In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with Kim Woodruff who is the Director of Instructional Design at Manhattan College. They discuss Manhattan College’s current experience with Generative AI and she provides possible applications that instructors can try. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources.

Manhattan College’s approach to integrating Generative AI (GAI) begins with conversations with their faculty to reach them where they are at. They do not want to push for innovation too quickly, so they provide tips and tricks based on sound pedagogical ideas. Kim often encourages instructors to be experimental and use GAI to perform authentic tasks.

Manhattan faculty have been adventurous with GAI in two areas: in the Communication department (to prepare students for it in the workforce) and in the Education department (there is a tendency to share information like lesson plans). Other innovators are interested in trying new things, including a professor using it in the game design program.

On the student side, Manhattan College has made minor wording changes to its academic integrity policy but is relying on faculty to create their own policy, rather than creating a campus-wide policy on it. Kim also tested student usage of GAI, asking them to use it in an assignment. Only a few students used GAI, which was unexpected. Those that did use it had a better product. Kim thinks students are using tools like Grammarly but are still apprehensive about tools that use GAI.

She has also used GAI as a student to help her understand articles/terms that seem to be wordy or overly complicated. She also asked ChatGPT to create a cartoon to help understand content. Kim recommends those interested in using GAI to integrate it into authentic daily tasks to get used to it and use it to simplify complicated information.

Resources
Designs for the Pluriverse: A Digital Story based on Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds by Arturo Escobar. When you click on the link, the presentation will start automatically.

A parody of Led Zeppelin’s “What is and What Should Never Be” called “What Is and What We Think Should Be” based on The Science of Design: Creating the Artificial by Herbert Simon.

Interactive Games with ChatGPT