While the sensationalism of ChatGPT and other Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has calmed down slightly in the last month, the capabilities have not. There are many concerns about students’ ability to use these tools to cheat. Still, I want to continue to focus on how we, as educators, specifically School Library Media Specialists (SLMS), can use these tools to assist us, help us grow, and inspire us.
As an AI language model, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the way educators create and deliver their lessons. By utilizing ChatGPT’s natural language processing capabilities, teachers can enhance the effectiveness of their lessons, increase student engagement, and inspire creativity in the classroom.
I used a few prompts to have ChatGPT develop a media literacy lesson for middle schoolers. I also asked it to assist me in writing higher-order thinking questions and a follow-up activity I could do a month later.
The activities it provided are nothing special. This is where educators take these ideas and get inspired. Educators are the experts and need to customize the activities and lessons provided by AI to meet their population’s needs, time limits, materials, and space.
Here is another example of creating activities.
Create an activity that engages students after reading the book Beekle
What would be a good follow-up activity
As SLMS, we are always curating resources for students and other educators. ChatGPT can give you a headstart in all of your curation
Curate a list of resources to assist high school students in learning about American Individualism.
If you are running centers in your library or need early finisher prompts, ChatGPT can generate random prompts or ideas for students to create their own stories, poems, or other creative works.
ChatGPT can also help you with reader Advisory.
My students liked the book The Blur by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat. Can you recommend similar picture books?
Besides ChatGPT, SLMS can use an AI text-to-photo generator to create images for projects, displays, shelves, and more.
School Library Media Specialists can utilize ChatGPT as a valuable tool to enhance their roles as educators. By using ChatGPT, they can inspire activities and lesson plans that are engaging, relevant, and thought-provoking for students. Additionally, ChatGPT can assist in curating high-quality materials and resources that support the diverse learning needs of their students. Finally, by interacting with ChatGPT, educators can gain new knowledge, perspectives, and insights that can inform their teaching practices and help them stay up-to-date with the latest trends in education. ChatGPT can be a powerful ally for school library media specialists, helping them provide exceptional educational experiences for their students and grow as educators.
