This week we have dived into the complex world of Artificial Intelligence! AI tools are entering our classrooms at a rapid pace, and it is so important that as educators we learn how to use them productively ourselves and teach our students effectively as well.

There are many ways we as teachers can use AI to help with daily tasks. I have seen teachers use AI to help generate report card comments, write letters to families, respond to emails, and give feedback on student work. Even though the teacher must modify all the AI responses to make them more personal or reflect their writing style, the amount of time saved is worth noting. In the video, Dr. Couros references that AI allows people to use the time saved to spend with family and other things that are important to them. As an administrator, I see how busy teachers are so using AI is a great tool to ease their workload and spend their time in other areas.

Aside from using AI to assist in administrative tasks, I have seen it used in ways to enhance student learning. Personally, the two AI tools I use most in my teachings are Diffit and SchoolAI. Diffit allows me to take any text and modify it to any grade level to meet the diverse needs of my students. SchoolAI has a sidekick feature that allows teachers to assign a personal AI assistant to the students. I can set the parameters for the sidekick such as “help them brainstorm ideas on a Social Justice issue, but do not write the paragraph for them” Then using a code, students enter and can ask the AI questions relating to the assignment. On the teacher dashboard, teachers can see everything the student has asked, and the AI provides a summary of their learning as well. I have found this extremely beneficial in providing feedback on essays as I do not have time to get to 30-plus students during the writing process, so this allows them to get some controlled feedback using AI as I can assign specifically what I want to give them feedback on.

The capabilities of AI are endless as we seen in the presentation by Dr. Couros, and it makes it so tempting for students to have it do their work for them. Because of this, it is so important to teach kids how to use it accurately and effectively. Furthermore, time must be spent discussing and analyzing how one can use AI and when it is considered cheating will students define the lines.  I hope that by exposing students to it in their middle years and teaching them how to use it to enhance their work, they will be less likely to use it inappropriately in the future. I strongly agree with Dr. Couros’ statement “Outsource your workload, not your thinking”. By using AI in the classroom early, we can show them the capabilities of AI and teach them the necessary skills needed to do exactly that- reduce your work but not your thinking! As a result, I feel students will be less inclined to cheat. Another profound takeaway was when Dr. Couros shared how biased AI can be. He provided examples of professors, who were portrayed as older white men. In contrast, when asking AI to show images of social services, images were quite the opposite. This can be used as a teachable moment in the classroom and requires educators to reflect on our own biases as well.

Our (Meagan and I) course prototype is not one where students would be able to use AI to complete it because they need to create a soundscape. However, they could use AI to brainstorm ideas to help them create the mood and tone they are going for. When creating lessons, it is important to try to add a personal component because that is what AI is lacking. AI responses are usually very formal, have a lot of transitions, and lack personal connections, so at times it can be easy to spot when students have used AI to complete the task. Now, this may become a lot harder to detect as students get older but speaking to my current population of 12-14-year-olds, I can usually spot AI use.

To be quite honest, given the sophisticated capabilities of AI, there are very few assignments that cannot be completed with AI in some way. Teachers need to always consider this and like I said earlier, try to add some personal connection to make the assignment more unique to the student. In addition, conversations about AI need to happen in the classroom creating safe and open conversations about cheating, and plagiarism. I can’t help but think back to when many educators thought using spell check was cheating and look where we are today! AI is only going to get more advanced as we have already seen how much it has improved in the last few years, and blocking the sites is not an option. Therefore, providing AI education is going to be crucial moving forward as it is going to have a huge impact on both teaching and learning in the years to come.

Working Smarter Not Harder – Using AI to Automate the Mundane

“Outsource your workload, not your thinking.”

– Alec Couros

In this week’s video presentation Dr. Alec Couros explored the usage of generative A.I. in classrooms.  The presentation was quite compelling, as he demonstrated several practical applications throughout.  This seemed particularly relevant to the creation of my online course as time always seems to be in short supply.

Does this mean that I should have used an AI chatbot to create my entire course?  Obviously, no.

First off, academic misconduct was still a thing (last time I checked) and would betray the entire enterprise of learning (which being a teacher I have a particular affinity for).  Secondly, Alec (for clarification while I don’t know Dr. Couros personally, I took a class from him last semester and he was comfortable with students referring to him by his first name) was very clear that we (teachers, private citizens, corporations, or cats walking across keyboards) bear ultimate responsibility for any A.I. derived materials that we choose to post.  Factual inaccuracies and bias can not be eliminated from algorithms and any information that we distribute to our students must be thoroughly screened.  Essentially, content generated by A.I. must be adjudicated against our own knowledge base.  This means the average user cannot go into the process blind, or simply trust the material (for example Alec cited an example of a B.C. lawyer who was caught citing non-existent case law generated by AI).  That said, what we can do with A.I. is automate the mundane, menial, and time-consuming tasks that take away from the real goal of teaching: building relationships with students and engaging in thoughtful and meaningful conversations.

