I first wrote about Chat GPT in January. I asked the question, Could AI Replace School Superintendents? At the time, I was just beginning to use Chat GPT, and treated it like I would Google. I would make a query and get a response. So, what is something I have gotten better at over the last 8 months? Prompting.
As I started playing in Chat GPT at the end of last year, I would ask it a question and get an answer. I am used to 20 years of internet searches where each question gets an answer and there is no follow-up. So, I would ask Chat GPT questions like, “Why is it important for elementary students to know how to read,” or “What are the best ideas for an office staff party” or “Can you share a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe.” All were fine, but these responses were just stuff I could easily get on Google. Even my blog post on AI replacing superintendents was really just a modified Google search.
Some simple advice that I found helpful are the 6 tips that Anna Bernstein shared in her YouTube video:
- Take advantage of synonyms
- Be consistent with labeling
- Link everything together
- No negativity allowed
- Use powerful verbs
- Context is your best friend
I have come to understand that my frustrations with the poor outputs wasn’t as simple as “AI just isn’t that good” but it is often that I simply need to do a better job of asking, re-asking and clarifying what it is I am looking for. Just as we got better at searching the internet, there are definitely ways to improve getting better at using AI. Now, my Chat GPT interactions are more conversational as I’m working on an idea or problem. I often read that Chat GPT is like teaching something to a child and that is a useful mindset and good reminder that AI does not come with human wisdom.
The other shift in how I have used Chat GPT over the last eight months is using it for idea generation. Almost daily, I am asking it to give answer prompts like, “As a school superintendent what are five things I could observe when visiting a grade 3 class for 10 minutes that would be helpful to my work.” And then, I often take one of those ideas and explore it further to help me pinpoint my purpose. I am saving time and gaining clarity in my work.
And back to Anna Bernstein. It is commonly heard that new technologies, while make some jobs obsolete, they will also create new jobs that we had never heard of before. One of those is prompt engineer. And Bernstein is one of the trailblazers – a good reminder that we need to look beyond what is lost in these changes, to see what is also gained.
When I spoke with all our staff a couple weeks ago I used some basic prompts to expose people to Chat GPT. When we surveyed the group, about 60% had used the tool in their personal / professional life including about 10% who had used it with students. This digital disruption feels different that other technological tools of the last decade.
What are you doing with students and AI? How are you using it in your professional lives? Has your thinking changed on it over the last few months?
I will regularly check back in and share what is shifting for me – I am definitely in the joy of learning stage as I try to figure out how tools like Chat GPT will help me while also trying to be sure it is not the case of the technology being the driver of thinking and the work.