I remember how it was -- JR
ChatGPT could be an effective and affordable tutor
Imagine a private tutor that never gets tired, has access to massive amounts of data and is free for everyone.
In 1966, Stanford philosophy professor Patrick Suppes did just that when he made this prediction: One day, computer technology would evolve so that “millions of schoolchildren” would have access to a personal tutor. He said the conditions would be just like the young prince Alexander the Great being tutored by Aristotle.
Now, ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot with advanced conversational abilities, may have the capability to become such a tutor.
ChatGPT has collected huge amounts of data on a wide range of topics and can pass graduate school exams.
As a researcher who studies how computers can be used to help people learn, I think ChatGPT can be used to help students excel academically. However, in its current form, ChatGPT shows an inability to stay focused on one particular task, let alone tutoring.
Philosophy, engineering and artificial intelligence scholars envisioned using the computer as an “intelligent tutor” well before the internet became a global commercial network in the 1990s.
I believe lessons from developing those early tutoring systems can offer insight into how students and educators can best make use of ChatGPT as a tutor in the future.
Computers as tutors
Suppes – the Stanford philosophy professor – was a pioneer of a field called “computer-assisted instruction”.
He developed some of the earliest educational software. That software provided individual instruction via computer and led students to have better test results than those who didn’t use the program. I worked for Suppes in developing software and other online programs from 2004 to 2012.
Since then, experiments in building “intelligent tutors” to help students have driven advances in artificial intelligence, social networks and computer hardware.
And today, the abilities of ChatGPT to write essays, answer philosophical questions and solve computer coding problems may finally achieve Suppes’ goal of truly personalised tutoring via computer.
In 1972, a new personalised learning system called PLATO – Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations – made its debut. It was the first widely available personalised learning system of its kind.
Created by Don Bitzer, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Illinois, PLATO allowed up to 1000 students to be logged onto a mainframe computer simultaneously.
Each student could complete different online courses in foreign languages, music, maths and many other subjects while receiving feedback from the computer on their work.
PLATO enabled students to reach the same level of achievement as in-person classes in less time. And most students preferred this mode of instruction over sitting in a large lecture class. Yet, the system was too expensive to be used by many colleges and universities.
Each computer terminal was marketed at over $US8000 – about $58,000 today – and schools were charged additional fees every time a student used the system. Still, PLATO’s success with students inspired a number of companies to create software that provided a similar kind of tutoring, including the College Curriculum Corporation, which was co-founded by Suppes.
Popular personal computer brands, such as Apple and Commodore, advertised the availability of educational software as a reason for families to invest in a home computer.
Early versions of personalised learning
By 1985, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University were designing software using advances in artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology.
They claimed the current technology had advanced to a level that enabled computer systems to be designed to serve as effective as human tutors.
However, even though there were over 10,000 pieces of educational software available at the time, much of it was of fairly low quality and did not provide real tutoring.
Although the more advanced designs of the educational software developed at Carnegie Mellon enabled students to learn significantly more than students in traditional classrooms, they were not widely used in schools.
In the 1980s and 1990s, a school would need a sizeable number of expensive, high-powered computer workstations for students to use an intelligent tutor. Today, the computers are much more powerful and much less expensive.
And early intelligent tutors were used primarily in maths, science and technology courses, which limited their appeal.
Students could not ask the software programs a question. However, students could get feedback on answers to quizzes and tests.
In 2001, the next generation of intelligent tutoring systems was able to have conversations with students in written English.
These systems, early chatbots, used advances in natural language processing to have dialogues with students about a range of subjects. Each system was designed specifically for one subject, such as physics. Adding another subject, like English, would require its own specialised tutoring system.
The next few years brought three developments, which enabled a forward leap in achieving the dream of computerised tutoring.
One was the availability of broadband internet, which was faster than the dial-up connections of the 1990s.
The second was the lower cost of more powerful computers.
The third was investment by technology companies and government funding for university research in artificial intelligence, which led to the development of what we now call chatbots.
