This week, we are honored to have invited Nicky Hockly to give a talk on Digital Literacies & AI. I must admit that this topic is quite new to me, but I am very interested, especially after Nicky's presentation, which has provided me with a deeper understanding and provoked some thoughts on this subject. I will share several points that I find particularly intriguing and engage in discussions with you.
These days, AI is quite common in our daily lives. As students or teachers, using ChatGPT to search for answers or materials can make teaching much easier. But as Nicky mentioned, AI literacy includes addressing 'the big questions' like bias. One example is classroom activities related to the 'Draw a Scientist' experiment. This classroom activity aims to guide students in exploring gender stereotypes associated with the image of scientists and reflecting on the role of artificial intelligence tools in perpetuating these stereotypes. The teacher begins by using AI to generate images of scientists, then asks students to draw their own images of scientists and compare them. Next, the AI-generated images are shown, and a discussion on gender representation and an explanation of the "Draw a Scientist" experiment follow. Students then create lists of typical job roles associated with "male," "female," and "gender-neutral" categories. Subsequently, they use various AI tools to generate multiple images for comparison and discuss biases present in AI image tools. Through these activities, students gain a deeper understanding of the impact of gender stereotypes on the field of science and develop a more nuanced awareness of the role of AI in perpetuating these stereotypes.
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| a screenshot from Nicky's presentation |
This activity not only aims to enhance students' scientific literacy through the utilization of artificial intelligence tools, enabling them to utilize modern technology for problem-solving and gain insight into AI's application in science, but also cultivates critical thinking by encouraging students to assess the sources and credibility of information when comparing and discussing images generated by different AI tools. Furthermore, the activity prompts students to explore technological ethics by discussing potential biases and stereotypes in AI image tools, fostering awareness of the societal and individual impacts of technological advancements. Additionally, it fosters creativity as students utilize AI tools to generate images, allowing them to explore various design and expression methods.
Regarding the use of AI, Nicky also mentioned deepfakes. Deepfakes are realistic fake videos, audio, or images created using AI. They blur the line between reality and fiction by employing deep learning algorithms and vast datasets to manipulate content. This can result in individuals appearing in scenes they've never been in or saying things they've never said. Unfortunately, deepfakes can be abused for creating fake news, scams, and political interference, raising concerns about information credibility and privacy. However, if teachers incorporate deepfakes into the classroom, using characters and scenarios that students find interesting, and engaging in English language teaching through dialogue, it would be an innovative teaching approach that could even spark students' interest in learning.
Of course, AI may also raise other big questions such as copyright, but it is undeniable that AI can also bring us a lot of convenience and fun. After Nicky's introduction, we explored several new tools now accessible that utilize AI for English Language Teaching. I chose the tool "Diffit" for exploration and research, and found that this AI generative tool is really helpful for teachers' lesson preparation. Diffit is an AI-based generative tool designed to assist teachers and students in quickly generating teaching and learning materials. The platform can generate relevant teaching materials, exercises, and classroom activities based on the input provided by users. Its main advantages are time-saving and efficiency improvement, enabling teachers to prepare course content more quickly, while also providing students with more learning resources.
I prompted "using the difference between Christmas and Spring festival to teach present perfect tense" and selected the English proficiency level of the students I teach. In a very short time, the platform helped me design a lot of classroom-related content. For example, it generated a relevant reading material, summarized the reading material, and provided key words that need to be taught, as well as corresponding long/short questions and open-ended questions for teachers' reference.
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| a screenshot from Diffit |
What surprised me the most is that it can even help teachers design classroom activities in a short time. It has many templates for classroom activities, as shown in the figure below. Teachers can choose different templates according to their teaching objectives, and after clicking, corresponding teaching activities will be formed based on the content you entered earlier. Of course, these generated teaching materials need to be modified by teachers, but as I mentioned earlier, it can help teachers save a lot of time, and these templates are diverse and interesting.
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| a screenshot from Diffit |
Everything has two sides, just like AI. It requires us to reflect and think about how to utilize AI to become an effective assistant in our teaching. I believe AI can make teaching more effective and engaging. However, as Nicky mentioned at the beginning, the issues AI brings and how to use it, or whether to use it in our daily lives, will continue to be a topic of discussion.
If you are also interested in this topic, I hope you can share your thoughts.
