Last week I showed the XNUMXth graders how they can write books with the help of artificial intelligence.
We started the lesson with the question: Who wants to be a writer? Hands went up all over the class. So why don't you write? The children started to share: one has no strength, the second feels she cannot express herself well in writing, the third has no ideas and so on.
I promised them we would take care of everything. I asked for ideas for the hero: what kind of animal is it, what is its profession, what is its name. The children threw out ideas, and after a short round of voting, they decided to write a story about a magical unicorn whose name - surprisingly in any place other than Tel Aviv - is Nechama.
I flowed. It was still an improvement over the Shmulik - the Siberian hamster that fixes toilets in schools - from the previous batch.
I connected the computer to the projector, and we entered a website that provides artificial intelligence services. There are plenty of these on the net today. We used, of course,Doctor why (Disclosure: this is my development with partners). We explained to her that we wanted to write a story about Nechama the magical unicorn, and asked for an opening paragraph. I am translating here into Hebrew the result produced by the artificial intelligence -
"Once upon a time there was a magical unicorn whose name was Comfort. Nechama liked to practice magic and find new friends. One day, Nechama met a dragoness who was new to the magical forest where they both lived."
I asked the children if they were happy. Agreed this is a good start, but now what?
We asked the engine to generate some additional directions for us to continue. The children were not enthusiastic about the first result which looked like this -
Nechama was so excited to meet a new friend that she immediately started showing off her magic. The dragoness was impressed and asked if she could learn some of the tricks. Nechama was happy to teach her new friend and they spent the rest of the day practicing magic together."
We tried again.
"The dragoness' name was Sarah, and she was very shy. Nechama was the first creature Sara met in the forest, and she was very afraid. Nechama was very kind to Sarah, and she showed her the forest and introduced her to all her friends. Sarah was very happy to have acquired a new friend, and she loved living in the forest with all the magical creatures."
There was no enthusiasm here either. We tried to understand why, and began to decipher that there is such a thing - "tempo", or the rhythm of a story. The children wanted to progress faster. They wanted drama. conflict. They became critical directors with demands.
So we asked the AI to realize their requirements. The next paragraph, we defined, should send Nechama and the dragon on an extraordinary adventure. Something that will drag the reader into the story.
Three seconds later, we already received the next offer.
Nechama and the dragon quickly became friends and often spent time together practicing magic and exploring the forest. One day, while they were out exploring, they came across a dark cave. The dragoness warned Nechama not to go inside, but being the curious unicorn that she is, Nechama didn't listen and went in anyway."
The children clapped enthusiastically: we created tension in the story! They asked to continue, and threw demands into the contents of the cave: trolls, a magical ring that turns unicorns into invisible shadows and enslaves them to the Dark Lord, a whipped cream cake filled with unicorn hunters. We tried to think which of the directions was particularly suitable, and we talked about different types of stories: dramas, comedies, fantasy, science fiction. In the end, the decision was made to introduce lasers.
"The cave was dark and musty, and Nechama felt a little fear. But she kept walking, until she came to a small room at the back of the cave. And then she saw it…the most amazing thing she had ever seen. It was a laser! Nechama was so excited that she ran back to Drakoni to tell her everything."
Want to guess what the dragoness said?
The children also wanted to know. Basically, they wanted to create. They discovered that they had the ability to write. Not writing like before, where every word has to be carefully considered, but creative, fast writing, dizzying in the possibilities it opens up. They realized that with the help of the new tools of artificial intelligence, they can only come up with an idea - and it will help them promote it. They need to know how to use it, and they need to know how to help steer it, guide it and keep it on the right track. They are the directors - and she is the actress, the stage and the setting.
These children began to acquire the skills of the new world: to work simultaneously with the computer, to give it ideas and to receive ideas from it in return, to build on each other's contribution, and to produce something that neither party could realize on their own.
I sent them home with an invitation to continue the story themselves at home. Next week we will see what they came up with. I have no doubt that the more diligent students will also be able to return with... a book. A whole book a week.
And in the next session, I will also show them how we can all draw like the greatest artists with the help of... artificial intelligence, of course.
A new and magical world opens up, and this is just the beginning.
If you are children who want to write stories yourself, or parents and teachers who want to teach your class to write with the help of artificial intelligence, you are welcome to use Doctor Why. It doesn't cost money, and very soon the Hebrew version will also appear. Link here.
We would be happy to receive any idea for an educational activity that involves artificial intelligence!
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