The first chatbots
By 2007, early AI chatbots provided tutoring by talking students through their answers to questions.
Research showed these chatbots supported learning outcomes similar to the effects of human tutors. Even so, using chatbot technology to provide tutoring was primarily experimental.
During the 2010s, social networks and advances in artificial intelligence dramatically changed the way people interact with technology.
Chatbots are integrated into many parts of our lives and are no longer experimental. People now talk to their phones, to their cars and their home appliances. Many people have virtual assistants at home. They can ask Alexa, Siri or Google for directions or the answers to simple homework questions.
Today, ChatGPT has advanced abilities that enable more complex conversations and can provide individualised tutoring much like what Suppes predicted in 1966.
I asked ChatGPT why it would be a good tutor, and it responded: “I am a good tutor for a student because I am able to understand and respond to a wide range of questions and prompts, and I can provide detailed and accurate information on a wide range of subjects.
“Additionally, I am able to communicate this information in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, making it accessible for students of all levels of understanding. Because I am a machine-learning model, I can also provide a large amount of information quickly and efficiently, which can be especially helpful for students who are trying to learn a lot of new material in a short amount of time.”
By contrast, Siri said, “Hmm … I don’t have an answer for that. Is there something else I can help you with?”
Recent research in using chatbots in college courses shows that how chatbots are used is important in encouraging students to learn more deeply. For instance, AI chatbots enabled significant improvements in learning in a graduate course on cloud computing at Carnegie Mellon.
These learning gains occurred when these chatbots asked students to build on an existing argument or to provide more information about a claim they had made. In this case, the chatbot asked the student a question, rather than vice versa.
Many educators are worried about students learning less with ChatGPT since it can be used to cheat on assignments and papers. Others are worried about ChatGPT giving wrong answers or spreading misinformation.
Yet the history and research of intelligent tutors show that using the right design to harness the power of chatbots like ChatGPT can make deeper, individualised learning available to almost anyone.
For example, if people use ChatGPT to ask students questions that prompt them to revise or explain their work, students will have better learning gains.
Since ChatGPT has access to far more knowledge than Aristotle ever did, it has great potential for providing tutoring to students to help them learn more than they would otherwise
https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-could-be-an-effective-and-affordable-tutor-198062
******************************************************'Bloated bureaucracy has got to be slashed:' UVA board member launches 'battle royale' against 'incessant' highlighting of slavery
Newly released text messages have shed new light on the unfiltered opinions of a controversial University of Virginia Board of Visitors member who was recently appointed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.
The text messages released Thursday through a public records request show board member Brett Ellis railing against UVA faculty and students for highlighting the school's historical connection to slavery.
Ellis declared a 'battle royale for the soul of UVA' and slammed attempts to distance the school from Thomas Jefferson, the third US president and UVA's founder, over Jefferson's enslavement of black people, according to Washington Post.
An Atlanta businessman and UVA alumnus, Ellis has faced stiff backlash from UVA faculty and staff since Youngkin appointed him last summer, in part due to a 2020 incident in which he tried to remove an anti-slavery sign outside a dorm.
Ellis freely admitted in an open letter that he had carried a 'small razor blade' to cut down part of the sign that read 'F*** UVA' but was halted by two university staffers, who warned him it would be consider criminal property damage.
Though Ellis has been vocal about his views in defending Jefferson, the text messages reveal his behind-the-scenes rants to other members of the Board of Visitors, which oversees UVA's long-term planning, budget and policies.
The messages were obtained through Virginia's Freedom of Information Act by Richmond-based author Jeff Thomas, who specializes in analyzing the state's political culture.
In one message, Ellis slammed Academic Outreach Vice Provost Louis P. Nelson, who is also a professor of architectural history who has studied buildings connected to slavery in Africa and the US.
'Check out this numnut who works for [Provost Ian] Baucom and has nothing to do but highlight slavery at UVA. This bloated bureaucracy has got to be slashed,' wrote Ellis in a message to two other Youngkin appointees to the board.