Here are some of the examples that I felt could be applied to my mathematics course on buying and leasing vehicles:

• Chatbots like ChatGPT can easily create multiple choice questions when a suitable prompt is utilized. For example, after watching Alec’s presentation I used one of the prompts listed in this Google document to create a list of multiple-choice questions on buying and leasing vehicles (a sample question is shown below).

Which of the following factors should you consider when deciding whether to buy or lease a vehicle?

1. a) Expected mileage per year
2. b) Current fuel prices
3. c) Number of previous owners
4. d) Vehicle color options

 Answer: a) Expected mileage per year.

Explanation: Mileage limits are a crucial factor in leasing agreements, whereas the do not directly affect buying.

The question is reasonable, and I appreciate that the prompt cues the Chat bot to include an explanation and rationale for the correct answer.  Utilizing this feature (even after verifying the accuracy of the questions) would have saved me several hours.

• In a similar vein I used Chat GPT to create a series of short answer and long answer discussion questions on the pros and cons of buying vs. leasing. Here is an example of the output:

How do your personal financial goals and lifestyle preferences influence your decision to buy or lease a vehicle?

This is a decent question, but knowing my students I would have to clarify it somewhat.  This type of question would need to be accompanied by an example to clarify what I was looking for.  Guidelines for the length of the response (or number of points required) would have to be included as well.  The fact remains that this would be a useful jumping off point.

• Increasing the accessibility of my lessons by using A.I. to translate the material to different languages is a unique capability that I am not sure I would be able to duplicate using anything else. I am a bit leery of not being able to verify the output though (harkening back to issue of responsibility).

Helping Students to Use A.I. productively.

Since A.I. tools are rapidly increasing in sophistication and proliferating throughout schools, successfully prohibiting their use feels to me like an act of futility.  As a general gauge I find once my mother (who is in her seventies) is freely using a technology the genie is truly out of the bottle.  The other day she told me about how she used Chat GPT to help suggest a recipe based on what she had available in her cupboard – so needless to say, A.I. has hit the mainstream.

Like any tool I think we need to discuss with students its inherent advantages and disadvantages.  Although this is not directly tied to the curricular outcomes of buying and leasing vehicles, I found it interesting that when I prompted Microsoft’s Copilot to create an image of “a young person buying their first vehicle at a dealership” it gave me four very similar options (see an example below).

Do you notice something about the ethnicity of the people in the A.I. generated photograph?  Who seems to be missing (or not represented) in it?  What does this tell you about the data being used to train the A.I. model that created it?

Another interesting point that Alec brought up was that the essay, which is easily created by A.I. tools, may no longer be the gold standard for demonstrating learning.  Instead, we might need to shift our efforts to understanding how to write effective prompts and how to screen the output for accuracy.  Communicating with students why we need to read material to gain deep understanding will become a critical skill in a post A.I. world.

But Cheating Matt, WHAT ABOUT THE RAMPANT CHEATING!

As I noted earlier winding back the hand of time is not a viable option.  Furthermore, as Alec noted in this video A.I. detection tools are (at the time of this writing) ineffective at detecting plagiarism and disproportionately flag non-native English speakers (in error).

I feel our best chance at mitigating cheating is by having open conversations with our students about the appropriate use of A.I., providing usable guidelines for its citation/clear expectations when it is not to be used, and building relationships with them so they respect the process of learning.  Some students will always choose to cheat.  Twenty years ago, I saw a student in a university chemistry final print a fake label on a cola bottle with chemical reactions replacing the ingredients list (he was caught).  In general, I believe a greater emphasis will need to be placed on process rather than product.  The pre-writing for a project will become as important (if not more) than the final paper.  It will also necessitate a shift away from generic essays to writing that directly connects to one’s personal experiences.  For example, could A.I. have generated this blog post?  Would it be able to connect to my Alec’s video or my projects I’ve created for this university course?  Maybe, but I doubt it.  As Alec put it, we need to have serious conversations about what is worth knowing.

Which brings me back to my course on buying and leasing vehicles.  Could students prompt A.I. to help them answer some of my questions?  Yes, but in the process of looking up this information would they not be learning?  Isn’t the point to have them read and learn about buying and leasing?  As my course has an in-class component, calculation-based questions are performed with the instructor.  At some point students will have to demonstrate their own understanding in a live environment.

It was a gratifying pleasure to receive thorough and insightful comments on the first orientation lesson on Canadian cultural norms and values. The insightful feedback has given me a clear route forward for improving the instructional strategy, especially as I anticipate creating the second module. In response to the criticism, this reflection piece outlines intentions for improvement and takes into consideration the class conversation on equity and accessibility in the course structure.

Taking Feedback into Practice

Language Proficiency and Digital Literacy: The feedback made clear that participants were assumed to have a minimum degree of digital literacy and access to the English language. To accommodate students with different levels of English competence, the plan is to incorporate language help tools and glossaries into the next module. We also want to provide low-tech, alternative options for course involvement, like downloadable materials and audio versions of information, in light of the digital divide.

