I Used Google’s AI Tools to Create An Entire Assignment: A Review

As an EdTech enthusiast, I'm always on the lookout for ways to use technology to enhance my teaching and save time. Recently, I had the opportunity to try out two of Google's AI tools, Bard and Practice Sets, for a grammar review with my students. What I discovered was a powerful combination of human and artificial intelligence that helped me to create a customized, interactive learning experience for my students. Here's how it all went down…

First, I began by selecting the state standard that I wanted to review with my students. Then, I copied and pasted the standard into Google's AI Chatbot, Bard, and asked it to create a multiple choice question based on the standard.

One of the coolest things about Bard is that it provides multiple drafts of its responses. In my case, I ended up using questions from two of the three drafts that Bard provided. However, I noticed that the multiple choice questions weren't quite right. Bard understood the content, but not how to write a multiple choice question. Also, they weren't as funny as I had requested.

Therefore, I had to clarify for Bard that multiple choice questions "must contain only one correct answer" before it gave me a usable question. I had to manually edit the rest of the questions. This experience taught me the importance of looking at chatbot responses with a critical eye and double checking the information given.

Next, I took the responses from Bard and plugged them into Google's new formative assessment tool, Practice Sets, and selected the skill that I was teaching my students. The selected skill prompted my students with a Khan Academy video if they initially answered the question incorrectly, providing immediate feedback on formative assessment.

Ultimately, using these AI tools to create this quick grammar review took me roughly the same amount of time as if I had created it on my own (although it required less mental effort). However, just like learning any new skill, I will be able to better prompt Bard in the future and streamline the process to save more time in the long run. Additionally, I am hopeful that Bard will continue to improve and develop to produce higher quality responses the first time around.

Overall, I believe that AI tools like Bard and Practice Sets have the potential to revolutionize the way that we create educational materials and assess student learning. While they may not always get it right the first time, with a little bit of guidance and manual editing, they can be powerful time-saving resources for educators like me.