me assure you that you are not the only one. My advice for you today is this: fill your LinkedIn-feed and/or inbox with ideas, inspirational writing and commentary on AI. This will get you up to speed quickly and is a great way to stay informed on the newest movements you need to be aware of.

My personal recommendation for you is to check out these bright people who are all very active on LinkedIn and/or have a newsletter worth paying attention to. I have kept the list fairly short – only 15 people – in order to make it as easy as possible for you to begin exploring.


Universities say AI cheats can’t be beaten, moving away from attempts to block AI (Australia) — from abc.net.au by Jake Evans

Key points:

  • Universities have warned against banning AI technologies in academia
  • Several say AI cheating in tests will be too difficult to stop, and it is more practical to change assessment methods
  • The sector says the entire nature of teaching will have to change to ensure students continue to effectively learn

aieducator.tools


Navigating A World of Generative AI: Suggestions for Educators — from nextlevellab.gse.harvard.edu by Lydia Cao and Chris Dede

Understanding the nature of generative AI is crucial for educators to navigate the evolving landscape of teaching and learning. In a new report from the Next Level Lab, Lydia Cao and Chris Dede reflect on the role of generative AI in learning and how this pushes us to reconceptualize our visions of effective education. Though there are concerns of plagiarism and replacement of human jobs, Cao and Dede argue that a more productive way forward is for educators to focus on demystifying AI, emphasizing the learning process over the final product, honoring learner agency, orchestrating multiple sources of motivation, cultivating skills that AI cannot easily replicate, and fostering intelligence augmentation (IA) through building human-AI partnerships.

Navigating A World of Generative AI: Suggestions for Educators -- by Lydia Cao and Chris Dede


20 CHATGPT PROMPTS FOR ELA TEACHERS — from classtechtips.com by Dr. Monica Burns

Have you used chatbots to save time this school year? ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence (AI) have changed the way I think about instructional planning. Today on the blog, I have a selection of ChatGPT prompts for ELA teachers.

You can use chatbots to tackle tedious tasks, gather ideas, and even support your work to meet the needs of every student. In my recent quick reference guide published by ISTE and ASCD, Using AI Chatbots to Enhance Planning and Instruction, I explore this topic. You can also find 50 more prompts for educators in this free ebook.


Professors Craft Courses on ChatGPT With ChatGPT — from insidehighered.com by Lauren Coffey
While some institutions are banning the use of the new AI tool, others are leaning into its use and offering courses dedicated solely to navigating the new technology.

Maynard, along with Jules White at Vanderbilt University, are among a small number of professors launching courses focused solely on teaching students across disciplines to better navigate AI and ChatGPT.

The offerings go beyond institutions flexing their innovation skills—the faculty behind these courses view them as imperative to ensure students are prepared for ever-changing workforce needs.


GPT-4 can already pass freshman year at Harvard | professors need to adapt to their students’ new reality — fast — from chronicle.com by Maya Bodnick (an undergraduate at Harvard University, studying government)

A. A. A-. B. B-. Pass.

That’s a solid report card for a freshman in college, a respectable 3.57 GPA. I recently finished my freshman year at Harvard, but those grades aren’t mine — they’re GPT-4’s.

Three weeks ago, I asked seven Harvard professors and teaching assistants to grade essays written by GPT-4 in response to a prompt assigned in their class. Most of these essays were major assignments which counted for about one-quarter to one-third of students’ grades in the class. (I’ve listed the professors or preceptors for all of these classes, but some of the essays were graded by TAs.)

Here are the prompts with links to the essays, the names of instructors, and the grades each essay received…

The impact that AI is having on liberal-arts homework is indicative of the AI threat to the career fields that liberal-arts majors tend to enter. So maybe what we should really be focused on isn’t, “How do we make liberal-arts homework better?” but rather, “What are jobs going to look like over the next 10–20 years, and how do we prepare students to succeed in that world?”



The great assessment rethink — from timeshighereducation.com by
How to measure learning and protect academic integrity in the age of ChatGPT

Items from Times Higher Education re: redesigning assessment

 
 

Supreme Court makes its historic ruling in affirmative action cases — from hechingerreport.org by Olivia Sanchez
Court rules that these policies violate the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment

Ever since the Supreme Court announced last year that it would rule on two cases involving affirmative action in college admissions, the world of higher education has been anxiously awaiting a decision. Most experts predicted the court would eventually forbid the use of race as a factor in admissions decisions, and colleges and advocates have been scrambling to prepare for that new world.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court met those expectations, ruling that the consideration of race in college admissions is unconstitutional.

