Reflections — Blog — Ana-Paula Correia

BY ANA-PAULA CORREIA

ChatGPT, also known as Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a language model developed by the San Francisco-based company, OpenAI. The company was founded in 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Wojciech Zaremba, and John Schulman commerce (OpenAI et al., 2015). The company is also responsible for creating other software programs such as GPT-3 and DALL-E2. These intensify the ongoing advancements in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Made publicly available for testing on November 30, 2022, ChatGPT OpenAI’s chatbot has caused a stir on the internet after breaking records by gaining over 1 million users in just one week of its launch (Ruby, 2023).

ChatGPT has become popular in various industries, including finance, healthcare, and e-commerce, as a way to incorporate advanced natural language processing capabilities into their products and services. Concomitantly, ChatGPT has been gaining traction in Higher Education.

One of the critical features of ChatGPT is its ability to generate human-like text based on a given prompt. This feature is particularly useful for content creation, language translation, and customer service automation tasks. The model has also been trained on a massive dataset of internet text, allowing it to understand and respond to a wide range of topics and use cases. AI-generated text tools like ChatGPT have been trained to use billions of written works, encompassing different materials, including blogs, novels, and classic literature (Marr, 2022).

Regarding language support, ChatGPT can understand and generate text in several languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, and Chinese. However, the model’s performance may vary depending on the language and the complexity of the task requested.

**Potential & Impact**

**ChatGPT in Higher Education**

With its ability to generate human-like text and carry out natural language processing tasks, ChatGPT can potentially impact how students and teachers work in Higher Education. One of the key areas where ChatGPT can make a significant impact is in automating administrative tasks. For example, ChatGPT can answer frequently asked questions and provide course information freeing up valuable time for teachers and allowing them to focus on what they do best: teaching.

ChatGPT has the potential to be highly beneficial in personalized learning support (Trust et al., 2023). By facilitating text-based conversations between students and ChatGPT, learners can interact with an intelligent system that responds in real time, leading to a more personalized and engaging learning experience. ChatGPT can be used in various ways, such as providing instant feedback to students, answering their questions, or generating relevant resources. ChatGPT can act as a “teachable agent,” according to Tate et al. (2023), by engaging students in a text-based conversation and encouraging them to teach ChatGPT a concept as a means of promoting their own learning.

It is also possible to use ChatGPT to promote deep learning by improving student engagement. One example is personalized tutoring, where ChatGPT can provide customized feedback and guidance to individual students based on their learning needs and preferences. This can help students better understand and apply the course content. Another example is scenario-based learning, where ChatGPT can simulate real-life situations and provide students with opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills in an applied context.

In addition to improving student engagement, ChatGPT can help to streamline the grading process, providing real-time feedback and offering feedback on students’ writing (Trust, 2023), allowing students to receive quick and constructive feedback on their progress. This can be especially valuable for online learning, where traditional methods of offering feedback and grading can be slow and cumbersome.

ChatGPT has been used to generate automated summaries and transcripts of online lectures. This allows students to quickly and easily review the key takeaways from an online lecture and provides a valuable resource for students who may have difficulty understanding the spoken word. ChatGPT can also be integrated into online discussion boards or virtual reality environments to facilitate more meaningful interactions between students and instructors. One may argue that students can benefit, particularly in terms of productivity and efficiency. By using ChatGPT, students can streamline their research and study processes, saving time and increasing productivity.

Another relevant aspect of ChatGPT’s potential in Higher Education is language learning. Due to its ability to carry out natural language processing tasks, ChatGPT can facilitate conversational practice, providing students with personalized feedback on their pronunciation and language skills. When integrated into online courses, ChatGPT has the ability to understand and generate text in multiple languages. This allows educators to create multilingual online course materials, making their courses more accessible to global audiences. Additionally, ChatGPT can offer writing and communication assistance for students, particularly those who face language and learning challenges, as well as individuals who are learning English as a second language (Tate et al., 2023).

Looking broadly, we acknowledge the potential of generative AI and integrate it into education, just as we use other tools such as computers, calculators, and pen and paper. By incorporating AI into the curriculum and teaching students how to use it responsibly, we can help them gain a better understanding of its ethical implications in society, formal and informal education, and lifelong learning (Bozkurt et al., 2023).