In another message to a fellow Youngkin appointee, Ellis wrote: 'We have to raise hell with the BOV about this whole "Get Jefferson" movement by the CD [Cavalier Daily student paper] and the super liberal faculty...'
In a statement to the Washington Post, the university said: 'These text messages demonstrate a disappointing disregard for the hard work of UVA faculty and staff, as well as the University’s core values of civil discourse and honor.'
'It is important to note that the messages were sent before these members attended their first Board meeting, and that they have since had many opportunities to witness firsthand the many ways this institution, and its employees, contribute to the Commonwealth of Virginia, our nation, and our world,' the university added.
Ellis is one of four board members appointed by Youngkin last year, and confirmed by the Virginia state Senate earlier this month. The others are Stephen P. Long, Amanda Pillion, and Doug Wetmore.
Still, appointees by Youngkin's Democratic predecessor, Ralph Northam, retain a majority on the 19-member board.
Ellis leads the Jefferson Council at University of Virginia, which has sought to protect the founder's legacy as well as other traditions.
His appointment to the school's board of visitors has significantly amplified the group's voice.
The influence of the new appointees seemed apparent in a statement the board's chairman, known as a rector, issued during a a meeting in September, affirming the university's connection to its founder Jefferson.
'We are a University founded by Thomas Jefferson, and honoring his legacy and his contributions to our nation has, and will always be, an indelible part of what it means to live, learn and work here,' UVA Rector Whittington Clement said in remarks at the meeting.
'That is the policy and the position of this institution and it will not change under our leadership or that of President Ryan or his team.'
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UK: Teachers told my 15-year-old daughter to cover her ANKLES because they were sexually attractive
Teachers told a 15-year-old schoolgirl she needed to cover her ankles because they might be sexually attractive.
Olivia Williams, 15, a pupil at Trinity Academy Cathedral school in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was told her trousers should not be tight and she had to cover her ankles to avoid 'drawing sexual attraction'.
Schoolmasters at the academy rated as 'outstanding' by Ofsted have banned pupils from going to the toilet unless they have a special pass, or a pink pass for girls on their period.
Although the NHS says periods can last for up to a week, the Academy's pink passes are reportedly taken away from the girls after only four days.
Olivia was suspended for two days after she organised a protest against the rules yesterday.
Her mother Katie McLoughlin, 35, told MailOnline: 'It's ridiculous. Who looks at ankles and thinks they are attractive?
'All the children have got toilet passes. The girls have got pink passes. Everybody knows what it means. 'After four days the passes have been taken from the girls.'
Although Katie was shocked at the school's new rules, she said she was 'overwhelmed' and 'so proud' of her daughter for standing up for what she believed in.
Olivia told MailOnline that the stringent rules made her feel 'embarrassed'.
Even though Olivia was suspended she went to protest again today but was told she would be expelled if she continued demonstrating against the draconian measures.
In a letter to parents, the school's principal Rob Marsh said: 'Student toilets are open before school, between lessons, at breaktimes, lunchtimes and after school.
'Students are allowed to go to the toilet at any point during these times. We understand that at times, some students may need to attend the toilet more frequently. 'For this reason, we have a toilet pass system. 'We also grant access to girls who need to attend toilets at specific times.
'Our uniform rules have not changed for quite some time and are standard for a secondary school.
'We have been in contact with parents of those students involved [in protests] throughout the day.
'The first contact was largely about trying to encourage support to get students back into school. 'We will be in touch again regarding sanctions and next steps.'
It came as protests broke out over similar rules at schools across the country this week.
The demonstrations have turned into a TikTok trend that is causing chaos at schools.
In a letter to parents, one headteacher said pupils had 'decided to imitate a trend relating to school protests' on social media and that similar protests were taking place at 'numerous schools throughout the country'.
At Penrice Academy in St Austell, Cornwall, told parents that 'due to a social media post yesterday evening, some of our students took the decision to protest'.
Protests took place at schools in Cornwall, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Essex with videos of furious children rebelling being shared on social media.
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My other blogs: Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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