The world of instructional technology often fixates on the latest innovations and neglects the bedrock of timeless skills and ideas upon which they’re built. We get so enamored with the shiny new tool that we overlook the foundation of critical thinking, creative problem-solving, communication, perseverance, ethical awareness, and respect. And while the buzz surrounding generative AI is understandable, we must not repeat past technological missteps. That’s why keeping these soft skills at the forefront of technological innovation with Vintage AI is so important.
What is “Vintage AI”?
Let’s rewind to two past instructional technology innovations: personal mobile devices (iPhones, iPads, Chromebooks, laptops) and Web 2.0. While both opened doors to engaging teaching and learning, they weren’t without their own unique drawbacks. The marriage of these technologies offered students and teachers seemingly limitless access to information and interactive content, yet simultaneously fostered the pitfalls of overuse and over-reliance. Why? Perhaps it’s because we collectively overlooked the crucial need to teach critical thinking and digital ethics alongside the power of anytime, anywhere internet access. Vintage AI, then, is about keeping those human skills central to technology usage.
Incorporating “Vintage Skills” into Generative AI Use
Generative AI has the potential to be a game-changer for education and culture. Its rapid market share growth, industry-wide adoption, and simultaneous portrayal as both a threat and a solution highlight its transformative power. As it integrates into the lives of students and educators, we have a crucial opportunity to remember the importance of “vintage skills,” as well known educator Dr. John Spencer terms them. Let’s embrace generative AI without neglecting to cultivate ethics, critical thinking, creativity, respect, communication, and grit in our students and staff. Below, we’ll explore practical ways to integrate these timeless skills alongside generative AI tools.
Critical Thinking and Grit
Have students practice writing prompts for an AI chatbot then evaluate if the response matched their expectations. (I like to do this to generate an image). Is the result not what they were expecting? Have them refine the prompt to get the desired response.
Critical Thinking and Ethics
Alternatively, practice with students on analyzing and evaluating the truthfulness of responses from a chatbot. Have students ask the AI chatbot abstract questions about a historical topic or event, and then research the responses to determine its accuracy.
Creative Thinking and Communication
Have students give the AI chatbot a student written topic sentence and ask the chatbot to provide details for the rest of the story. The student then takes those details and creates a complete story adding creative details. (This is similar to a creative writing assignment I used to do where students would complete each other’s stories.)
Ethics and Communication
This was actually suggested by the Google Gemini chatbot. Have students ask a chatbot open ended questions about biases in AI. Use this as a conversation started for a larger class discussion.
Creative and Critical Thinking
Have an AI chatbot tell an age-appropriate story. The students must then add or change details to improve and expand the story. They then use an AI image generator to create the images for the story in order to create a picture book. (This is even better when they use historical characters or events as they get to evaluate accuracy.)
Respect
This is often forgotten, but a simple sign of respect is to give credit where credit is due. Have students actively practice citing AI contributions.
*With that in mind, portions of this article were written with the assistance of Google Gemini for the purpose of improving clarity and flow.
How will you use Vintage AI?
How do you incorporate these “vintage skills” into your modern-day classroom? Let us know in the comments below!
