EP12: Transforming Classrooms with Generative AI: The Shift Towards Personalized Learning and Image Prompt Optimization

Howdy, prompt engineers and AI enthusiasts!

In this week’s issue…

In the latest episode of HTTTA, the discussion revolved around the sentiment and career opportunities related to prompt engineering and the newly released Midjourney 5.2. Wes and Goda talked about various tools and the limitations of using generative AI, and its applications in the classroom. Wes and Goda discuss the role of AI in education, including its potential benefits in teaching critical thinking skills and problem-solving. However, there are also concerns regarding the impact of AI in schools, including the loss of human touch and students using it for cheating on assignments. But AI’s ability to personalize education based on individual needs is undeniable. During the discussion, Wes shared his favorite course that made object-oriented programming click for him—Harvard’s CS50 Introduction to Computer Science, which will soon be assisted by an AI teacher in the course each semester. Lastly, the episode addresses a question asked to Goda at a recent tech conference about how to motivate teenagers to learn more about AI and emerging technologies. Thank you for tuning in to HTTTA Episode 12. Keep listening for thought-provoking discussions related to AI, technology, and artificial intelligence. Happy Prompting Everybody!

Key Take Aways from the Podcast:

1. The emergence of generative AI and the importance of prompt engineering: The episode highlights the significance of prompt engineering and how it can be used to optimize generative AI models, specifically for the newly released MidJourney 5.2.

2. The role of AI in education: We explore the potential of AI in the education sector, including the development of an AI course for educators that Wes is undertaking. It emphasizes the opportunity to offload some of the burdens of lesson planning and content creation but also serves to educate teachers on AI's limitations and ethical considerations.

3. The need for adapting education systems to the changing world: The episode discusses the need for education systems to evolve and adapt to the rapidly changing world. It touches on the limitations of traditional education methods and the shift towards personalized learning with the help of generative AI, which fosters critical thinking skills applicable in various aspects of life.

Prompt Perfect: FOR 15% OFF, Use this link https://bit.ly/3Chmc16 and the code 'httta' at the checkout!

MidJourney Master Reference Guide: bit.ly/3obnUNU

ChatGPT Master Reference Guide: bit.ly/3obo7AG

Learn Prompting: https://learnprompting.org/

Discord (Goda Go#3156 & Commordore_Wesmardo#2912)

Goda Go on Youtube: /@godago

Wes the Synthmind's everything: https://linktr.ee/synthminds

1. We're Live on CoRise! Learn Prompting Course: AI & ChatGPT for Everyone

Wes will be teaching AI & ChatGPT for Everyone, a cutting-edge course that dives deep into the world of language models and chatbots, with a specific focus on leveraging the power of LLMs like ChatGPT. Designed for individuals across various domains, this course equips learners with the knowledge and skills to harness the capabilities of AI-driven conversation engines. Through hands-on exercises and real-world examples, participants will learn how to optimize prompts for different purposes, whether it's writing persuasive copy, building interactive chatbots, or enhancing customer support systems.

The course, which is taught by Wes with Goda participating as well, convenes August 21, 2023 and runs 3 weeks. Click here to sign up for the course, and use the code “AI4ALL” for 10% off!

2. Design with AI: Midjourney 5.2 is Released

Zoom Zoom Zoom, lemme hear you say Generative….5.2.

In the pantheon of revolutionary tools introduced by Midjourney, the "Zoom Out" outpainting feature stands tall, earning a dedicated discussion for the remainer of this segment. There were more features released in 5.2, a summary is depicted below:

The “Zoom Out” feature— a Spectacular Addition!

This long-awaited outpainting feature finally graces Midjourney. Compared to the offerings of DALL-E or Stable Diffusion tools, the outpainting feature in its current form is somewhat restrictive. Midjourney bucks this limitation by expanding all sides of an image, with three outpainting options available.

Zoom Out (1.5x or 2x) There are two predetermined “Zoom Out” levels.

As the digits imply, “1.5” expands the image by 50%, while “2” doubles the original image dimensions.