Supreme Court rules against race-conscious admissions at Harvard and UNC-Chapel Hill — from highereddive.com by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
The opinion issued Thursday was unsurprising for college access advocates who had nonetheless urged the high court to keep with decades of precedent.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are unconstitutional, shattering decades of legal precedent and upending the recruitment and enrollment landscape for years to come.

Supreme Court rejects race-based affirmative action in college admissions — from washingtonpost.com by Robert Barnes

The Supreme Court on Thursday held that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection, a historic ruling that rolls back decades of precedent and will force a dramatic change in how the nation’s private and public universities select their students.

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Conscious Admissions Nationwide — from chronicle.com by Andy Thomason and Sarah Brown

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down colleges’ use of race-conscious admissions nationwide, ruling in a pair of closely watched cases that the practice is racially discriminatory.

Writing for the court’s majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that policies that claim to consider an applicant’s race as one factor among many are in fact violating the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

 

The economic potential of generative AI — from mckinsey.com; via Superhuman

The economic potential of generative AI -- from McKinsey & Co

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On giving AI eyes and ears — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
AI can listen and see, with bigger implications than we might realize.

Excerpt:

But even this is just the beginning, and new modes of using AI are appearing, which further increases their capabilities. I want to show you some examples of this emerging world, which I think will soon introduce a new wave of AI use cases, and accompanying disruption.

We need to recognize that these capabilities will continue to grow, and AI will be able to play a more active role in the real world by observing and listening. The implications are likely to be profound, and we should start thinking through both the huge benefits and major concerns today.

Ethan Mollick


5 Steps to Transforming Images into Videos Using AI Tools — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper
A simple guide to layering AI tools for quick video creation

5 Steps to Transforming Images into Videos Using AI Tools

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‘Nobody wins in an academic-integrity arms race’ — from chonicle.com by Ian Wilhelm
How artificial intelligence is changing the way college thing about cheating

Even though generative AI is a new thing, it doesn’t change why students cheat. They’ve always cheated for the same reason: They don’t find the work meaningful, and they don’t think they can achieve it to their satisfaction. So we need to design assessments that students find meaning in. 

Tricia Bertram Gallant


Caught off guard by AI — from chonicle.com by Beth McMurtrie and Beckie Supiano
Professor scrambled to react to ChatGPT this spring — and started planning for the fall

Excerpt:

Is it cheating to use AI to brainstorm, or should that distinction be reserved for writing that you pretend is yours? Should AI be banned from the classroom, or is that irresponsible, given how quickly it is seeping into everyday life? Should a student caught cheating with AI be punished because they passed work off as their own, or given a second chance, especially if different professors have different rules and students aren’t always sure what use is appropriate?


GPT-4 Can Use Tools Now—That’s a Big Deal — from every.to by Dan Shipper; resource via Sam DeBrule
What “function calling” is, how it works, and what it means

Excerpt:

…OpenAI built tool use right into the GPT API with an update called function calling. It’s a little like a child’s ability to ask their parents to help them with a task that they know they can’t do on their own. Except in this case, instead of parents, GPT can call out to external code, databases, or other APIs when it needs to.

Each function in function calling represents a tool that a GPT model can use when necessary, and GPT gets to decide which ones it wants to use and when. This instantly upgrades GPT capabilities—not because it can now do every task perfectly—but because it now knows how to ask for what it wants and get it.
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How ChatGPT can help disrupt assessment overload — from timeshighereducation.com by David Carless
Advances in AI are not necessarily the enemy – in fact, they should prompt long overdue consideration of assessment types and frequency, says David Carless

Excerpt:

Reducing the assessment burden could support trust in students as individuals wanting to produce worthwhile, original work. Indeed, students can be co-opted as partners in designing their own assessment tasks, so they can produce something meaningful to them.

A strategic reduction in quantity of assessment would also facilitate a refocusing of assessment priorities on deep understanding more than just performance and carries potential to enhance feedback processes.

