Practicum Log #4: Generative AI Research

This is a YouTube video explaining how Generative AI Works and how humans can use it effectively.

Monday, June 3, 2024 from 12:00-4:00 PM

Today, I spent my internship time researching a LibGuide tool developed by Vici Winstead, a STEM research and instruction librarian at Smith Library Center. Emily Thorpe, my supervisor, assigned this to me as a way to research all that AI has to offer and to show how a quality librarian combined and presented all of the available AI resources. My goal is to comb through the resources and learn what I can about generative AI and AI tools in order to develop and propose a mini lesson for use in instructional technology or information literacy instruction workshops. The world of AI is developing exponentially that it feels almost impossible to get my brain around it, so spending time going through this resource helped to solidify some of the terminology, to weigh the pros and cons, to understand how AI models learn and develop, and to see what AI is not.

This exercise showed me the importance of human librarians working in conjunction with AI technology and tools in order to develop a product for learning. I learned more in my four hours of work today than I have in casual searching or playing with ChatGPT on my own. By spending time looking through vetted resources, I have a better understanding of this world. I hope to spend my next internship shift going through all of the AI tools available through the LibGuide and evaluating and learning from them.

Full Schedule: l will be working 10:00-2:00 from May 28th to June 7th, M-F online. (The campus is undergoing some construction right now and all of the librarians are working from home.)

Then, from June 10 - July 19th, I will be working 1:00-5:00 on campus at Southwestern University. I will more than likely finish by July 12th, but I'm adding a week for wiggle room. This should lead to 128 hours.