2023-07-24 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 14, Issue 7
Featured Story
A note from the editor:
The Idaho library community lost one of our own earlier this year: Dr. Tania Gay Harden, Digital and Instructional Librarian at Idaho State University, passed away on May 26, 2023. You can read her excellent obituary at this link.
Tania joined SPLAT in the spring of 2022, and although we were only able to spend a year with her, we all learned a great deal from her in such a short time. We knew her as someone who loved learning new things and thinking through complex ideas. I’ll remember Tania as a staunch advocate for lifelong education and the power of learning to facilitate positive change.
Below you will find Tania’s final submission to the Curiosity Report, an article about Artificial Intelligence. If you are inspired by her and feel so inclined, her family is encouraging people to donate books to your local library in her name.
– Annie Gaines
Will accepting the use of AI created assignments further disadvantage American students?
I attended a webinar organized by Boise State University and got to see ChatGPT in action for the first time in early March 2023. It was an absolutely fascinating experience. The person who demonstrated it in our group had it write a one page essay on the suffragette movement at a 6th grade level. Within seconds the essay was done. They then had it rewrite the content of the essay in Dr. Seuss’s style and again, within seconds, there it was.
I can see many helpful uses for AI, but am concerned about the implications if academia allows students to submit work created by platforms such as ChatGPT. There are the standard concerns of copyright/intellectual property, who should get credit for doing the work, etc.
More alarming for me is the possibility that this will put our students further behind in education. The 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranks the US 37th out of nearly 80 countries in Math, 18th in Science, and 13th in Reading. We are one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet our commitment to education would suggest otherwise. Will further undermining the need for critical thinking, recognizing bias, evaluating resources, and organizing thoughts put students at a disadvantage? Especially when writing college entrance essays since more and more colleges and universities are dropping the requirement for standardized tests and will more than likely rely more heavily on those essays to determine student admission. ). Even more importantly will it put those recent graduates who are venturing into the professional job market for the first time at an even greater disadvantage in highly competitive job markets? I am afraid it will. You can only fake it till you make it for so long.
As a parent, librarian/educator, instructional designer, and recent doctoral graduate, I want my children, my students, and myself to have to put the effort into truly learning the subject that I am writing about and not just turning in a paper that a computer has spit out without any increase of knowledge or experience. We are not only smarter for it, but we also gain in self-efficacy the confidence that we can accomplish something that may have been extremely difficult for us to do. That kind of experience is priceless and will benefit us in ways beyond which we can imagine.
While I am a firm believer in working smarter, not harder, there are still lines that should not be crossed. Accepting work that is not wholly researched and created by the student is that line for me.
I am seeing articles published almost daily on AI. I’ve listed some below if you would like to see what others are saying about this disruptive technology.
https://www.geekwire.com/2023/seattle-public-schools-bans-chatgpt-district-requires-original-thought-and-work-from-students/
https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/25821/33770
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3686616/6-surprising-facts-about-chatgpt-nobody-told-you.html
https://www.infoworld.com/article/3689172/chatgpt-and-software-development.html
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3688934/chatgpt-is-not-sentient-it-s-a-next-word-prediction-engine.html
References:
Schleicher, A. (2019). PISA 2018: Insights and interpretations. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm
By Dr. Tania Harden
Fail Forward
We’ve all been there. You pour your heart into a program, and no one shows up. You try something new, and you fall on your face. Sound familiar? Fail Forward is the place to share your failures, and give you the opportunity to share what you learned from them. Did you promote your program in a different way after no one showed up? Maybe you took a new approach to the new thing you were excited about? Awesome! Share your story via our online form so others can learn, and realize that failure is often part of the process.
Taking On Too Much
For a long time in my career, I felt stagnant. It seemed like I wasn’t moving upward or forward. I was just plugging along and watching my coworkers grow and thrive in their positions. So I decided to do something about it. Gosh darnit, someday I want to be Librarian of the Year! Fast forward to today and I have made a lot of progress. I went back to school, joined teams, changed locations, pushed my creativity (and number) in programming, started taking more trainings, and getting involved in the bigger world of libraries statewide, just to name a few. I wanted my name out there, for people to notice I was here for the long haul, and that I care deeply for libraries and their impact on our communities. While I can say I feel a profound sense of accomplishment and belonging in this career choice, I realized last year that I overdid it.
I went from not doing enough to taking on too much. I wanted ALL the experience and didn’t want to say no to anything. I wasn’t giving enough attention to any of the things I was involved in and was being pulled in too many directions. Focusing on any one thing at a time was hard and burn out was approaching. I needed to step back and focus on the things that I really cared about. While I haven’t completely reigned myself in, I am doing much better managing my time and efforts. My main take away from the last few years is that it is OK to say no. I know a lot of library staff experience this conundrum as well. So, I will repeat this for anyone that needs to read it again. Take your mental health seriously. You can say no to overdoing it. And, in the wise words of my colleague, Don’t have a helium hand.
By Maggie Dumont
Is there a library you follow on social media who is always doing new and exciting things? How about a blog you follow that inspires you? What about a new idea, book, or resource that you want to share? Library Crush Corner is a place for those working in Idaho libraries to share what inspires them, and who or what they’re crushing on… in a professional sense. Share your story via our online form so we can publish it in a future issue!
Milwaukee Public Library
This go around, my crush knows no bounds.
The Milwaukee Public Library has been delivering quality content; some hilarious, others entertaining, and still others that will make you smile. Their TikTok account also houses gems like this one.
But what’s so special about a couple of entertaining reels on Instagram and TikTok? Why am I crushing on this library? Because how we think about and use technology impacts how we think about library service. It impacts how we approach serving our patrons, how we understand them.
By using social media differently, the Milwaukee Public Library is working to expand how libraries are understood and defined in our society. Through the process of demystification, no longer are libraries stuffy, outmoded physical spaces run by librarians intent on shushing people. Libraries are instead places for gathering, for finding yourself, for connecting with people and ideas that are bigger than you.
So get to know some technology. Turn over a rock you’ve not thought to turn over and learn about something that scares you. If your patrons care about it, put it to use. Do not fear.
By Chris Thielen
SPLAT explores the ever-evolving library world and supports library folks as they adapt to meet the needs of their communities. Library folk throughout the state of Idaho volunteer to serve on the Special Projects Library Action Team (SPLAT). Learn more about SPLAT at https://libraries.idaho.gov/splat/
SPLAT is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and was made possible, in part, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (LS-246156-OLS-20). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.