School today looks very different from what it looked like in the mid-1970s and 80s when I was in school. Finding a book in the library meant using the card catalog, not a computer. Writing a research paper required notecards, paper and rubber bands. The one constant in education is change. It is constantly evolving. Every new technology impacts the classroom in some way.
The introduction of the handheld calculator in 1972 rocked math classes all over the world. Think back to 1972. Hewlett-Packard introduced the HP-95, the first handheld scientific calculator. However, 52 years later, we are still teaching math in schools.
The calculator of this decade may be ChatGPT. In the same way that calculators changed math classrooms in the ‘70s and Google changed how we gathered information in the ‘90s, ChatGPT will impact how we learn and interact with information.
The news following ChatGPT’s arrival was full of fear and doom. The article “ChatGPT Will End High-School English’’ epitomized the anxiety that was spreading among educators.
As they say, the genie is out of the bottle. There’s no going back. So, what do we do now? As educators, the most responsible thing we can do first is to try it and see for ourselves what it can do.
The next thing we can do is strengthen our media literacy curriculum, which we’ve prioritized with our Neptune Navigate Digital Citizenship curriculum. Students must know how to analyze and evaluate what they see and hear online. The use of AI to deceive is the most concerning area of AI. Many AI tools can be used to manipulate and create images that look incredibly realistic and indistinguishable from actual photographs. AI can also be used in audio production to create deepfake audio recordings.
As the 2024 presidential election draws near, we will see AI used to deceive us more. Social media platforms do not require users to label AI-generated images. The best tool for verifying the authenticity of an image is a reverse image search.
Understanding what constitutes a reputable source is a 21st-century skill we must ensure our students master. Students need to be able to differentiate between credible news and satire and from factual reporting and opinion-based commentary.
Students also need to know that AI cannot always provide accurate, factual information. ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are both subject to hallucination. AI hallucinates when it generates inaccurate information. Students must approach information gained from AI with the same skepticism they would have with any other information found online. It must be verified using other reputable sources.
It can’t be overstated that ChatGPT, Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s CoPilot were not created for the education space. They do not have built-in mechanisms to protect student privacy. Also, be aware that they all have a minimum age requirement of 13.
These new tools are exciting and a little scary. However, no bot can replace what you bring to the classroom now or in the future. We need teachers. We need your intelligence, creativity, empathy and heart. You are necessary and irreplaceable.
Christina Jontra is the Neptune Navigate Chief Navigator.
Christina Jontrachristina@neptunenavigate.com