Anyone else been as amused as me, by the whole AI furore? I’ve never thought of ‘Who moved my cheese?’ as much as I have watching the frantic and near-hysteria from so many in the education sector. I’ll make it clear, I’m leaving out creators who may have justifiable concerns about their livelihoods being impacted.
I’ve been way more interested in finding out how we can best use it (or, I should say, how I would use it if I were still in the library) and this week seems a good time to share a few things because my talented friend has been busy. Mark Lathouras, teacher-librarian at Cleveland State School, is a dear friend and one of the most dedicated, innovative and well-loved proponents of our craft I know. Each year he runs a hugely successful R.E.D.I.T. (Reading Every Day Is Terrific event incorporating Book Week. It is an extraordinary amount of work and effort but the results are amazing, and, I know, he feels it’s all so very worthwhile. And the results speak for themselves, not only the joy and sense of achievement the children feel but his teams’ strengths in the annual Readers Cup competition. So what has that to do with A.I. I hear you ask? Well, this morning he showed me his promotional material for this year’s extravanganza – all created courtesy of A.I. following his instructions/parameters.
Honestly, how cool is this? What a time-saver when we’re all so under the pump in our libraries, when every school I know (public or private) has been reducing staffing in their respective libraries.From my perspective I think we (i.e. librarians) have, as usual, been in the forefront of taking up the A.I. challenge. Even in ways as relatively simple as this – what a game-changer! Brava!! Mark. He’s also one of my tribe for his fabulous dress-ups each year!
And this was some fun I had this week after this great link from Ditch That Textbook Capture creativity with Microsoft Designer prompts in the classroom – using A.I. to create characters (these are all people in our circle) which I think would be a great tool to have for literature-based units. Meanwhile, here are some other links for you to peruse. Let’s embrace the excitement!
How Can AI Be Used in Libraries?
Developing a library strategic response to Artificial Intelligence
AI and libraries series: the age of artificially intelligent search
The Library of the Future: AI in Public Libraries
Next Gen AI: Libraries Work with ChatGPT and Other Emerging AI Tools
Just So Stories 
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