1.07 Creating educational content with generative AI

One of the most immediate, tangible, and practical applications of Generative AI within the realm of adult education lies in its remarkable ability to assist in the creation of a diverse and extensive array of educational content. For educators, who often face significant time constraints, and even for adult learners themselves who may be involved in peer teaching or creating presentations, tasks such as developing comprehensive learning materials, designing engaging and effective activities, or clearly explaining complex concepts can be notably demanding. Generative AI tools, when used thoughtfully, can streamline this process, making it significantly easier, considerably faster, and often injecting a fresh spark of creativity. The key to unlocking this potential lies in providing these AI systems with clear, specific, and well-contextualised instructions, commonly known as “prompts.”

USING AI TO CREATE DIVERSE LEARNING MATERIALS

Imagine an educator needing to develop a detailed handout explaining key concepts related to sustainable fishing practices for a community workshop linked to the HER[AI]TAGE project’s focus on river ecosystems. With a sophisticated text generation tool like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, they could provide a carefully crafted prompt such as: “Create a two-page handout explaining the importance of sustainable fishing practices for maintaining healthy river ecosystems. The content should cover concepts like catch limits, protected species, and the impact of pollution. Use clear, accessible English, incorporate bullet points for key actionable advice for local anglers, and maintain a respectful and informative tone. The target audience is adult community members with a general interest but no specialised scientific background.” The AI can then rapidly generate a comprehensive draft, which the educator can subsequently review with experts, meticulously edit for local context and accuracy, and adapt to perfectly suit the specific needs and understanding levels of their learners.

Similarly, an adult learner who is revising for an examination on workplace health and safety could ask an AI: “Write a concise summary, approximately 300 words, of the five most critical safety procedures to follow when operating heavy machinery in a construction environment, including the rationale for each.” This provides them with an easy-to-read and focused overview to kickstart their revision process. AI can also assist in generating glossaries of terms, frequently asked questions (FAQs) with answers, or even draft scripts for short educational videos.

MAKING CUSTOM QUIZZES, ACTIVITIES, AND INTERACTIVE SCENARIOS

Generative AI can be an invaluable assistant for designing a wide range of practice exercises, formative assessments, and interactive learning activities. You can instruct it to create various question formats, including multiple-choice questions with plausible distractors, true/false statements that test nuanced understanding, or open-ended short answer questions that encourage critical thinking, all tailored to specific learning objectives on almost any topic.

For example:

• An adult English language learner preparing for a proficiency test could prompt: “Generate five multiple-choice questions designed to test the correct usage of past perfect tense irregular verbs in complex sentences. For each question, provide one correct answer and three grammatically plausible but contextually incorrect distractors. Also, provide a brief explanation for why the correct answer is right.”
• A numeracy tutor working with adults on financial literacy could ask: “Create three realistic word problems that involve calculating compound interest over different time periods, suitable for adult learners preparing for a vocational skills assessment in business administration. Ensure the scenarios are relatable and include the detailed step-by-step solutions.”

By carefully adjusting the parameters within the prompt – such as specifying the desired difficulty level (e.g., “beginner,” “intermediate,” “advanced”), the precise focus of the topic, the cognitive skills to be assessed (e.g., recall, application, analysis), or the type and format of questions needed – educators can ensure that practice activities are directly relevant to the adults’ specific learning goals. This is crucial whether they are preparing for a formal qualification, practicing essential job-related skills, or exploring complex topics related to cultural heritage and environmental science, such as those central to the HER[AI]TAGE project. AI can also help generate ideas for interactive simulations or role-playing scenarios.

ADAPTING AND PERSONALISING CONTENT FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS

A particularly powerful and transformative feature of many generative AI tools is their ability to rewrite, rephrase, or adapt existing textual content for different purposes, reading levels, or learning preferences. This capability is exceptionally useful for achieving true personalisation in adult education, catering to the diverse needs within any group of learners.

• Simplifying complex language: An adult literacy tutor might encounter a dense academic article or a complex government report about a local environmental issue that they want to discuss with their learners. They could copy the text and prompt an AI: “Rewrite this technical article about river pollution using much shorter sentences, simpler vocabulary, and provide clear definitions in parentheses for any unavoidable technical terms. The target reading level is for beginner adult readers who are developing their literacy skills.”
• Changing tone, style, or format: An educator might have a formal, legalistic policy document that needs to be communicated to a wider group of learners or community members in a more accessible, engaging, and friendly manner. AI can assist in rephrasing the content while retaining the core message. It can also help convert text from one format to another, for example, turning a list of instructions into a narrative or a descriptive paragraph into a set of bullet points.

Learners themselves can harness AI to rephrase complicated instructions from official forms, technical manuals, or academic assignments, helping them to better understand what is required and to respond with greater confidence and accuracy.

SUPPORTING CREATIVE PROJECTS AND PROBLEM-SOLVING

Adults are often engaged in various projects that require creativity and innovative thinking – whether it’s developing a community newsletter, preparing a presentation for a local history society (perhaps inspired by the rich narratives collected by HER[AI]TAGE), drafting a business plan, or creating a personal development portfolio. AI can serve as a valuable partner to kickstart and support these creative endeavours. AI can suggest a range of initial ideas, help to structure thoughts by creating outlines, draft compelling introductions or conclusions, or even generate relevant imagery or soundscapes to enhance a project.

For instance, a learner tasked with giving a short, impactful presentation on the importance of preserving traditional music from their specific region might prompt an AI: “Generate an outline for a 5-minute persuasive presentation about the cultural significance and endangered status of traditional polyphonic singing in the Istrian region of Croatia. Include an engaging opening hook, three key arguments with supporting points, and a memorable concluding thought that inspires action.”

When leveraging AI to generate any form of educational content, it is always imperative to adhere to best practices:

• Provide clear, specific, and contextualised prompts: The more detailed and unambiguous your instructions to the AI, the higher the quality and relevance of the generated output will be.
• Critically review, edit, and validate: AI-generated content should always be treated as a first draft. It requires careful human review to check for factual accuracy, logical coherence, relevance to the learning objectives, completeness, and any potential biases or cultural insensitivities.
• Ensure originality, ethical use, and proper attribution: If learners are using AI tools, they must be guided on how to use them as aids for learning, research, and support, not as a means for plagiarism or academic dishonesty. Discussions about appropriate citation and acknowledgment of AI assistance are also important.

Generative AI, when wielded with skill and ethical awareness, offers remarkable potential to enrich the adult learning environment by making content creation more efficient, responsive, and adaptable to the multifaceted needs and aspirations of adult learners.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES