🔎 OpenAI's New ChatGPT Search
Explore ChatGPT's latest update on search
OpenAI recently launched ChatGPT Search, where users can “get fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources.” It works similarly to Perplexity, allowing you to enter a search query and receive a synthesized response that cites the exact sources used to generate the answer. Now, instead of having to sift through every link on Google to get the answer to your burning question, ChatGPT Search can go through these links and output the response for you in a matter of seconds. ChatGPT Search is currently only available to Plus and Team users, but will be available to the broader public in the coming months.
We see this feature being helpful for students looking for a starting point to explore a research topic and find relevant links. It can also help to reduce the likelihood of hallucinations by ensuring the responses are backed by sources. How do you think ChatGPT Search will impact your classroom? Let us know in the comments below!
Here is an overview of today’s newsletter:
Reports on the current state of AI in education and the workforce
Reusable templates by Ethan and Lilach Mollick to help you generate quizzes and lesson plans
An exploration of teachers' preparedness for AI
Insights into how teens and college students view AI
🚀 Practical AI Usage and Policies
📃 Follow the Latest Reports in AI Trends
2024 State of Computer Science Education (Code.org)
Code.org released its annual report on K-12 computer science in the United States, covering educational policy trends, state summaries, and more. The report includes a section titled Computer Science in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, which discusses the current landscape of AI in education and offers examples and recommendations for implementing AI.
The U.S. Department of Education developed this toolkit to support educational leaders in planning how to integrate AI into student learning and instruction. It covers the following topics:
Mitigating Risk: Safeguarding Student Privacy, Security, and Non-Discrimination
Building a Strategy for AI Integration in the Instructional Core
Maximizing Opportunity: Guiding the Effective Use and Evaluation of AI
2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report (Microsoft and LinkedIn)
Microsoft and LinkedIn conducted a survey of 31,000 individuals in 31 countries to identify labor and hiring trends, drawing on LinkedIn data and analyzing extensive Microsoft 365 productivity signals. The report provides insights into how AI is reshaping the workplace and labor market, emphasizing the need to equip students with AI skills to prepare them for future job opportunities.
Source: Screenshot from 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework (The University of Adelaide)
The University of Adelaide created its Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework (AILF) to outline the competencies students should develop to effectively engage with AI. The framework focuses on four key dimensions: “Recognize and Understand,” “Use and Apply,” ”Evaluate and Critique,” and “Reflect and Respect.” It highlights the importance of understanding how AI functions, effectively prompting AI tools, applying critical thinking to assess AI-generated outputs, and using AI in an ethical manner.
🧭 Practical AI in the Classroom
Instead of rewriting a new prompt into ChatGPT every time you want to create a quiz, Ethan Mollick and Lilach Mollick share their 'blueprints'—reusable prompts designed to help you complete repeatable tasks. For instance, it can generate specialized teaching assistants to help you develop lesson plans or quizzes. Once you input the blueprint prompt, it retains this information, so when you generate your next quiz, you won’t need to re-enter all the details about the task.
Students in Australia in Year 5 to Year 10 are invited to participate in the Day of AI, a free, full-day teaching program filled with interactive activities, “designed to spark curiosity and ignite our future leaders, creators and innovators in the AI space.” The day covers topics related to the basics of AI, its benefits and risks, as well as applications of AI.
Prompting ChatGPT to Help with Essay Revision (Michelle Kassorla, Ph.D.)
Michelle Kassorla, Ph.D., posted an example on LinkedIn of how she is using AI to help students improve their writing. She shares a prompt created by Eugenia Novokshanova, Ph.D., designed to guide students step-by-step in improving their essays, rather than editing the essay entirely for them.
Assessment Design with Generative AI (The University of British Columbia)
The University of British Columbia offers strategies for revising and designing assignments and assessments, along with examples of how UBC faculty are addressing these challenges. They share resources such as the AI Assessment Scale (AIAS) to help define and communicate acceptable uses of generative AI, aiming to support academic integrity at various levels.
Making the Grade with AI (aiEDU)
The AI Education Project created an infographic titled "Making the Grade with AI" to help educators navigate grading practices in the age of AI. They recommend using AI as a tool to support the grading process rather than fully replace it. Teachers are also encouraged to review AI-generated feedback carefully before sharing it with students.
Professor Mike Sharples shared an infographic on LinkedIn highlighting the different aspects of AI Literacy and what it looks like in each category. This infographic serves as a valuable starting point for educators and students to understand the key components of AI literacy, from foundational knowledge to practical applications, helping guide discussions and curriculum development around AI in education.
Source: Mike Sharples, 2024 (LinkedIn)
🧠 Catch Up on the Latest Reads
How Harmful Are AI’s Biases on Diverse Student Populations? (Stanford University HAI)
Stanford HAI recently conducted research on AI’s biases in educational contexts, revealing that large language models (LLMs) often reinforce harmful stereotypes about marginalized student populations. The research highlighted three key types of representational harms: erasure, subordination, and stereotyping, with examples such as the absence of Native American students as learners and the reinforcement of the "model minority" stereotype for Asian students. The study also found that LLMs frequently depict students with marginalized identities, especially racial and gendered ones, as struggling or in need of support. Researchers recommend that developers and policymakers address AI biases through an intersectional lens, considering both technical and social factors to ensure AI tools are culturally responsive and avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes. They emphasize the importance of grounding AI research and development in socio-technical frameworks to create more equitable learning environments.
'I massively regret using AI to cheat at uni' (BBC)
A college student from the UK shares her negative experience of facing academic misconduct charges after using generative AI to complete an essay. While she only received a warning, she hopes to use her experience to warn other students about AI usage. Her case highlights the fine line universities must walk in promoting AI literacy while discouraging academic dishonesty.
📣 Student Voices and Use Cases
This week, we had a chance to interview Alondra Munoz Sandoval, a senior at Vanderbilt University studying Human & Organizational Development and Communications of Science, Engineering, & Technology. In the following, we present select highlights from these conversations, which have been slightly edited for enhanced clarity and precision:
Q: In what ways have your professors integrated AI tools into the classroom, and could you offer a specific example of how you interacted with these tools?
This semester I have not had a class that explicitly makes us use AI in the classroom but last year I took a course called Systematic Inquiry and with AI evolving, our professor required us to learn how to use ChatGPT to complete our assignments. We learned in class how to prompt and ask the right questions. We also learned how word choice and placement were important when using AI so we learned how to be specific in your asks and needs. They believed that it’s a tool that can be used to enhance our work and improve efficiency in the real world so we should learn how to use it in college. Employers would expect us to know about it or how to use it since that’s where the future is headed so as students graduating soon, we would have a competitive advantage already knowing how to use it.
Q: How has using AI improved your learning experience, if at all?
It has helped me so much in understanding concepts I have learned in class. Sometimes class presentations and slides aren’t enough for me to understand so I have been using AI to explain concepts or terms with analogies or metaphors and examples with minimal jargon. It has helped me understand complex concepts or processes in simple terms. It has also helped me with brainstorming and getting out of writer's block or the hardship of not knowing how to start something.
Q: How do you balance using AI tools with developing your own skills? Do you ever worry about becoming overly dependent on these tools?
No, I don’t worry about being overly dependent on it because I don’t use it to create my work, instead, it’s a tool to proofread or explore/brainstorm more ideas. I balance using AI by first creating my own work and completely trying it on my own and then putting my own work into ChatGPT to get feedback or suggestions. Since it’s my own ideas first, I view it as if I were going to a tutor session on campus, to ask for feedback and someone proofread my work. I feel that this helps me with my creativity and learning how to be more innovative with my work or learning styles. It also helps me create drafts and the importance of reiteration and editing my work by having this constant feedback available to me.
Q: How could educators and schools better support students in using AI effectively?
They could first teach students how to use AI, give examples of how they would prompt it, and give examples of how to use AI to complete assignments that they offer. The one class I took with the professor that encouraged us to use AI took the time to teach us how to prompt it and asking the right questions and how he uses it in his own work. By having this example, I learned how to use the tool more effectively and discovered it’s potential and ethical ways to use it instead of feeling like I was “cheating”. It’s a students idea first and then you can use AI to provide more clarity or structure or translate it, etc. The tool has so much potential to have an impact on different learning styles and audiences to reach when used correctly.
Q: In your opinion, what are the most exciting possibilities for AI in transforming the future of education?
I find it very interesting and exciting to see how AI can educate others on complex topics and concepts into simple terms that’s digestible and understandable to someone who had no or minimal knowledge. It has so much potential to educate more people and advance our society, despite maybe people not having the resources or opportunities to go to college. AI can meet people where they are and have a profound impact on their educational development.
