The Executive Director for the Institute for Education Studies (IFEST), Peter Anti Partey, has welcomed ChatGPT – a new artificial intelligence (AI) platform – saying its presence will stimulate the acquisition of information and improve the research skills of students and teachers.
ChatGPT, he explains, seeks to enable not only students and teachers to access information but anyone interested in research and knowledge-acquisition. “It is going to assist students, especially those at the tertiary level, in all aspects of research work. Just as they use the Google platform, ChapGPT will help them get answers to some of the curious questions they have in mind.
“It is a platform for Internet search and makes the acquisition of information easier. It’s not only meant for students and teachers but anybody interested in learning. It is going to assist students, especially those at the tertiary level, in all aspects of research work that hitherto they would have found difficult getting,” he added.
According to Dr. Partey, the ChatGPT platform is replete with a wide range of information across all fields of studies, which makes it a valuable asset for students. On the part of teachers, he said ChatGPT exposes them to detailed information on diverse subject areas; enabling them to have a positive impact on the information they give out to students.
Looking at the benefits of ChatGPT beyond the academia terrain, he added that persons who rely heavily on information for their work will also find it useful.
Comparing the style of learning in previous years to recent times, the Executive Director of IFEST is of the view that education should not be made difficult for students as some people perceive it should be. Rather, he advocated the course of taking advantage of the technology’s presence to aid learning in various institutions.
“The mentality that students must suffer to get access to information is a thing of the past. For me, I don’t believe in making students suffer when they are learning; rather, it should be made it easier for students,” he added.
Globally, the presence of ChatGpt has caused a stir among experts in the educational sector – leading to discussions about its general impacts on education. One of the points being raised by experts is its ability to affect the creativity of students
However, commenting on the issue of student’s creativity being affected by ChatGPT, Dr. Partey strongly disagreed – emphasising that teachers must endeavour to have a broader knowledge about ChatGPT and develop a monitoring system to keep students in check.
To completely take advantage of technology’s presence in improving education, giving students the opportunity to explore and gradually resourcing them to be technologically-inclined, Dr. Partey called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to review the ban on usage of mobile phones in Senior High Schools. The best way to address usage of phones in SHS is by the implementation of proper monitoring, Dr. Partey observed.
“We should call on the GES to as a matter of urgency review the ban on using mobile phones in our Senior High Schools. I think it is time to put in measures to check the usage of these devices on campus. We should allow students to explore, and by doing this we will equip them to be technologically-inclined.”
About ChatGPT
ChatGPT – a generative pre-trained transformer – is an AI tool that was released to the public on November 30, 2020 by OpenAI.
