In this newsletter: updates on Canvas, upcoming summer training sessions, exploring advancements in AI and tips to get ready for Fall courses.
Preparing Your Fall 2024 Canvas Sites
To help you get your Fall 2024 courses up and running smoothly, here are the key steps for setting up your Canvas site.
New Semester Canvas Quick Start Guide
- Prepare Your Canvas Site:
- If you’ve taught the course before, import previous course materials.
- For new courses, use a Law School Template or feel free to start from scratch.
- Update the Syllabus Page:
- Edit the syllabus to include current semester information.
- Update Course Materials:
- Make any necessary updates to other course materials or assignments. Learn more about designing your Canvas site here.
- Publish Your Content:
- Publish Your Course:
- Make sure your course is published and visible to students.
For a more detailed guide, check out the Canvas Quick Start Guide on the Ed Tech Blog.
Navigating AI in Education
Stay ahead of the curve with the latest in AI technology and how it can be integrated into your teaching. If you’ve been waiting to try the latest models due to cost concerns or data security worries, now is the perfect time to revisit these tools. There are new ways to interact with the most powerful models for free, and the latest capabilities are significantly more advanced than previous free versions. If anything in these announcements still sounds foreign to you, be sure to check out the training and development opportunities being offered this summer.
BC & Microsoft Copilot
You can now sign into Microsoft Copilot with your BC credentials. This GPT-4 powered tool offers a secure environment to enhance your teaching experience. Here’s how you can get started before the official announcement from IT:
- Access Microsoft Copilot: Visit copilot.microsoft.com and sign in using your BC email address. You will be redirected to the SSO page for login. You will see a “Protected” badge after successfully logging in.
- Features and Benefits:
- Utilize a GPT-4 level language model to assist with various tasks.
- Enjoy a protected environment for AI interactions.
OpenAI’s New Frontier Model: GPT-4o
OpenAI has announced the rollout of their new frontier model, GPT-4o. This multimodal model can natively handle text, audio, video, and images. Here are some key features:
- Experience Advanced AI:
- Analyze data and create charts.
- Chat about photos and upload files for assistance with summarizing, writing, or analyzing.
- Create and share custom GPT’s for specific tasks
- Enjoy GPT-4 level intelligence for free!
- New Voice Chat Assistant:
- This feature allows real-time conversations with AI through mobile and desktop apps. Though when released it’s expected to be behind a subscription paywall, it promises to enhance AI interaction capabilities.
- Examples:
For more details, visit the OpenAI website.
Highlights from Google I/O
Google I/O, Google’s annual developer conference, unveiled several new products and AI capabilities (100 to be exact). Here’s what you need to know:
- AI in Google Workspace: Gemini will now power AI features in products like Docs, Sheets, Gmail, Meet and more. Summarize email chains, chat with documents, automate processes and more all with the power of Gemini. Note: This feature is not currently available in our BC Google Workspace environment.
- Gemini 1.5 Pro: Enhanced context window of 1 million tokens and up to 2 million tokens for developers for extensive analyses and longer conversations. See below for relevant approximations in various forms of media input.
- ~2 hours of video
- ~22 hours of audio
- ~1.4 million words
- New Features in Gemini Advanced: Custom instructions (Gems), document analysis, and conversational AI capabilities.
- Key Announcements:
- Gemini 1.5 Pro’s updated token limit.
- “Gems” for custom task instructions in Gemini Advanced.
- Google Live will bring conversational multimodal AI to Google Gemini’s mobile app.
Stay tuned for more updates as these features become available.
Summer AI Tech Talks
This summer, I’m launching an exciting series of AI-focused discussions designed to engage faculty and staff with both the technical and pedagogical aspects of AI integration in education. These interactive sessions will help you create more engaging, inclusive, and effective learning experiences for your students.
Weekly Drop-in Sessions
I will host one drop-in session per week, alternating between technical and pedagogical discussions. Each session will last for one hour, starting in June.
- Frequency: Once a week (alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays)
- Duration: 1 hour per session
- Tuesday Sessions:
- Focus on technical discussions, hands-on activities, and tool-building.
- Example topics: Generative AI literacy, current landscape of AI tools, and practical applications in teaching.
- Thursday Sessions:
- Focus on high-level pedagogical applications and open-ended conversations.
- Example topics: Strategies for integrating AI into your curriculum, fostering inclusive learning environments, and AI’s impact on student engagement.
Session Details and Schedule
Each session will begin with a brief 15-20 minute introduction to the topic, followed by open discussions, Q&A, and hands-on activities. I aim to cover distinct topics each week and leave ample time for participants to engage with these tools and ask questions.
Why Attend?
- Hands-On Learning: Gain practical skills you can immediately apply to your courses.
- Collaborative Environment: Share ideas and strategies with your peers.
- Expert Guidance: Learn from experts in educational technology and pedagogy.
I understand that scheduling can be challenging, so I am alternating days to accommodate different availability. Your feedback on the proposed schedule and topics would be greatly appreciated to ensure these sessions meet your needs and interests.
Stay tuned for a detailed schedule of discussion topics and dates later this week. I look forward to seeing you this summer and exploring the transformative potential of AI together!