Module Revisions: It is encouraging to see how well the module’s interaction and engagement techniques are received. Explanatory comments will be given for every quiz question according to the recommendation that quiz responses improve comprehension and promote deeper learning. An evaluation of the multimedia content in various browsers is necessary in light of the accessibility issue with the “Canada Customs & Culture” movie. This will help to ensure that all resources are available to all users.

Introduction and Interaction Enhancements: As mentioned, adding a welcome video will further enhance the introduction’s efficacy in creating a community of learners. By adding a personal touch, I want to reduce anxiety and create a friendly environment right away. In response to the suggestion to make the course structure clearer, I will clearly state that the course is hybrid, combining online self-paced learning with optional in-person sessions to meet the needs of a wide range of learners.

Reflecting on Accessibility and Equity

The conversation on equity and accessibility was crucial, and it led to a careful analysis of how the course stacks up in these areas. Accessibility includes comprehension and participation in addition to physical and digital access. I understand that by following web accessibility guidelines—which include offering text alternatives for non-text information and making sure navigation is compatible with assistive technologies—I can make the course more accessible for students with disabilities.

Recognising and adjusting to our students’ diverse educational experiences, cultural backgrounds, and access to technology are all part of equity considerations. In the future, I’ll look to collaborate with neighbourhood libraries and community centres to provide individuals who don’t have access to computers and the internet at home with actual locations that have these amenities. I am also looking into working with language instructors to provide additional language help that is specific to the material covered in our courses.

Summarily, the comments received serve as both a guide for future development and evidence of the effectiveness of the orientation programme. It emphasises how crucial it is to be adaptable, inclusive, and accessible when creating learning environments that appeal to a wide range of learners. These guidelines will direct efforts to establish an equitable learning environment that respects and attends to the different needs of learners as I improve the modules that are currently available and develop new ones. My unwavering dedication to improving cross-cultural understanding among recent immigrants to Canada is based on ongoing introspection and adaptation to ensure that the course is not only educational but also inclusive and accessible to all.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the orientation programme for recent immigrants offers a great chance to transform the educational experience, particularly when combined with a hybrid learning approach. This article uses the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) model framework to examine the ways that artificial intelligence (AI) might be applied to improve teaching, learning, and administrative efficiency. In the era of artificial intelligence, it also tackles the growing problem of academic integrity and offers safeguards against its improper application in the classroom. Let’s examine how AI can be used within the ADDIE model.

Phases of Analysis and Design: AI’s involvement starts in the Analysis phase, where it can process data from surveys and assessments to automate the evaluation of immigrants’ learning needs. This helps identify common issues and areas that require attention, like language proficiency or cultural adaptation (Khan & Bose, 2021). According to du Boulay (2016), artificial intelligence (AI) enables the development of personalised learning paths and adaptable content during the design phase. This ensures that the materials are customised to the learners’ pace and style, thereby meeting the different demands of adult learners.

Phase of Development: Artificial Intelligence facilitates the creation and curation of content by utilising technologies for natural language generation to effectively generate and suggest pertinent multimedia material. Additionally, it can create helpful language tools that will help immigrants overcome language hurdles by providing real-time translation and pronunciation coaching (Chen, Chen, & Lin, 2020).

Phase of Implementation: AI-powered chatbots act as on-demand tutors, offering prompt assistance and feedback to improve the learning process outside conventional classroom settings. Furthermore, AI can automate administrative processes like enrolment and progress monitoring, freeing teachers to concentrate more on instruction rather than paperwork (Goksel & Bozkurt, 2019).

Evaluation Phase: AI systems enable a continuously developing learning experience that is customised to each learner’s needs by providing a nuanced understanding of each learner’s success and areas for development through adaptive assessments and feedback analysis (Perrotta & Selwyn, 2019).

Addressing Academic Integrity and Misuse of AI

The development of AI tools has made it harder to uphold academic integrity. Couros (2024) in his presentation argues that AI has failed to accurately identify the use of generative AI in academics. It is crucial to create examinations that demand personal reflection, live presentations, and practical application—tasks that are difficult for AI to imitate—to prevent potential abuse. Maintaining assessment integrity can be aided by using AI for plagiarism monitoring and detection. Additionally, integrating ethical AI use and digital literacy into the curriculum guarantees that students understand the possibilities as well as constraints of AI (Good, 1987).

Instead of focusing on limiting the use of AI, why don’t academics and institutions think in terms of “How do we make AI a relevant part of the instructional process that augments student learning?” Educators either accept AI as a disruptor or as a catalyst.

To conclude, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education presents opportunities for tailored, effective, and interesting learning, especially in courses for recent immigrants. Teachers can construct a dynamic learning environment that addresses the different needs of adult learners by utilising AI across the stages of the ADDIE paradigm. But it’s also critical to address the issues raised by AI, particularly concerning upholding academic integrity, by encouraging the ethical application of AI and creating well-thought-out course designs.

Although there are obstacles in the way of educators and course designers when incorporating AI into their curricula, the potential benefits in terms of improved learning outcomes and increased operational efficiency are enormous. AI applications in education are expected to develop along with the sector, offering more personalised, engaging, and accessible learning experiences in the future.