ChatGPT A quick SWOT

With every new technology comes along opportunities and threats. In this case the threats are actually not that different to what more wealthy students have always had and that is a tutor. This could be a great democratisation of helpful AI that help students to learn.  However the types of assessment that are effective going forward need to be thought about. Ironically exams are largely unaffected by this new technology. Coursework and homework need to be thought about carefully and their purpose. (See article on homework)

Perhaps in some ways this makes it a much fairer system, because now everyone has access to expertise whereas before it was only those with academic parents, access to tutors and older siblings who could 'cheat' in this manner.

I also see a great opportunity for students to see what careers are likely to be available in the future, using this to help with teacher planning to create more sample answers, to help with definitions and for a resource starved Computer Science teacher a bot to generate code seems like heaven! 

Here is a SWOT analysis based on what I've read so far!

 

Strengths

• Able to offer answers to questions
• Able to offer advice at a variety of language levels
• Can generate original answers
• Has opinions to be discussed
• Non-personal. Can be asked any question

Weaknesses

• Answers are NOT always accurate
• Appears authoritative even when it is not
• Do NOT know the source of information. 

Opportunities

• Excellent example of AI & the future of work and careers
• Very good at coming up with example essays, code etc
• Can generate code in many languages including Swift & Python
• Can be used for debates when asked for opinions
• Can ask students to mark the bot's answers
• Can be used as a start point for teacher generated answers
• Can be used to summarize text
• Good at defining many topics and level of English can be adjusted.
• Can generate prompts

Threats

• Makes setting essay-based homework more difficult, if the bot can do it (Perhaps it must be handwritten to discourage such strategies)
• Can solve Maths & Coding problems almost instantly even when provided in a context
• Currently systems such as Turnitin can't detect bot generated work 

Levels of English

It can be encouraged to use simple English by asking for simple English, but it works best with the either elementary school or primary school: "Can you explain a car to me as if I am in elementary school" worked well. It is not perfect and doesn't always limit its vocabulary, but it is definitely using different sources when encouraged to do so. 

Sources of information

When asked "Please can you generate an essay on the benefits of IP version 6 with AP style referencing" it could do it and included in-line referencing too, but if you ask a question and doubt its answer it could not pinpoint the source of its information.

Q: What are your sources for this information?

A: As an artificial intelligence, I don't have personal experiences or access to external sources. The information I provided is based on my training data, which includes a wide range of general knowledge sources such as textbooks, encyclopedias, and articles from reputable sources such as academic journals and mainstream media outlets. All of the information I provide is intended to be accurate and reliable, but it is always a good idea to verify information from multiple sources before making any decisions or taking any actions based on it.

Generating Questions

It appears to understand a number of different qualifications include iGCSE, A-level, undergraduate and IB Diploma. You can ask it to make multiple choice, short answer or complete essays (Within its word limit). So you can ask:

• Can you generate iGCSE questions on AI with answers
• Can you generate iGSCE multiple choice questions on uses of AI in industry?

You can even follow up with: Please could I have some more questions?

Detecting Plagiarism

Ironically AI itself might be able to work out if a piece of work is generated by an AI. There is a tool http://gptzero.me/ that is in development and looks promising.

Further Reading

• What is ChatGPT and How Can you Teach With it?
• AI is finally good at stuff, and that’s a problem
• The College Essay Is Dead
• Ditch That Textbook
• Your Creativity Won't Save Your Job From AI
  
• Lecturers urged to review assessments in UK amid concerns over new AI tool
• Five #ChatGPT Prompts To Help Primary School Teachers

Robotics for primary

Robots for schools

Once upon a time I taught primary and so I wanted to do a quick write up of the robotics systems that I've used and any resources that I know about. These are in no particular order and any of which could be suitable for your needs. I know that supplies can be challenging, depending where you come from so bear that in mind.  Don't forget to mix and match lesson plans, most lesson ideas will work with all these robots.

Beebots - simple & effective younger years

On the floor with the Beebots

The original beebots is great for younger years, because the controls are on the top of the robot and are great for paired programming. They can be used to teach directions, solve mazes and draw simple patterns (Attach an actual pen or pencil.)  There's many lesson resources for these robots and its well worth looking through the lesson packs even if you select a different robot.

Lesson ideas:

• https://sites.google.com/sfusd.edu/k-2cs/yellow/unit-2-bee-bots
• https://www.generationrobots.com/media/50_ways_to_make_the_most_of_your_beebot.pdf
• https://www.barefootcomputing.org/resources/bee-bots-basics-activity

Suppliers

• Singapore & Malaysia Supplier
• UK Supplier
• Beebot App (Doesn't need physical robot)

They're quite robust, but not indestructible.

Cosmo 

This is a much newer robot and has lots of potential, so worth keeping an eye on. Supplies have been tricky to get recently, but hearing rave reviews. You can buy a lesson guide with the robot too. 

Direct link: digitaldreamlabs.com/pages/cozmo

Dash & Cue

These have been designed from the ground up to teach robotics and have been used very successfully at our sister school in Malaysia. 

https://www.makewonder.com/compare_robots/

Lesson Plan archive: https://www.makewonder.com/blog/tag/lesson-plan/

Lego 

A lot of the fun is actually building this robot, so its great for an after schools club and completely reusable. However it takes a while to get to the programming and computational thinking, so that can be a limitation if used in class. 

https://www.lego.com/en-my/product/robot-inventor-51515

Lego now have a full education system with STEAM and bricks with sensors, so that is well worth looking into. https://education.lego.com/en-us/learningsystem#the-lego-learning-system The quality is as you'd expect from Lego with prices to match. (Much cheaper in the UK rather than in South East Asia)

Raspberry Pis can make all sorts of robots

These are great, but be warned there are smaller parts and some robots will need a little bit of soldering. However if you are running a workshop and the students get to take away their project. These are fantastic. This is just a small selection of what's available:

Robotic ideas: https://raspberrytips.com/best-raspberry-pi-robots-kits/

Lesson ideas: https://www.raspberrypi.org/teach/

Gopigo Robot: https://gopigo.io/

Sphero

These have come a long way since the days, when the original Sphero was just so much fun to play as a remote control toy, but boring to program. They've extended their range included a lot of great lesson and plans and worked hard to make real programming interactions. I find these to be genuinely hard-wearing and have done well in all the classrooms I have used them.

There's now a great range of lesson plans:

Lesson activities: https://edu.sphero.com/cwists/category

Matatalab

This one is great fun, because it is board based. 

Thanks to Sethi De Clercq for the recommendation.

https://matatalab.com/en

Kubo

Another board based robot that also looks very useful for teaching.

Thanks to Sethi De Clercq for the recommendation.

https://kubo.education/