If we were to tackle assessment overload in these ways, it opens up various possibilities. Most significantly there is potential to revitalise feedback so that it becomes a core part of a learning cycle rather than an adjunct at its end. End-of-semester, product-oriented feedback, which comes after grades have already been awarded, fails to encourage the iterative loops and spirals typical of productive learning.
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The full 12 uses are here: https://edgeoflearning.com/your-new-teaching-superpower-ai-tools/


The AI Tools in Education Database — from kiwi-path-612.notion.site by EdTech Insiders

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Since AI in education has been moving at the speed of light, we built this AI Tools in Education database to keep track of the most recent AI tools in education and the changes that are happening every day. This database is intended to be a community resource for educators, researchers, students, and other edtech specialists looking to stay up to date. This is a living document, so be sure to come back for regular updates.

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Time for Class 2023 Study finds students are earlier adopters of generative AI tools than faculty, and majority (69%) of learners prefer hybrid, blended or online course formats — from globenewswire.com by Tyton Partners

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AI Could Prevent Hiring Bias — Unless It Makes It Worse — from nerdwallet.com by Anna Helhoski
Advocates say AI can eliminate human biases in hiring. Skeptics point out that AI tools are trained by … humans.

Excerpt:

These claims conjure up the rosiest of images: human resource departments and their robot buddies solving discrimination in workplace hiring. It seems plausible, in theory, that AI could root out unconscious bias, but a growing body of research shows the opposite may be more likely.

Companies’ use of AI didn’t come out of nowhere: For example, automated applicant tracking systems have been used in hiring for decades. That means if you’ve applied for a job, your resume and cover letter were likely scanned by an automated system. You probably heard from a chatbot at some point in the process. Your interview might have been automatically scheduled and later even assessed by AI.

From DSC:
Here was my reflection on this:


Also related to AI in hiring, see:

4 in 10 Companies Will Be Using AI Interviews by 2024 — from resumebuilder.com

In June, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed more than 1,000 employees who are involved in hiring processes at their workplaces to find out about their companies’ use of AI interviews.

The results:

  • 43% of companies already have or plan to adopt AI interviews by 2024
  • Two-thirds of this group believe AI interviews will increase hiring efficiency
  • 15% say that AI will be used to make decisions on candidates without any human input
  • More than half believe AI will eventually replace human hiring managers

Watch OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on the Future of AI — from bloomberg.com
Sam Altman, CEO & Co-Founder, OpenAI discusses the explosive rise of OpenAI and its products and what an AI-laced future can look like with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang at the Bloomberg Technology Summit.

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PowerSchool Announces Collaboration with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to Provide Personalized Learning at Scale in K-12 Education — from powerschool.com
Large-scale language models integrated within PowerSchool Performance Matters and PowerSchool LearningNav products will empower educators in delivering transformative personalized learning pathways

The implementation of generative AI within these products will dramatically improve educators’ ability to deliver personalized learning to students at scale by enabling the application of personalized assessments and learning pathways based on individual student needs and learning goals. K-12 educators will also benefit from access to OpenAI technology…

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FETC 2023 Virtual Roundtable: How AI Will Transform K-12 Education

AI could be the great equalizer!

Holly Clark

Example screenshots:


 

IAALS Releases National Framework for States to Create New Tier of Legal Professionals Who Can Offer More Affordable Legal Help — from iaals.du.edu by Kelsey Montague

Excerpt:

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, announced today the release of its new report, Allied Legal Professionals: A National Framework for Program Growth. As part of IAALS’ Allied Legal Professionals project—which is generously supported by the Sturm Family Foundation—this report includes multiple research-informed recommendations to help standardize a new tier of legal professionals across states, with the goal of increasing the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public.

“To hire a lawyer, people either need considerable money or have an income low enough to qualify for the limited legal aid available. The problem is that the majority of people in the middle class don’t fit into either of those categories, making access to legal services incredibly difficult,” says IAALS Director of Special Projects Michael Houlberg. “Even if every lawyer took on pro bono clients, it wouldn’t come close to addressing the need. And IAALS’ research shows that people who need legal help are open to receiving it from qualified and authorized providers who are not lawyers.”

