Artificial Intelligence (AI) Useful for E-Learning Design and Development?

Dec 21, 2022

Hi Friends!

I'm just curious how many of you have begun experimenting with AI tools (ChatGPT, GPT3 API, AI platforms, etc.) to refine your design and development of e-learning modules that you create in Rise and Storyline. Any good time-savers or other best practices that you're using?

Thanks!

Ash

39 Replies
Mike Martin

Yes - a few things when using ChatGPT. 1. Be specific in your request. No need for simple Google phrases. You can add multiple variables in your request. For instance, I can say write an introduction to this course and give the objectives and it will produce a result. I can also ask it to do the same but add "make it exciting so that teams will want to join this session and add a joke about training to lighten the mood" This is a bad example, but you can see the limits are largely in our own minds! Also, try several prompts and analyze the various results. You may want to combine responses.

Cody Wanberg

Hey Ashley! I have been trying out ChatGPT for all sort of things, from personal (writing poems and stories with the kids) to professional (scripts, quiz questions, and more). I recently wrote a post describing some best practices I discovered and some ways this might be used as a starting point for L&D development. And, similar to what Mike shared above, the limits only go as far as our own minds. I encourage you to play around with the tool and see what it can do. 

Ashley Green

Thanks for your comments! Yeah, I'm finding it has several great uses. With the right prompt input, it can generate some surprisingly nuanced content. It's especially good at helping to generate variants of multiple-choice questions for test. Particularly useful too when I get stuck with scenario/story building. This really amplifies the effort when a SME I'm working with can't be available but for a limited window. I get the high-level outline and must have content from the SME, then can have AI "fill - in" any content where I get stuck. To be honest with all the prompting and fine-tuning I sometimes have to do, I find that the process gets my thinking "unstuck" and I just start to generate all the original content on my own.

I'm really intrigued to see what the Articulate team might do to incorporate it one day. Could an embeddable widget of some kind be developed where I can train the AI on content and context and then have it play the part of another person in a truly interactive training scenario ? (I'm in the healthcare space so thinking practice patients for new providers). Could it be trained to help evaluate free-text essay questions?

Curious to hear what others think - please chime in!

Ray Cole

I've been experimenting with using the AI art tools--especially Midjourney since I have my own subscription (separate from work) for my personal projects. One place where I think these AI art tools are particularly useful right now is as an adjunct to stock photos.

Very often, stock photos are ALMOST what I want, but not quite.  For example, I often need images of researchers. Most stock photos of people in lab coats also have stethoscopes around their necks, making them suitable for use as doctor characters, but unsuitable as research scientists. Their lab coats are often unbuttoned, which isn't ideal for safety courses aimed at researchers. And they often aren't wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety glasses.

All these problems can be fixed in Photoshop if you have the time and the skills to do it, but it is much easier and faster to use the AI tools. You can feed the stock image into the AI tool and use the text prompts to have the AI make the changes. For example, you can feed it the image of someone who is not wearing safety glasses and add the text prompt "wearing safety glasses." You'll get some options back from the AI within a minute or two.

Dave Ruckley

I've used ChatGPT to write javascript for me so that events are written back to Goggle Analytics 4 as my previous code was for the version of GA that's being deactivated. It not only wrote the code but told me exactly how to implement it in the Storyline output.

It took a couple of prompts when there were mistakes but the code now works perfectly. I'm definitely considering using it for other javascript based things I might want to do in Storyline.

Patricia de Blieck

Hey Sarah, developments are happening so fast and are already providing so many benefits for content developments. I am surprised that ChatGPT is not on your roadmap. Several LMS systems already use ChatGPT for rapid content development. If these developments go so well and fast, an external content development tool will soon be of much less added value.

