AI Corner

LDDI has developed a FoE Course Starter (template) for Canvas, UBC’s centrally-supported Learning Management System. Part of this template is a Syllabus page which is based on CTLT’s example. As per UBC-V Senate Policy V-130, course instructors are required to provide a course syllabus to their students. In addition to the other mandatory areas, the University strongly recommends including a statement about AI usage, linked to the section on academic integrity. If your course shell does not have a Course Starter, please contact LDDI.

This section features examples of AI syllabus statements and other ethics-focused literacy resources for teaching and learning with generative AI. Bringing the concerns around AI and ethics to the forefront, these resources have been designed in line with UBC’s educative approach to academic integrity.


Examples

Discover how some Faculty of Education instructors are guiding the AI conversation and crafting assignments to tap the potential of AI tools. If you have an example you would like to share, please send us an email.

“As with many emerging tools and technologies, generative AI technology comes with both potential benefits and real challenges; it has the potential to support and enhance learning, but can also be used to pass work off as your own. Faculty members and their departments are best placed to decide if and how to make use of such tools in their curricula, and / or as tools to support student writing.”

Simon Bates, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning pro-tem, March 2023.

AI Syllabus Statement

AI guidelines for the course should be explicitly outlined in the course syllabus, and communicated to the students at the outset of the semester so that they are aware of the parameters within which the AI tools may or may not be used.

ChatGPT Assignment

ChatGPT can be used in the courses to develop critical thinking, research, and revision skills. In particular, it can assist students in gathering multiple viewpoints, organizing information, and writing a comprehensive argument that considers all perspectives.

AI Module in Digital Media Arts Classroom

This particular module is designed to introduce basic concepts of artificial intelligence and its relevance to digital art.


Activities in the Classroom

Are you thinking of discussing the use of AI tools with your students? Are you concerned about the ethics, risks and challenges posed by these tools? We have developed a range of resources to assist you in guiding these important conversations and ensuring that students understand the significance of responsible AI usage.

Co-Constructing AI Guidelines with Students

Students engage in exploring and discussing the capabilities, limitations, and ethical considerations of AI tools, specifically focusing on their use in coursework by examining the course syllabus.

Pen & Bot: Decoding the Power of Writing and AI

This discussion activity is designed to encourage students to think critically about the relationship between writing and thinking. It aims to explore how writing aids in clarifying thoughts, expanding ideas, and the potential role of AI in this process.

Evaluating AI Text

Students are tasked with using an AI tool of their choice to generate a 5-paragraph essay on a topic of their interest. They are then asked to evaluate the output using the provided rubric, assessing the AI text for potential ethical issues and risks.

The Deep Fake Detection Challenge

Based on the MIT Labs “Detect Fakes” experiment, students view transcripts, audio, and videos of speeches by politicians. They try to identify whether the media is fabricated and how confident they are in this judgment. They are then asked to reflect on the experience.


Critical AI Tool Activities

Despite the rapid growth of generative AI landscape, many of the initial ethical concerns, such as bias, trust, privacy, copyright, equity, and transparency continue to persist. This section includes activities designed to explore AI tools through a critical lens.

Explore-Reflect-Extend

Are you planning to use AI tools and wondering how to critically assess and evaluate their output? We have designed a series of hands-on activities that follow a three-step process: Explore-Reflect-Extend, encouraging meaningful, critical and thoughtful exploration.


Tool Updates

AI capabilities are being included in the existing teaching and learning tools. With the guiding question, “What are these new capabilities, and what are the implications for instructors?”, this section features a selection of tools that were reviewed in this context.

Padlet

Padlet is being used in the FoE as a communication board for teaching and learning. It now includes AI not only for generating images but an entire padlet based on the prompt.

Canva

Canva, a commonly used presentation and visual design tool, has added AI features that allow an entire presentation to be automatically generated in response to a prompt.

GitMind

GitMind, a collaborative mind mapping software, has recently integrated AI functionality, allowing users to generate mind maps using AI-generated nodes and content.


Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization

Despite its challenges and limitations, AI presents an opportunity to support the efforts in designing digital spaces and learning environments that value respect, reciprocity, opportunity, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Explore articles and guides for strategizing the use of AI for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization.

Accessibility & AI Tools

Before implementing AI tools, it is important to think about the accessibility of these tools, as well as how they can be harnessed for improving the accessibility of course materials and activities.


Student Hub

The guidelines for AI tools have been added to the Canvas eLearning Student Help & Resources shell. When allowing students to use Generative AI in your coursework, consider directing them to these resources:

Using Generative AI

This guide addresses the FAQs on AI ethics and responsible use. It covers the risks and limitations, the policy and privacy considerations, and the requirements for referencing and citation.

