Today, I will share a unique story, a partnership between AI expertise and practical teaching experience, which led to the birth of a powerful and practical book. As an AI enthusiast with a keen interest in education, I joined forces with a seasoned secondary education teacher—my sister—to co-author “Evolutionary AI: A Practical Guide to Using ChatGPT: Teacher Edition Grades 7-12.” Our book was based on four foundational ideas. First, AI can help people live better more productive lives. Second, AI is expanding exponentially, creating opportunities for positive change.. Third, AI should be viewed as a capable helpful assistant that works quickly, but needs supervision. Forth, teachers work hard, and want to spend more time teaching, and AI can help make this a reality.
This endeavor wasn’t accomplished overnight. The successful book you see today was our third attempt, each a stepping-stone in learning, refining, and improving our approach. Our iterative process was an exciting journey, reminiscent of pioneering startups navigating uncharted tech landscapes. ChatGPT was a crucial contributor – so much so that we consider ChatGPT a co-author. Initially, writing with ChatGPT was a bit challenging, and some of the content we created was comical. For instance, our focus was to help teachers use ChatGPT. Much of the early content ChatGPT generated focused on the student experience. As we began to see ChatGPT not as a mere tool but as a highly intelligent assistant, our collaboration became more intuitive and productive.
The Importance of Prompt Engineering
A game-changing realization in our journey was the power of “prompt engineering.” As we honed our skills in this area, the quality of our content improved significantly. Prompt engineering is like conducting a sophisticated orchestra—you guide the AI to create a rich and harmonious symphony of words, ideas, and insights. The success of this intricate performance relies heavily on clarity and precision in your instructions. We both found that as we interacted more with ChatGPT, the work product it produced improved in accuracy and quality.
It’s interesting that people of a technical nature call typing words in a prompt “prompt engineering”. In practice, we found asking questions via the prompt was more akin to dealing with a different kind of intelligence. Unlike coding, where precision of characters and syntax result in a binary result (correct or incorrect), interacting with ChatGPT is nuanced. Based on experience, our belief is that you must ask this emergent “intelligence” the right questions to get the best answers. In much the same way you must instruct a new employee, or an intern, you must tginstruct ChatGPT. As you learn how to “speak it’s language”, and adjust your approach accordingly, the results improve dramatically.
ChatGPT as an Assistant
What made ChatGPT a valuable collaborator was its impressive ability to organized and its versatility. We found that it significantly accelerated our writing process—by about 50%. Moreover, it introduced fresh angles to our perspective which was unexpected, and helpful. For instance, when we asked ChatGPT how to use ChatGPT for teaching, it generated some ideas we hadn’t considered. Of course, we had to refine and edit the content, but ChatGPT was a valuable partner, streamlining our process and accelerating our ability to consider a broader universe of ideas.
Our book, ‘EVOLUTIONARY AI – A Practical Guide to Using ChatGPT: Teacher Edition Grade 7-12,‘ is a guide that goes beyond just instructions. It’s a jumping off point for educators exploring the potential of AI to revolutionize teaching. Our vision is a future where teachers can dedicate more time to nurturing minds and less on administrative tasks. As we embrace this exciting new chapter, remember that every AI journey begins with a well-crafted prompt. Here’s to empowering educators, sparking curiosity, and pioneering the future of teaching with AI!
