ChatGPT FTW!

The good news is, we’re not being replaced by robots just yet! If you're new to AI, think of it as a helpful assistant or thought partner that can save you time. For music educators, AI offers a lot of potential in making our work more efficient. In his article, Holster outlines some practical ways AI can assist with both teaching and administrative tasks, while also pointing out the importance of considering ethics and staying aware of biases.

Using an AI assistant like ChatGPT can be a game-changer when developing lesson plans that are both engaging and meaningful. By simply starting with a general idea of what you want to teach, AI can offer discussion questions, set specific goals and outcomes, and even help with differentiation and equity.

It’s also a great tool for generating project ideas or supporting extensions like Universal Design for Learning (UDL). For example, if you want to make a concept or lesson more relatable, ChatGPT can quickly suggest songs by current artists that tie into your topic, which can boost relevance and help deepen student learning.

One of the most practical uses might be in assessments. AI can quickly create rubrics aligned with specific standards or concepts, making it much easier to gather and organize assessment data!

AI is a tool, not a living, breathing (or thinking) entity. Holster points out, "AI's outputs are only as good as their inputs." It takes time and a bit of trial and error to learn how to ask the right questions to get the best responses. One thing I really appreciate about using AI is that you can give follow-up instructions to refine the output. If you’re not happy with what you add a response such as "rewrite this at a lexile level of 500, and remove the concept of articulation."

Finally, Holster reminds us to be mindful of the ethical considerations and limitations that come with using AI. Never use identifiable student data. AI isn't perfect, so we need to be cautious about what we input and remain vigilant for any biases or potentially discriminatory language.

Over the past year, I have come to embrace AI as a time-saving tool. I fully acknowledge the fears that AI will be used for plagiarism, and may be the beginning of the end of our own creative and novel output. But, if used properly as a thought partner instead of a primary author, AI can be very effective as a part of our workflow.

We also have to keep in mind that ChatGPT may carry bias based on how it was trained and the inputs it receives. For example, an AI response may use "he/him" pronouns for a doctor and "she/her" pronouns for a nurse. This is problematic! Keep in mind that AI's biases are based on the biases it has consumed from our data and output. Always take time to review AI outputs for bias and relevance!

Finally, I would like to call attention to the DISCLAIMER as it appears at the end of the article:

"This article was generated through a collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, which utilized the author’s personal corpus of academic writing. Approval for this AI-assisted methodology was obtained from the Academic Editor. Throughout the creation of this article, the AI model was used to develop an outline and recommendations based on common music teacher concerns and the author’s personal experiences."

[I also want to acknowledge that I used AI to help me write this riff!]