Oct
2023
Acquainting Ourselves with ChatGPT
Hi everyone. For my blog on our artificial intelligence unit, I decided to try ChatGPT out for myself. I have heard so much about it within my classes, from friends who are teachers, and from the internet warning about the risks of plagiarism. I wanted to document my experience with the technology and how Val O’Bryan’s article “Using ChatGPT to get started with the Writing Process” and its various tips to effectively utilize the website further convinced me of the positive impacts of ChatGPT.
To start, I wanted to walk those who have never seen the website before through the screen that is displayed before you can chat. When you log into the app, you are shown a screen of two images, one being adjustable and the other being the model, and you are instructed to make both images face the same way. This instruction happened two times, and it was to prove that I was a real (human) user and not a bot. Additionally, another popup that I thought was interesting was the “tips for getting started” section, which gives users a rundown on how to use the site, what not to share, like personal information, and a warning that ChatGPT might not always be accurate. I thought this disclaimer was particularly interesting because the site gives students a heads-up that they should not entirely rely on it for their work and that they will have to do additional research. This warning should make educators who are afraid of plagiarism feel a little more at ease because while students can choose to ignore this alert, those who take it seriously will end up using additional sources in their papers.
In addition, once I got into the chatting section, I started off with a simple “hello” because, as O’Bryan states in her article, even though the site is only a text generator, you feel inclined to converse back and forth with it, and in my case, I almost felt as if there was a person on the other end when it responded with “Hello! How can I assist you today?” This interaction then made me jump into tackling O’Bryan’s claim that ChatGPT can help students choose a topic to write about. To further prove this idea, I asked the chat, “What should I write about?” which prompted the AI to say, “It depends on your interests,” and then it gave me an extensive list of about 15 topics and examples. This seems to be an effective way for a stumped writer to get inspiration on the topics they could write about for their class. Even when I chose a topic from the list and asked for a specific main idea, the suggestion was helpful yet vague, allowing students to get concise inspiration while still formulating their original thesis. As O’Bryan states, she meets with her students to discuss their interests, and while this can still be an effective step in the writing process, ChatGPT can also aid in this discussion and alleviate stress from students who don’t know where to start.
Furthermore, after experiencing ChatGPT firsthand, I can also say that it can provide quick and helpful information regarding critical technical aspects of the writing process, like citing sources. First, I was amazed by how quickly the responses come in when you ask the AI a question. I wrote down “insanely fast” in my notes because of how instantaneous the answers to my questions appeared. For example, O’Bryan explains how the AI states they cannot provide sources to include in an essay and then suggests that you use an academic database (which is another excellent method to avoid plagiarism and encourage good research skills). However, I wanted to see if the site could provide information on how to properly cite a source instead, as this is information a student might need help locating on the spot. To my surprise, when I asked the AI, “How to properly cite sources in MLA format,” it gave me an instant extensive list of different types of sources and how to cite them on a works cited page. I even asked if it could alphabetize my sources (which would require students to do their own research first), and ChatGPT said yes, they could arrange them accordingly. This assistance from ChatGPT, if used in the way that O’Bryan and I have attempted to aid the writing process, not a way to avoid writing original work, can help struggling students find a specific direction for their writing assignments. Using this site can also be helpful to those students who need help writing on their own, as they might have questions that their teacher will not be able to answer right away. However, ChatGPT does add that their citation rules might not be up to date as they do change over time. So, this assistance is helpful, but as O’Bryan states, we should still encourage our students to cross reference with databases and online sources to ensure all the information they are learning from is credible. It would be beneficial to encourage students to double-check the AI with the Purdue Owl to ensure its citation information is fully up to date.
