As I mention on this page, Explore my Custom MGpts, I’ve been hard at work at creating ChatGPT Custom GPTs that help me engage with ideas and content. Between now and the big event the first week in February, I’ll be sharing some of those.

The Challenge

One of the big challenges I’ve had as an educator is aligning high-effect size instructional strategies with digital tools, then figuring out how to use these strategies. Every year, I try to add at least one or two new instructional strategies to my repertoire. It’s hard work because all my efforts involve learning about the strategy, pondering how to best apply it in my work with adult learners.

Sometimes that works. Other times, it doesn’t. The hardest part is understanding how to design engaging activities based on the strategies. If that involves digital tools, great. If not, that’s OK. As a long-time ed tech advocate, I’ve made my peace with ed tech being more about companies selling their product rather than bringing something that actually works and is aligned to high-effect size instructional strategies.

Finding Companions

I’m not alone on this journey, and that’s made a big difference. You find those on the same journey you’re on while you walk the path. As I look forward to designing and customizing tools like the EBTC MGpt, I am trying to blend in the lessons that flow from that journey.

Trying out the Evidence-Based Teaching Coach MGpt

The EBTC MGpt is an effort to combine a variety of resources and tools (18 huge markdown and/or PDF files) into ONE Knowledge Base, probably way more than the OpenAI folks want to see in a custom GPT. There are times when the EBTC pauses for a minute as it works through the Knowledge Base I’ve built. It also has a super long megaprompt.

My goal in putting this together isn’t to make money but to create a tool that serves as my assistant in crafting instructional activities, and more. It’s often spot on in its recommendations, merely requiring me to specify formatting expectations. To be honest, it’s more accurate than any one human being I’ve met. That’s important because it saves me time and effort.

Enhanced Audio Chats

The biggest application of these MGpts, especially this one (and ETHICAL and PRISM MGpts which I will share in the days to come), is that they make conversation at a higher level possible. It’s like being able to ask a book to make its knowledge applicable to new situations.

Anyways, give it a try.