📝 Latest Research in AI + Education
CRPE at Arizona State University
This research explores how U.S. teacher preparation programs are responding to the rapid advancements in AI. Despite the potential of AI to offer personalized learning and improve educational access, the paper highlights a lack of proactive adaptation within these programs. Based on a survey of over 500 education school leaders, it reveals that most institutions provide only basic AI-related instruction, often focused on plagiarism prevention rather than on fostering a broader understanding of AI's potential in teaching. The study identifies a significant gap in faculty preparedness, with many instructors feeling unprepared or resistant to incorporating AI into their curricula.
Opinion: It is essential for education boards and schools to actively educate teachers on AI to enable them to use it as an empowering tool rather than view it as a mysterious or potentially problematic technology. Without dedicated AI training, teachers may only see AI as a tool for detecting plagiarism, missing out on its broader educational benefits, such as personalizing learning, enhancing student engagement, and supporting diverse learning needs. Moreover, when teachers are equipped with foundational AI knowledge, they can demystify AI for students, helping them understand how to engage with it responsibly and safely. Proactive AI education for teachers fosters a classroom environment where AI serves as an aid to learning, rather than a "black box" that fuels uncertainty and misuse. By taking intentional steps to empower educators with AI skills, schools can prepare students for a future where AI is ubiquitous and vital to both personal and professional success.
Weiner, S., Lake, R., & Rosner, J. (2024, October). AI is evolving, but teacher prep is lagging: A first look at teacher preparation program responses to AI. Center on Reinventing Public Education, Arizona State University.Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Harvard Kennedy School, Vanderbilt University
The Rapid Adoption of Generative AI ↗️
This paper explores the rapid adoption of generative AI in the United States. It reports findings from a nationally representative survey, revealing that 39% of U.S. adults aged 18-64 had used generative AI as of August 2024, with significant usage both at work and home. Comparisons with historical data show generative AI adoption outpacing previous technologies like personal computers and the internet. The paper notes generative AI's broad applicability across professions and tasks, positioning it as a general-purpose technology that could meaningfully impact productivity, though this impact depends on the nature and intensity of its usage.
Opinion: Given the rapid adoption of generative AI—at a rate faster than both PCs and the internet—it is crucial for end-users to understand the technology's benefits and limitations. Widespread accessibility means that individuals are likely to encounter AI in various aspects of their professional and personal lives. Educating users on responsible and efficient AI use ensures they harness it productively, contributing to economic growth rather than diminishing skill development. As younger individuals enter the workforce, awareness and guidance on generative AI can prevent dependency on AI for routine tasks and instead encourage using it as a tool to enhance creativity and skillfulness, ensuring it serves as a complement to human capability rather than a substitute.
Bick, A., Blandin, A., & Deming, D. J. (2024, September 20). The Rapid Adoption of Generative AI. Working paper.📰 In the News
TIME
What Teenagers Really Think About AI ↗️
Key takeaways:
A new poll reveals that American teenagers prioritize addressing AI risks, placing them just below healthcare but above issues like social inequality and climate change.
Conducted by the Center for Youth and AI and YouGov, the survey shows that teens are concerned about AI-related risks such as misinformation (59%) and deep fakes (58%), as well as the long-term threat of autonomous AI escaping human control.
Nearly half of teens use AI tools like ChatGPT regularly, but they hold cautious views on AI's impact, especially regarding AI companionship and romantic relationships, with most opposing the latter (68%).
The poll highlights teenagers' nuanced perspectives on AI, influenced by their experience with digital technology, and underscores a desire for representation in AI policy discussions.
Youth-led advocacy groups see this data as a tool to influence policymakers, noting recent political challenges such as California's veto of a major AI safety bill that had broad support.
The 74 Million
Could Massachusetts AI Cheating Case Push Schools to Refocus on Learning?↗️
Key takeaways:
A federal lawsuit in Massachusetts highlights key questions about AI, academic integrity, and the role of education, as a family seeks to change their son’s grade after AI usage in a school project was flagged as cheating.
The case could push schools to establish clear policies on AI, with educators questioning if AI encourages students to complete assignments over genuinely learning.
The lawsuit critiques the lack of AI policies at the time of the assignment, arguing students need clarity on acceptable AI use, especially in academic settings.
Opinions on the case are mixed, with some seeing it as a case of overreaching parents, while others view it as a wake-up call for schools to adapt to AI's educational impact.
Experts suggest that AI could offer an opportunity to refocus education on learning processes rather than grades, emphasizing skill-building over transactional academic achievement.
“Chatgpt.” ChatGPT, OpenAI (GPT-4o), openai.com/chatgpt. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024. And that’s a wrap for this week’s newsletter! If you enjoyed our newsletter and found it helpful, please consider sharing this free resource with your colleagues, educators, administrators, and more.