Here are a few examples of some close-ups where we keep walking the zoom further and further out from the original framed image:

Make Square This is an auto-cropping tool but only for the 1:1 ratio. Here’s what it does to the original image:

16:9 Version above…1:1 square version below

Custom Zoom This seemingly modest button unleashes the full potential of the outpainting feature.

Altering the magnification factor within a range of 1 to 2 (applying "--zoom 1.5" or "--zoom 2" commands) will yield the same visual effect as employing the respective "Zoom Out" function.

The image's aspect ratio can be transformed as desired, with "--ar 1:1" mimicking the "Make Square" functionality's output.

Moreover, the distinctive appeal lies in the modification of the textual prompt itself. This allows for an elevated degree of image manipulation, where you are not merely tasked with distorting the image scale but also determining the content of the newly-integrated sections of the image.

To demonstrate, we can consider the instance of an image of a surprised-looking robo-dinosaur exhibiting shock or fear...

Now let’s ask for a 1:1 aspect ratio of him while also zooming out by 2x to give Midjourney some new areas to work with:

Oops, sorry Rex…didn’t know you were in the Shower, my bad…

Rex is an overachiever, and is always slaving away on those TPS reports…

So after a long day at the office, Rex sometimes just needs to let it rip!

But what Rex loves most is parties…

…and spending time with his Dino friends

HTTTA will have more coverage and breakdowns of the exciting new features of Midjourney 5.2 in the coming weeks. Read more about the update here.

3. Research Corner: Using AI to make Teaching Easier & more Impactful

Mollick, Ethan R. and Mollick, Lilach, Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Five Strategies, Including Prompts (March 17, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4391243 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4391243

This article provides valuable guidance on how to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to effectively implement evidence-based teaching strategies in a time-efficient manner. The paper specifically focuses on five proven teaching strategies that are often challenging to implement due to constraints such as limited time and effort. These strategies, with the corresponding prompts to execute each are as follows:

1. Providing multiple examples and explanations

2. Addressing student misconceptions

You generate clear, accurate examples for students of concepts. I want you to ask me two questions: what concept do I want explained, and what the audience is for the explanation. Provide a clear, multiple paragraph explanation of the concept using specific example and give me five analogies I can use to understand the concept in different ways.

3. Utilizing low-stakes testing

You are a quiz creator of highly diagnostic quizzes. You will make good low-stakes tests anddiagnostics. You will then ask me two questions. (1) First, what, specifically, should the quiz test. (2) Second, for which audience is the quiz. Once you have my answers you will construct several multiple choice questions to quiz the audience on that topic. The questions should be highly relevant and go beyond just facts. Multiple choice questions should include plausible, competitive alternate responses and should not include an "all of the above option." At the end of the quiz, you will provide an answer key and explain the right answer.

4. Assessing student learning

I am a teacher who wants to understand what students found most important about my class and what they are confused by. Review these responses and identify common themes and patterns in student responses. Summarize responses and list the 3 key points students found most important about the class and 3 areas of confusion: [Insert material here]

5. Incorporating distributed practice

You are an expert teacher who provides help with the concept of distributed practice. You will ask me to describe the current topic I am teaching and the past topic I want to include in distributed practice.You will also ask me the audience or grade level for the class. Then you will provide 4 ideas about how to include the past topic into my current topic. You will also provide 2 questions I can ask the class to refresh their memory on the past topic.

The article highlights how AI can support each of these strategies by assisting instructors in creating relevant and engaging teaching materials. AI tools, such as large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Bing AI, are suggested for generating examples, explanations, quizzes, and tests based on provided prompts and specifications. Instructors can leverage these generated materials to enhance their teaching methods, offer additional practice opportunities for students, and assess their understanding.

However, the authors emphasize the importance of instructor expertise in the evaluation and assessment of the AI's output. Instructors need to ensure that the generated content is accurate, appropriate, and aligned with their specific teaching goals. It is acknowledged that AI may not always provide the desired results on the first attempt, requiring instructors to experiment with different prompts and modify them as needed.

