Austin Scholar #75: Summer projects to help your kid learn AI
& Ethan Mollick, the best AI resource
Hey, y'all!
This week from Austin Scholar...
Austin’s Anecdote: How I’ve been using AI as a high schooler
Summer projects to help your kid learn AI
Scholar’s Sources: Ethan Mollick, the best AI resource
Austin’s Anecdote: How I’ve been using AI as a high schooler
Everybody knows AI is changing the world, but not as many people are talking about its impact on education. But just like everything else, AI is changing the education landscape, and your kid needs to learn how to use it.
Over the summer and through my various exploits, I’ve become intimately familiar with AI tools and how high schoolers can use AI to superpower their learning and their lives. (And no, it’s not just for “tech bros” and nerds.)
Here’s how I’ve been using AI this summer:
College applications essay
When I sat down to write my college essay, I was terrified of the blank page. Luckily, it didn’t have to stay a blank page for long. I’d read every single article I could find on how (and how not) to begin your college essay. All the differing pieces of advice were swirling around in my head, contradicting each other and making it impossible to start. So, I prompted ChatGPT: “You are a college admissions officer at an Ivy League. What are the two most successful introductions to the college essay you’ve seen?” The response gave me inspiration (and cured the blank page) and I was able to run with it and start writing.
Academically
I know what you’re probably thinking: Austin, are you cheating? The short answer: no, not really. I’m taking a Yale Summer Session Readings in American Literature class this summer, and AI has been my best friend. Yes, I understand that there are hundreds of ways to cheat academically through AI, but my stomach gets all queasy when I think about doing it myself. Basically, during class, my professor will mention something like “post-modernity” in relation to a novel we’re reading–for example, The Crying of Lot 49. I’ll do a quick Google search on “post-modernity in The Crying of Lot 49,” find a 70-page paper on it, then ask ChatGPT to summarize the paper for me. I take notes on the paper, listen to the professor, and all of a sudden, I have something to add to the discussion during the minute-long silences when no one has anything to say. Doing this made me significantly more engaged in the discussion and allowed me to be an active participant in my learning, instead of sitting passively listening to a lecture.
Pitching yourself
I’ve found that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to pitch myself significantly more. Even a short introduction to one of my parents’ friends warrants an elevator pitch about myself. I used to stumble over my words, completely unsure where to start. So, I went to ChatGPT and gave it about ten sentences about who I am, what I’m working on, and what I hope to accomplish. Then I asked it to write an introductory speech for me to use for any situation I might need to pitch myself. Of course, I’ll refine it as time goes on, but it’s a fantastic start to looking more confident and capable when I meet new people.
Summer projects to help your kid learn AI
Of course, younger kids aren’t yet writing their college application essays or pitching themselves, but that doesn’t mean they can’t become AI experts. There are hundreds of fascinating, completely unique AI projects your kid can work on this summer, and I’m going to show you how to find one.
All you have to do is type this into ChatGPT:
“You are a parent to a [age] kid who wants to do a project using AI during the last two weeks of summer. The kid enjoys [list 3-5 interests] and is good at [2-3 skills]. Come up with a challenging, unique, and engaging project for this kid.”
Here is an example exchange:
And if that prompt just isn’t working for you, here are two fun shorter-term projects that ChatGPT came up with that you can set your kid up with to help them learn to use AI (with step-by-step instructions and a deliverable).
Also, it’s super important to remember that your kid is doing these projects to learn how to use AI–so they can make the most of the resources available to them, get dramatically ahead of their peers, and prepare them for the best future possible.
AI Space Mission Planner
Description: Your child will use AI to plan a mission to Mars, including determining the crew, supplies, and potential challenges.
Step-by-step instructions:
Open ChatGPT and have your child type, "Plan a mission to Mars."
The AI will generate a basic plan.
Have your child refine the plan by asking more specific questions like, "What supplies will we need?" or "What potential challenges might we face?"
Deliverable: A detailed plan for a space mission to Mars.
Time needed: 3-4 hours.
Skills learned: Space exploration basics, problem-solving, typing, and interacting with AI.
AI Time Traveller
Description: Your child will use AI to describe what life might be like in different historical periods–or even in the future.
Step-by-step instructions:
Ask your child to choose a year or era in the past or future.
Open ChatGPT and type, "Describe daily life in the year [chosen year or era]."
The AI will generate a description.
Encourage your child to ask more specific questions about the era, like "What was school like?" or "What technology was available?"
Deliverable: An informative report about life in a chosen historical era or future year.
Time needed: 2-3 hours.
Skills learned: Understanding of history or future predictions, research skills, typing, and interacting with AI.
If your kid gives you the “ugh, of course I know how to use ChatGPT” and want something a little more challenging, here are two more projects:
AI Chatbot Developer
Description: Students will create a simple AI chatbot using an online tool. This fun project will help them learn the basics of AI and chatbot development.
Step-by-step instructions:
Visit a free chatbot creation platform like Replika or Mitsuku.
Follow the instructions provided by the platform to create your chatbot.
Define your chatbot's personality and purpose.
Test your chatbot by asking it questions and seeing how it responds.
Refine your chatbot based on the responses.
Deliverable: A simple AI chatbot that can answer questions and engage in a conversation.
Time needed: 3-4 hours.
Skills learned: Basic understanding of AI, creativity, problem-solving.
AI Personal Assistant
Description: In this project, students can create an AI personal assistant. This introduces them to the concept of AI in daily life and can be a fun and engaging project.
Step-by-step instructions:
Use a platform like Google's Dialogflow to create a simple AI assistant.
Follow the on-screen instructions to train your AI assistant to perform tasks like telling the weather, setting reminders, or telling jokes.
Interact with your AI assistant and refine its abilities.
Share your AI assistant with others!
Deliverable: A functional AI personal assistant.
Time needed: 3-4 hours.
Skills learned: Basic understanding of AI, programming.
Reason to do the project: This project introduces students to the concept of AI in daily life and can help them understand the basics of programming and AI development.
Finally, if you want your kid to do some reading before the summer is over, but they just don’t seem to like any books, input this prompt into ChatGPT:
“You are the perfect [grade level] librarian, you know all of the books in the library and their lexile ranges. And more importantly, you know exactly what questions to ask a student to help them find their PERFECT SUMMER READING BOOK.
Please give me three prompts that when answered by a student and given to you, will give them their perfect book.”
Here was my exchange with the AI:
I have actually, in fact, read The Westing Game and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I’m very optimistic about the other recommendations :)
Scholar’s Sources: Ethan Mollick, the best AI resource
Ethan Mollick is one of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence and has written extensively on the use of AI in schools. My favorite piece of his is The Homework Apocolypse. If you’re looking for an in-depth breakdown of how your kid is going to use AI to cheat (and what this means for schools), you have to check this one out. I feel like this quote really gets at the core of his article–and what AI can do in the educational space:
“Students will cheat with AI. But they also will begin to integrate AI into everything they do, raising new questions for educators. Students will want to understand why they are doing assignments that seem obsolete thanks to AI. They will want to use AI as a learning companion, a co-author, or a teammate. They will want to accomplish more than they did before, and also want answers about what AI means for their future learning paths.”
He also wrote an article on specific ways to use AI in class (Assigning AI: Seven Ways of Using AI in Class), which is also worth a read.
Thanks for reading. Go crush the week! See y'all on Sunday.