ChatGPT
Do you want to work privacy safe? Then hop over to Microsoft Copilot with the VU license
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- Generates human-like text based on user input.
- Answers questions on a wide range of topics.
- Engages in conversational interactions to help solve problems.
- May generate biased content due to the biases present in data.
- May not be able to handle complex domain-specific tasks.
- Does not include recent data and password protected research articles.
- VU Amsterdam doesn't have a processor agreement with ChatGPT. Do not upload sensitive data. Microsoft Copilot is the licensed option.
How to use ChatGPT?
We made a step by step guide for you how to get started with ChatGPT and how to use the tool.
Step by step guide Links to an external site.How to deal with ChatGPT in teaching and assessment?
VU Amsterdam teacher Esther Schagen of FSS delved into ChatGPT and created a quick guide based on what she learned. She tackles how to prepare, how to teach and how to deal with assessment.
Download quick guideHow to use ChatGPT in the classroom?
Actively showing and discussing ChatGPT in your classroom can benefit both you and your students. Give demonstrations or examples of the use of ChatGPT prompts and output. Have follow-up discussions with your students about the benefits, limitations, ethics, and pitfalls of ChatGPT for your discipline (for example incorrect facts and bias) and talk about to what extent students are allowed to use ChatGPT in relation to academic integrity. Read more about these possibilities for the use of ChatGPT in the classroom in this tip.
Go to education tipLevels of allowed use of ChatGPT in your course
Policy at VU Amsterdam is that Generative AI, like ChatGPT, is not allowed to be used by students unless their teacher says otherwise. To what extent can you allow the use of ChatGPT? SBE has created template texts for course syllabi teachers can use to communicate the different levels of generative AI in courses with students, in both English and Dutch. They would like to share this template with the rest of the VU. Choose the level that fits best within the learning goals of your course.
Go to documentHow to deal with suspicions of plagiarism and ChatGPT?
Please find the answer under the FAQ tab.
How to create good prompts?
The output of ChatGPT is only as good as the input it receives. So, it's crucial to be able to write good prompts to use the tool to its full potential. These tips help you write prompts like a pro.
Go to tips Links to an external site.If you cannot find your question here, try to find in the FAQ.
ChatGPT and VU Amsterdam teachers
This is a living document and will be updated regularly. The current policy at the VU is: "Students are not allowed to use Generative AI, unless..." This means that as the teacher, you have the freedom to prohibit the use completely. However, there is no way to detect or proof that students used ChatGPT, so we don't recommend prohibiting it completely. Instead, students need to learn how to use ChatGPT appropriately. Therefore, in collaboration with VU Amsterdam programme directors, teachers, experts, privacy officers, legal officers, and others, VU Amsterdam crafted a document providing recommendations for managing and adapting to the emergence of ChatGPT and other generative AI in education. This is a must-read for all VU teachers.
Go to teacher info Links to an external site.What is communicated with students
As a teacher, it's important to know what VU Amsterdam communicates with its students when it comes to the use of ChatGPT and other Generative AI in education. This is the information you can fall back on and reference to. There are policies in place at the faculty and program level as well, but here you can read what's communicated at VU Amsterdam wide level.
Go to student info5 activities to teach students how to work with AI
Do you want your students to learn how to work with generative AI? Learn what the pros and cons are and improve their critical thinking skills? These activities can help with that!
Go to activities25 prompts to boost teachers effectiveness in designing and delivering teaching and assessment
The Times Higher Education described 25 examples of prompts how generative AI could be used within curriculum development, teaching and assessment. It includes prompts such as setting learning objectives, generating test questions, designing exams, creating rubrics, reviewing assignments, or providing feedback. A great read!
Go to 25 tips Links to an external site.E-learning "Ontdek ChatGPT in het Onderwijs"
This self-paced course allows teachers to learn about effective use of ChatGPT in teaching at your own pace and according to your own needs. You have the freedom to choose which parts you want to explore, whether it is setting learning objectives, generating test questions, designing test forms, creating rubrics, reviewing assignments, or providing feedback. This course is in Dutch.
Go to e-learning Links to an external site.Podcast Onderwijs & AI
In this Dutch postcast series, Metis engages with experts to explore the impact of chatGPT and other AI applications on education in the Netherlands. They talk about what it is and discuss the opportunities and dangers for education. We recommend episode 3 in particular for a lively example of how a teacher deploys ChatGPT in his course. The podcast is in Dutch.
