AI in Teaching and Business

I just finished the CSU series of webinars on Teaching and Thinking with AI, led by José Antonio Bowen. These included A.I. Literacy & Prompt Engineering, A.I. Grading, Detection, and Policies, and A.I. Assignments and Assessments. It was an amazing series on using AI in the classroom to help students think differently as well as great tips for usage in training in the real world. My big takeaway is that AI (generative AI) won’t be replacing us anytime soon, it has a ton of flaws returning incorrect information (fake references – so always check your references), and requires plenty of time to get prompts to return a modicum of usable results. One example I am experiencing is that I am getting contacted by recruiters on a popular job site for jobs I don’t do. The jobs are so far off of what I do that at first I assumed it was a mistake until I realized, after the webinar series, that whatever AI they are using isn’t providing reliable results. The prompts they are writing must be off.

However, it really got me to think differently about communication. Every bit of communication needs to be in a prompt that is submitted into AI if you want to be able to use or be inspired by your use of AI. If you want a specific tone, mood, specific time frame etc. – state it. So refine your prompt over and over until the results are better.

There are a variety of tools that will cost you per month for premium results and each has strong points and weak points. So, really getting to know your AI tool, like any other tool, and taking it’s results with a bit of skepticism can help. Don’t be afraid to keep tweaking your prompts until you get the desired results. AI is here to stay so keep practice learning how to use it. Learning it and being able to use it in business, training, and education will be a valuable future-skill.

AI in teaching and business

Some current existing AI tools (this is not a full list just some I found interesting but not necessarily had tried yet).

  • Claude.ai There is also a smaller Haiku and a larger Opus.
  • ChatGPT If you have only used the free version before May you have been using GPT 3.5
  • Gemini (formerly Google Bard).  Gemini Advanced – not free
  • Copilot Microsoft owns half of OpenAI so CoPilot (is really another version of ChatGPT as far as I can tell)
  • WolframAlpha combines the computational powers of Wolfram|Alpha with ChatGPT
  • Pi is focused on dialogue and role-playing and has a good voice interface
  • Poe and ChatHub provide access to multiple AI through one interface
  • There are additional open source models such as Meta AI, Huggingface, Llama 3, etc. Other resources include APIs, chatbots, study assistants, browser extensions, agents, voice, dialog, etc.

Imagery

Adobe Max 2024

This year Adobe Max (October) had a variety of sessions. I personally attended the online sessions. There were plenty of AI focused sessions on Firefly with usage for video as well as still imaging. My favorite session on new skills happened to be Designing a Book Cover: Inspiration and Design Tricks with Faride Mereb. I think this was partly because of my interest in creating book covers but also the incredibly easy way InDesign can be used to create covers.

I also found 40 Years of Art and Design: Graffiti, Hip-Hop, and Fine Art with Cey Adams, founding creative director at Def Jam Recordings, an awesome walk down history. His amazing album covers and logos were innovative with a timeless style.

Use of a tool, for me an excellent session, goes to Mastering Low-Light Photography from Capture to Edit with Jarrad Seng along with Quick Hack: Animate Illustrations for Quick Content Creation with Adrianne Walujo. Both were great for tips and tricks as well as motivation.

There were also plenty of sessions that were motivational. My favorite session was surprising. It was called Unseen to Unforgettable; The Power of Personal Branding with Kristy Campbell, founder of Pink Pony Creative, is a New Zealand-based Brand Identity and Graphic Designer. This was a session I didn’t know I needed. Not for branding so much as motivation. Let’s face it, things can be hard in the business world no matter what you do. I think her best quote was “Conquer your mindset, embrace risk and bold moves, showing that courage and resilience we share in our journeys units us all.” That rings true for me in not matter what I do.

Check out 2024 Adobe Max

New Semester at CSUDH – Study Technical Writing!

Do you want to become a writer or improve your writing for your job? The Advanced Technical Writing/Communication course starts soon at California State University Dominguez Hills. The course is entirely online and students learn advanced technical writing techniques along with improving their writing skills. Students get hands-on experience creating portfolio pieces they will need to apply for job positions. As we discuss key areas of technical communication, we work on putting together a portfolio so you can show what you know right away.

Students may take the Advanced Class even if they have not completed the Intro course as long as they have some writing experience. The certificate at California State University Dominguez Hills consists of three courses. Check out more here. The entire program for the certificate is taught online (and will continue to be taught online). Find out more information on the CSUDH Technical Writing Program website. Dr. Kondor teaches the Advanced course and the Information Design course. Check out the FAQ on this site if you have questions.

