Course: EDC 200: Social Foundations of Education
LAURA SCHEIBER
Title of Activity/Assignment: Tinkering with AI and engaging in CRITICAL digital literacy
Artifact description: The aim of this artifact is to encourage critical digital literacy in the context of generative AI. Specifically students will: A) Have a better understanding of how generative AI works “under the hood” B) Critically question in what ways new technologies such as ChatGPT might be a useful tool for certain tasks but also, C) To problematize Genderative AI in terms of credibility of information and the reproduction of power dynamics and knowledge creation. D) To experiment and learn WITH students on the necessary competencies to ethically navigate Generative AI and to contribute to a larger conversation of what critical Generative AI literacy competencies are necessary to foster a healthy digital democratic society.
“Overall, critical digital literacy in the context of AI is about equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills to engage with AI technologies in a way that goes beyond surface-level interaction, enabling them to be thoughtful participants in shaping the responsible and ethical development of AI in society”
—(ChatGPT, personal communication, August 2, 2023. Prompt: what is critical digital literacy in the context of AI?)
Activities and Resources
Rationale:
Questions to generate thinking:
- Currently generative AI (specifically ChatGPT) is a HOT topic in higher education, Kingsborough included. Unfortunately the conversation often circulates around how Chat GPT and other AI platforms simply facilitate cheating, and the conversation ends there. This limited discussion halts opportunities for learning that fosters students’ critical digital literacies that encourage them to come to their own conclusions as to the limitations of passively consuming information generated by ChatGPT. It also limits the possibility to zoom out and encompass broader critical digital and computing literacies in relation to AI.
- This unit builds upon the artifacts created last year, “Critical Digital Literacy Strength Training for Superheros” which focuses around fostering students’ capacities to engage in processes of verifying the credibility and reliability of digital information, and to critically question the power dynamics embedded in digital texts and visuals that privilege some voices and marginalize/reinforce unfair biases of others.
- The artifact is connected to equity because students engage in processes that encourage them to question and analyze power dynamics in digital texts generated by AI technologies, specifically whose voice is included and excluded in knowledge and information creation and dissemination, as well as representation in the actual texts themselves. It also highlights how biases in generative AI are reinforced.
What are the standards involved? (Think AAQEP, ISTE, NYSED, department learning goals or indicators)
Pulling from NYSED Standards:
- “the ability to leverage computer technology to appropriately access digital information; …Digital literacy includes understanding the benefits and implications of using digital technologies to be successful in our contemporary world.”
- Identify and describe potentially unsafe behaviors (i.e. disinformation and misinformation)
Specifically
2-3.IC.1 “Identify and analyze how computing technology has changed the way people live and work.”
4-6.IC.1 Describe computing technologies that have changed the world, and express how those technologies influence, and are influenced by cultural practices.
7-8.IC.3 Identify and discuss issues of ethics surrounding computing technologies and current events.
K-1.DL.7 Identify actions that promote good digital citizenship, and those that do not.
4-6.DL.7 Identify and describe actions in online spaces that could potentially be unsafe or harmful.
ISTE 1.2 “Students recognize the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical”
Learning Goals for Teacher Candidates
Equity-centered Values / Goals / Approaches / Practices
- The big ideas and practices around equity that I hope to support my teacher candidates to grapple with entail empowering learners and communities to understand how generative AI works, learn WITH students in the exploration and tinkering with AI (it is all SO NEW and changing QUICKLY), and being intentional around ensuring their understanding of and engagement with generative AI technologies is useful to them.
- I am particularly passionate about “empowering faculty to learn and grow alongside students” in order to move the conversation beyond “ChatGPT helps students cheat” so that faculty can think about the competencies that we need to support students in obtaining. Generative AI ain’t going away so it is important to foster critical digital literacy competencies that contribute to a healthy democratic citizenship.
- I also hope to encourage students’ critical consciousness by offering insight into the sources of information that “feed” ChatGPT/how information is generated and to encourage them to question whose voices are included and excluded in this process. In what ways is it reproducing knowledge and potentially stifling democratic knowledge creation? How do generative AI technologies that create visuals reproduce stereotypes and biases? What questions can we encourage students to ask in order to critically analyze what they are consuming and resist the reproduction of power dynamics?
- In terms of equitable pedagogical moves, students will be encouraged to tinker with generative AI tools in order to encourage them to decide how and whether to use particular generative AI tools for various tasks and goals. When might these AI technologies foster creativity and collaboration? When and how might they reproduce unjust power dynamics and therefore should be avoided?