**Obstacles & Constraints**

**ChatGPT in Higher Education**

Simply put, ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language model that generates text by analyzing input data. However, it does not have the capability to comprehend the intricacies of human language and conversation fully. Its responses are solely based on the information fed to it during the training process (Bogost, 2022).

An important aspect to consider is that ChatGPT can only offer information dated before September 2021. If there are inquiries regarding topics from before the Internet era, such as a paper on the 1968 flu pandemic, there will be limited sources to draw from. Therefore, it is unsurprising that numerous limitations and constraints of ChatGPT have been pointed out. For starters, when using ChatGPT in Higher Education, one of the obstacles is the lack of context awareness. Since the model is trained on a massive dataset of internet text, it does not have the ability to understand the specific context of the prompt. As a result, it may generate text that is not entirely relevant or accurate and lead to errors or inaccuracies in its generated text. On the same token, ChatGPT can produce content that imitates the style and format of real news stories but incorporates fabricated statistics and quotes from fictitious sources (Vincent, 2019).

Another obstacle faced when using ChatGPT is its lack of creativity. ChatGPT generates text based on patterns it has learned from the data it was trained on, which means it can produce repetitive or generic text. Also, it needs help understanding the tone of a given text, which can lead to inappropriate responses or feedback. This is a constraint when using ChatGPT to generate feedback on student assignments, as it may not be able to understand the nuances of human communication and can generate feedback that is unsuitable to the student’s needs.

Creativity comes into play when the learner or user prompts ChatGPT. That leads to Prompt Engineering or the art of asking ChatGPT questions (Mok, 2023). Prompt engineering is a technique used to help artificial intelligence understand what to say or write. It involves selecting and designing the right words to guide the model toward producing the desired type of response. This technique helps to improve the accuracy and consistency of language models when generating natural language text. Educators are currently working on collecting and sharing ideas on using generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Dall-E, and Midjourney) to enhance their teaching methods and improve academic research. They collaborate to gather and exchange innovative ideas on incorporating these tools into their scholarship (Nerantzi, 2023).

A significant constraint of generative AI is algorithm bias (Bozkurt et al., 2023). Algorithm bias refers to the tendency of an AI algorithm to produce biased outputs or results that are unfair or discriminatory toward specific groups of people. This can happen if the algorithm is trained using biased data or instructions, leading to biased decisions or predictions. In the case of generative AI, algorithm bias can severely limit its potential. Generative AI systems are designed to create original content, such as images or text, based on the data they have been trained on. For example, if a language model is trained on biased data, it may generate text that perpetuates harmful stereotypes or discriminates against certain populations. Consequently, algorithm bias is a major concern because it can reinforce and amplify existing social inequalities and discrimination (Bembeneck et al., 2021).

**Concluding Thoughts**

**ChatGPT in Higher Education**

With the release of GPT-4 this week by OpenAI, ChatGPT and other forms of generative AI in Higher Education are here to stay. GPT-4 is now able to understand and respond to both images and text, making it a multimodal AI tool. OpenAI reports that the updated version has improved accuracy and expanded knowledge, along with the ability to “see” images and “reason” (OpenAI, 2023).

Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we learn and teach. By leveraging the power of generative AI, educators can provide more personalized and satisfying learning experiences. Students may be able to maximize their productivity and achieve their academic goals in a more efficient manner.

Yet, it is essential to acknowledge the pitfalls of this technology. Algorithmic bias, content quality, currency, and accessibility issues must be addressed to ensure that ChatGPT is used to its fullest without exacerbating existing inequalities. At the end of the day, while technology can significantly enhance the educational experience, it is the human-to-human interactions that make education genuinely transformative.

References

Bembeneck, E., Nissan, R., & Obermeyer, Z. (October 21, 2021). To stop algorithmic bias, we first have to define it. Brookings.

Bogost, I. (December 7, 2022). ChatGPT Is Dumber Than You Think. The Atlantic.

Bozkurt, A. et al. (2023). Speculative Futures on ChatGPT and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI): A Collective Reflection from the Educational Landscape. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 18(1), 53-130. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7636568

OpenAI, Brockman, G., & Sutskever, I. (December 11, 2015). Introducing OpenAI. OpenAI Blog.

OpenAI (March 14, 2023). GPT-4 is OpenAI’s most advanced system, producing safer and more useful responses. OpenAI Blog.

