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"Exploring the Buzz Around ChatGPT: What You Need to Know"

What is the buzz around ChatGPT?

Everyone is talking about ChatGPT today- What is it? How to use this chatbot? Given technology is advancing quickly, it is important for educators to introduce students to the concept of AI and the right and wrong behind it. K–12 teachers can help students explore basics of AI and  questions about the same:  What is generative AI? How does it work and how can it be used ethically?

Let’s answer some of these questions-

What is ChatGPT? It is a natural language AI Chatbot which means, it uses Artificial intelligence (AI) technology to ensure human like conversations with the chatbot.In simple words, this bot will give an answer to any question which can help one in writing a code to a program or compose emails for work or essays for school. Its main purpose is to assist users in various tasks, such as answering questions, providing recommendations, and offering advice on a wide range of topics.It was developed by OpenAI , an AI and research company and was released on 30th November 2022.


Is it free to use? Currently ChatGPT-4 is free to use as the company is in its  research and feedback collection stage. There is no limit in the number of questions one can ask. Only if you ask it to create an image, it sets a limit and you have to start a new chat thread to continue asking questions. ChatGPT Plus is the paid versiona and its subscription service costs $20 per month. It provides access to the GPT-4 model, which offers improved performance, faster response times, and priority access during peak times compared to the free tier, which uses GPT-3.5.


How to access ChatGPT?

Steps to use it :

  1. Go to chat.openai.com

  2. Sign Up using your email id. Email and Phone number verification  will be required.

You are free to use this chatbot! It is fairly easy to use. Just ask questions or have a regular conversation.

Once in, Be creative with the chatbot, ask different types of questions or ask one question in different ways and notice the change in responses.Questions that are hateful, sexist, racist, or discriminatory in any way are generally off-limits.


What are ChatGPT limitations?

  1. ChatGPT gives results it has learned from training data which could lead to incorrect or misleading answers. Few educators have incorporated ChatGPT in their class teachings and demonstrated the shortcomings in logic, accuracy and bias. This pushes the students to think and not rely completely on such tools. 

  2. Unlike a search engine, it is not updated with latest information.  ChatGPT 4 has its data limited unto October 2023. So, if you ask ChatGPT the latest IPL standings, it will not be able to answer correctly.

  3. Instead of asking for clarification on ambiguous questions, the model just guesses what your question means, which can lead to unintended responses to questions.

  4. ChatGPT can write poems, essays, computer code, and even solve mathematical problems. This makes one wonder that students will rely on AI tools to such an extent that they do not learn to produce original content. This could lead to lack of written and communication skills, logical thinking and critical thinking skills.

  5. ChatGPT 4 gives you access to its image creation model DALL-E but its free version can create only 2 images per day. 


ChatGPT in K12 Education

Though it has its shortcomings, it can be used as a powerful educational tool by the educators if used correctly. 

Essay writing for students using ChatGPT was the biggest problem schools and universities were facing ,though OpenAI launched a new tool to detect plagiarism using ChatGPT as a response to the criticism.

Since It is impossible to completely detect cheating, educators could change their approach  and push for group discussions , asking logical questions in homework which would compel the students to understand a topic instead of copy pasting it.


Few schools have banned the use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools on their networks.

Since most Indian schools require handwritten answers, and offline exams,  ChatGPT could still not be a major threat. In fact, it can be used by students to understand a topic that they are struggling with, on their own. It could reduce the need for after school tuition classes.   It could offer personalised tutoring, work on enhancing creativity skills and help a student understand working with AI tools better.


ChatGPT could be used as a teaching aid to create ideas for classroom activities or homework or in class discussions.

Today’s students will graduate into a world full of generative A.I. programs and They’ll need to know their way around these tools . 

It is important for educators to teach the students on how to use this tool responsibly.


The use of ChatGPT has been full of controversy, with many onlookers considering how the power of AI will change everything from search engines to novel writing. ChatGPT might not write this article all that well, but it definitely would make the process easier. 

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