WN #8

My Voice is Still My Own

The emergence of generative AI has brought with it a million and one demos of how the technology can be used. These range from “meh” to mind-blowing, but at the end of the day they are demos, and after nearly a year of these you may be starting to wonder how people are ACTUALLY using AI in their day-to-day. As someone who has immersed themselves in the world of AI over the past 6 months, I thought I would take this opportunity to share how I have been using AI, not just in theory, but in practice.

Of course, I’ve been playing around with a multitude of ways to use AI in the classroom, and I share those with you each week. If you follow me on Twitter/X, you also probably know that I’ve found ChatGPT to be an incredibly valuable assistant in the kitchen (if you haven’t tried this yet, do), and I know several people who don’t really use ChatGPT yet except for multiple times a week while cooking. But today I want to focus on another way I’ve been using AI that is very relevant to education – augmenting my writing.

I know some of you probably think, “Well AI Guy probably writes his newsletter using AI,” and it’s partially true, but not to the extent you may think. Most of what you read is still my writing and my voice, though AI does make me a hell of a lot more efficient as a writer. When AI writes for you, it’s competent, it’s structurally sound, but it’s not satisfying. Sure, there are plenty of people who value speed and ease over voice and authenticity, and plenty of use cases where that might be the option that makes the most sense. Afterall, you can still edit an AI draft and add your own touch to it. But I’ve found that, for me, AI works best when it’s used to augment my own writing, something that is still human at its core and just as satisfying and authentic as pre-AI writing … well, actually more satisfying because I got it done way quicker.

Here is how I use AI to aid in the writing process (note, my preferred AI is ChatGPT, so just assume that’s what I’m talking about when I say AI):

Pre-Draft: AI is great at helping brainstorm ideas and angles. Sometimes I skip this step because there is so much to write about that I don’t need any outside inspiration, but other times I’ll have it throw some ideas in a list, or even generate a draft that I have no intention of using but one that just gives me an idea of what an article on the topic may sound like. It helps me get a better grasp of how I want to approach the topic (and I might even take note of a well-written line that hits just right).

In-Draft: I write the first draft on my own, perhaps drawing on an idea or angle that AI came up with. If I have a good flow going, I’ll write the whole thing and save any edits for the end. If I get stuck (which anyone who writes knows, happens a lot) AI is there to help get me unstuck. AI is like a super thesaurus that can not only help you come up with a word to use, but also come up with another way to convey a point, finish a sentence, connect an idea, etc. I often have it give me several options, a prompt such as “give me 5 ways I can finish this sentence.” That way I can pick the one that most resonates with my style, or, more often, I can mix and match pieces of different options to craft my own way of saying it, albeit with some AI influence. Now I can move on with my draft, when in the past I might be stuck on the same line for a mind-numbing amount of time. Oh, and AI is also great with conclusions. It’s literally what AI is designed to do, synthesize large amounts of information with clarity and concision.

Post-Draft: After I give the draft a read, there are usually one or two things I want to tidy up. Maybe it’s making something more punchy, or less awkward. Or maybe I ask for some ways to re-write one of my sentences before deciding that actually the way I wrote it sounds fine. Then I get some instant feedback on the piece as a whole. I tell AI that it is an educator who reads my newsletter, and to list some strengths and weaknesses of the piece. What might resonate well with the reader? What might they want more of? What might they want less of? Or one of my favorites, what would be the one edit you would make to this if you had to make one? Instant feedback from another “mind” is fantastic.

There is a lot of worry that AI will take our humanness away from us, that we’ll lose the ability to think on our own and have our own voice. I, too, was worried about this. But what I’ve found is that AI has served more as a tool to enhance and elevate my voice, adding efficiency without sacrificing authenticity.

From Inequity to Inclusion on a Global Scale

Some fear that AI will exacerbate educational inequities, but it also has the potential to greatly reduce them. UNICEF is hoping to leverage the power of AI to transform learning for the world’s most marginalized students, including those who lack access to formal education or face various other challenges in relation to schooling. One tech nonprofit is already working towards this goal, aiming to use AI and the world’s most popular messaging app, WhatsApp, to improve early education for 30 million low-income Indian children.

Addressing the Guidance and Policy Gap

We’ve seen lots of great use cases for AI in schools, but widespread adoption is hindered by a lack of official guidance and policies from schools and districts. TeachAI’s new “AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit” aims to help school administrators get the ball rolling. This comes as New York City Public Schools announces the launch of its new AI Policy Lab, which will work with districts nationwide to develop similar resources and guidance around the use of AI in schools.

Déjà Vu?

One longtime math teacher feels like she’s been here before. She likens the emergence of generative AI in schools to the introduction of the graphing calculator a few decades ago. She draws on her past experience to share some valuable insights into how we might adapt and adjust to the newest transformative technology hitting schools.

📌 Google Search Adds AI Image Generation

Want to play around with AI image generation but aren’t ready to commit to paying money or learning a new tool? You can now do it straight from the Google search bar. Just opt-in to SGE (Search Generative Experience) by clicking on the Google Labs logo (science beaker/flask thingy) in Chrome or the Google app. Note that this currently only works on personal accounts, not Google Workspace accounts.

📌 Canva’s Platform for Educators

In previous newsletters I’ve mentioned the numerous AI tools that Canva has recently rolled out. Now they’ve packaged many of these tools alongside a lesson builder and ready-to-teach lesson library with the launch of their new and improved Canva for Education platform. It’s free for educators, and includes an option to opt students in to free access as well.

📌 Perplexity’s “Collections”

Perplexity AI has added a new feature known as “Collections” to help organize and share conversations. Perplexity is a chatbot that has live access to the internet and cites sources in its responses, making it easy to verify outputs and explore further. With “Collections” you can group multiple threads under one label to help organize your chat history, and you can share your collections with colleagues to collaborate privately or post publicly.

Creative Ways to Review Content, Made Simple

Want to do a quick review of prior content with your students? Have ChatGPT generate some riddles:

Now, you may notice that there is a factual error in #3 (4 acts, not 3) and it references a "bus" in #5. This is why it's always important to review AI outputs. I could easily ask it to fix these, or edit them myself. If you are unsure, you can always ask AI to double-check its own work:

Or lean into AI’s imperfections by having it generate facts about a topic and asking it to intentionally include one error. Challenge students to find and correct the inaccuracy:

Nothing you couldn't have done pre-AI, but now it only takes 10 seconds to set up!

• AI is ushering in a new era of wearable technology. Ever wanted to talk to your glasses? Wish your backpack was smarter? How about accessorizing with an AI-infused pin or pendant? If you answered yes to any of these, I have some questions for you, but also some products, apparently.

• If nostalgia is your thing and you think 90’s yearbook photos were rad, Epik has an app for you.

• Conversational AI is hi-tech, but you don’t have to be tech savvy to use it. With this in mind, DUOS is launching an AI platform to help senior citizens live independently by connecting them with needed resources and services through a conversational interface.

• Adobe created a symbol to tag AI created content, and it hopes others will use it, too.

That’s all for this week! If you appreciate the content in this newsletter, consider subscribing for free, or sharing with people in your network who may find value in it.