Transform Your Teaching

What is AI Literacy? How important is it for students to be “AI literate”? How can teachers help students develop the necessary skills to enter a workforce where the need for AI Literacy is growing? Join Rob and Jared as they start our new series on AI Literacy.
 
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What is Transform Your Teaching?

The Transform your Teaching podcast is a service of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. Join Dr. Rob McDole and Dr. Jared Pyles as they seek to inspire higher education faculty to adopt innovative teaching and learning practices.

Narrator:

This is the Transform Your Teaching Podcast. The Transform Your Teaching Podcast is a service of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.

Ryan:

Hello, and welcome to this episode of Transform Your Teaching. In today's episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Dr. Jared Pyles kick off a new series on AI Literacy, where they discuss the need for AI literate students and the importance of it as they enter the workforce. Thanks for joining us.

Rob:

Well, Jared, we're kicking off a new series today.

Jared:

We sure are.

Rob:

AI Literacy. Mhmm. I think it's gonna be a really good one.

Jared:

I hope so.

Rob:

So let's talk a little bit.

Jared:

Okay. That's why I'm here.

Rob:

Yeah. What's got us here?

Jared:

I think, for me, it's coming off of a we're recording this the Monday after the semester the spring semester is over with. Graduation is done. Graduation is done. And the the year was just full of conversations about using generative AI Yeah. Which we've talked about here on this podcast.

Jared:

Our university, purchased an enterprise license of ChatGPT. So we have spent all year fielding all the questions, developing innovative strategies for our faculty, our staff, and our students

Rob:

Right.

Jared:

To help them with utilizing it. And, it seems like every single professional development or conference that you attend is talking about AI, and, no one's really talking about What we're

Rob:

actually experiencing.

Jared:

Or what we're experiencing or how we should or shouldn't use it. Right. One of

Rob:

the big issues we've heard this several times where a student will walk into one class. Right? They're they're able to use AI for, let's say, brainstorming. Yep. That's exactly what the professor wants them to do.

Jared:

And that's it.

Rob:

And that's it. Then they might walk into another class, same week, same time that they have something due, utilize that same strategy, and then potentially be facing an academic dishonesty issue.

Jared:

Right.

Rob:

And so students are trying to navigate different rules. And faculty are as well because right? I mean, if I allow certain things or I expect them to use ChatGPT, which I do for a particular assignment before they turn it in and they're supposed to show me their work that they did and the questions that I told them they had to ask at a minimum. And they turn around and they do that for another assignment that could get them in trouble. And I'm also thinking in the back of my mind, am I putting you know, is this is this gonna cause issues for my students somewhere else?

Narrator:

Mhmm.

Rob:

But at the same time, like, I I feel that the benefits to them, at least in my particular assignment for what I'm doing in business ethics makes total sense.

Jared:

Right. Right.

Rob:

And then you got the issue of even among students and faculty, you've got people on different sides. They ban it completely or another that requires it like myself or maybe there's even a third one that's kinda in between Right. Certain things. Use it

Jared:

for flashcards.

Rob:

Use it for flashcards. Use it to study, but don't, you know, use it to do Assignments. Assignments. Don't use it to edit your writing. You need to do that.

Rob:

And then some that say, no, you can use it for editing your writing. And, I mean, we're gonna have this. We could ask five random faculty members, five random students. Where are you on this? And I we're gonna get five different answers.

Jared:

And the issue becomes, the next steps for students, like those that are graduating, that are just graduated from here, are going to enter into a workforce where there's those same ideas. It could be the same inconsistencies Right. Where their employer wants them to use generative AI, encourages them to use it.

Rob:

Right.

Jared:

And if there's not necessarily a literacy that the students have in using it, then they're at a disadvantage. Right. We don't want that for our our students that graduate. We want them to be successful at whatever their next step is. So, I mean, there are some employers that are against using it.

Jared:

I know that my my wife is not against using it, but they have certain guardrails they have in place where they, can do certain things and other things they can't. So she's had to learn on her own a level of literacy that helps her utilize it correctly, but she's had employees that have used it and it's been awful and she's like, you can't even

Rob:

Have to come in and clean it up.

Jared:

Yeah. Yeah. Just do some serious cleanup to it. So the the point of the series is to talk about the need for some level of AI literacy Right. For our students.

Rob:

Well, and and I think it'll help towards this idea of what we're really talking about in this intro here is dealing with the ambiguity. Mhmm. There's just a significant amount of ambiguity, and and it's not being helped by the rapidity of AI's development. No. Of course not.

Rob:

I mean, just since we've started our contract with OpenAI in the fall, like, you know, mid August, somewhere around there. Right? Mhmm. How many model variations have we been through?

Jared:

Where where did we start?

Rob:

I think we started with four. And as soon as we signed the contract the next day, five came out.

Jared:

Really?

Rob:

Yep. We then quickly moved to 5.1. Mhmm. Think 5.1 was out for like maybe a month or two ish. And before we went to break, I think we were at 5.2 and then 5.3 right after Christmas break.

