This week, we had the opportunity to view a documentary film titled “Most Likely to Succeed” which was about a non-traditional school called High-Tech High. In this school, students are not assessed with tests or quizzes, and teachers do not have to follow a set curriculum, but rather choose to teach what they believe will best benefit their students. From viewing the film, one can ponder the question: Do we need to re-imagine education? I feel like the current education system could definitely use some adjustments. The film is on the right track with allowing students to facilitate their own learning, however, I still do believe that structure needs to be in place. Especially in the public school system, the chances of every student being so keen as to engage in learning and exploration on their own is slim. But what we teach should not be limited to just the content; it should encourage more problem solving and critical and reflective thinking. So in that sense, I can agree with the structures of High-Tech High and want to use a similar approach in my own future classroom that creates active thinkers and problem-solvers, and not just vessels to deposit information into.
The second aspect of this class that completely intrigued me was the discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) and its capabilities. The documentary touched a little bit about AI and how it has the capacity to replicate human thinking, providing examples of a computer beating a chess world champion and winning a game of Jeopardy. Today I discovered the chatbot AI called ChatGPT from OpenAI. I was blown away. With programming that can create a comprehensible piece of text of about almost anything using only simple prompts, the possibilities are just about endless. Now, what does this look like from an educational standpoint? ChatGPT can be a great tool for generating information, starting ideas or planning lessons. But it carries some risks as well. Students who know of it should be taught to use the site responsibly and only after they have already built up their proficiency and fluency in writing. Since the program is free and accessible, nothing is stopping students from having an AI write their assignments for them other than their sense of honesty. For example, I prompted the AI to write a summary of chapter one of Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” and it gave me a thorough comprehensible piece of writing. However, there are some limitations with the program as it does not give citations. There are also ways to prevent students from using ChatGPT by making certain assignment requirements that ask for more personal touches, as that is something the AI still lacks.
Another concern of mine is how this AI is just the beginning. Throughout the past century, machines have slowly been replacing humans in the work force. Will ChatGPT do the same? Perhaps, yes, but I still think it is a long way until the AI fully emulates human thinking. The one advantage we have over it is the fact that we are human. We can be irrational and personal, and I think that is something that we will always have over the machines.