These lessons will provide you with direct experience with using a generative AI tool. These activities were initially done using ChatGPT but using more than one generative AI chatbot (eg Gemini, Claude, Copilot, etc.) in addition to ChatGPT will broaden your understanding of how the different tools work and how to use them.
NOTE on privacy: Using any of the generative AI tools like ChatGPT requires a registration and login. It is recommended that you read through the privacy policies of whichever AI tool you will be using before registering and create a separate email account for the sole purpose of working with these tools because, once registered, most if not all of them will have access and rights to much of your personal information (eg Google's Gemini (fka Bard) gains access to much of your personal information), especially what you share while actively using the AI tool.
Each activity below (except for Activity 0) relates to the Knowledge Practices found under the frame "Searching as Strategic Exploration" from the ACRL's Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (PDF).
Activity 0: Getting started
First, register and log in to ChatGPT. Once you have done that, you can begin by typing in the prompt: "Make a list of potential titles for a book about ChatGPT." You should get a list about about 20 book titles. Now, type in "make a list of 10 potential titles for a book about ChatGPT." Do the same titles appear in both lists? Did you realize that you could program AI in natural language like this? Now, that you have a little bit of experience on how generative AI works, move on to the activities below to expand your knowledge.
(These activities have been adapted from work done by the Informationist Department at Welch Medical Library at Johns Hopkins: L. Rosman, M. Spann, B. Turner, and J. White. Presented at ALA's LibLearn X 2024 conference under the title Searching as strategic exploration: Chabot-based active-learning lessons.)
Prompt 1: "Identify potential sources of information about SDG 11."
Prompt 2: "Who produces grey literature about SDG 11?"
Prompt 3: "List academic databases to search on SDG 11"
ACRL Knowledge Practice: Identify interested parties, such as scholars, organizations, governments, and industries, who might produce information about a topic and then determine how to access that information.
Prompt 1: "What are some synonyms for older adult subsidized housing?"
Prompt 2: "What are some recommended databases for finding articles about older adult subsidized housing?"
Prompt 3: "Create a table of the best databases to find information on a list of synonyms for 'older adult subsidized housing'."
ACRL Knowledge Practice: Utilize divergent (e.g., brainstorming) and convergent (e.g., selecting the best source) thinking when searching.
Prompt 1: “Write an .ris file for an article about cultural competency (i.e. attitudes, knowledge, skills, training, etc.) of medical or pre-medical students as it relates to individuals with physical disabilities.”
Prompt 2: "Change author names to ‘Michael Crichton’ and ‘Russel Hoban.’ Include the ORCIDs of the authors."
Prompt 3: "Delete the URL field from the RIS file."
Prompt 4: "Add keywords about ‘marginalizing disabilities’ to the RIS file."
Prompt 5: "Put keywords in the RIS file into alphabetical order."
ACRL Knowledge Practice: Match information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools.
Prompt 1: "Create a table of Nicholas Cage films grouped by genre. Include several titles for each genre."
Prompt 2: "Make a list of document types to be used as filters in an academic medical database."
Prompt 3: "Create a list of possible filters for types of retracted articles."
ACRL Knowledge Practice: Design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results
Prompt 1: "Create a controlled vocabulary for a specialized database covering the carnivorous plant species in the Midwestern US."
Prompt 2: "Create a term hierarchy for a controlled vocabulary about the television show Star Trek."
ACRL Knowledge Practice: Understand how information systems (i.e., collections of recorded information) are organized in order to access relevant information
Prompt 1: "What terms will be searched if I truncate the word ‘appointment’?"
Prompt 2: "Create a list of 10 terms that will searched if I use truncation for the word ‘appointment’."
Prompt 3: “Make a list of phrases (3 words or less) that begin w/’human’ and end with ‘interaction,’ like ‘human computer interaction’."
Prompt 4: “Generate 30 more results and focus on animals and the environment.”
ACRL Knowledge Practices: Use different types of searching language (e.g., controlled vocabulary, keywords, natural language) appropriately & manage searching processes and results effectively