Spotlight Series Introduction
Welcome to the first ALID Spotlight Series! Our Spotlight Series features are deep dives into topics that generate a lot of interest both on our campus and throughout the University. These featured posts will contain a great deal of information that we will share with you slowly; both to not overwhelm you, and also to keep the information as tidy and organized as possible. We recommend subscribing to our blog so you can follow along with the series, as well as checking in and commenting on the posts if you have any further questions or concerns. At the end of the series we will release a post that includes all the links to the information we shared over the week, make sure you bookmark it to have it handy for when you try out the tools yourself!
Our first Spotlight Series will look at AI: What it is, Where it’s helpful, and How best to use it.
Welcome to Generative AI
Generative artificial intelligence, which originated on November 30, 2022, with the launch of Chat GPT, is a branch of artificial intelligence that creates new content. The tool enables users to prompt technology to generate practical content that they can use in their daily lives. It works by using machine learning systems to analyze patterns in large sets of data and then replicates these patterns to generate new data that appears to be created by a human (This citation was created using Copilot, and the information links back to this post from TechRepublic).
Easy ways to include it into your life as an educator include writing a first draft of an email, editing something you have written for clarity, or generating a list of ideas to apply in your classroom.
The Tool: Microsoft Copilot
If you have never played with any of these tools, you might be interested in experimenting with one. Penn State has access to Microsoft Copilot, which you can gain access to by logging in with your Penn State credentials. The software has been configured to protect the data of faculty and staff who use it. (Student accounts are not protected yet.) Playing with the tool will help you to see how students may be using the tools and consider how you could integrate them into your daily workflow.
What Copilot Can Do For You
Over the course of this Spotlight Series we are going to be discussing how AI prompts work, how you can create designs, alt-text for images, and even how to use it to craft feedback for students’ writing. Copilot gives you access to all of this; it’s also there to be a personal assistant. It bills itself as a way to simplify workflow and boost productivity, and it can do that once you’ve learned how to write clear prompts and give it the opportunity to perform basic tasks. Everything we will pilot for you this week will be done through Copilot (pun intended) so get ready.
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