There’s lots of buzz in the e-learning world about generative AI's potential to speed up our workflows and extend our abilities to create exciting new projects. And even though we’re only in the early days of this technology, people are already finding ways it can help them—including summarizing content, refining written text, brainstorming ideas, speeding up development processes, writing code, and taking tedious tasks off their plates.
But there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone’s needs. We don’t all work the same way, create the same content, have the same pain points, or even want the same kinds of assistance. So, to get the most value from any AI tool or feature, you’ll want to go beyond the general ways it can help anyone and dig into the specific ways it can help you.
As you’re checking out an AI tool or feature, try these five techniques to zero in on how you personally can get the most from it.
1. Dig into how your AI tool works
As with any technology, every AI tool or feature has its own strengths—and the more you play to them, the better results you’ll get. So start your journey by investigating what the particular AI tool you’re using is especially good at and how you can get the best results from it. That way, you can set your own expectations around when and how it makes the most sense to include it in your workflow.
Official documentation and tutorials are a helpful place to begin. They’ll outline what the tool does and the standard processes for using it. But also keep an eye out for what other users are saying. They can help you separate hype from reality. And they’ll likely have advice on strategic ways to weave the tool into your processes or how to push the boundaries of what it can do.
2. Build in time for experimentation
There’s rarely just one “best” way to use an AI tool. Many are flexible, allowing them to play a part in your work in a variety of ways. That flexibility gives these tools more ways to cater to your needs. But it also means that it might take some experimentation to determine how—or if—they fit into different design and development steps.
That’s why you can get more from your AI tools and features by simply setting aside time to play with them before you start putting them to work. For instance, try exploring questions like:
- how do different AI features contribute to the kinds of learning experiences you create?
- which prompt phrasing gets you the best results in the shortest amount of time?
- Does changing the order in which you use different AI features together change the results you get?
- how much do you enjoy using each feature?
This up-front play may slow down your productivity in the short run. But in the long run, it’s one of the best ways to refine how each tool fits into your world and discover how to use it skillfully.
3. Look for the overlap between AI strengths and tasks you want off your plate
When it comes to getting real value from AI, you don’t just want it to take on any task it’s good at. You want AI to take on the tasks you enjoy the least.
Maybe your subject matter experts tend to give you dense info dumps of content. Having AI sift through it all and summarize the main points could make the experience less draining. Perhaps you need to liven up some old courses but don’t love rewriting boring copy. Getting AI to take the first crack at adjusting the copy’s tone could make the rewriting process less tedious. Or maybe you’re tired of refilming the same training video because a few company terms keep changing. By switching to an AI presenter, those changes would take a few minutes at your computer instead of hours of reshooting and editing.
If you don’t love doing something and AI can competently take on some of the work for you, you’ll appreciate it all the more. And the flip side applies as well. Is there a task AI is good at that you honestly enjoy? Then don’t feel pressured to give it up. You’re not going to find AI tools valuable if they’re taking away the work that fuels you. Instead, use them to free up time so you can give your most-enjoyed tasks your full attention.
4. Know how to check AI’s work
AI tools can be helpful. But, just like any resource or person, they’re not perfect. To get the best results, you need to know where this technology can make mistakes so it’s easier to find and correct them.
The first area to keep an eye on is information accuracy. AI-generated content is often accurate. But because AI tools don’t actually understand the material they’ve been trained on and instead work by recognizing patterns, mistakes can creep in. Referred to as hallucination, these tools can accidentally invent facts or content. To catch these occasional errors, build in a content review pass into your development plan—something you or a subject matter expert may already be doing.
It’s also helpful to include a bias check in that review process. Since AI tools are typically trained on massive amounts of information, biases around gender, race, age, religion, and more can sometimes sneak into the data set. Because of that, it’s important to review ai-generated or altered work to search for these specific issues—just like you might do today with stock photos or external research.
Need ideas on what to look for? Want to consider how to avoid bias in both AI and human-generated content? Check out this article on four ways to make courses more inclusive.
5. Stay on top of how this technology evolves
AI tools are evolving fast. So what’s true about their capabilities today might only be part of the picture tomorrow.
If you’re excited about the possibilities, this is great news. But it also means that to get the full value from the AI tools you’re using now, you’ll want to actively pursue product updates and news so you don’t miss out on valuable new features. And as you’re planning for future projects, knowing what features and tools will be on the market soon can help you make informed purchasing decisions now.
Wrap-up
AI tools have a lot to offer our industry. But when it comes to deciding which aspects of them are the most useful, there’s no universal right answer. Instead, it often varies from person to person, company to company, and sometimes even project to project. That’s why the five approaches in this article can be so handy. They’ll help you explore your AI options and determine where they offer the most value for you and your work.
Interested in the ways AI and eLearning can intersect? Check out these articles:
- 4 AI Basics Every E-Learning Creator Needs To Know in 2024
- Why AI Could Turbocharge L&D Professionals
- How E-Learning Experts Shaped Articulate AI
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