It’s cutting edge, developing as you read this, rapidly changing the way almost EVERYTHING is done, becoming increasingly relevant, and when used correctly and responsibly is a powerful tool that reduces the mundane freeing us up to make connections and innovate faster than ever before…it’s CHATGPT!
Now that you know how I feel about ChatGPT, let’s address an elephant in the classroom – one of my favorite things to do. A lot of educators HATE AI and even prefer to ban it. The banning approach ignores two fundamental truths:
- We are educators – our job is to prepare children for THEIR future. We are not a regulatory body that decides what technology should exist. Apparently ChatGPT is here to stay and is relevant to our students’ futures.
- We are not able to ban ChatGPT, only limit its use in specific spaces. (i.e. school devices). The banning route would really only work if we give up homework as well but I would venture to say that those who want to ban technology might not be ready for banning assigning homework.
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“But, kids can cheat with ChatGPT” (you may be thinking). Yes, that’s true. I didn’t have ChatGPT and I can’t say that I never cheated in school and for that matter, I didn’t have a cell phone and I was rather distracted in high school. If we’re serious about reducing cheating, we have to look at root causes or the “WHY” and address the actual reasons people cheat. I know it’s easier to blame evil technology and long for the good old days of paper and pen but I did frame that sentence with “if we’re serious about…”.
Back to why we should embrace ChatGPT in education. The future does not to belong to those who can solve a math problem and show their work and keep their papers in an organized binder. Fortune will favor those who are adept at leveraging technology to create innovative solutions. We have to ask ourselves why are we really clinging to the old, the outdated, the familiar? Is it for the students? I don’t believe so and I would like to suggest that we’re cheating ourselves from a unique opportunity as educators to learn with the world as we teach.
Click below for articles from Nicole with ways that teachers can leverage ChatGPT to enhance instruction design & make student support more effective.
I would love to speak about ChatGPT and AI with your school community or at your next education conference. Please send me an email at nbiscotti1976@gmail.com to discuss!
Nicole Biscotti - Momvocate, Educator, Author, & Speaker 