I work with AI in my class, but always seek to have students understand the full impact of their decisions. I'm gathering articles for us to practice summary and argumentative work, and this is top of my list.
After avoiding social media for a few years after realizing that the academic track was not going to be for me, I'm not only back in the classroom but missing the academic community that used to exist on Twitter. So I guess I got to start using this thing...
After my 25th committee meeting in which AI was the hot topic conversation but not actionable advice was given to any faculty members, I'm trying to fill the gap between administrations encouraging AI use in the classroom and faculty that actually have to figure out what this means.
Sure.
And, of course, there is so much value in research beyond military or even "useful" reasons. Learning and understanding for its own sake is very much worthwhile. But man if this doesn't feel like a Cassandra moment...
Also shout out for the author's cogent explanation of why area studies (which are currently so maligned as "useless") gave the Allies many advantages to help resistance networks as well as track down war crimes and stolen art. Meanwhile, Nazi superiority dismissed these areas as useless...
This fascinating book ends with a discussion of how German universities had destroyed their reputation, research output, and credibility by chasing out their own scholars as well as interrupting the graduate and post-graduate exchange of scholars and research ideas.
Not at all relevant to today...
I have no solutions at the moment, mostly because the term just started, my kids just went back to school, and I’m so so tired after spending two days walking people through basic computer skills like opening a browser or using online ebook interfaces.
If I’ve learned anything in 2 years of course admin with a some teaching here and there is that both professors and students are struggling with basic computer literacy. I’ve heard that phones/tablets are the reason for Gen Z, which leaves me even more confused for millennial and gen x faculty.
Even having had a horrid time with the flu this year, I’m grateful the shot meant I was sick as a dog for 2-3 days, not a whole week or more. I never had much of a fever. Didn’t get dehydrated. And I’m immune compromised.
Even though we all dutifully got our flu shots, we’ve been battling it for over a week. The two immune compromised members of the family have had a real real hard time with it. Don’t recommend the flu, but at least it happened when we weren’t missing school or falling behind work?
Next term, I am showing up to every single class with a shirt that says: "It is DOCTOR Hernandez, actually"
The back can say "call me Ms/Mrs Hernandez at your own risk."
Grading research papers. First paper, top of page 2, and my student argues that slavery was completely normal and acceptable "until the United States was formed."
I've spent ten minutes staring at the page trying to figure out how in the world I respond that isn't "1619" over and over again.
Have discovered Percival Everett’s prose (got a few of his books for my 35th birthday yesterday) and am fulfilled. Next term I’ll be on leave for part of it and I know what I’ll be devouring throughout.
So far, I much prefer AI in idea generation, helping them develop a schedule/to do list for papers, etc than in anything approaching actual writing/composition or formulating an argument. And most of my students are too scared/distrustful to actually use it for drafting.
My students can use AI to in their papers (as part of a larger discussion on using AI ethically-if it exists). The students who use it have better grammar, but routinely score lower on argument depth and insights. Not sure if it's a prompting issue or that AI strips out anything interesting.
Today’s class didn’t work, I didn’t quite reach my students. The admin tasks were brain numbing (on purpose, not like I can think these days). But I’m rebuilding my academic community on this platform and that feels nice.
First post, who else would I share?