Not lengthy after I had acquired most of my pupil’s mid-semester survey outcomes, I got here throughout an AI device that will create a music. The device is Suno (suno.com) and it makes use of AI to create each the music and the lyrics. For some odd motive, I questioned if it would create a music based mostly on by pupil survey outcomes?
I wanted lyrics for the music, so I took the survey outcomes and positioned them into Google’s Gemini to develop a abstract of the outcomes. The abstract was not poetic nor lyrical, so I requested Gemini to put in writing some music lyrics based mostly on the survey abstract. Foolish I know, however that’s how this story began. I then added the lyrics to Suno and selected ska/reggae because the model of music. It was fairly enjoyable to listen to about my class although a cheerful, upbeat music. The scholars within the class received a kick out of it too and the college I shared it with received an excellent giggle.
And there it was, a music about my class and the way the scholars felt about it.
Having spent the final 20 years as an educational designer, I’ve labored with college sufficient to understand how troublesome institutional surveys may be. Typically, probably the most disgruntled college students level to course deficiencies and that’s what the college keep in mind. Then there are deciles and scores and comparisons and the concern that these numbers will negatively have an effect on the tenure course of or rehiring as an element time college. Usually, there’s a destructive vibe round these surveys and the way they’re used. I questioned if these single web page pdfs might be shared in a distinct method? Possibly somebody singing the outcomes to them? Possibly simply a pleasant voice letting them know concerning the issues they did properly and the issues they may enhance upon.
I considered how completely different the expertise of a voice is likely to be when delivering the knowledge. Would possibly it “really feel” higher? Worse?
I had been taking part in with Google’s just lately launched NotebookLM (notebooklm.google.com) and I questioned what uncooked survey information may sound like within the “podcast” function. I began with simply my self-created mid-course evaluations and it was actually attention-grabbing to listen to two “individuals” speak about my class. I questioned what different “sources” I would give NotebookLM to fill out the dialog and the way I would customise the podcast.
At first, I added the course targets and goals. However as it’s also possible to add YouTube movies, so I added my seven-minute course introduction from YouTube. The category was on-line, so I added the QM requirements and since the category was about pedagogy and know-how, I added the ISTE requirements. Including these different “sources” actually began to flesh out the podcast because the successes and challenges have been framed towards present requirements in instructing and studying. Listening too it stored me current on the subject of bettering my class and now I used to be listening to how my pupil suggestions stacked up towards widespread studying practices.
Quickly it was the top of the course and I had requested the scholars for ultimate analysis with a couple of broad questions. All of them wrote fairly a bit about their experiences within the course, and I added it to the sources in NotebookLM. I additionally added a video about open pedagogy by David Wiley and one other from Stephen Downes. I included an editorial about care and inclusivity in greater schooling. By including all of these, the podcast was changing into very detailed and stuffed with concepts for enchancment backed up by the stable assets I had offered.
I added an AI generated abstract of John Dewey’s interested by studying and one other about the identical from Carl Rogers. On this method, I used to be getting the knowledge to incorporate my heroes and favorites within the subject. The rationale the podcasters introduced for course enchancment was backed up by quite a lot of good pondering! Whereas I began with simply the mid-quarter evaluations, as of at this time, the checklist of sources appears like this:
- Mid-Quarter Pupil Survey
- Course Remaining Reflections by College students
- Institutional Course Analysis
- QM Larger Schooling Requirements
- ISTE Requirements for Academics and College students
- Excessive Influence Practices in Larger Schooling
- Course Description and Aims
- School Program Targets and Aims
- Care and Inclusion in Larger Schooling
- Carl Rogers Concept of Schooling
- Introduction to Open Pedagogy – Stephen Downes
- John Dewey’s Concept of Instructing & Studying
- Open Pedagogy – David Wiley
- All of the Course Bulletins
- Class Introduction Video
- Reflections on Instructing with Google Websites
Then, maybe the most deeply impactful factor I did was I personalized the immediate to make the podcasters converse on to me, Todd.
Up so far the podcasters have been merely speaking generically a few class, now they have been speaking to me instantly by identify. It made it really feel far extra private. It was extra private. And it was variety of creepy, but it surely made a distinction.
One factor I realized was that even when the audio system are AI generated, it feels good to listen to optimistic issues about your course and particularly if the type phrases are backed up with how a few of your heroes would agree with what you might be doing. The podcasters all the time begin out with reward and that feels higher than the charts and decile numbers on the college pupil survey.
I preserve attempting to get the podcast to actually give attention to enchancment and to this point I’ve already made a couple of changes to the category based mostly on strategies they made. These strategies have been alluded to within the pupil narratives, however the entire of assets I had included within the NotebookLM made these feedback appear completely different. I don’t know the way to clarify that. Possibly it was that within the pupil narrative it was one or two sentences amongst many and within the podcast, it was worded in another way, and extra element was given. The human voice is amazingly highly effective, even when it’s not truly human.
The place am I at this time? Effectively, I began seeing if I might rework the 2 podcasters textual content right into a single particular person giving me the identical recommendation. I’m to see if a single voice feels completely different? It has met with restricted success as all of this has been accomplished with free instruments. There are cut-off dates and character limits on the free variations of lots of the instruments.
Google’s NotebookLM has a beta function that means that you can ask the podcasters questions. I’ve realized that in case you state your identify, they confer with you instantly. I’ve additionally realized that the solutions they supply are fairly wonderful and you could actually drill all the way down to fairly particular element round assignments and course construction.
I have additionally been sharing this with different college, and I’ve had nothing however good suggestions concerning the expertise. One famous that they thought the podcast would make an ideal commercial for his or her course. Additionally they stated that they had wished that that they had the device once they have been writing their tenure package deal because it mixed a great deal of disparate items of data right into a single house. One other stated that listening to the coed suggestions was a extra optimistic expertise in comparison with studying the info. I additionally heard concerning the issues they’ve. Issues like privateness and the AI instruments making errors. To that finish I might say, don’t put pupil names within the AI instruments and ensure to hear rigorously to how the sources are expressed.
And now, NotebookLM means that you can create narrated PowerPoint sort shows based mostly in your pocket book assets!
When you suppose this is likely to be a method to enhance your instructing, NotebookLM is a free device and you may give this a strive proper now. https://notebooklm.google.com/
Hearken to the evaluations mentioned above:
Ska/Reggae music concerning the class: https://suno.com/s/xLwnhEqgRuahr9I6
Most up-to-date model of podcast concerning the class: https://on.soundcloud.com/KhLdMLmifT1OIgYlyG
A video from NotebookLM about similar subject:
Todd Conaway is an educational designer on the College of Washington | Bothell with eighteen years of expertise working with college in and round digital pedagogy. He was a highschool English trainer and has been instructing quite a lot of programs on the group faculty and college degree for twenty-five years.
