For my AI tool I decided to explore Microsoft Copilot which is essentially Microsoft’s version of ChatGPT. As someone who has over the last year or so started using ChatGPT more often as a tool to help in different tasks, I was curious to see if there were really any glaring similarities or differences between these two AI products.
After playing around with Microsoft Copilot I came away thinking that it was an awesome tool but no better than ChatGPT and the fact that I was already so familiar with ChatGPT swayed me to really prefer it to Copilot. For me microsofts version appears to be more user friendly because the homepage contains various suggestions and prompts on how to use the AI tool. There is even a copilot daily update that updates world news, entertainment news, sports and anything else that you are interested in drawing from a seemingly infinite amount of online resources.
I think in the classroom Copilot could be just as useful as its openAI counterpart by doing many of the same things. Making a much more efficient use of peoples time, helping to do administrative tasks, helping come up with ideas and many more things. I believe just like a calculator or a pencil, AI can be used as a powerful tool for education as long as we can do a lot of the things we have talked about in this class. Educate students on being good digital citizens, the impact of their digital footprint and that there can be real consequences to their actions online.
Microsoft Copilot contains a pretty awesome translation feature that, as far as Spanish goes, works excellently well. This one feature could be used by teachers across classrooms everywhere to help students who are ESL learners and could use the extra tool to help them in class. Copilot also allows you to use your microphone to speak to it and it has a voice chat that speaks back as well. You can customize the voice that speaks to you and how it filters information. I think this could be a great tool for those students who like having things read to them, want to dictate their writing or questions and for students who do better when being able to think aloud.
Ethically, I think AI in the classroom is a weird grey area that will soon be better defined as we become more familiar with ever advancing technology. I certainly feel AI tools like Microsoft Copilot can and will be very useful to the future of education in a world where more information then you could imagine is in our pocket but like Uncle Ben said, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
We teach young people that having good morals and principles is the foundation to having a successful life, that in the “real world” we are accountable for our own actions and must act accordingly. So shouldn’t this be the mindset we should be teaching our students to mirror online? To me it feels like to a lot of people the internet and AI are more akin to the wild west where putting a bandana over your face (or using a fake name online) is enough reason to say and do things with reckless abandon. I know that freedom of speech is a very hot button issue right now and I understand why with the ridiculous political climates that North America finds itself in but if people could see digital education as an integral part of going to school I think society as a whole would benefit.
Thanks for sharing about this AI resource! I think that you are totally right about the grey area of AI in education! Do you think that the government will start to be as strict about AI in schools as they are about things like cellphones?
I love the idea of using these AI tools to communicate better with students who are English language learners. I think being able to communicate more fluently with those students in their home language using AI could be a great way to make them feel more at home in the classroom.
Hi Carlos, I appreciated reading your post about Microsoft Copilot. I did not even know that this one existed so it is nice to read about it from someone’s point of view that has some experience using AI tools. I like that it sounds user friendly, as someone who is a little intimidated by AI that is comforting to know!
I agree that AI in education is definitely a grey area right now. There is still too many people that do not know enough about it to really have a for sure set of guidelines. I do agree as well that as AI becomes more commonly used there will be more of an understanding about its roll in Education.