Chat GPT and the Future of Student Writing by Jared Gamble, editor

 

                                                                   Photo by Kaitlyn Baker

Revolutionizing education one chat at a time: Chat GPT transforms the way students write with its cutting-edge AI technology.

I didn't write the sentence you just read. The Chat GPT artificial intelligence program wrote it for me. 

While this one sentence might not seem terribly impressive, it's worth considering that I could have told Chat GPT to write two sentences. Or an outline. Or a paragraph. Or an email. Or an essay. Or a novel. Or even a computer code. And Chat GPT could do it. 

The sentences that Chat GPT wrote for me were not copy-pasted from the internet by the program, and if I ask Chat GPT to write the same thing again, it will generate a different sentence. In fact, here's the second attempt:

"Say goodbye to writer's block and hello to effortless writing with Chat GPT, the revolutionary AI tool transforming the way students express their thoughts and ideas!"

If you're a student, you might be thinking, "Wow! I can use this program to do my homework!", and you wouldn't be wrong. If you're a parent, your response might be a little different. Most likely, you have a lot of questions.

So What is Chat GPT?

Chat GPT is an artificial intelligence program created by Open AI that is, according to the program itself (yes, I asked the bot to explain its own existence), "a state-of-the-art language model developed by OpenAI" that "uses advanced artificial intelligence techniques to generate human-like text based on the input it receives." According to Chat GPT, "It has applications in various industries, including chatbots, customer service, and content creation."

Interestingly, Chat GPT's description of itself doesn't mention anything about its ability to write surprisingly coherent essays on virtually any academic topic. That is to say, it doesn't mention its ability to help students cheat. By now, hundreds of articles and blog posts about the program's abilities and potential for changing education, both positively and negatively, have been published globally. For students in Taiwan who mostly learn English as a second or third language and have to work much harder than native speakers to master academic writing, Chat GPT could be a game changer. However, the program's usefulness depends on not only the way students use it, but also on whether or not the education industry finds a way to curb its power.

The Clock is Ticking for this New Technology

The education industry is usually slow to respond to advances in technology. Generally speaking, students learn of, try, and master new technologies years before educators incorporate those technologies into their teaching. Schools' responses to any given technology, website, social media app, or electronic device are largely reactionary, with some educators and schools limiting or banning, and with others embracing and incorporating. For example, some high schools ban the use of cellphones entirely, while others encourage teachers to use teaching methods that rely on them. 

However, this mixed response might not be the case for schools' responses to Chat GPT and other artificial-intelligence-based programs. Soon after the program was made available to the public, it became clear that cheaters now have everything they need to pass reading-and-writing based courses without actually learning to write well, and some parts of the education industry are already responding by implementing new software designed to detect AI-generated text. If you ask me though, I would bet it will be a long time before schools in Taiwan aggressively move to prevent students from using Chat GPT, if they ever do.

There's No Use Fighting the Inevitable

As a long-time public and private school teacher turned freelancer, it's really interesting for me to consider how something like Chat GPT could help or harm students in the long run. If you had asked me several years ago whether I think students should be allowed to use artificial intelligence programs to help them write, I would have responded no, firmly. But now, without being responsible for representing the policies of a school as an employee, two things seem obvious to me:

1. There is no stopping artificial intelligence. It is already a bigger part of society than most of us realize, and it will make its way into our daily lives very soon.

and

2. Students and parents can use Chat GPT as a tool without cheating or crossing ethical lines. Math teachers thought it was the end of the world when the calculator was invented. English teachers thought the proliferation of TV and movies would stop people from reading. They were all wrong. Students can learn from Chat GPT, not just use it to cheat.

Making Use of New Technologies to Benefit Students

Read about Chat GPT. Try it out yourself. See what it can do. It's so good at what it does that last week, Microsoft invested in Chat GPT's creator  company Open AI for the third time. For your student's sake, please have a conversation about ethical uses of technology and the importance of not cheating. Then, guide them to use Chat GPT wisely using some of the strategies in my other blog post, Using Chat GPT As a Self-Teaching Tool: A Guide for Students and Parents. 

Guest Post: Standing out on College Applications by Amanda Purifoy, American College Counselor in Taiwan

photo by Vasily Koloda

Amanda Purifoy is a proud Texas native who has worked in education for nearly 16 years. She is a licensed PK-12 School Counselor and EC-4th Teacher. She has taught in the USA, China, and the UAE. She is currently a college counselor in Taiwan, helping students achieve their dreams of attending the best colleges and universities around the world. 

Here, Amanda provides some useful advice for students hoping to attend universities outside of Taiwan.

"How can I make my college application stand out?"

 Many students ask me, "How can I make my college application stand out?" To be honest, there is no "one answer fits all" for the 7,000+ universities that are out there. However, what I do want students to know is, colleges look at everything starting from 9th grade. Nowadays, if you plan to apply to the Ivy Leagues, it's not enough to have perfect grades and become "President" of every after school club. This can be achieved by most students. The first question I usually ask students is "What have you done in your high school years that you believe no other student at school can say that they have done?"

Universities often assign one reader for all applicants who come from the same school. This way, they can identify any discrepancies in the application or pick certain students that "stand out" from one particular school. So, in other words, the first step is for students to stand out amongst their classmates.

Advice to Students

So, as a college counselor, the advice I give to students is:

1) Of course, start researching universities and what they require for admission very early. 

2) Build good relationships with teachers, counselors, coaches, mentors. (You will need them to write excellent letters for you when applying to college.)  

3) Write a personal statement that will "wow" an admissions counselor.

4) Participate in summer pre-college programs hosted by universities you may be interested in.

5) Seek out opportunities related to your future college major.

6) Volunteer in your local community. 

7) Take advantage of in-person college visits to make a name for yourself. Ask questions during the visit and make sure to introduce yourself to the admissions counselor. I cannot stress this enough! Asking thoughtful questions is the best way to get the college admissions counselor to remember you. 

Following these steps can help students become competitive candidates for admission to the best universities in the world!