We have written about GPT-3 and Dall-E in an earlier blog. Ever since Open AI started its project, people in the world of ed-tech have been closely following the developments as they have released multiple versions of a powerful AI-based tool. In its latest iteration or release, Chat GPT-4 has opened up conversational AI as a highly effective means of finding information that can be used by everyone. This has not been without complaints as teachers and professors across schools and colleges have complained about how students are cleverly using Chat GPT-4 to complete their assignments with ease.
Irate teachers vented out their frustrations on social media, posting images of submissions from students, which were clearly developed using Chat GPT-4. Let us now move towards the focus of this blog, how can learning experience designers and instructional designers use Chat GPT-4 and other AI-based tools to create better and more engaging eLearning programs both for academic learning and workplace learning.
Removing the Fear of Losing Jobs
First and foremost, L&D professionals need to understand one aspect clearly. Technology has evolved significantly in the last ten years. Let’s take a simple example, the humble electronic calculator, a simple tool, which makes life easier for those not very good at numbers, and also a foolproof device used for billing in shops. There is a famous black-and-white photograph, which shows a bunch of Mathematics teachers protesting against the use of calculators as it posed a threat to teaching.
Source Reddit: tl10c28lz0pa1.jpg (576×680) (redd.it)
At this point in time, we may laugh at what those teachers did. At the same time, we are also seeing every Tom, Dick, and Harry coming up with threads on Twitter and LinkedIn, stating that “Jobs are at threat.” What we need to remember is that tech is an enabler that will help us do our tasks better and faster. So, instead of getting worried about how automation will take over our jobs, learn new skills, update yourself, and use technology effectively to do your work better.
Chat GPT-4 and eLearning – The Implications and Possibilities
Based on a query entered into the Chat GPT Plus tool on GPT-4 and eLearning, a long answer was generated, a brief excerpt from it is shared here:
“As an AI language model, I am not aware of any specific plans or timelines for a GPT-4 release or its potential impact on eLearning design. However, based on the capabilities of current AI technologies, I can speculate on some potential ways that GPT-4 or similar AI technologies could impact eLearning design.”
Now let us move away from the tool and its answer and focus on our understanding of the evolving technology to explore how GPT-4 and its subsequent iterations could shape eLearning.
The broad areas that we will cover in terms of how GPT-4 and advanced AI-based tools can help learning experience designers in developing better eLearning are:
Personalized Learning
Intelligent Assessments
Content Creation and Curation
Predictive Analytics
Personalized Learning
We have covered this topic in earlier blogs wherein we cited this as a strategy to improve learner engagement and increase the retention of learning. With Chat GPT-4 and other AI-powered tools, powerful recommendation engines can be developed that offer learning content that is tailored to each individual learner. This will work exceptionally well in both workplace learning and school or college-based learning as each employee or student is unique and a personalized learning solution will definitely enhance the learning experience.
Intelligent Assessments
A good eLearning solution is one which features relevant assessments that reinforce the concepts taught in the program. Instructional designers face a tough time in coming up with proper questions and answers and creating scenario-based questions to test learners. With Chat GPT-4 and other AI-powered tools, it will become easier to create questions and assessments. Some tools to create questions are – Prep AI, Questo, and Questgen. Read this article for more information on how AI-powered tools are helping ed-tech solution providers create questions and assessments with ease.
Content Creation and Curation
In this blog, we had gone into detail and showcased some AI-powered tools that could be used for content creation and curation. The tools that were covered were – Frase.io, Jasper, and NeuralText. This is just the tip of the iceberg. With startups working closely to integrate Chat GPT-4 with their own ed-tech products, the market is going to be flooded with so many tools for content creation and curation, that the users are going to be spoiled for choice and it is going to be highly competitive environment.
The onus will be on pricing, good customer support, an excellent user experience, ease of use, and highly relevant and appropriate content and images that are generated by these tools. Most of us already use Grammarly’s free plug-in to correct our emails while writing. Similarly, Microsoft Office’s in-built ‘spell-check’ tool is also quite convenient and easy to use. The future is ripe for growth in this area of AI-powered content curation and creation. It is also important to remember that there are several conflicts and cases wherein search engines and AI-powered tools are taking content from creators like bloggers, vloggers, and visual media artists to provide revised content and visuals.
As lawmakers begin to understand AI better and also look at the implications of the cost of creating ‘original content’ vs ‘derived content’; law firms are going to be busy as original content creators will begin to sue the startups or tech-behemoths behind these AI-powered tools that are lifting content without consent or providing any remuneration. The curation of eLearning content has been around for some time now. Now when we add AI to the mix it is going to make things even more interesting.
Predictive Analytics
As an LMS admin, what if a tool told you that a specific course will not work and learners will drop off the course even before they complete one module? Or, what if a tool told you that a specific course would work better if it had a scenario-based assessment added to it, or if it could be linked to a TEDx speech video by a subject matter expert? This is an interesting area of growth.
Since, the beginning of eLearning programs at the workplace, IDs have been struggling to find concrete answers to figure out why one course works phenomenally, whereas another one designed by the same team flops spectacularly. With predictive analytics based on data about the target audience, the learning outcomes and objectives, and the time frame available to deploy a course, IDs would be able to use AI-powered tools to come up with a high-level course format and structure that could tick all the right boxes and lead to a successful eLearning program.
Analytics also looks at course completion rates, learner behavior within the course/LMS/LXP, and how all the data that’s available in the dashboard can be put to good use to design better eLearning courses in the future. Mindvalley’s Quest learning platform combines technology with storytelling, teachers, learning theory, and community interaction to enlighten users. It uses cloud-based tools to understand and make decisions based on user activity and leverage machine learning to predict behavior.
Conclusion
With each passing day, there’s news in the tech world about some new AI-powered tool or a solution that integrates a conversational AI-powered tool that makes life easier for customers and organizations across different industries. If the last decade, saw AR/VR, collectively known as Mixed Reality being the buzzword in eLearning, the next few years are going to be known as the era of ‘AI-in eLearning’.
It will be interesting to see how pricing matrices for such tools change as more players enter the market. It is important to remember that a vast market in Asia and Africa, especially in academic learning in schools is still far removed from high-powered computing and would still need simple learning solutions. Perhaps, videos that are delivered on simple phones or tablet devices. AI is definitely going to make the whole process of learning experience design better and also enable instructional designers to come up with high-quality and engaging eLearning content.
At S4C, we leverage the best of technology and skilled professionals to come up with powerful eLearning solutions for both corporate and academic learning. Please write to us at sales@s4carlisle.com to learn how we can help you meet your L&D requirements.