Microsoft Copilot Tool Guide

Copilot is the only GenAI tool that instructors can require for student use in coursework. This guide highlights Copilot’s different features, access points, and other considerations.

Prompt Engineering

Through instructive examples, this resource provide guidance on how to write and structure prompts to get desired response from AI tools.

ChatGPT Tool Guide

Based on UNESCO’s ChatGPT Quick Start Guide, this resource provides an overview of how ChatGPT works and explains how it can be used in higher education.

Commonly Used AI Tools

Explore a curated list of AI tools for learning, research, presentation, multimedia and more. Please note that these tools are not endorsed or internally supported by UBC.

For additional resources, take a look at CTLT’s Assessment Design in an Era of Generative AI, UBC CIO Generative AI Guidance and UBC Library’s Generative AI and ChatGPT.


External Resources

How is our wider educational community responding to the challenges of AI? What insights are scholarly research providing us regarding the new generative AI tools? What approaches are being considered? This section houses emerging resources and research.

    • AI Pedagogy Project
      A set of curated resources created by educators to make informed, intentional decisions about the role of AI in the classroom, the AI Pedagogy Project features two main sections: the AI Guide, which offers an introduction to current AI tools in educational settings with the aim of dispelling common misconceptions, and the Assignments section, an evolving collection of assignments and materials for educators curious about how AI affects their students and syllabi.
    • Exploring AI Pedagogy: A Community Collection of Teaching Reflections
      Exploring AI Pedagogy is a crowdsourced space that facilitates reflective discussions on AI experiments in the classroom with an ethos of open, collaborative inquiry. Here, you can explore the pedagogical experiences shared by community members, including reflections on successes, failures, and results that often present conundrums.
    • More Useful Things: AI Resources
      This site is a collection of resources from Ethan Mollick, an Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the book 'Co-Intelligence - Living and Working with AI.' Mollick has been actively exploring and experimenting with how to effectively engage with AI in education. If you are looking for guidance on incorporating AI into classroom preparation, teaching, and student exercises, the Prompt Library is a valuable resource to explore. The site also features Crash Course video series on AI for educators and students designed to provide an introduction to the world of Large Language Models.
    • TeachAI: AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit
      The AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit, licensed under Creative Commons, aims at equipping school leaders and teachers to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into primary and secondary education while understanding and mitigating the potential risks. It articulates Seven Principles of AI in Education for developing effective guidance.
    • AI & Ethics Presentation by Dr. Torry Trust (March 2024)
      These open access slides about AI & Ethics, covering privacy and student data, bias, misinformation, hallucinations, human labor, digital divide, intellectual property rights, and environmental costs of AI, serve as a useful and well rounded resource for discussing the ethical dimensions and societal impacts of artificial intelligence.

  • Burrell, J., & Metcalf, J. (2024). Introduction for the special issue of “Ideologies of AI and the consolidation of power”: Naming power. First Monday, 29(4).
    The articles in this special issue employ a constellation of terms to capture dimensions of power, such as censorship, domination, eugenics, racism, and colonialism. In using these terms, they explore how power in the field of artificial intelligence, power held by those in possession of a singular status (i.e., the ‘godfathers’ of the field) steers us away from much broader truth-seeking and richer arguments.
  • Elrod, A. G. (2024, March 19). The Machine-Translated Web: Signs of a New Educational Reality EDUCAUSE
    With AI models producing counterfeit knowledge and AI translation creating homogenized version of the languages, Elrod calls for the need to maintain educational standards and sustain epistemological foundations upon which education and scholarly discourse rests.
  • Bali, M. (2024, February 26). Where are the crescents in AI? LSE Higher Education Blog
    In this LSE Higher Education blog post, Maha Bali, advocates the need for cultivating critical AI literacy in students, and shares her current teaching practices, ideas and exercises for educators.
  • Bozkurt, A., Junhong, X., Lambert, S., Pazurek, A., Crompton, H., Koseoglu, S., ... & Romero-Hall, E. (2023). Speculative futures on ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence (AI): A collective reflection from the educational landscape. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 18(1), 53-130.
    Through fictional storytelling, the narratives in this paper demonstrate that the integration of AIEd in education is nuanced, complex, and context-dependent. The researchers conclude that the central argument in all debates is the question of what humans will do and what it means to be human if AI can do things that humans have been doing all the time. It is high time to decide how to position the value of human vs. AI-generated content.


Our Support

Interested in exploring, leveraging, and responsibly harnessing an AI tool? Curious how it can support teaching and learning?
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Are you seeking classroom support to engage in thoughtful discussions regarding the ethical use of AI? We can provide guidance, resources, and assistance tailored to your needs. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
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