Love how you emphasize that the final draft is not the only thing we’re measuring here. Learning is a lot harder to identify, but with all the touch points you mention, it’s easier to pinpoint when it is happening, which is helpful for both you as the instructor and your students.
And that learning is what will serve your students long-term, well after they’ve left your classroom.
I sometimes use generative AI for my fiction, but not for the actual writing. I’ll ask it to spit out some prompts, then it’s up to me to identify which ones are actually worth a damn. It’s pretty good at simulating audiences, too, like if I’m looking for feedback from a particular perspective.
I’ve also used it for nonfiction writing (website copy, email marketing ideas, social media posts), identifying trends in successful viral content, and that sort of thing. This stuff, in particular, is mind-numbing to me, so it helps a lot to have a tool that can make it easier.
I’ll never trust AI on its own, but as long as I keep its shortcomings in mind, it can help me overcome my own limitations, which I think is pretty cool.
Thanks for the note! I really appreciate the nuance you describe here in terms of when to use it and how—for sparking some creative ideas in fiction writing, for analyzing trends (and then verifying them), etc. I think balance is key, and as you said, it’s important to not blindly trust in AI on its own.
I used ChatGPT the other day to help me create a spreadsheet formula, and I found it interesting that it didn’t get it right on its own and needed me to help guide it to a formula that actually achieved what I wanted. I feel like this example truly demonstrates the balance we can attempt to attain: AI as an assistive tool that can save you time to get started, but that ultimately leaves you in the driver seat.
Love how you emphasize that the final draft is not the only thing we’re measuring here. Learning is a lot harder to identify, but with all the touch points you mention, it’s easier to pinpoint when it is happening, which is helpful for both you as the instructor and your students.
And that learning is what will serve your students long-term, well after they’ve left your classroom.
I sometimes use generative AI for my fiction, but not for the actual writing. I’ll ask it to spit out some prompts, then it’s up to me to identify which ones are actually worth a damn. It’s pretty good at simulating audiences, too, like if I’m looking for feedback from a particular perspective.
I’ve also used it for nonfiction writing (website copy, email marketing ideas, social media posts), identifying trends in successful viral content, and that sort of thing. This stuff, in particular, is mind-numbing to me, so it helps a lot to have a tool that can make it easier.
I’ll never trust AI on its own, but as long as I keep its shortcomings in mind, it can help me overcome my own limitations, which I think is pretty cool.
Thanks for the note! I really appreciate the nuance you describe here in terms of when to use it and how—for sparking some creative ideas in fiction writing, for analyzing trends (and then verifying them), etc. I think balance is key, and as you said, it’s important to not blindly trust in AI on its own.
I used ChatGPT the other day to help me create a spreadsheet formula, and I found it interesting that it didn’t get it right on its own and needed me to help guide it to a formula that actually achieved what I wanted. I feel like this example truly demonstrates the balance we can attempt to attain: AI as an assistive tool that can save you time to get started, but that ultimately leaves you in the driver seat.