29/05/2023
MY NEW GROUP - TEACHING WITH AI!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/teachwithchatgpt/
For all the teachers out there, whether you are edupreneurs, course creators, public or private school teachers, professors, corporate trainers, or administrators this is the place for you.
We just finished a Seven-Part Challenge about using ChatGPT to help create a course. The operative word here is "help." Chat is an assistant, but not the teacher.
Those lessons are still available and you can take part in that discussion, but we are also discussing other issues related to the use of ChatGPT and other generative AI products to teach. We are touching on the practical, the philosophical, the ethical, and the legal aspects.
I'm posting news, tips, lessons, and updates through the week. But we would also love to hear from other educators. Right now, most of our people are those who have a field of expertise they want to share as independent course creators. It would be great to also have those educators working in more traditional environments to add to the conversation.
AI is not going to destroy the world. Nor is it going to usher in some Utopia. It's a tool. A powerful tool. And anyone who has worked with power tools knows, safety lies in learning how to use the tool properly. We are on that journey of discovery together.
ChatGPT and it's kin are not going away. Students will use it. It's best that those of us whose mission is to teach to also learn about its strengths and its weaknesses. As educators we know that ignorance is not bliss. It's what leads to disaster.
So, just click the link and join our group.
Nine Big Picture Questions to Ask
(This is a lesson from my upcoming course at SavvyAuthors called Become your own Plot Doctor. It begins April 10. The registration fee is $35 ($25 for Premium Members) https://savvyauthors.com/community/classes/become-your-own-plot-doctor-with-terri-main.1957/)
After you finish your first read through and set a plan of action, take a break and answer a few questions as if you were a first-time reader. These are questions we often give to Alpha and Beta readers. An Alpha reader is one who reads your manuscript after you've done your macro-editing but before content editing. Beta readers get the manuscript after you have the manuscript in the best shape you can for a final read through.
Write down your answers to these questions. They will help guide you in the balance of the editing process.
Did the story as a whole hold your attention? If not, why not?
At the end of the novel did you feel like you enjoyed the entire story? Did you feel satisfied with the way things worked out in the end? If it ended in a cliffhanger, would you want to read the next book in the series?
If the story held your attention as a whole, were there parts that weren't as satisfying? Which ones were they? Why were they not satisfying?
Did the story move at a pace varied enough to hold your attention? Were there places you started to skim what you were reading because it moved too slowly? Can those sections be shortened?
Eliminated? Rewritten to be more interesting?
Did you learn fairly quickly whose story this is, when and where it is taking place?
Your reader should know by the end of a few paragraphs the setting and the point of view character. Be sure you get that information on the first page if at all possible. If it isn't there, rewrite that opening scene.
Did you relate to the main character?
Could you empathize with this character? Feel their pain and their joy? Understand why they did the things they did? Did you root for them to solve the problem set for them early in the story?
People are going to connect first with your character. If they want that character to succeed, you have won half the battle.
Was the inciting incident clear and unambiguous?
Was it clear what problem your character was trying to solve, what obstacle s/he was trying to overcome or what conflict s/he was trying to resolve?
Was the setting interesting and well described?
Going by the words you wrote alone, could you see the various settings in your story? If this is a non-Earth setting, were the "rules" of this world followed consistently?
Were there any gaping holes in the plot?
Were there places where the story jumped over something that could be significant? You don't need, nor do you want, to cover every single thing the main character does every single day.
However, if there is something s/he does which will affect the rest of the plot, that needs to be either depicted in the story or referred to in dialogue. The audience should not have to try and piece it together on their own.
Were there places that were confusing?
You don't want to confuse your reader. Sometimes you will come across a scene or a portion of a scene that doesn't make much sense the way it is written. Ask yourself, if you knew nothing about this story could you understand it from the text alone.
Did the dialogue sound natural and distinctive?
The dialogue needs to sound natural, not forced, overly eloquent or overly crude depending on the character.
After addressing these questions and making notes on where they apply, you can move on to making changes in the manuscript.