The Advanced Technical Communication course starts on October 21st, 2024. For questions, email learn@csudh.edu or call 310-243-2075. To register for courses, call 310-243-3741 (option 1) or go online. You must complete all courses in the technical writing certificate program to receive the certificate.

Check out details on Technical Writing Courses & Schedule.

Learn Technical Writing at CSUDH

#csudh #technicalwriting #technical #documentation #writing

Lu Kondor has worked as a technical writer for more than 20 years at major corporations. She has a Doctorate in Business Management and has created a large variety of documents, videos, and copy for organizations in entertainment, software, public utilities, manufacturing, oil and gas, chemical, B2B, consumer-based products, and the nuclear process industries. She is an adjunct lecturer in Advanced Technical Writing as well as Information Design for more than 17 years.

Advanced Technical Communication Class at CSUDH

I teach the Advanced Technical Writing/Communication course and it starts soon at California State University Dominguez Hills. The course is entirely online and students learn advanced technical writing techniques along with improving their writing skills. Students get hands-on experience creating portfolio pieces they will need to apply for job positions. As we discuss key areas of technical communication, we work on putting together a portfolio so you can show what you know right away. Students may take the Advanced Class even if they have not completed the Fundamentals course as long as they have some writing experience. The certificate at California State University Dominguez Hills consists of three courses.

If you’d like to learn more, check out the Technical Writing Certificate page. The Advanced course Starts:

Date: 08/19/2024 – 10/20/2024

Days/Times/Location: Asynchronous Online

For questions, email learn@csudh.edu or call 310-243-2075

Lu Kondor has worked as a technical writer for more than 20 years at major corporations. She has a Doctorate in Business Management and has created a large variety of documents, videos, and copy for organizations in entertainment, software, public utilities, manufacturing, oil and gas, chemical, B2B, consumer-based products, and the nuclear process industries. She is an adjunct lecturer in Advanced Technical Writing as well as Information Design for more than 17 years.

Active Voice and Technical Writing

“What’s so great about using active voice?”

This is a common question I’m asked by students. Active voice is a sentence with an action verb where the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb. Active voice is clear and concise and active voice sentences are less wordy. To understand active voice, we need to think about passive voice.

In passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed by the verb.  For example, the man was bitten by the dog. The dog is acting upon the sentence subject (the man) meaning it uses the passive voice. What would be the active counterpart to this sentence? The dog bit the man. In this active voice sentence, the subject (dog) performs the action (bit) to the individual being acted upon (man).


Figure 1. Passive voice example

Examine the passive and the active sentences in Figures 1 and 2. The wordiness of the passive sentence is noticeable (21 words vs. 19 for the active sentence). Most readers of technical documents read quickly, skimming over the material or scanning it to find exactly what they need. Longer sentences are more difficult to skim and scan. When a document user repeatedly rereads a technical document to understand its meaning, they will skip sections or potentially infer the wrong meaning. The result can lead to a negative and potentially dangerous misinterpretation of the information.

Figure 2. Active voice example

If you struggle with identifying passive voice, there are some quick tricks to look for passive voice. First, identify the subject of the sentence. Once you know the subject, determine if it is passive by asking yourself is the subject performing the action (of the verb)? Or is the subject the recipient of a verb’s action?

Are you looking for another way to recognize passive? Look for forms of to be (see figure 3). Check out this passive example: Action on the bill is being considered by the committee. A big clue in this sentence is the phrase is being.

Examine the passive example – Large chunks of asbestos-laden material will be removed from the facility on the second and third floors by asbestos abatement teams. The use of will be is a clue to look at that sentence further.

Figure 3. Writers tend to use to be verbs when writing with passive voice

There are instances where a tech writer may want to use passive voice. Use passive voice with care to be sure the writing is clear and concise. Try the following exercise. Find passive examples online. Then consider the answers to the following questions:

  • Did you understand what was said, or were things vague?
  • Was the use of passive voice understandable?
  • Should the writer reword the example(s)?

If you decide to use passive, test the document with several users to be sure your writing is clear, concise, and not misinterpreted. But remember, you should have a good reason for using passive voice in your writing.

Lu Kondor has worked as a technical writer for more than 20 years for major corporations. She has a Doctorate in Business Management and has worked in a large variety of organizations including entertainment, software, electric utility, manufacturing, oil and gas, chemical, and nuclear process industries. She is an adjunct lecturer in Advanced Technical Writing as well as Information Design for more than 14 years.