Don't fear ChatGPT; instead, use it for good, argues education expert

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by Jacob Solomon Jun 3, 2023 News
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The impact of emerging technologies is inescapable across education, the workplace, and our daily lives, and Dr. Shippee makes a strong case for embracing them. Comments on the Columbus High School project were included in the interview.

The image is from Adobe stock.

Daniel Brown, editor of Digital Signage Today, talked with Dr. Shippee via video link from his office in Syracuse, New York, about strategies for grappling with the rapidly changing world.

In addition to teaching for 22 years in public education, Shippee has also taught at the university level for 3-4 years. He used to work as a global education technology consultant.

His research focuses on organizational adoption and change management, as well as what he calls M- learning. I wanted to look at M- learning after taking a spin off of e- learning. I did a study for a not-for-profit that wanted to deliver training materials to workers in Africa who had no electricity. They could use a phone, they could charge it with solar power, and then come back to their house and use it for learning.

The initial project was unsuccessful but that didn't deter Shippee from his lifelong quest to study the power of technology to help humans and organizations learn. One of the best places to learn is when a project fails. It's a good place to inform better practice.

The best way to help organizations adopt innovations is explained by the fusion model developed by Shippee.

The headlines are filled with fear-mongering about artificial intelligence and other innovations, but Shippee recommends that we face those fears with the pencil.

Chicago public schools were the first to use the pencil in teaching and learning. The debates around students potentially using technology reveal the same patterns and arguments we see today. History shows that people will no longer be able to remember things if they start to write.

After delivering a keynote in Dallas called "Wanderlust," which is one of his favorite keynotes to deliver, Shippee flew back to New York. There is a live demo for teachers in the audience.

I asked if I was the author. You get crickets. That is a difficult one. If it wasn't for me, that package wouldn't exist.

What do you think is the main use of chatg pt?

He has been thinking a lot about this. He argues that coding is not a skill of the future and that it is about knowing how to ask the right questions. As an education expert and consultant, Shippee argues that the current American school system's focus is based on the Postwar anticommunist ethos of various American presidential administrations who sought to "beat the Commies" to various science, technology, engineering and math innovations and technologies.

The United Nations sustainable development goals are next-gen problems that we should be looking to solve, and that brings in humanities, and authentic narrative to describe problems, to describe solutions in a way that plugging in better factory workers doesn't quite do.

The goal is to help students know how to ask the right questions in a creative way that finds the right answers, use the new resources in aholistic way, and make good decisions. That's related to what we're doing at SAMSUNG. I brought in authors, they had specialties, and we talked to schools about shifting their practice because they were former teachers.

We don't say to them: "You must use this proprietary software to teach effectively." We aren't saying that. We want to know what you are using and how you are using it. You can use it better with this technology. The difference between us and the marketplace is that you're already doing great things, let's do even better with this technology.

There are themes like relationships, the ecosystems approach and coopetition. He saidlationshpis first. That is our slogan.

The digital transformation of Christopher Columbus High School is a classic example.

Alex is a thinker. He brought a lot of thought into education. It goes back and forth very nicely. I bring education experience to industry and Alex brings industry to education. It's just so fascinating. We are producing something that is not in conflict. It's a better experience for the kids and that's what it's all about.

What is the approach to innovation and technology taken by Shippee?

There are a few things. It is not going to stop. There was a smile on shippee's face. We can pretend that it's not true. Massive change is going to be caused by it. The catalyst is in the middle of us. Some people think it's a work of art. I think it's a good change. The workplace will be changed by it.

I love writing, but I'm watching this technology writing for me, and it's writing a little better than I do. I don't need to like that. How do we use this to our advantage? How do we teach our students how to think about world problems in a different way?

It's really cool. If we are careful about how we handle these technologies, we can promote a lot of positive change. All of these technologies can be used for bad things. It's like a bad guy. These technologies can be used for evil. We've all seen the movie and we're thinking Skynet immediately. It can go badly and it can go wrong. The old phrase, "digital citizenship", is about that.

"Digital citizenship is how we conduct ourselves in an online world, a digital world, teaching decorum, as well as workflows, how to be efficient and productive in an online synchronous and asynchronous space, even in a brick-and-mortar classroom sitting next to someone." Do you mean in the absence of paper?

The conductor doesn't play each instrument, but they are still the "author" of a given performance, because they are unifying separate elements.

The augmented human and the augmented workforce are two books that Shippee recommends.

We are updated. I turn on the maps when I go for a ride. It's a load off my brain. I have a sigh of relief when I put a reminder in my phone because I don't need to remember it. That is an augmentation. Technology is being used to make my life easier. We are already doing those kinds of augmentations.

We will be able to turn off the metaverse when needed for mental health, but it will be available through our glasses. There are early examples of interactive and augmented reality technologies, such as the DeX product that allows compatible screens to become your phone, or the built-in ability to cast from mobile devices to smart boards.

The world is going that way. Is having technologies that can scale into something exciting?

Daniel Brown is a journalist. He created knowledge base content for a major university's computing services department. He has experience in IT project management and technical support. He is usually found in a coffee shop.