 

Discount Rates At Colleges Continue To Increase As Colleges Explore Alternate Pricing Strategies — from forbes.com by Lucie Lapovsky

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Since 2012, 65 private colleges and universities with enrollment of 500 students or more, that I know of, have reduced their tuition, and commensurately reduced their discount rate. Several more schools are planning price resets for fall 2024. Schools use this strategy to increase the number of students who will consider them, and this approach has been successful for more than 80 percent of the schools which have reduced their published price.

From DSC:
What I learned of economics in college would agree with this last bit. As the price goes down, demand goes up. And conversely, as the price goes up, demand goes down. As Lucie points out, many people don’t know about the heavily discounted prices within higher education. I’ve been fighting for price decreases for over 15 years…clearly, I haven’t had much success in that area. 

As the price goes down, the demand goes up.


Excerpts from Kristen Trader’s recent posting on LinkedIn:
(Emphasis DSC)

AI-assisted cheating isn’t a temptation if students have a reason to care about their own learning.

Yesterday I happened to listen to two different podcasts that ended up resonating with one another and with an idea that’s been rattling around inside my head with all of this moral uproar about generative AI:

** If we trust students – and earn their trust in return – then they will be far less motivated to cheat with AI or in any other way. **

First, the question of motivation. On the Intentional Teaching podcast, while interviewing James Lang and Michelle Miller on the impact of generative AI, Derek Bruff points out (drawing on Lang’s Cheating Lessons book) that if students have “real motivation to get some meaning out of [an] activity, then there’s far less motivation to just have ChatGPT write it for them.” Real motivation and real meaning FOR THE STUDENT translates into an investment in doing the work themselves.

Then I hopped over to one of my favorite podcasts – Teaching in Higher Ed – where Bonni Stachowiak was interviewing Cate Denial about a “pedagogy of kindness,” which is predicated on trusting students and not seeing them as adversaries in the work we’re doing.

So the second key element: being kind and trusting students, which builds a culture of mutual respect and care that again diminishes the likelihood that they will cheat.

Again, human-centered learning design seems to address so many of the concerns and challenges of the current moment in higher ed. Maybe it’s time to actually practice it more consistently. #aiineducation #higheredteaching #inclusiveteaching


How liberal arts colleges can make career services a priority — from highereddive.com by John Boyer
Creating internships and focusing on short-term experiences has a big impact, the longtime undergraduate dean at the University of Chicago says.


Virginia to eliminate degree requirements for most state jobs — from hrdive.com/ by Kathryn Moody
State movement on the issue reflects ongoing private sector interest in reducing reliance on four-year degrees for hiring purposes.


GETTING STARTED WITH MICROCREDENTIALS: A PRIMER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS

GETTING STARTED WITH MICROCREDENTIALS: A PRIMER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS — from cps.northeastern.edu by Ellen Stoddard | Allison Ruda | Emilee Trieckel | Sean R. Gallagher; with thanks to Goldie Blenstyk for this resource


3 Ways Campus Leaders Can Prepare Students for Technology Transformation in the Workforce — from campustechnology.comby Sandra Loughlin, Ph.D.
Consider these strategies for equipping students with the tech skills they will need to succeed post-graduation.


TI-ADDIE: A Trauma-Informed Model of Instructional Design — from er.educause.edu by Ali Carr-Chellman and Treavor Bogard
Adjusting the ADDIE model of instructional design specifically to accommodate trauma offers an opportunity to address the collective challenges that designers, instructors, and learners have faced during the current learning moment.

 

Law school students can take up to half of their credits online after ABA policy change — from highereddive.com by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

Dive Brief:

  • Law school students can now take up to half of their classes online following a recent policy change by the American Bar Association.
  • ABA’s accrediting body voted last week to raise the ceiling on the number of credits students can earn online for their J.D., up from one-third.
  • It also struck down a prohibition on first-year law students taking no more than 10 credit hours remotely.

From DSC:
It’s almost June of 2023 and matters/impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are increasingly popping up throughout our society. But WOW! Look at this recent piece of news from the American Bar Association: Law school students can now take up to 50% of their credits online! (It used to be just 30%.)

At a time when we need many more lawyers, judges, legislators, politicians, and others to be more informed about emerging technologies — as well as being more tech-savvy themselves — I don’t think the ABA should be patting themselves on the back for this policy change. It’s a step in the right direction, but why it’s not 100% is mind-boggling to me.

 
© 2024 | Daniel Christian