Marr, B. (December 21, 2022). ChatGPT: Everything You Really Need To Know (In Simple Terms). Forbes.

Mok, A. (March 1, 2023). ‘Prompt engineering’ is one of the hottest jobs in generative AI. Here's how it works. Insider.

Nerantzi, C. (February 2, 2023). Creating a collection of 101 creative ideas to use AI in education. #creativeHE.

Ruby, D. (February 8, 2023). ChatGPT Statistics for 2023: Comprehensive Facts and Data. DemandSage.

Tate, T. P., Doroudi, S., Ritchie, D., Xu, Y., & Uci, M. W. (2023, January 10). Educational research and AI-generated writing: Confronting the coming tsunami. EdArXiv.

Trust, T. (January 2023). ChatGPT & Education.

Trust, T., Whalen, J., & Mouza, C. (2023). Editorial: ChatGPT: Challenges, Opportunities, and Implications for Teacher Education. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education.

Vincent, J. (2019). AI researchers debate the ethics of sharing potentially harmful programs. The Verge.

-- Please cite the content of this blog as: Correia, A.-P. (2023, March 15). Is ChatGPT the new buzz in Higher Education? Ana-Paula Correia’s Blog. https://www.ana-paulacorreia.com/anapaula-correias-blog/2023/3/15/is-chatgpt-the-new-buzz-in-higher-education

BY ANA-PAULA CORREIA

As we engage in a high number of online experiences at all levels, the questions around the quality of these experiences are even more piercing in the context of the COVID pandemic. Thus, this reflection on what makes an online learning experience extraordinary. What will truly resonate with the online learner and offer a life-long impact? Here are SEVEN important principles that I apply to my online teaching and learning that have been proven to be successful in creating exceptional online learning experiences.

ONE) Put Yourself in the Learner’s Shoes. I have experienced firsthand being an online learner as well as an online instructor. I have engaged in virtual design work, joined a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and researched the synchronicities of geographically distributed teams. Besides, I have designed, developed, and delivered dozens of online courses and modules. I have collected feedback from many online learners on what they expected from online learning. This myriad of lived understandings informs my online teaching every day. It is important to connect, care and empathize with the online learner and tailor a learning experience that meets their needs and fulfills their aspirations.

TWO) Make it Count. Especially when we teach adult learners, they expect their lives and professional experiences (e.g., work-related activities, family responsibilities, and previous education) are integrated into their online learning. Adult learners want to know why they are learning what they are learning and see a clear relevance and application to their professions and lives. That is why I connect their experiences to the course content and provide suggestions on how they can apply new knowledge and skills to their contexts of practice.

THREE) Apply it to the Real-World. Online learners are eager to push the limits of their class projects and use them as exemplary artifacts on their professional portfolios to (1) showcase their knowledge and skills; and (2) meet their potential or current employers’ expectations. They want to use what they learn and to solve problems and have a positive impact on their lives and the communities that they inhabit. Students who take my online courses engage in experiential e-learning and work in teams to address educational issues that have been brought to them by real-world community partners. Concomitantly, they learn that collaboration is a symbiotic relationship, i.e. a win-win situation for all parties including their team members and their partners. When I guide students through their projects, I help them to negotiate the balance between learning and service, as they are acting simultaneously as learners in the course and learning design consultants on a project. This approach results in mutual benefits for both the students and community partners.

Woman with Microphone.jpg — **Share the Center-Stage.**

FOUR) Share the Center-Stage. To have learners committed to the online learning experience, they need to feel that they have an authorship role in it. To promote learner ownership and facilitate engagement, I offer students the opportunity to lead weekly asynchronous discussions. Online discussions are led by and for the students. More specifically, each student is invited to create and facilitate asynchronous discussions during at least one week of the semester, although they had the opportunity to volunteer for additional weeks. I identify the weekly topics in advance and select the core readings/views. Even though asynchronous discussions have been dominated by the instructor’s moderation in the past, I feel it’s more than time to share the center-stage with our students. Student-focused discussions foster meaningful dialogue and engagement on their part and prepare them for facilitating discussions outside of the class.

