Webinar Highlights: Innovative Ways To Use AI In Teaching

On July 18th we were be joined by guest speaker Joe Houghton, Asst. Professor at UCD Graduate School of Business, who hosted an online webinar exploring ‘Innovative Ways To Use AI In Teaching‘. During this interactive session Joe explored what AI can do for educators when creating lesson plans, doing research and exploring and amplifying ideas.

Not only is Joe an Asst. Professor at UCD Graduate School of Business, he also delivers corporate training for the civil service and he has a small photographic training business.

During the session, Joe shared his profound knowledge and practical expertise in the exciting field of artificial intelligence. He demonstrated some cutting-edge tools and techniques that he has been actively exploring, leaving us with a deeper understanding of AI’s potential and applications.

Learning the skills to effectively use these tools has become a critical necessity, and it’s a responsibility we must shoulder as educators for our students. Prompt engineering has always played a role, especially in recent times, and it’s increasingly prevalent in university settings. Over the past few years, Joe has transitioned from merely imparting facts to his students to teaching them models, concepts, and problem-solving approaches. He emphasises hands-on practice, allowing students to experiment, learn from their experiences, and develop their skills.

As educators, our teaching methods must evolve to create expert learners, as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) advocates. However, this poses a challenge, as AI tools are continuously evolving, and we, as teachers, need to keep pace with their advancements while guiding our students to master them.

Remaining well-versed in all things AI is paramount, as our students will likely outpace us in their usage and understanding of these tools if we do not stay updated.

The conventional methods of assessment, such as relying on students to recite facts and figures, are becoming inadequate. With the prevalence of AI-powered resources, simply asking students to write essays on specific topics is no longer sufficient, as they can easily access pre-written content. Assessments must adapt to focus on personal insights, critical analysis, and creative problem-solving.

Joe shares his personal approach to teaching, explaining how he empowers his own children by letting them utilise AI tools like ChatGPT, Canva, and Google search. He believes that preparing learners for the AI-driven world means familiarising them with the technology they will encounter in their lives.

Below you will find the demonstrations for each of the tools Joe showcased during our live session! You can find links to all the tools discussed and more here.