However, while I do not believe we should vilify this technology, we need to show our students how to use it and how it would be inappropriate and jeopardize their grades/academic integrity if they did not adhere to the required standards. With any technology, there are rules and regulations that schools should put in place for their students. For instance, YouTube can be used in schools but only for educational or appropriate videos. The content one would use that site for at home is different from the content they are allowed to consume during school. For ChatGPT, this content warning must be explicitly stated by their teachers verbally and within their syllabus. Throughout my time with ChatGPT, I found that alerting students of this etiquette is particularly important because you can ask the AI to create an original piece of work while not assisting it at all. For example, I asked the chat to write me a poem in iambic pentameter that rhymed, and it did this seamlessly with no input on my end besides the initial request. I even asked, “is this an original poem?” and it said, “yes, this is an original creation.” So, while the work is not plagiarized, it still lacks originality on the student’s end. The creation of this poem further proves to me that this technology is remarkable and can be used to help students learn as long as they are shown the do’s and don’ts. As teachers, if we educate ourselves on this technology, we will become more familiar with the best ways to show our students how to use it to improve their skills, not replace them entirely. Living in the highly advanced technological age we are in, there is no point in pushing back against creations like this because, like other websites, all we can do is give our students the tools to use them responsibly and trust they will do the right thing. Of course, certain circumstances will come about where you might catch a student copying ChatGPT’s work verbatim. Still, these rare cases should not negatively impact other students who could benefit from its assistance.
Work Cited
O’Bryan, Val. “Using ChatGPT to Get Started With the Writing Process.” NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English), https://ncte.org/blog/2023/05/chatgpt-writing-process/
gmingoia
October 30, 2023 at 1:35 am (2 years ago)Hi Cassandra,
This is such an interesting post! Now I want to go onto ChatGPT and experiment with what kind of prompts for writing topic generators might work well. In my own experience, ChatGPT has been good as a tool, but a tool to be used with caution. For example, I was struggling to find sources for a super, super niche topic I was writing about last spring, and I asked ChatGPT to generate a list of citations that might be relevant. ChatGPT certainly generated a list of citations, but as soon as I started searching for the texts, I discovered none of them were real sources. Maybe I phrased my “request” too vaguely (I struggle to even put the correct search terms into Google most of the time!), but I was not very happy with ChatGPT “lying” to me. Anyway, I agree with you that ChatGPT exists now and we’ve got to find a way to teach our students to use it as a tool. I’m sure there was some resistance to students using databases in place of visiting the actual library at the very beginning of digital databases. I think we need to find a way to be okay with ChatGPT. And, in terms of plagiarism, there does seem to be something inhuman and offputting about the way that ChatGPT writes an essay, so, so far, I’ve been able to catch the very few times students have turned in ChatGPT’s work as their own. I’d be interested in developing a short lesson plan to help students experiment with ChatGPT but also clearly articulate its limitations. This has given me something to think about! Thanks, Cassandra!
Haka Asllani-Avdiu
October 30, 2023 at 3:05 pm (2 years ago)Hi Cassandra,
I love that you mention the fact that teachers should educate themselves on AI technology and giving expectations to students for using it adequately. I think that if every school offers workshops and training on AI teachers will have the chance to understand more what are the capabilities of AI programs and what are some limitations they would wanrt to set up for its use in the classroom.In other words teachers will have a safe time to experiment, think maybe make mistakes and learn from them or even think for creative ways how to integrate it into their work. While the biggest concern for some teachers are plagiarism and ethics we should also think that AI will get more powerful each day so students will be missing out. I think it will be interesting for students to begin learning how to talk to AI, how to ask questions and give other commands. This will give students a chance to learn how to formulate questions properly, draw their expected answers and write notes on what they actually got for answers by AI and if that was what they anticipated when asking the question. Teachers must know that AI will not replace all what we do and how we teach but it will simplify some steps for us and students will benefit at the same time as well.
rshomer
October 30, 2023 at 10:52 pm (2 years ago)Hi Cassandra!
