A Free PDF Resource on AI and Education


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By Sidney I. Dobrin
Free PDF booklet, Version 1.0 published May 15, 2023
37 pages
Table of Contents

A practical new resource, available for free to educators and administrators.

Instructors and college administrators are grappling with many difficult questions arising from the emergence and public availability of generative AI (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT:

  • What impact will AI have on post-secondary institutions?
  • Can AI be integrated into higher education in productive and ethical ways?
  • How will teaching and assessment change?
  • What are the implications of AI for professional, institutional, and civic communication?

This free resources provides administrators and faculty with fundamental information about GenAI and its bearing on instruction and institutional policies. Eminently practical and informed by the latest (and forthcoming) technical developments, Talking about Generative AI will be a boon to anyone who is suddenly confronted with the problem of how to understand and address GenAI’s impacts.

“Compact and thought-provoking—Dobrin’s pamphlet is a signpost to the survival of our disciplines as we adapt to the brave new world of GenAI.”

– Wesley Beal, Lyon College

Contents

  • Goals of This Booklet
  • I. What is Generative Artificial Intelligence?
    • What is Artificial Intelligence and How Does It Work?
    • What is Generative Artificial Intelligence and How Does It Work?
    • Generative Artificial Intelligence and Post-Secondary Education
    • History of Writing Technologies and Resistance to Them
    • Generative Artificial Intelligence is not as New as You Think
  • II. Artificial Intelligence for Course Instructors
    • Generative AI and Integrity
    • The Question of Authenticity
    • The Plagiarism Problem
    • Assignment Design
    • Generative AI and Writing Instruction
    • Product Versus Process (Same as it Ever Was)
  • III. Artificial Intelligence and Administrative Policies
    • Policy and Prohibition
    • Generative AI and Your Institution’s Mission and Strategic Goals
    • Generative Artificial Intelligence and Your Institution’s Digital Literacy, Competency, and Fluency Efforts
    • Other Concerns
  • IV. AI Best Practices
    • Strategies for Developing Best Practices
    • A Parable of the Luddites
  • Additional Resource
  • About the Author
  • Glossary

Download Talking About Generative AI


AI and Writing

AI and Writing is an introduction to generative artificial intelligence and its emergent role as a tool for academic, professional, civic, and personal writing. This book is intended for composition and writing-intensive courses, and for any readers with a general or professional interest in the role of GenAI in writing. While it’s primarily designed for first-year writing courses, it’s also applicable to courses in advanced writing, professional writing, technical writing, business writing, and writing across the curriculum, as well as writing-intensive courses in other disciplines. In other words, it can be used in any course in which students are required to produce texts. Click here for more information and to request an examination copy.


Sidney I. Dobrin is Professor and Chair of the Department of English at the University of Florida, and for ten years directed its writing program. He is the Founding Director of the Trace Innovation Initiative, serves as a Digital Thought Leader for Adobe, and is a member of the Florida Institute for National Security, which is part of the University of Florida’s Artificial Intelligence Initiative. Dobrin is the author and editor of numerous books and articles about writing, technology, and ecology.

He is available to consult with post-secondary institutions about generative AI, including policy development, curricula, and the development of faculty training programs. Please contact him for further information.