FIVE) Aim at Deep Learning. When creating online learning experiences, my goal is to achieve deep learning – that is, learning that is situated in applied contexts and knowledge that is construed from rich interactions with teachers, peers, and reality. The interactions with their peers, with me, and the communities where they live, are at the core of the online experience. I attract students from a variety of programs into my online courses which allow for peer-to-peer interaction to be richer because of the variety of their backgrounds and experiences. This also situates the educational problems we address to originate from an array of communities and networks.

SIX) Express Yourself in Different Formats & Venues. Throughout the online learning experience, learners should be encouraged to use audio, video, and images to help create their meanings and express their points of view. They should be able to fully utilize the multimedia capabilities of the learning management system adopted. They wanted to create content for the course that allow the full expression of their points of view. During synchronous and asynchronous discussions, students feel confident in using a variety of media (e.g., video, text, music, still images, and infographics) to express their reflections and take-aways from the weekly readings, to introduce themselves to each other, and develop a sense of social presence, and to problematize and conceptualize concepts and procedures. Online learners are eager to explore other forms of expression other than writing/text. They want to expand their ideas and test new ways of conveying their thoughts and the learning experience should provide an outlet to maximize this expression.

To strengthen the social presence and create a true online learning community, I have shared with the class my Southern European upbringing and international background, which have a major impact on my life and work as a teacher and researcher. To illustrate this influence and the value of social bonds, I set up a “Café,” which is an informal social space in the learning management system. I found that the “Café” fosters a discussion that supports socialization beyond readings, assignments, and technical issues. Participation is always voluntary, but it quickly becomes a place to share challenges and victories and post available positions in the field and professional development opportunities.

SEVEN) Extend it Beyond the Class. Real-world implementation beyond the online learning experience is an indication of the impact and success of it. The goal is to create an experience that continues to live beyond course completion and the end of the academic semester.

Master of Learning Technologies at The Ohio State University.

I often explore entrepreneurial opportunities when I teach about learning design since it’s important not only to expose students to alternative careers in this field but also to facilitate the understanding of entrepreneurial thinking – that is, the concept of entrepreneurship as “a way of life, and a need driven desire to create and innovate” (Kao et al., 2002, p. 29). In other words, students are encouraged to apply what they learned into endeavors that live beyond the class or module. As an example, in November 2020 a design team enrolled in my course on Applied Instructional Design won the Crystal Award (2nd place) presented by the Association for Educational Communications & Technology, Division of Distance Learning. This award recognizes innovative and outstanding multimedia-based distance education courses or multimedia-based distance learning projects. They compete with a self-paced online module, The Circulatory System and Associated Diseases, created for The Ohio State University’s College of Nursing Community Health Worker Training Program.

In sum, bringing authenticity to the online learning experience and following a learner-centered design contribute to exceptional online learning experiences. One that excels when compared with experiences focused on the transmission and replication of knowledge and exclusively based on reading and writing/text as forms of expression. The quality indicators used to determine the quality of the online experience are first and foremost the online learners’ accounts and what they do with the knowledge and skills they gained.

References

Correia, A.-P. (2020). Finding Junctures in Learning Design and Entrepreneurship: A Case of Experiential Learning in Online Education. In M. J. Bishop, E. Boling, J. Elen & V. Svihla (Eds.), Handbook of Research in Educational Communications and Technology (5th edition) (pp. 689–712. Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-36119-8_32

Correia, A.-P., Liu, C., & Xu, F. (2020). Evaluating videoconferencing systems for the quality of the educational experience. Distance Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2020.1821607

Correia, A.-P., North, C. A., Korkmaz, C., Simmerman, V. E. & Bruce Wallace, K. A. (2019). Authentic Online Discussions: A Narrative Inquiry into Sharing Leadership and Facilitation Among Teachers and Students. International Journal on E-Learning (IJEL), 18(2), 165-189.

Kao, R. W. Y., Kao, K. R., & Kao, R. R. (2002). Entrepreneurism: A philosophy and a sensible alternative for the market economy. Imperial College Press.

-- Please cite the content of this blog as: Correia, A.-P. (2021, March 18). The pursuit of an exceptional online learning experience: Seven principles to guide development. Ana-Paula Correia’s Blog. https://www.ana-paulacorreia.com/anapaula-correias-blog/2021/3/18/the-pursuit-of-an-exceptional-online-learning-experience-seven-principles-to-guide-development