Wow! The late 2022 buzz about ChatGPT and other generative AI tools has quickly become a crescendo that is ubiquitous in conversations about teaching and learning in higher ed this spring.
Questions abound: How do AI tools work? In what aspects is their output biased? Should their use be discouraged or celebrated in the college classroom? What uses of AI tools are violations of academic integrity and which are not? In what ways will AI help or hinder teaching and learning?
Opinions widely differ and definitive answers are few, in part because even though AI has been developed over decades, it’s just been four months since ChatGPT burst into the consciousness of higher ed as a free tool that quickly grew to 100 million monthly active users. We lack research on the use of such tools in education and we’re just starting to get widespread real-world experience teaching and learning with hundreds of AI tools.
The vast potential for use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools to alter faculty and student approaches to course assignments and assessments introduces more uncertainty into an educational environment still rebounding from pandemic disruption. As students and faculty move forward in this rapidly shifting landscape, it’s useful to explore AI tools, share information with each other, and foster intentional conversations about teaching and learning with AI.
In this vein, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) offers ChatGPT and Other AI Tools: Implications for Teaching and Learning with guidance about potential opportunities and limitations, setting course-level expectations, sample syllabus statements, an Office of Information Security Statement, and recommended resources to learn more.
Two upcoming virtual events will further the conversation within the OSU community:
- Flash Panel on AI on April 5 at 4 p.m., sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts
- Faculty Chat: Teaching and Learning in the Era of ChatGPT and Generative AI on April 20 at 2 p.m., sponsored by Academic Technologies and CTL.
Excellent resources from the Feb. 14, 2023, OSU Ecampus Winter Faculty Lunch, AI Tools, Education & ChatGTP, are also available: Slide deck and event recording (69 min.)
CTL encourages instructors to contact us if you would like a consultation about AI tools in your teaching or if you would like to share your policies (for example, a syllabus statement) about AI use with OSU faculty. We welcome your input.
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