Go to podcast Links to an external site.How do students use ChatGPT?
The VU Education Lab has interviewed VU Amsterdam students to gain insight if they are using ChatGPT for educational purposes and if yes, how they use it. The results are published in this article (in Dutch).
Go to article Links to an external site.Ask the teacher and student
In this video, VU teacher Esther Schagen and VU student Lars Woudstra interview each other on their experiences with ChatGPT in their education. Both can be considered experts in this field.
Assuring the validity of assessment
VU Amsterdam teacher Luc Glasbeek has redesigned his course because of ChatGPT. The validity of the assessment used couldn't be relied upon anymore since the emergence of ChatGPT. See in the table below what he changed to assure the quality of his assessment and education.
Let student check the ChatGPT output
An example is described by dr. Mohammad H. Rezazade Mehrizi, Associate Professor, School of Business & Economics. He describes how he lets student study articles by first letting ChatGPT make the summary of the text (instead of students making the summary themselves) and then have students check the summary. Read his article herePlease help us collect inspiring examples. If you have an interesting example to share, or if you come across an example worth sharing, please tell us by filling out this Contact Form Links to an external site.. Your help is much appreciated.
Go to the official ChatGPT FAQ Links to an external site.
VU-specific FAQ
+ Is ChatGPT safe to use?
+ Can I make my students use ChatGPT for their studies?
+ What do I do when I suspect my students of fraud with the use of ChatGPT?
The definition if fraud does not change with the advent of ChatGPT. So, if students hand in work generated by ChatGPT and present it as their own, it constitutes fraud. Or, if you are unable to assess whether a piece of text handed in by students is their own, it constitutes fraud. However, there are many nuances. As you can read in other parts in this Canvas article about ChatGPT, you have many options to design your courses and ChatGPT can have many different use-cases in which it can be used productively for engaging forms of education and development of critical thinking skills. However, if you do want students to hand in written work and you do not have them write in controlled conditions (exam conditions), follow the steps below.
- First, check that you engaged in clear communication with your student regarding the use of Generative AI in your course. This may vary depending on different tasks, assignments, or assessment formats.
- Second, engage in a discussion with the student to express your perspective on the situation. For instance, discuss your inability to judge the authenticity of their work or your opinion on whether your student adhered to the rules. If the student convinces you that he/she submitted original and independent work with adequate effort and followed the rules, accept it as such.
- However, if you remain in doubt, consider reissuing the assignment. You could request a new version or product using other data or cases. You could consider adding a personal interview after this re-make to fully confirm to what extent the student achieved the learning outcomes. You can also consider deducting points from the grade.
- If the student denies non-compliance but you remain uncertain or convinced that the student violated the rules, escalate the case to the exam board. They will follow regular procedures when suspicion of fraud arise. However, keep in mind that establishing with sufficient certainty that a student did not violate the rules, in particular if they used Generative AI such as ChatGPT, is exceedingly challenging.
+ What are the current limitations of ChatGPT?
This website shows a great overview of all limitations ChatGPT currently has.
Go to site Links to an external site.Data protection and ChatGPT
VU Amsterdam does not have a processor agreement with OpenAI/ChatGPT and it does not have an institutional account or likewise. So the use of ChatGPT is personal. When emplyees and students use OpenAI/ChatGPT, the information they upload will most likely be reviewed by OpenAI and used to train the model. However, model training and storing of data can be switched off by an individual using his or her data control settings
Links to an external site..
These privacy issues make that we, as VU Amsterdam and teachers, cannot oblige students to use the tool for their studies, certainly not if they object. In practice we expect that only few students will actively object. So, make sure to have an alternative comparable assignment at hand for these students. This means that this supplier can use personal data and uploaded data in line with the data protection and use policies as they have it in place.
Do you have a question?
Your faculty has support to help you with everything regarding educational tools. You can find your faculty contact information here.
Ask my faculty supportChatGPT knowledge sessions for VU teachers and employees
Whatever the exact implications of AI-generated content will be, as a university we cannot ignore it. Therefore, the VU CTL would like to invite all lecturers, educational developers, educational advisers, programme directors and researchers to attend a ChatGPT knowledge session, which can also be provided as a lunch session. During such a session, you will receive an overview of current, relevant information on ChatGPT, but also discuss the potential, dilemmas and possible applications of ChatGPT for education. Would you like to join a ChatGPT knowledge session with your team? Please contact the VU Centre for Teaching and Learning.
Set up an appointment