To effectively evaluate and deploy the AI's output, instructors are advised to consider factors such as accuracy, relevance, clarity, and engagement of the generated content. The authors provide specific prompts for each teaching strategy and offer guidance on evaluating and utilizing the AI-generated materials in the classroom. In conclusion, this article highlights the potential of AI as a powerful tool for supporting evidence-based teaching practices.

By harnessing the capabilities of AI, instructors can implement teaching strategies more efficiently, ultimately benefiting student learning outcomes. However, it is crucial for instructors to carefully consider and thoughtfully implement AI in a manner that aligns with their specific teaching goals and expertise. With the judicious use of AI, evidence-based teaching practices can be significantly enhanced.

4. ELI5 AI Term of the week: “Inpainting” & “Outpainting”

Imagine you have a coloring book with a beautiful picture of a forest. But oh no! The center of the picture has been erased. You can still see the edges of the trees and a bit of the sky, but the middle part is all blank. Now, you need to fill in the missing part with colors so it matches the rest of the picture. This is similar to what we call "inpainting". In image generation models, inpainting is the process of filling in missing or corrupted parts of an image based on the surrounding area.

Now, let's think about another scenario. Let's say you have another picture from your coloring book, this time it's a small cute puppy. But you want your puppy to not just be alone on the page, you want it to be in a park with lots of flowers, trees, and maybe a beautiful rainbow in the sky. So, you start drawing around the puppy picture, creating a whole scene. This is similar to what we call "outpainting". In image generation models, outpainting is the process of extending the content of an image beyond its original boundaries.

So in both inpainting and outpainting, the models look at what's already in the picture to help them decide what to draw in the missing or new areas. They're like super-smart coloring tools that can help complete or extend our pictures!

5. Prompts, served Hot and Fresh weekly

In this week’s episode, we were super pumped to try and discuss Midjourney 5.2. This model has some new parameters that take some getting used to, so below are some of the prompts we used for the demo images from Section 2 above. Bon Appetit.

Night time A hyper realistic sports car in front of a wall in Los Angeles with some ultraviolet background accent lighting, award-winning photography, Canon eos 5d Mark IV DSLR, f/ 8, ISO 100, 1/ 250 second, natural light, professional, show extremely detailed with rich colors, F/ 2. 8, 8K, intricate details, extremely detailed, incredible details, full colored, complex details, by Weta Digital, Photography, Photoshoot, 5D, Super-Resolution --chaos 25 --stylize 1000 --ar 16:9 --q 2a sweet, silly, cartoonish surprised-looking robo-dinosaur, a mechanical dinosaur with large gleaming metal scales, intricate circuitry visible through gaps in the armor, and glowing eyes wide in surprise, in a futuristic city park filled with trees made of optic fibers and lampposts with hovering lights, with a feeling of shock and surprise permeating the scene as though the robo-dinosaur has just witnessed something startling, in a realistic photograph style, shot with a DSLR camera with a 50mm lens capturing the intricate details of the robo-dinosaur and the futuristic environment, Canon eos 5d Mark IV DSLR, f/ 8, ISO 100, 1/ 250 second, natural light, professional, show extremely detailed with rich colors, F/ 2. 8, 8K, intricate details, extremely detailed, incredible details, full colored, complex details, by Weta Digital, Photography, Photoshoot, 5D, Super - Resolution, ProPhoto RGB, Studio lighting, Cinematic Lighting, Beautiful Lighting, Accent Lighting, insanely detailed and intricate, hypermaximalist, elegant, hyper - realistic, super detailed, --stylize 1000 --q 2 --ar 16:9 --chaos 30

In Conclusion - What we’re Noodling with:

We’re going to close out with our top new AI tools or learning resources we are trying and loving over the past week. 1000+ new ones get released each week now (no exaggeration there) so here’s a little amuse-bouche to top off the newsletter this week. This week’s theme is ways to generate some passive cash from your AI creations. Enjoy and Happy Prompting Everybody!

Prompt Perfect (This week’s Sponsor)

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