Teacher Education Topics
The concepts and practices from EDC 200 course that TC will engage with include:
- Engage in self-reflective practices to evaluate information consumption and production and how it informs sense-making and actions as a future teacher
- Understand the difference between misinformation and disinformation
- Learn processes to help assess the credibility of information (How do you know the information/ data you gather for college assignments and beyond are credible?)
- Critically analyze whose voice is included/excluded in information and why does it matter? (DEI)
Computing Practices
TCs will tinker with generative AI technologies that encourage them to question how information and visuals are generated and in what ways it reproduces power dynamics biases and stereotypes?
Digital Practices
- TCs engage in conversations about technology, digital citizenship, and its impacts
- TCs think critically about technologies
- TCs critically and ethically navigate digital information and media ecosystems
Tools
Generative AI (Specifically Chat GPT and image models)
What’s the connective tissue? What brings these elements together?
- As mentioned, this unit builds upon the artifacts created last year, “Critical Digital Literacy Strength Training for Superheros” which focuses around fostering students’ capacities to engage in processes of verifying the credibility and reliability of digital information, and to critically question the power dynamics embedded in digital texts and visuals that privilege some and marginalize/reinforce unfair biases of others. With the ever-evolving new generative AI technologies, this is simply an extension of fostering the same core critical information and media literacy competencies, but specific to these new technologies.
- By engaging in ChatGPT and other Generative AI technologies through a series of exercises and reflective prompts, students have the opportunity to learn ABOUT, WITH, THROUGH, and AGAINST these new tools. Specifically, students will learn how LLM works and what is happening “under the hood” when they create text (and how other generative AI technologies create images). Working with and through ChatGPT, for example, offers the opportunity to self reflect on how it might be a useful resource for certain scenarios such as developing vocabulary for emergent bilingual students, how to support the writing process if students face writer’s block, or as a tool to deconstruct the mechanics of an essay to support quality writing practices.
- More importantly, students will have the opportunity to critically evaluate information consumption and production and how it informs sense-making and actions as a future teacher. Specifically, students will engage in activities that illuminate the dangers of passively consuming information created by these new technologies and their potential to foster misinformation and disinformation. The activities will also reinforce for TCs the importance of checking the sources of information and assessing the credibility of information in order to foster positive digital citizenship.
- Finally, the artifact will build upon prior activities that encourage TCs to analyze whose voice is included/excluded in digital information (in this context, produced by generative AI) and why does it matter to think about this as a future teacher? (DEI)
Artifact Walkthrough / Resources
- Tinkering with AI: What is generative AI and how does it work? What are its strengths? What are its limitations/concerns? How do you know information from ChatGPT is credible? Where does it get its information to create text on the fly?
- The nuts and bolts
- Icebreaker:
- Have students stand up and ask to step forward if you have: Used ChatGPT? Dall-e? Other generative AI technologies for school? Outside of school
- After sitting down, ask students: For what purposes do you use ChatGPT? What did you hope to get out of it? What is ChatGPT? Explain that this is a generative AI technology. We are going to explore how it works and its advantages and concerns by tinkering with it
- Tinkering with ChatGPT
- Ask students to open ChatGPT (or pull up on screen)
- Have students pull up their response to a writing prompt in BB about 3 important educational historical events then ask them to enter the same assignment prompt through chatGPT.
- Compare the two and discuss in small groups: In what ways is the text the same? In what ways are they different? What ways does it support or add in meaningful ways to what students wrote? In what ways is it limited? What joys and what concerns do students have (especially when we want to think about the information we consume and how it shapes our perceptions and behaviors and those of our students)? Any questions about accuracy? In what ways does it add to or take away from the student voice? Vocabulary? Fostering or limiting Critical thinking?
- How do LLM work?
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_i9gvCqq7c
- Just repeating what has already been written/disseminated on the internet
- In a large group, share + discuss: As teachers, in what ways might this be a useful tool? For what tasks might it be problematic? What do you think students you will be teaching need to know in order to use generative AI responsibly? As a teacher, why does it matter?
- Critically questioning credibility of information and sources of information
- Ask: Where is information being generated from?
- Ask students to ask ChatGPT, what sources are used to generate text (Spoiler Alert: it won’t tell you!) Building off of prior critical information literacy discussion, why is it important to check credible sources?
- Share where majority of information is coming from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2023/ai-chatbot-learning/
- What does hallucination mean?
- How can you check for accuracy/credibility?
- Icebreaker:
- Sample of the activity/assignment
- Sample activity (Part 1)
- How you plan to assess your students’ learning
- Refer to above activities
- Other resources or materials that you create for this artifact
Pulling from prior slides and student-facing Facing History and Ourselves resources
