I’ve written about how AI is going to change education here. But that was back when the AI bomb first detonated and incurred widespread panic in the education field. A year later, and we all know it’s here to stay and we can’t keep it out. And we need to learn how to "manage it" — that is, how to use it, how to learn how to do queries, etc. But honestly, I haven’t used it very much till today.

I have an opportunity to deliver some Minecraft coding PD to CS teachers in June. I did a week’s worth last summer, which was some basic Minecraft stuff, using Minecraft: Education Edition. So we did a lot of block-based coding with Microsoft’s MakeCode. Great stuff, and I’m a big fan of block-based coding to introduce people to coding. You get the logic without the gotchas of syntax so it’s perfect for beginning learners. Some of those attendees were asking for the next level of coding, which to me means command blocks and some redstone.

On a whim, I thought I’d ask ChatGPT to flesh out a week’s outline for Command Blocks and Redstone for CS teachers. And…. bam! In under 10 seconds, I got a fully fleshed-out day by day outline, complete with mini-projects! But it was a little heavy on the redstone, so I modified the question and asked it to focus more on commands, and ….. bam again! Almost perfect. And it’s certainly something I can work with and adjust to my specific needs. But to me, starting from nothing is always the hardest part. Now I’ve got something to depart from as I see fit. And that’s probably the best way to use AI.

You have to know something about the topic to start with. I can see it as a "teacher’s aid" for sure. Now if you’re a student who just wants it to do your homework, well…. that’s a whole ‘nother topic for a whole ‘nother post. But I’m sold on the practical uses for me right now.