Tech-Neill-ogy #9 - 23 July 2023

Your Weekly Guide to Leveraging Technology in College Counseling

Author

Jeffrey Neill
July 24, 2023

Welcome to newsletter #9!

This week marks the beginning of the school year for me as we report back to campus for new faculty orientation and to get set up for the coming of faculty next week and students the week after. That said, I hope for those in a similar situation that your vacations have been restful! And for those still on holiday, enjoy! Hopefully there are a few tips in this week’s newsletter that you can find helpful in your work.

As always, I encourage you to share this newsletter with your colleagues and networks. Additionally, I would love to hear from you about any interesting resources or use cases you come across in your own research or work. Your input and feedback will greatly enrich my ability to craft these newsletters. Email me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you!

For now, enjoy the newsletter, but, first, here is a hilarious take on AI by Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh:

Custom Instructions for ChatGPT

OpenAI rolled out “Custom Instructions” to give users (paid users, of course!) more control over the response ChatGPT produces. Read more here about this new feature and how you can set your preferences so that ChatGPT will keep them in mind for all future conversations.

openai.com/blog/custom-instructions-for-chatgpt

Guidance for the Use of Generative AI

Produced by UCLA Center for the Advancement of Teaching, this is a handy resource. I plan to share this crystal clear piece with faculty at my school.

teaching.ucla.edu/resources/ai_guidance

ChatGPT app coming to Android devices next week: OpenAI

Good news for Android users! Apple iOS users have had access to an app for a few months now, so now Android users will soon have an app as well.

www.businesstoday.in/amp/technology/news/story/chatgpt-app-coming-to-android-devices-next-week-openai-390858-2023-07-22

Navigating AI Biases in The Classroom

As students learn to use generative AI, it is important to recognize and navigate the biases present. This piece demonstrates some of the implicit biases in AI and how to responsibly combat them in the classroom.

www.techlearning.com/news/navigating-ai-biases-in-the-classroom

9 Ways to Use AI in the Workplace

Nine ways to use artificial intelligence (AI) to take your productivity to the next level. This resource was shared with me by the authors, and I think it is a really great reference for those looking to consider ways to use AI in their work practices, whatever the industry.

www.advologix.com/ai-applications-business

Prompting Best Practices

This resource, produced by OpenAI, provides some clear, insightful ideas for not only how to use ChatGPT (and similar chatbots) but also how to expand your current use cases. Take a look!

platform.openai.com/docs/guides/gpt-best-practices/strategy-write-clear-instructions

Wonderslide

Create great-looking slides in seconds. You update your notes or a rough draft of a PPT, and the interface walks you through the rest. It costs money, but there’s a seven-day free trial to explore! There are a lot of these products out there, but this might be my favorite.

wonderslide.com

AI Image Upscaler

A few years back, I committed to digitalizing all of my hard copy, physical photographs. I’ve been using this tool recently to enhance them. As their pitch states: “Upscale your image to 2x or 4x without losing any textures or details with our AI tool. Use our super-resolution tool and bring new life to your images.” Try it!

www.upscale.media

LLaMa 2 Generative AI Chatbot

I am admittedly an OpenAI ChatGPT fan, but there are some really alternatives out there. This one, utilizing LLaMa, created by Meta (of Facebook fame), is equally as potent and amazing. Try entering the same prompts into each for a comparison.

labs.perplexity.ai

‎Articula: Translate Calls

For you Mac/iOS users, this is a very handy tool. I’ve played around with it only a little bit but hope to use it more regularly once school resumes. As they self proclaim: “‎Articula is the most accurate call translation app on the planet; the translation accuracy is now comparable to professional interpreters, it can translate your calls with your own voice.”

apps.apple.com/tr/app/articula/id1665929058

Here is a useful tool for counselors to employ in assisting their students with time management through the application process. With so many components of the application to complete with various deadlines, ChatGPT can help! There is a more thorough treatment of this topic here, but, for now, consider this basic prompt: 

I am a high school senior. Help me create a timeline to complete all of my college applications and submit them in advance of their deadlines.

Take a few minutes and copy-and-paste this into ChatGPT to get some ideas! Give it a try! You will, of course, find that the output is good but very general. There is a way to make this far more individualized. If you’d like to deeper into this prompt, follow this link.

As we conclude newsletter #9, let's recap the enriching content we discussed this week. We explored how AI continues to revolutionize various industries, including the education sector, through features like "Custom Instructions for ChatGPT" that allows more personalized responses and the upcoming ChatGPT app for Android. We also looked at how to responsibly navigate AI biases in the classroom, a critical component of employing AI in educational settings.

We delved into the potential of AI in workplace productivity and shared OpenAI's insights on effective prompting practices. Additionally, we featured a diverse set of AI-powered tools to enhance your digital experiences, ranging from AI-enhanced slide presentations, image enhancement, to real-time call translations.

Lastly, I shared a handy application of ChatGPT in assisting high school seniors with the intricate task of college application timelines. We hope this multifaceted exploration of AI and tech trends equips you better to integrate these advancements in your counseling practice.

Remember, your inputs and contributions are essential to curating a better newsletter. Should you come across any exciting AI or technology innovations, do not hesitate to share them.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays, and stay tuned for the next edition packed with fresh insights from the intersection of AI and education.

Happy counseling,

Jeff