Blog #8

 

I enjoyed Assignment 3 a lot because I got the opportunity to experiment with the elements of CRAP for my website design using Weebly. The above QR goes to my website. To satisfy contrast I made the header a white bar with black text that reads “Ms. Solondz’s 4th Grade ELA." For the yellow background below the header, I used a white box with deep blue text so the writing would still stand out. Most of the informative pieces of the website are black text on an off-white gray background. For the element of repetition, I used consistent text fonts and sizes across my website. The images on the announcements page were similar sizes. I used the color blue to highlight the welcome on the homepage and the student review games on the resources tab. I used alignment most prominently on the Announcements page where I added spaces above the text so it would sit in the centerline of each correlating image. My examples of using the element of proximity can be seen in the added spacers between headers and body text so that each item looked separate from one another, allowing the flow of information to appear more logical to the reader. I also added spacers so that images were centered between text such as the image of myself on the About Me page. I liked this assignment a lot because I feel that I understand how to use Weebly which will be helpful in my WEPO course as our Major Project 2 involves website design as well.

QR codes are very useful tools. In my Bio class, QR codes are utilized in every lecture and multiple-choice questions are posed throughout the slides. In this sense, QR codes act as an interactive learning tools to keep students present and engaged. I would consider using QR codes in a similar manner in my classroom because I think it’s a great way to test understanding and clarify concepts. Students can resubmit the form as many times as they need which allows a “one questions at a time pace.” I could also see myself adding text boxes for short response options, which is reminiscent of the sticky note feature on Miro that I like. I definitely would incorporate a QR code interactive quiz of some kind into my classroom.

Case Study: For the final summative essay, you decide to embrace "AI-Augmented Literary Criticism." You instruct your students to use a Generative AI tool to act as a Research Assistant.

The Assignment: Students must use AI to find three historical parallels between the 1920s Jazz Age and modern-day consumer culture. They must then integrate these parallels into a 1,500-word analysis of Jay Gatsby’s "American Dream." Students are required to submit their AI Transcript alongside their essay to demonstrate "transparent usage."

The Student's Work: Maya, a bright but overworked student, submits a stunning essay. Her AI transcript shows she asked the AI: "Give me three sophisticated sociological links between Gatsby's parties and 2020s influencer culture." The AI provided three highly nuanced points regarding "performative wealth," "the commodity of the self," and "the decay of authentic social signaling." Maya copied these concepts, found her own quotes from the book to support them, and wrote the essay in her own voice.

Dilemma:  The dilemma lies in the ownership of the epiphany. In a traditional AP Literature setting, the "work" of the student is the intellectual labor of connecting the text to the world. In Maya's case: The Labor: Maya did the writing. She structured the sentences, checked the grammar, and cited the page numbers. The Insight: The AI provided the "thematic bridge." Maya did not actually discover the connection; she synthesized a connection handed to her by an algorithm. The Conflict for the Teacher: If you give Maya an A, you are grading her ability to curate and synthesize information, which is a modern professional skill. However, if the AP Exam requires her to generate these insights in a timed, "pen-and-paper" environment without AI, you may have failed to prepare her for the actual cognitive demands of the course. You are caught between teaching for the future (AI collaboration) and teaching for the test (isolated critical thinking).

Question: In the study of humanities, does "originality" reside in the expression of an idea (the prose), or in the inception of the idea (the analysis)?

In response to this case study, I would say that since the assignment prompt specifically allowed for the use of AI as a "research assistant," I think Maya earned an A. However, I don't think the use of AI in this scenario of essay writing would effectively prepare students for the AP Exam. I think to respond to this situation ethically, the students should be addressed as a collective group. In this discussion, I would suggest that while AI provided some sophisticated points for student essays, it will not be available to students on the exam. I might pull student essays from an earlier assignment that didn't use AI and have AI generate an essay under the same prompt. Then, I would have the students guess which was which to illustrate that humanity can be identified within writing. This would serve as a lesson that while AI can generate seemingly perfect and sophisticated essays, it cannot produce individual thought. Human writing is the skill being tested on the exam and I would apologize for leading my students astray.