Rob:

And then we went from 5.3 to 5.4 for most of the spring. Right. And then shortly

Jared:

Couple weeks ago.

Rob:

Yeah. It's been about two ish weeks, two, three weeks ago. They came out with 5.5.

Jared:

Right.

Rob:

And, you know, usage has like, you looked at our usage analytics, you'll see this just massive.

Jared:

Growth.

Rob:

Growth. It's skyrocketing. Yeah. Like, the trend just, it's almost linear. Mhmm.

Rob:

The curve is is pretty substantial. My point in saying all that is not to just take up airtime here. It's it's it's literally trying to set the stage that there's this ambiguity, the rapidity of change, and people are feeling worn out, I think.

Jared:

Oh, yeah. Trying to keep up.

Rob:

So my hope is this summer that we can get some folks in here. We can talk about this thing and that we have a conversation. So not just talking about how we can make a better AI detector or a syllabus statement, although syllabus statement is extremely important.

Jared:

Yeah.

Rob:

But that maybe we can start to build some ideas around a shared framework. Mhmm. And we can have conversations about, okay, what are the ideas about what it should do and what it should not do in education? And so that's kinda what I think this series should be built around. Maybe a little too long winded here as we're in as we're introducing it to our listeners.

Rob:

But, you know, I I feel like this would this is just gonna be a good kickoff. It fits well with the summer, and it seems to be apropos.

Jared:

Kind of a way of setting getting people ready for the fall Yeah. And preparing them for maybe a different way of approaching generative AI in their teaching?

Rob:

So I I think the three things we want our listeners, at least in today's episode, take away. One is kinda have a working definition of AI literacy. Mhmm. And then two, we've kinda already alluded to it, but why this this series exists right now. Have a little bit more conversation around that.

Rob:

And then talk about where we're headed, maybe some of the guests that we're gonna have on. Mhmm.

Jared:

How did you define it?

Rob:

So in terms of literacy, I think just a general idea of just literacy is important. I mean, it comes from the idea of being able to read and write. Mhmm. Right. That's talking about use of a technology.

Rob:

I know for some people that seems weird for me to say that, but reading and writing are technologies.

Jared:

Right.

Rob:

Somebody had to create symbols and assign meaning to those symbols that were an everyday language that you could recognize and be able to translate or transfer over into to meaning in the language. Right? And writing, again, the ability to create those symbols in a meaningful way. So really, when we talk about literacy, what we're talking about, I think, in a holistic idea is knowledge or competence in a given area. So the ability to know what it is and know how to use it.

Jared:

Right. Use it effectively.

Rob:

And use it effectively. And it's in that one, I think the two areas that we'll probably see most of our energy spent is what is it? And that's gonna be, ongoing because what it is turning into is is more powerful and more powerful, more accurate, more accurate. And then also, how do you use it effectively? And that's where you get into Right.

Rob:

Don't use it for x, use it for y. Right. If you're doing English, don't use it for x, use it for y. If you're doing math, you know, don't use it for x, use it for y. I'm I'm hoping that we can maybe start having some of those conversations and start getting some principles out there to our listeners, for ourselves of things, just in agreed framework where we can say, yeah, generally speaking, when you approach technology or approach AI technology

Jared:

Yeah.

Rob:

These are the things in these areas that probably good for you to do. These are the things probably shouldn't.

Jared:

What's interesting is that this time last year, I feel like if we were to have this conversation, it would be more of a niche type of conversation where it's like we even had these conversations about prompting and, like, doing it a certain way. Ask it to do this. Like, you would always say, have it respond with my best guess.

Rob:

Right?

Jared:

So we're not specifically talking about those specifics. But but it's no it's no longer I mean, I did a if you go back actually, I encourage our listeners to go back, listen to our old episodes on generative AI. They're good, but you you can hear just how dated they sound already.

Rob:

Mhmm.

Jared:

I did a presentation, and I talked about it, on prompting and just listened to it and see how dated it is. It's been less than a year since that episode's been out. So but it's also difficult to generalize these concepts and have it be a here's what you do, here's what you don't do because, like you said, of how quickly and how rapidly this is changing. Mhmm. So it's it's going to be interesting to try to set something this summer, like, of a working framework, like you said, but then revisit this framework this time next year to see just how much has has changed.

Jared:

Yeah. So

Rob:

Well and I think here at Cedarville, you know, we do have some guiding principles. So we do kind of have some some things, and we'll have we'll have the link to this in the notes. And I think it's these are good biblical principles that that guide us. And and some of these things, I hope we can have some conversation that's around, like, we worship the one true God. We value people.

Rob:

We promote truth and embody integrity. We demonstrate faithful stewardship. We engage with biblical discernment. We walk in wisdom and humility. So I think these are generally good principles to think about when it comes to to AI usage.

Rob:

What I'd like to see us do is kinda tease some of that that out when we start talking about AI. Because I know one of the big ones that people are gonna have is, like, stewarding resources Mhmm. Wisely. Right? Yep.

