Abstract:

The large language model Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) ChatGPT took the world by storm in late 2022 and garnered the attention of educators everywhere. “How will we teach in such a world?” and “How will we cope?” seemed to be the questions on everyone’s mind. Veteran educators who witnessed the introduction of the World Wide Web and its tools such as Google have experienced this anxiousness before. Disruptive technologies have affected education before and while A.I. appears to be a game-changer unlike any other, there are still some general principles to consider helping us stay grounded in these uncertain times.

A.I. may finally be the development that forces us to change how we teach or renders us irrelevant. Educators who were already on the path of change found it easier to cope with the demands of teaching in the era of Covid-19 while those who resisted change found the new environment of Zoom meetings and online tools completely overwhelming. Simply put, those who are focused on the prevention of technology-assisted cheating by students are doing it wrong.
We must find ways to change our assignments and our methodologies that encourage creativity and critical thinking in our students as they inevitably use the technologies that are made available to them, including Artificial Intelligence. Because such change is enormously difficult, we must also find ways of staying grounded, retaining our humanity, and keeping the important things first.

One approach in the face of everything is to use a two-pronged approach to life and teaching. Learn all you can about using the available emerging technologies to improve teaching and learning while at the same time relying heavily on the tried-and-true technologies that have withstood the test of time for centuries—the technologies of pencils, notebooks, pens, brushes, ink and paints.

Using the simple and inexpensive tools of the hand and eye keeps us connected with our past. The latter is a reliable modality that can be used even in a power failure. It is equitable, because of its affordability. It is reassuring to make something real, something tangible that can be held and looked at.
The modern art movement of the Impressionists emerged largely because the technology of photography could make perfect images. We are in a similar time today when anyone can use computer technologies to make perfect images or to write prose or poetry of any style. Perfection should no longer be our aim, making things using human processes should.

Just as we might today work out in gyms to stay in shape because our sedentary life has fewer physical demands than the typical life might have had a century ago, we should also “work out” our minds, intentionally doing things the more difficult, old-fashioned way. For the past several years, the author has been keeping paper notebooks of hand-made artwork and journal entries to offset the demands of being always on and always digitally connected and introducing these same techniques to college students. Together they read printed books, have conversations, and most importantly, they do creative work together in the physical world. While some students initially resist this unfamiliar-to-them approach, oftentimes they will come around and look forward to doing these old, simple things together as a way of being part of a learning community and staying grounded.

Keywords:

Art, writing, creativity, design thinking, collaboration, mental health, artificial intelligence, education reform.