Quickstart Resources
The below resources are only a starting place. They are not meant to represent the breadth or depth of this growing field.
I’m new to AI and I’d love to learn more. Where might I start?
- A People’s Guide to AI, a workbook we like by Mimi Onuoha and Mother Cyborg, published by Allied Media Projects
- Generative AI Primer, an accessible overview of Generative AI topics and tools, published by the National Centre for AI, a nonprofit in the UK
- Large language models, explained with a minimum of math and jargon, an accessible and in-depth article by Timothy B Lee and Sean Trott
- Models All the Way Down, an introduction and investigation into AI training data sets by Knowing Machines
In terms of classroom and university policies, what have others done? Are there precedents I can review?
- Proposed Harvard AI Code of Conduct, a proposed code of conduct written collaboratively between students and educators at Harvard, led by metaLAB (at) Harvard
- Syllabi Policies for AI Generative Tools, a collection of university and course AI policies, curated by Lance Eaton
- AI Detection Tools Falsely Accuse International Students of Cheating, by Tara García Mathewson, The Markup, a recent article describing one of many drawbacks and risks of AI detection tools (which we at AIPP oppose)
I’m a high school teacher. Are there resources specifically for me?
- The AI Education Project has lesson plans ranging from 5 min warmups to full day projects on a range of topics, all created specifically for high school students.
- AI Literacy Lessons for Grades 6–12 from Common Sense includes 8 short lessons introducing AI.
- AI Resources from Stanford’s CRAFT include a collection of 45-60 minute lessons for high school students on key topics, including algorithmic bias and privacy.
- AI4ALL has in-depth lesson plans on a variety of topics, each with a comprehensive teaching guide.
- MIT RAISE’s DAILy Workshop provides visual, hands-on activities that help explain more technical topics related to AI. Although designed for middle school students, these activities are engaging and go into impressive depth.
Who are some people writing about these topics? Who might I follow online?
- Reflecting Allowed, Maha Bali
- One Useful Thing, Ethan Mollick
- AI and Academia, Bryan Alexander
- Teaching AI Ethics, Leon Furze
- Rhetorica, Marc Watkins
- Cybernetic Forests, Eryk Salvaggio
- AI + Education = Simplified, Lance Eaton
- AI: A Guide for Thinking Humans, Melanie Mitchell
What are some related Initiatives?
- 101 Creative Ideas to Use AI in Education, an open access book of crowdsourced lessons from educators in nineteen countries, edited by Chrissi Nerantzi, Sandra Abegglen, Marianna Karatsiori, and Antonio Martínez-Arboleda
- Stanford CRAFT, a collection of resources for high school teachers from the Stanford Graduate School of Education
- AI Text Generators and Teaching Writing: Starting Points for Inquiry, compiled by Anna Mills for the Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse
- Critical AI Literacy for Educators, a curated resource list by Katie Conrad and Sean Kamperman
- Learn With AI, a growing collection of resources from the University of Maine’s Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, created by Jon Ippolito
- Welcome to the machine: Generative AI & higher education: a selective guide to resources, by Dr. Perry Share
- AI Literacy Lessons, a free introductory course on AI that helps address its social and ethical impacts
Where can I learn more about how AI relates to bias and discrimination, environmental impacts, privacy and surveillance, worker exploitation, misinformation, etc.? (there are many more; here are a few to start with!)
- On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?, by Timnit Gebru, Emily M. Bender, Angelina McMillan-Major, and Margaret Mitchell
- A misleading open letter about sci-fi AI dangers ignores the real risks, by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor
- Statement from the listed authors of Stochastic Parrots on the “AI pause” letter, by Timnit Gebru, Emily M. Bender, Angelina McMillan-Major, and Margaret Mitchell
- OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour to Make ChatGPT Less Toxic, by Billy Perrigo, TIME
- AI Snake Oil, by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, a terrific substack on a range of AI topics that helps to demystify the (continuous) AI hype
How should my students cite their use of these tools?
- How to cite ChatGPT, by Timothy McAdoo, APA Style, April 7, 2023
- How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?, by MLA, March 17, 2023
- Citing and referencing: Generative AI, by Monash University Library
- Acknowledging the use of generative artificial intelligence, by Monash University
Are there online communities to discuss these topics?
Wait, there’s (much!) more. For an extensive, crowdsourced resource list, we recommend “AI Text Generators: Sources to Stimulate Discussion Among Teachers.” compiled by Anna Mills for the Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse, which includes useful content on many topics, including:
We also recommend this curated resource list from the MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI: Quick Start Guide to AI and Writing
Is there a resource you love and would recommend? Please drop us a note! [[email protected]]