The last 12 months have been some of the most interesting in educational technology, to say the least. Obviously, the biggest story of the year was the impact of generative ai on technology, teaching and learning, although there were many other critical edtech topics and events throughout 2023.
Before we move on to 2024, we wanted to take a brief look at the year related to ai in education, as well as share some of our other most-viewed news, how-to articles, and edtech features.
Enjoy and be sure to stay up to date with us as we keep up to date with everything related to the coming year!
<h2 id="tech-amp-learning-2023-year-in-review-top-news-articles”>technology and Learning 2023 Year in Review: Top News Articles
Sal Khan: ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence technologies herald the “new era”
Sal Khan, online pioneer and founder of Khan Academy, believes the impact of ai technologies like ChatGPT will be greater in education and beyond than the arrival of search engines or smartphones. “It's a new era and it's the greatest era of all times, I truly believe that, and I wouldn't have said that six months ago or a year ago,” Khan says. “This is the moment we're in. I don't think that's an exaggeration. And education is really at the center of this hurricane. It's the first field that gets hit.”
He was falsely accused of using ai. This is what you would like your teacher to do
William Quarterman, a senior at the University of California, Davis, was accused of using ai to cheat on a take-home exam, even though he had never used ChatGPT. His graduation status was in jeopardy and he had no idea how to prove that he had made a mistake. “It was a very traumatic experience because it's one of those rare situations where you're sitting there and you have no control over the situation,” he says.
President Biden's ai Executive Order Won't Fix ai in Schools, But It's a Start
President Biden's recent executive order on ai is not designed to address gaps in ai policies in schools, nor do we want elected officials to dictate education policy. However, it does draw attention to both the opportunities of ai in schools and some of the challenges and concerns surrounding it.
Taking notes versus photographing slides
New research has found that students who take notes outperform students who photograph slides during an online lecture. “We consistently found that note-takers remembered more information from lectures than photo-takers or non-note-takers,” says Dr. Sarah Shi Hui Wong, an instructor at the National University of Singapore and lead author of the paper. . “In fact, the photographers performed as poorly on the test as their peers who didn't take any notes.”
ChatGPT is not designed to be a tutor. Students still use it as one
According to a recent Intelligent.com survey, 10% of high school and college students said they studied with ChatGPT plus a tutor last year, while 15% of parents with school-age children said their children did. They also used a tutor as well. “ChatGPT is very good at collecting information and providing it in a very concise way, but it is not a tutor,” says Diane Gayeski, professor of Strategic Communications at Ithaca College.
ai in education: 10 months later
“In November 2022, ChatGPT revealed the incredible world of generative ai and now, just ten months later, we are taking a closer look at the progress made since then and the obstacles that still lie ahead for schools,” writes Michael Gaskell. principal of East Brunswick schools in New Jersey. “What have we learned?”
Top practical articles
My student was submitting ai papers. This is what I did
“Over the summer it finally happened to me: while reading a student essay in an online introductory college course at one of the universities where I teach, I began to suspect not only that this student had not written it but that no human mind had . In other words, it was the work of ai,” writes Erik Ofgang, senior technology and learning writer and higher education instructor. “Like many educators around the world, I was thrust into a brave new world of modern teaching for which I had not been trained and for which an adequate response was unclear.”
I used to create long slideshows. Here are 4 things I do instead
tech & Learning senior writer Erik Ofgang shares how he no longer bores his students and those who attend his writing workshops with “death by PowerPoint” presentations. Here are your high-tech and low-tech strategies (including brochures, surveys, and pre-questionnaires) that are easier to put together and lead to more engaging presentations.
4 learning tips from a cognitive scientist turned TikTok star
Daniel T. Willingham is not your typical TikTok star. This mild-mannered University of Virginia psychology professor doesn't share recipes, exercise tips, or make funny animal videos. Instead, he clearly and concisely provides evidence-based advice for students and educators on how they can work smarter, not harder.
Development of ai pedagogical practices
“It is important to reshape the way we, as teachers, approach the use of ai in the classroom as we enter the new school year,” writes Dr. Stephanie Smith Budhai, associate clinical professor in the department of Teaching, Learning and Drexel University Curriculum. , in Pennsylvania. “ai is here to stay and will be part of our students' future, so we must take it into account in our instruction and their learning.”
4 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Prepare for Class
It's easy to see how the free version of ChatGPT and other similar tools, such as Google Bard and the subscription version of ChatGPT powered by GPT-4, could be useful to teachers, especially new educators. Our lead writer tested ways technology could help prepare for a hypothetical journalism course. The machine worked surprisingly well.
<h2 id="top-edtech-tool-articles”>Top articles on educational technology tools
12 ai Tools Beyond ChatGPT That Can Save Teachers Time
ai tools can make teachers' lives easier and help them teach more efficiently, says Lance Key, an award-winning educator and support specialist for the Putnam County school system in Tennessee. “Right now we're just scratching the surface of what we're going to be able to do with ai,” he says. “If we do it right, we can help kids and they can have opportunities that they didn't have in the past.”
Best Free ai Screening Sites
Fortunately for educators, digital ai screening tools have proliferated rapidly in response to new ai-enabled text generators. We tested the performance of 13 free ai detection websites, with some surprising results. Many were completely misled by ChatGPT's text, indicating that they have not kept up with its much-publicized developments. And less than half could correctly (and with certainty) identify the four texts in the essay.
What is GPTZero? ChatGPT detection tool explained by its creator
GPTZero is a free tool designed to detect writing generated by ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence writing tool that has taken the education system by storm due to its ability to instantly generate human-looking text in response to prompts. GPTZero was created by Edward Tian, a senior at Princeton University who was inspired when he saw the potential for students to cheat through ai. “I think this technology is the future. “ai is here to stay,” says Tian. “But at the same time, we have to create safeguards so that these new technologies are adopted responsibly.”
The best interactive whiteboards for schools
An interactive whiteboard is essentially a giant touchscreen computer or tablet that is placed on the classroom wall. They're packed with powerful features designed specifically with teaching in mind. The best interactive whiteboards for education can help make digital learning a more inclusive experience in class. It can also make a teacher's life much easier, saving time and helping to achieve that paperless classroom.
What is Khanmigo? The GPT-4 learning tool explained by Sal Khan
Khan Academy is launching Khanmigo, a GPT-4-based learning guide, for select educators and students. Unlike ChatGPT, Khanmigo won't do students' schoolwork but will instead act as a tutor and guide to help them learn, says Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy. Using GPT-4, you'll be able to “do things that once seemed like science fiction, like drive nuanced conversation,” Khan says. “In fact, I think 4, if pointed out correctly, seems to pass the Turing test. He really feels like a caring human being on the other end.”
What is SlidesGPT and how does it work for teachers? tips and tricks
SlidesGPT is one of the many tools that emerged with the advent of artificial intelligence that went mainstream with ChatGPT and its various competitors. This particular tool is designed to help make creating slideshows easier by automating many of them using ai. The idea is that you simply type what you want and the system will search the Internet for images and information to return with a slideshow ready for you.
4 educational tools that seem straight out of science fiction
“The gap between sci-fi and the classroom is closing before our eyes and something like the future I read about as a sci-fi-obsessed kid in the 90s is starting to materialize, and in some cases has already materialized. in classrooms across the country. ” writes Erik Ofgang, senior editor and educator at T&L. “We have robotic tutors, hologram lessons and near-instant translation tools.”
