ChatGPT is a new artificial intelligence tool that is very easy to use and could have a big impact on education and libraries. I asked ChatGPT to describe itself as if it were talking to a ten-year-old (because its first explanation was too complex!). Here is what it wrote, "ChatGPT is like a robot that can talk and write like a person. It has been taught a lot of things people say and write so it can understand what you say and write back something that makes sense". I see ChatGPT as being like a research assistant who can summarise a lot of data for you. Which is awesome!
If you haven't already, please sign up to ChatGPT and explore. Once you sign up, it is just like doing a Google search. There is a high demand at the moment, so depending on when you login, you may encounter some delays. ChatGPT is currently free. Your chats are saved on the left-hand side of the screen, so you can refer back to them if necessary (sometimes these won't load for me if I've had the site open for a while, so I reload it).
What can librarians use ChatGPT for?
- suggest book read-alikes and books related to curriculum topics (at the appropriate reading level)
- give me ideas for fun activities to explain book genres.
- generate a multiple-choice quiz about 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' (these were very easy so I then asked it to make them harder).
- In this example about finding fun activities for a book club, I modified my initial question as I wanted activities for when the students are each reading different books. Then I also used the 'regenerate response' button (at the bottom of the page) to see if I could get suggestions for even more activities.
- I asked ChatGPT to find me picture books with good descriptions of character. I modified my question to ask for quotes of physical characteristics, and then I had to remind it that I wanted picture books. I notice that I asked very politely - I'm not sure saying 'please' was necessary. Although my husband reckons once robots rise up and take over the world they might remember that and think more highly of me!
I've had it draft library collection development policies, and what it comes up with is not too bad at all. Next up, librarian handbook. It can revise its previous work if you give it more parameters, details, or other instructions, which is great in early stages of writing.
— Len Bryan (@lenbryan25) January 15, 2023
Teachers will love this too!
Limitations and concerns
There are some limitations to be aware of. A key one is that ChatGPT doesn't access the internet. It can't suggest Youtube links and as it is a language model it can't generate any visual images, tables, mindmaps etc Also, its knowledge base cuts off in 2021 so it has no knowledge of events that happened after that date. More limitations are listed here (scroll down the page a bit).
Concerns around ChatGPT relate to the obvious opportunities it provides for students to use it to cheat by writing essays for them. Here's an article about it, complete with a ChatGPT-created rap about not cheating!
It is important that we talk to students about the limitations of AI and the need to critically evaluate the results they get from using it.
How can I learn more?
- Play around on ChatGPT! Think about things you want to know and ask ChatGPT about them. Or ask it things you already know and see how well it does!
- Here is an introductory podcast from UK librarian Elizabeth Hutchinson (25 mins long) - ChatGPT for teachers and school librarians.
- Nine questions about ChatGPT, answered
- Prompt whispering: Getting better results from ChatGPT