Lucia Martyn

Yes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be very useful for e-learning design and development. AI has the potential to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of e-learning by automating certain tasks and providing personalized learning experiences for each individual learner. Here are some ways AI can be applied in e-learning:

Adaptive learning: AI can analyze learners' performance data and provide personalized learning paths, resources, and feedback based on their strengths and weaknesses. This can help learners to focus on the areas where they need the most improvement.

Natural Language Processing (NLP): AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can interact with learners using natural language processing. This can provide a more engaging and interactive learning experience, as learners can ask questions and receive answers in real-time.

Content creation: AI can generate personalized content for learners based on their preferences, learning style, and performance data. This can save time and resources for instructors and designers, as well as provide more relevant content for learners.

Assessment and feedback: AI can analyze learners' responses to quizzes, assignments, and assessments to provide automated feedback and grading. This can save time for instructors and provide immediate feedback for learners.

Overall, AI has the potential to enhance the quality and effectiveness of e-learning by providing personalized and adaptive learning experiences. However, it's important to ensure that AI is used ethically and transparently in e-learning design and development.

 

John Cooper

Great discussion - as people have pointed out, this is moving really fast and will have a major impact on the way we all learn and acquire knowledge.

We are using AI in both the design and development phases - and it is making a big difference. We are still experimenting with how to integrate it into the eLearning itself - this is the really interesting part!

But to pick up on a point Luci made - I agree entirely. We need to make sure AI is used ethically and transparently.  We have completely revamped our editorial policy to take account of AI.

  • Firstly we make sure our clients know where, and how, we are using AI.
  • Secondly, we document ALL AI content enquiries so we know exactly what copy was generated by an AI engine.
  • Thirdly, having done our research phase using AI we ALWAYS return to the original brief and start with a blank sheet. AI gives us some really useful pointers and saves us a lot of research time but we are not yet ready to accept AI generated copy as our content.
  • Finally, we have strict policies governing statistics, data and quotations generated by AI engines. We always validate the sources and check the authenticity of the information presented. If we can't authenticate it, we don't use it...

Even so, we estimate that design time for eLearning courses has halved and content development time reduced by at least 20%. That's significant - and we know the saving will get bigger as we refine the way we use these tools.

I would be really interested to know what everyone else is doing.

 

Ashley Green

Really love the approach you've outlined above, John. The savings in research time alone makes it worth it for me. GPT-4 has gotten better about drawing information from citable sources (if you craft the right prompt), though it still embellishes I've found. I always go back and confirm those citations I ask for!

Joe L. Thompson

Yes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be very useful for e-learning design and development. AI has the ability to analyze vast amounts of data, recognize patterns, and provide insights that can be used to improve the learning experience. Here are a few ways in which AI can be applied in e-learning:

  1. Personalization: AI algorithms can analyze user data, such as learning progress, assessment results, and interests, and then create personalized learning paths for each individual user.

  2. Adaptive learning: AI can adjust the difficulty of the learning material based on the user's performance, ensuring that the content is challenging but not too difficult.

  3. Chatbots: AI-powered chatbots can provide instant support to learners by answering their questions and providing feedback on their progress.

  4. Content creation: AI can analyze existing content and suggest improvements or generate new content based on user needs.

  5. Assessment and evaluation: AI can evaluate learners' progress and provide immediate feedback, as well as assist in identifying areas where learners may need additional support.

Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize e-learning by providing personalized and adaptive learning experiences that can improve learning outcomes and increase engagement.

Lisa Grace
Sarah Hodge

Hey Carmen! I appreciate you reaching out! Since we don't have AI functionality on our Articualte feature roadmap yet, I don't have much to share. But feel free to bookmark that page to keep an eye out. If we add AI features to the roadmap, I'll also try to update the discussion here!

Agree 100%  I will be looking for a tool that's leveraging AI when my renewal comes up.  I understand this not yet being fully vetted/incorporated into a current SL or Rise release, but it's frankly disappointing that it's not even on the roadmap.  Maybe ChatGPT could help y'all with the strategy to get it on there. :)