Welcome to D2L’s Learning Bytes, your hub for bite-sized AI insights tailored for educators.
Each week, we comb the web and curate the most compelling stories related to artificial intelligence in education. Whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or lifelong learner, our 5-minute roundups consolidate the best content about AI for education in one convenient spot.
D2L’s Learning Bytes – Week of June 3, 2024
Arguably the biggest edtech news over the past week was OpenAI announcing the launch of ChatGPT Edu, a customized version of ChatGPT made for academic institutions that gives students, faculty, researchers and operations teams the ability to use AI. ChatGPT Edu includes the latest GPT-4o model with advanced reasoning capabilities across text, audio and vision.
In an announcement, OpenAI stated that they built ChatGPT Edu because they saw the success universities were having using ChatGPT Enterprise.
OpenAI shared some real-life examples of how the universities they’ve partnered with have used ChatGPT:
- Professor Nabila El-Bassel at Columbia University is leading an initiative to integrate AI into community-based strategies to reduce overdose fatalities. Her team built a GPT that analyzes and synthesizes large datasets to inform interventions, reducing weeks of research work into seconds.
- Christiane Reves, an assistant professor at Arizona State University, is developing a custom Language Buddies GPT for students to engage in German conversations suited to their language level while receiving tailored feedback. The GPT will help students build communication skills and save faculty time on assessments.
Read the full announcement here.
The Problem With Asking Google and AI for All the Answers
In a thoughtful op-ed for Bloomberg, Chris Bryant writes about the dangers of relying too much on new technology. He shares that while chatbots can handle information retrieval and complex questions, teaching critical thinking to students remains essential for creativity. He also points out that outsourcing memory and cognition to AI could make humans more susceptible to misinformation.
Read the full piece here. (If that link doesn’t work, try this one.)
How One School District is Using AI to Solve its Bus Driver Shortage
AI can have positive impacts beyond classroom settings. As reported by CBS, a school district in Colorado used AI to solve the bus driver shortage problem they were experiencing. Despite offering higher salaries, the Colorado Springs School District 11 couldn’t find enough candidates. So, they partnered with RouteWise AI and used AI technology developed by rideshare company HopSkipDrive.
The results speak for themselves. In the last year, the software has saved the district over half a million dollars. District 11 Superintendent Michael Gaal shared that these savings helped protect the positions of at least ten teachers.
Read or watch the full story here.
That’s a wrap for today. Be sure to return later this week (we’ll be publishing Friday mornings moving forward) for more learning bytes.
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