Technology and Innovation in Learning

Susan D'Agostino's article in Inside Higher Ed, Designing Assignments in the ChatGPT Era, got me wondering how teachers will handle their students' use of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is so easy to use and its answers so precise that it's inevitable that ChatGPT's answers will show up in essays and term papers. That's fine as long as students attribute their answers to ChatGPT as they must do with any source. However, our digitally adept young people will find workarounds to make ChatGPT's work appear to be theirs. I hate to be cynical, but that's the way things work.

Here are some suggestions on how to design assignments in the ChatGPT age.

Use pop quizzes frequently.

Pop quizzes are a valuable tool on many levels. With a group of students you know well, a pop quiz allows you to spot-check retention and identify material that needs to be retaught or explained. As you do with all your teaching materials, design your pop quizzes, so they are systematic and comprehensive. While informal oral quizzes can be effective, a written pop quiz provides the documentation you will need if a dispute over ownership of the answers arises.

I asked ChatGPT the best way for a teacher to use pop quizzes. Here's the answer:

Pop quizzes can be a useful tool for teachers to assess students' understanding of material and ensure that they are paying attention in class. Here are some best practices for using pop quizzes effectively:

1. Use pop

Artificial Intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, is knocking on school doors everywhere. So, rather than let some reporter tell us about AI and ChatGPT, I asked ChatGPT to explain itself to you and me. Here are the questions I posed, followed by ChatGPT's answers, all of which I have put in blockquotes. The questions are mine. The answers are ChatGPT's.

What is AI?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. AI systems are able to perform tasks such as perception, problem-solving, decision-making, and language understanding. There are various subfields of AI, such as machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing, which are used to create specialized AI systems that can perform specific tasks. AI has many practical applications, such as in self-driving cars, speech recognition, and image recognition.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a large language model developed by OpenAI. It is based on the GPT (Generative Pre-training Transformer) architecture, which is a type of neural network designed for natural language processing tasks. ChatGPT is trained on a massive dataset of text from the internet and is able to generate human-like text in response to prompts. It can be fine-tuned for specific language tasks such as question answering, conversation, and text completion. ChatGPT has a wide range of potential uses, such as in chatbots, language translation, and content generation.

In this video, Adam Twarog explains ChatGPT.

Disclaimer: I am writing this article about IT infrastructure with small private schools in mind. I am basing my suggestions on my over thirty years of working as an IT professional in private schools and selling technology equipment and services to them. I hope these talking points will save you some money and give you and your staff some peace of mind so that you can focus on the important job you have, namely, teaching your students. ~Rob Kennedy, MCT, CSE

Most medium to large-sized schools will have professional IT staff on their payroll. But, while small schools need professional IT advice just as much, if not more, than the larger schools do, finding the money to pay for the needed expertise is always a major challenge in a small school. Here are some practical, low-cost solutions to secure your important data.

1. Put all your applications and data in the cloud.

This is probably the least expensive way for a small school to deal with securing your important data. For this essay, I define important data as the confidential personal and academic information your families and students have entrusted to you. Important data also includes the school's financials and business correspondence.

Ten or fifteen years ago, you would have been told that you must have a server and a complicated network infrastructure to keep everything secure. Nowadays, you can keep everything secure in the cloud. Yes, literally, there is an app for that. Check out

As a nation, we spend billions on K-12 educational technology So, the question about whether all this spending is improving outcomes is a fair one. Has technology, in fact, improved educational outcomes?

Pros

Technology has freed up administrative time.

Electronic grade books save time for teachers. Computerized tests and quizzes save more time. The software which allows students to master skills in maths, sciences, and languages are huge time savers. Email and blogs make communications with parents and administration instantaneous and very efficient. And the tools just keep getting better and better. The less time a teacher has to spend on administrative tasks, the more time she theoretically can spend on lesson preparation and other purely teaching-related tasks.

Technology has opened new worlds.

iPads and wireless networks have liberated teaching. We can teach anywhere, at any time. That flexibility is what makes teaching exciting and relevant. Decades ago, you livened up your class by taking them outside on a beautiful day to sit under a tree and teach your lesson. The lesson was usually successful because you had your students' undivided attention. You piqued their interest with the change of venue. Exposing young people to the world around them locally, nationally, and abroad is an essential part of a teacher's job.

Technology performs that function instantly and without creating logistics issues like taking a class outdoors does. Your history lessons come alive as you make

Thirty years ago, cell phones were expensive and underpowered. The only thing you could do with them was dial a number to speak with someone. Cell phones have morphed into high-powered devices called smartphones. They can make calls, text messages, take photos with one or two cameras, play music, and much more. As a result, cell phones, or rather, smartphones, can be both a useful tool and a distraction in school. Cell Phones In The Classroom: Learning Tool or Distraction outlines the issue facing teachers and administrators alike. The big advantage of allowing cell phones in the classroom is that the school doesn't have to build any local infrastructure. In other words, you don't have to wire buildings and set up servers to support students' and administrators' cell phones. The cell phone service provider takes care of all of that. Teachers can routinely deliver information and content via students' smartphones easily and conveniently.

Endless possibilities for good

40 Simple Ways To Use A Smartphone In The Classroom lists just some of the things you can do with a smartphone in the classroom. As an old teacher, I particularly like that you can use that one device to meet students at their own level. Yes, many students will spend endless hours gaming on their smartphones. But, most of the time, those gamers are the young people who will accept your challenge of designing an app for a specific purpose in your classroom. They understand the