#52 - Creating a learning session - 1

OK, today I want to try something a little different. Earlier this week we were recording episode 7 of the ILOTA Things podcast , during which I outlined my process for putting a new learning session together, using AI tools as part of the process. I was struck by Elizabeth's comment that she had picked up some useful pointers, so I thought that this might make an interesting use of a newsletter (or two) for some of you.

So, here's how I might start to pull together a new talk or teaching session - over the next few issues I'll explain the steps in my process and also the tools I tend to use. Of course, this will vary depending on the topic and other factors, but there might be some ideas you can take from this. I'd also love to hear from you about how you do things, what other tools and approaches you use, and also if I'm missing anything important (be gentle with me!).

Setting up your tools

I've set up the AI tools I can to be cognisant of UDL, accessibility & inclusivity as things that matter to me and that I want to inform my materials. Are there specific learning models or approaches that apply - if so make sure you ask for them to be part of the AI process.

ChatGPT for instance - go in and put in Custom Instructions. This tells CHatGPT about you but also instructs it on how you want responses to be delivered - in UK English, markdown format etc...

Claude - under Account Settings make sure you add in stuff like this to your profile., and also use Projects and include relevant materials in the base dataset.

eIf using an AI without this option, make sure to include statements around such topics in the prompts to ensure that these are incorporated into the materials and searches the AI's are generating.

Start with your audience

When crafting ANY kind of communication - teaching, a speech, whatever, always start with your audience. Ask yourself these 3 questions:

Who are my audience? One way to use AI here is to get the AI to create you user personas - examples of your audience that you can then visualise and imagine interacting with. You will probably use different language talking with a teenage audience to a group of pensioners. User personas help you discover what your audience care about, so you can then address those things in the session. Here's what I asked Claude "I have to deliver a 2 hour class on risk management to a class of mid-teen students. Create me 3 user personas for such a class. Incorporate UDL, accessibility and inclusivity and respond in UK English.". Claude gave me this back (notice it assumes a British class - there's perhaps a bias that I could correct by stating this was for a class in Ireland):

I'd be happy to create three user personas for your risk management class, incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL), accessibility, and inclusivity principles. These personas will help you tailor your teaching approach to meet diverse student needs. Here are three personas in UK English:

1. Aisha Khan Age: 15 Background: British-Pakistani, from a working-class family in Birmingham Learning profile:

• Visual learner who benefits from diagrams and infographics
• Speaks English as a second language, sometimes struggles with complex vocabulary
• Highly motivated and ambitious, but can be anxious about exams Accessibility needs:
• Wears glasses for mild short-sightedness
• Prefers materials with good colour contrast due to mild colour vision deficiency

UDL considerations:

• Provide visual aids and glossaries for complex terms
• Offer opportunities for collaborative learning to build confidence
• Use clear, sans-serif fonts in course materials

1. Jack Thompson Age: 16 Background: White British, from a middle-class family in rural Somerset Learning profile:

• Kinaesthetic learner who excels with hands-on activities
• Has dyslexia, which affects his reading speed and comprehension
• Enjoys group discussions and debates Accessibility needs:
• Uses text-to-speech software for reading longer passages
• Benefits from extra time on written assignments

UDL considerations:

• Incorporate interactive activities and simulations
• Provide audio versions of written materials
• Use bullet points and clear headings to structure information

1. Zara Chen Age: 14 Background: British-Chinese, from an affluent family in London Learning profile:

• Gifted student with a particular aptitude for mathematics
• Introverted and sometimes reluctant to participate in group activities
• Processes information quickly but can become bored if not challenged Accessibility needs:
• Has attention deficit disorder (ADD), struggles with long lectures
• Sensitive to loud noises, benefits from a calm learning environment

UDL considerations:

• Offer advanced problem-solving tasks for extension work
• Provide options for individual projects alongside group work
• Break lectures into shorter segments with regular breaks

By considering these diverse personas, you can create a more inclusive and engaging learning experience for all students in your risk management class. Would you like me to suggest some specific activities or teaching strategies based on these personas?

Lots of good points here to take on board and incorporate as you begin to craft your session, decide on what materials might be used etc. You could now copy the user-personas text and use that to inform your next questions - replace "mid-teens" below with "these 3 users" for instance for really focus the session on more specific examples - if this was appropriate of course.

What do they need/want to take away from this session? Uncovering pain points, challenges, difficulties that your audience experience and then offering them some ways to address these sets the session up for success.

