Steve Kaufman, a senior instructional designer at the University of Akron, presented a session titled “The AI Empowered Instructional Designer.” Kaufman started with a statement: “This is the most exciting and simultaneously anxious time to work in education.” They described AI as the next disruptor. Kaufman then shared several quotes, including one describing how Google uses AI for coding. AI can be used to create learning objectives and adjust the Bloom’s level. Kaufman used slido.com to poll the audience: “What are some hesitations around AI that your colleagues have expressed to you?” Slido now summarizes comments/themes in the top line above the appearing comments! The first tool that Kaufman shared was NotebookLM, developed by Google. This is an AI-powered tool that enhances note-taking. I checked and we don’t have access at NC State (we do have access to Gemini!). NotebookLM can summarize, create audio summaries, and organize information. The audio is a podcast conversation. I tried it to the BIT Metagenomics site and it was super interesting! I wonder if it can translate to Spanish for an upcoming talk? The next tool Kaufman shared was ChatBot Arena that can be used to compare AI. ChatBot Arena can compare two and you vote on the best one. I tested it out and even tried the webdev option they have. This could be a fantastic way of creating quick dashboards and websites! Kaufman then shared Synthesia that turns text to video. It has a monthly fee, and educational discounts. Kaufman used the one-page QM PDF to generate a narrated high-quality video. One idea was to have students create a 2-min video as part of a blog post, portfolio piece, or multimedia project. HeyGen is a competitor and can that can translate and make the corresponding video look real. Kaufman then shared examples of using ChatGPT (paid) to create custom GPTs. Students can develop texts and include their prompts as part of the assignment and how learners incorporate edits. Kaufman uploaded several online course design resources to create a custom vertical alignment chatbot. Next, Kaufman shared how Claude can be used to have students practice for interviews using prompts. Kaufman shared some important considerations and concerns: information privacy and hallucinations. Kaufman concluded by suggesting assignments that have learners share the prompts they used and even a video explanation of the assignment. Kaufman also shared the tool ScribeHow to show the steps and create guides.