Rob:

Here at Cedarville, don't wanna spend money just to spend money on technology because it's the newest.

Jared:

Right.

Rob:

Hippest thing. Mhmm. We don't wanna waste the money that's God's entrusted to us for the benefit of those we serve.

Jared:

Mhmm.

Rob:

And if that's the case, then we need to be honest and we need to find the places where it's not being used to its fullest and and reduce that. Right? We also need to be truthful in terms of what the industry as a whole is pushing in terms of of power consumption. Yep. My personal take and belief is this is going to push us to more efficient, not only power consumption, but power creation.

Rob:

And it's not just here in The United States. Let me be clear. This is a worldwide phenomenon. And to say we should all just stop doing it is probably I would say is not not reasonable. Does that make sense?

Rob:

Like, that's not gonna happen. So the conversation that we have to have is then what are the best ways for institutions like Cedarville, others who have this faithful stewardship principle to do that. That's just one area. Right? Right.

Rob:

That's one area. Right. But as we as we move forward in this series, I I'm just looking forward to more of those kinds of things. Mhmm. I think it's gonna be real positive.

Rob:

I don't think it needs

Jared:

to be

Rob:

and I don't think we're gonna end up with this long list of thou shouts and thou shalt nots. But shared language lines that can help us align policy curriculum and instruction so that we're we're on the same page. My hope is that we'll have others from other departments and schools that we can bring into the conversation as they're wrestling with these things and help provide some insight. As an institution, we we continue to form this and have conversations and prepare our students and prepare ourselves for being literate in the AI age.

Jared:

So I'm excited about the people we're gonna have on in this series. We're bringing back from Marshall University 2,000 high school Gay Academy High School alum along with myself. Doctor. Jody Penrod is gonna join us, the CIO of Marshall University. She's been doing research and attending conferences on AI usage and its effects, and so she's gonna come on and talk to us.

Jared:

We also have someone local to us, doctor Chris Prokes over at Sinclair Community College. He's going to come on and talk about how, at Sinclair, they're equipping their students, for the next step and building a foundation of AI literacy and how they approach it. We also have Carmen Almo Alonso, a Schmidt science fellow from Stanford, to talk about her usage of, generative AI, and that is an absolutely fascinating idea.

Rob:

Oh, yeah. You're gonna wanna make sure you pay attention to that one.

Jared:

The stuff that she is talking about will be something they reference years down the road as this is the foundation for

Rob:

the next show. Point, we're gonna be able to go, hey. We had her on our podcast.

Jared:

Yeah. Yeah. So I'm really excited about about this. I'm looking forward to spending the summer building this framework of AI literacy and and having a common ground we can talk about as we prepare students for this for this next step, going to the workforce and helping them with a sense of, the skills that they need to use generative AI Well into their world.

Rob:

And we're and we're also gonna have some folks, hopefully, Lord willing, from government and industry. Yeah. I think we got a couple lined up. One from Amazon who's fairly significant there, and then someone from Microsoft, and then maybe someone from our armed forces Yeah. Who can talk to us about the usage current usage of AI.

Rob:

So I think I think we're gonna have a pretty cool summer Yeah. Lined up for everybody.

Jared:

Looking forward to it. Yep. Looking forward to it. So I hope you'll join us on this series of AI Literacy as we go through and have these conversations and start building a foundation.

Rob:

One thing I do wanna say to our listeners, you don't have to be an AI expert to either have a conversation about AI literacy or learn this or to teach it. And you already have more than likely, if you're a teacher, you already have some pretty sound ideas that you're working with. You have sound judgment. You understand source evaluation. Lord willing, ethical reasoning is most certainly a part of your your tool belt.

Rob:

And those things, those principles, those skills are more important than ever. So if you don't understand AI and its technical issues and where it's headed, please don't be put off by this series. Please join us because there is a place for you, and we need more and more of those kinds of folks to get around this conversation. And we want to be able to meet faculty regardless if they're higher ed or k through 12 where they're at. So if you know somebody who could benefit from this, please bring them alongside you.

Rob:

Listen to it together. I think you're gonna be encouraged by it. Yep. Challenged, probably. I know I'm looking forward to myself because I need it.

Rob:

I need to be challenged. I need to think about what we should do, not just do because we can.

Jared:

Right.

Rob:

And so we want to really think about this as literacy and not just

Jared:

A tool to

Rob:

to use. Yep. And so we wanna be able to move from foundations to classroom practice to it influencing our curriculum. And then ultimately, you know, having, like you said, graduates who make a difference for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ.

Jared:

And they're ready for the next steps.

Rob:

They're ready. Yeah.

Jared:

So we hope you'll join us in this series. We're excited to get started on it.

Ryan:

Thanks for listening to this episode of Transform Your Teaching. If you have any questions or comments about our episode today, feel free to reach out to us at CTLPodcastcedarville dot edu. You can also connect with us and message us on LinkedIn. And finally, don't forget to check out our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog. Thanks for listening.