Again, a few questions into the AI's can often uncover many such issues. I asked Perplexity "What issues and challenges do mid-teens have that I can link to the importance of risk management. Give me 10 examples and for each one, offer ways that risk management could help. These must be relatable and relevant to their lives and experiences.". Here's what Perplexity came up with when I asked it this - https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-issues-and-challenges-do-PUyuhXBAT4KTOR0qV56cng . Using issues and challenges relevant to your audience shows that you are empathising with them and sets up open communication from the start. And remember, if using Perplexity Pro you can turn that answer above into a persistent Page - here's what it created from that prompt response:

Why should they care? If you can link what you are going to cover with a need or want that your audience have early on, and tell them that the session will give them ways to cope, address or fix such issues, this drives engagement as they immediately see that the session is going to give them something useful - new knowledge, skills or ideas.

I asked Perplexity a follow-up question to my earlier on on 10 issues "For each of the 10 issues, give 3 ways the issue might be addressed in a safe way". Here's what it came back with - https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-issues-and-challenges-do-PUyuhXBAT4KTOR0qV56cng

So just by answering these 3 key questions you've created a great initial frame for your session - or the starting point for one.

Now add your domain knowledge

These AI generated answers might be good or not - you now bring your domain expertise into play. But it's a starting point - a jumping off point for you to perhaps add key missing elements in, or cross off stuff the AI offered that isn't relevant or appropriate.

In my example above, from nothing to 10 areas and 3 approach mechanisms in 2 minutes - with just this we now have the bones of an interactive session where different groups could discuss each area and further explore for instance. And Perplexity also includes the source links for the searches, so you can review these and decide if the material is credible or not, and supplement or change it as needed.

We'll explore the process of turning these initial ideas into a fully crafted session further in the next issue or two...

Other AI news

An interesting academic paper reviewing Generative AI Chatbots in higher education:

ANDI - a search AI to try...

A new kid on the search block, Andi is an interesting free new search tool that takes a structured approach to delivering results - Read, Summarise, Explain. Read shows you source articles that relate to your search, Summarise breaks down the key points, and Explain distils more complex material into simpler explanations. Worth a look to see if it does what you want...

Napkin - create graphics for your material

Napkin AI is a (currently free to use) tool that fills a gap - to help you visualise your wordy material in clean graphics. Offering lots of variations of editable graphics, it's a great tool to add to your arsenal when creating compelling material - get away from boring text-based bullet point slides! Check out the 5 minute video below as well to see it in action...

Speechgen.io

Lastly, a free text to speech tool to play with, a good number of free voices and then lots of extras in the paid plan.

Staying with the speech theme, the new OpenAI voice for ChatGPT was demoed a few months back, and this week it seems that the wider rollout has begun, so all being well, we'll all have access to the new natural sounding voices with almost no lag time and very realistic verbal responses soon.

This has the potential to really change the way many people interact with and use AI tools - voice is a very natural way for us to think and explore through conversation, and so far the audio interfaces with computers have been so artificial it's always been a barrier. The new advances have the possibility of changing that - it'll be interesting to see how this changes the AI space over the coming months and years...

OK, enough for this time - see you in the next issue with more on creating learning sessions using AI...

EPALE - The European Adult Learning Network

Do you know about EPALE - the European Adult Learning Network? I'm one of the Irish Ambassadors for EPALE, and you can join over 100,000 educators across Europe in a free online community - it's a great way to get different points of view, participate in training from across the continent and stay up to date on educational thought. Create your free account at https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/user/login

Affiliate Links (stuff I use and recommend)

Perplexity AI - Best search and my go-to AI now... Uses the latest top AI models from ChatGPT, Claude et al, innovates constantly - give it a try!

https://perplexity.ai/pro?referral_code=VYD33BFN

Unriddle AI is a research site that lets you upload docs and then interrogate them.

https://www.unriddle.ai//?ref=JH

Check out Humata - it's another AI that let's you work on your own documents and interrogate them . https://www.humata.ai/?via=joe-houghton

My tool of choice for serious AI image creation is Leonardo. The user interface is easy and very powerful, enabling you to create just what you want in any style really quickly. https://app.leonardo.ai/?via=joe

Notion

This is my tool of choice now for collecting all the bits'n'pieces of information I squirrel away for talk, articles and presentations. I can then generate webpages in a snap and share them, and they update in real-time as I add new info to them! There's so much you can do in Notion - well worth a look:

OK, that's enough for today - see you next time!

Joe Houghton is an Assistant Professor at UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business where he directs the MSc programmes in Project Management. After a career in IT in multinationals, Joe switched into a portfolio career of University teaching, management coaching and training.

He has authored 6 books to date including "Innovative teaching with AI: Creative approaches to enhancing learning in education ", and "Project Management made easy...: the ECCSR approach ". His latest book "Applying Artificial Intelligence to Close the Accessibility Gap: A practical handbook for educators & students! " is now available on Amazon! More on this in a future edition...

Contact Joe on email at [email protected] for any requests for training, seminars, workshops or keynote speaking.