ChatGPT in Higher Ed

Normally, I would not repeat topics in such a short period of time, but the purpose of this blog is to share timely topics and this week the conversations continue to focus on ChatGPT. It may be challenging for us to keep up, so I would like to share the ChatGPT and AI in Higher Education: A Quick Start Guide by UNESCO (2023) that might be helpful. This document shares how ChatGPT affects teaching, research and administration. In addition, there are sections on academic integrity, regulation, privacy, cognitive bias, and accessibility.

I have been attempting to learn as much as ChatGPT along with the rest of you. I thought I might share some resources that I plan to use in my teaching, that may be of interest to you:

1. Nvidia uses AI to turn simple brushstrokes into realistic landscape images. Create backgrounds quickly, or speed up your concept exploration so you can spend more time visualizing ideas. This could be helpful with concept mapping, creating dynamic presentations, and creating background templates to diagramming a concept.

2. Kaiber supersizes our traditional interactive learning method of storyboarding as a synthetic event of concepts.

3. LeiaPix Converter lets you turn any image into Depth Animations. For you and/or students to create dynamic presentations that are more meaningful and help them connect to the concepts in a deeper, more enduring way.

4. Synthesia is an AI video generation platform that enables you to create videos with avatars. It includes 60 languages, a screen recorder, and a media library.

5. Murf is an AI voice generator that enables anyone to convert text to speech, voice-overs, and dictations.

6. Fireflies.ai for AI transcription software is an AI voice assistant that helps transcribe, take notes, and complete actions during meetings - great for students working on PBL.

7. Also Chat GPT also describes images. I entered the prompt, “​​describe this image https://www.frtr.gov/matrix/figures/Soil-Flushing.jpg” which is a diagram I use for one of my courses and Chat GPT provided a concise summary.

For those of you who would like to use the power of GPT-4 but would rather not pay the $20/month, Hasan Toor (2023) shares several ways to use GPT-4 at no cost:

• Forefront AI is among the first chatbots to offer free access to GPT-4. Users can also try features such as image generation, custom personas, and shareable chats.

• Poe.com is Quora's AI app that provides multiple models (Sage, Dragonfly, Claude). To use Chat GPT-4 navigate to Poe's Homepage; Click GPT-4 button type your message.

• huggingface.co is a platform that provides access to various language models, including ChatGPT-4. Go to HuggingFace and navigate to the “Models” tab on the top menu bar.

• nat.dev, Nat Friedman, the erstwhile CEO of GitHub, has developed an awesome tool where you can access GPT-4 for free and compare it with other models.

• ora.sh is a web platform where you can quickly build large language model (LLM) apps in a shareable chat interface. It allows users to explore the GPT-4 model.

• Perplexity AI, you need your Google account. Then head to the search page and spot the ‘Quick' button with a dropdown arrow inside the Ask Anything box.

Finally, I entered the prompt into my ChatGPT account, which produced the following:

“Summarize all of the research using Chat GPT for teaching in higher education.”

As a language model, Chat GPT has been utilized in various ways for teaching in higher education. Some of the research studies that have used Chat GPT for teaching purposes are:

1. In a study conducted by researchers at Arizona State University, Chat GPT was used to assist instructors in creating automated essay grading systems for their courses. The model was trained on a large corpus of essays and was able to grade essays with a high degree of accuracy.

2. Another study used Chat GPT to create a virtual teaching assistant that could answer student questions and provide guidance on assignments. The model was trained on a variety of course materials and was able to provide personalized feedback to students.

3. Researchers at the University of Cambridge used Chat GPT to develop a tool that could generate personalized exam questions based on a student's individual learning history. The tool was able to create questions that were challenging but still within the student's knowledge range.

4. Chat GPT has also been used to create virtual writing tutors that can help students with their writing assignments. The model was trained on a large corpus of writing samples and was able to provide feedback on grammar, syntax, and style.

Overall, the research suggests that Chat GPT has potential for enhancing teaching and learning in higher education. Its ability to generate personalized feedback and provide assistance with assignments can help students improve their skills and knowledge in various subject areas.

References

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2023), 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France and the UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), Edificio Asovincar, Av. Los Chorros con Calle Acueducto, Altos de Sebucán. Caracas, 1071, Venezuela.