Thank you for this insightful post on your experimentation with GPT. The approach you undertook for this module helped me better understand the positives of this commonly debated application. I, too, agree with you that “there is no point in pushing back against creations like this because, like other websites, all we can do is give our students the tools to use them responsibly and trust they will do the right thing.” In terms of the unknowns (in my case) about its production and how to “properly” implement GPT in pedagogy, I’ll likely pause on incorporating the app into my teaching right away. I’m not against the application at all but just want to hear more reflection about how others are using it fort teaching. Also, I wouldn’t deter students from utilizing the application outside the classroom to prevent intervening with their brainstorming too much– that feels a bit intrusive. Obviously, using the site for plagiarism is prohibited, but I think it’s fine right now to use the application to investigate research topics and then verify information through vetted sources. This reminds me of when my high school teachers used to discourage Wikipedia, as we know the site need not be sourced for academic writing. That said, I’ve occasionally located cited sources on pages that assisted my research paths, but I remain conscious, given the cautions shared over the years. Again, thanks for giving me so much to consider!
rdarrigo
October 31, 2023 at 2:50 am (2 years ago)Hello Cassandra
Great post! I like that you took the time to walk people through how to initially use ChatGPT for the first time, because it may not be entirely intuitive when first trying to use it. I also like how you talked about your personal experience with ChatGPT, even how you first said hello to it, like you were having a conversation with a real person. You bring up several good points about the ways in which ChatGPT can be used. I especially liked when you stated, “As teachers, if we educate ourselves on this technology, we will become more familiar with the best ways to show our students how to use it to improve their skills, not replace them entirely. Living in the highly advanced technological age we are in, there is no point in pushing back against creations like this because, like other websites, all we can do is give our students the tools to use them responsibly and trust they will do the right thing.” I think that it a very good way of looking at ChatGPT. You have lucky students!
epugliese
October 31, 2023 at 3:25 am (2 years ago)Hi Cassandra,
I would like to start off by stating, I love how you walked through how to use ChatGPT, as not many would have thought to do so, but is extremely helpful in one understanding its setup and functions. One of the aspects that struck out to me when you discussed testing it out is how it offered you numerous interests, when you searched for a topic idea. Just considering that, I believe ChatGPT can be useful to students in the beginning stages of their pieces. As I have worked with high school students, I have first hand witnessed them struggling to come up with ideas or how to articulate their ideas. Now, I do not believe students should use ChatGPT to articulate their words, as that is plagiarism, however it may be useful as a starting ground.
Similar to YouTube, an aspect you mentioned is now used in schools, ChatGPT can be used to help students come up with ideas on where to go from. It can also assist them in learning how to do something. Instead of asking ChatGPT to write a poem for you, why not ask it what the steps are? Perhaps then, a student could learn from this one on one interaction, instead of searching on YouTube tutorials on how to do so. This makes it a more personal experience, where a student can ask questions and get an instant answer on an academic subject.
The issues with this, I must ask is, does this replace the need for tutors or one on one instructors?
Cynthia Davidson
November 20, 2023 at 7:53 pm (1 year ago)This is so excellent and you should share this with people that are teaching or studying to be teachers who may just hear about through outside parties. It’s a very accurate picture of what the login process and the execution of certain requests is like. Also, I really like Erika’s suggestion that students use ChatGPT to explain rather than to provide. The emphasis has been on its construction of texts (essays and even computer programs) rather than on its primarily excellence, which is an ability to explain, define, etc. It is not equally good at explaining everything since it is depending on its training data, and students should never ever use it as their sole source of anything–of information, of facts, of even instructions on how to write in MLA style–they should learn how to check multiple sources for any task. I have found it to be quite good at organizing, listing, providing nascent starting points for deeper thought. However, I think dependence on ChatGPT to help very young students articulate their “unformed” or even missing ideas is problematic, but I’m not quite sure how problematic it is or in what situations this would be more problematic. I have suspicions. I think it is a mistake to engage really young primary school students to use it when they need to develop their own vocabularies and imagination. Years ago, Sherry Turkle gave a TED talk about the impact of the internet and texting on people’s ability to relate to others, and in it, she said something to the effect of, “We used to think I feel something so I need to make a call; now we say we need to feel something so we send a text.” I would be concerned that people, especially children, might use ChatGPT to “figure out what they should say” rather than develop their own ideas that they want to innovate on.