Friend Or Foe: Can Parents Turn ChatGPT Into Educational Ally?

ChatGPT, an AI-powered language model, has sparked a lot of controversies and negative headlines around the globe—relating it to “death of education” by Harvard Independent, or how it will “disrupt education” according to Science News.  However, Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, believes that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to ignite positive opportunities in education—ChatGPT, for example, can be a teaching assistant or personalized tutor. 

Read Also: Gokongwei Foundation Brings khan academy Platform To Pinoy Learners

MIT technology review also mentions that, "Advanced chatbots could be used as powerful classroom aids that make lessons more interactive, teach students media literacy, generate personalized lesson plans, save teachers' time on admin, and more."

After all, OpenAI co-founder, Greg Brockman, in a Ted Talk on ChatGPT's astonishing potential, still emphasizes the significance of human factor component in such technology. He reminds us, “...we’re the manager, we’re able to change the work of the AI if we want to.” 

Embracing change almost always proves to be a struggle, but when technology is right at the tip of our fingers, why not 'chew the meat, and spit the bones'? 

How ChatGPT can help parents

ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for parents to support their children's learning in various ways. Here are some practical ways and tips to use ChatGPT for educational assistance and enrichment, as well as notes from parents from Smart Parenting Village, who are using this AI tool with their children:

1. Homework helper

Parents can use ChatGPT to assist with explaining difficult concepts or helping their children understand their homework. For example, a math problem, particulary fractions and mixed numbers (for moms like myself who aren't very good at Math): ChatGPT can provide a clear, step-by-step guide so you can explain the answer better.

Example prompt: "Please provide answer and solution with explanation to this math problem (state the problem)"
Tip: ChatGPT can break down complex ideas and provide explanation, just be specific with how ChatGPT can aid you explaining a solution to the problem.

"As a mom who uses ChatGPT at work, I understand the benefit and ease of use of AI technology. I taught my son to use ChatGPT to adapt to new technology and to utilize the resources available on the internet nowadays. Turns out my son understood the advantages and the limit of usage of AI technology in terms of homework and as a student resource. As a student and as a smart child, he knows when and when not to use this type of technology. AI can help us in most ways and we need to adapt early on. As a student resource, it can only be damaging when you rely too much on what it presents to you." —Kristia Tigno, 36 years old, mother of two kids

2. Educational games and activities

Parents can use ChatGPT to generate fun, educational activities and games to make learning more engaging. It could be trivia, spelling bees, or vocabulary-building exercises.

Example prompt: “Can you create a word search puzzle for my 7-year-old?”
Tip: Tailor the difficulty level based on your child’s age and interests.

"Don't be afraid to explore and learn new things. Don't overthink it! Start simple. Most of all, have fun with it! We're all just figuring this out together."—Cris Dumlao, 37 years old, mom of two boys

3. Reading comprehension and storytelling

Parents can bond together with their children through storytelling. You can also prepare a questionnaire by using ChatGPT to gauge comprehension. ChatGPT can also summarize books, explain story elements, or even generate new stories to read together, in case you need one.

Example prompt: “Can you provide reading comprehension questions for 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf?'”
Tip: Ask ChatGPT to generate questions to assess your child’s understanding of the material. You can also generate an answer key for your reference. 

4. Learning new languages

If your child is learning a new language, ChatGPT can help with practice. It can translate sentences, help with vocabulary, or even have simple conversations in the target language.

Example prompt: “Can you help my child practice French by having a short conversation with them? Provide English translation too.”
Tip: Use ChatGPT for regular language practice in a fun and interactive way.

"We can use ChatGPT for research and brainstorming ideas. For us, we usually use it for translating Chinese to English (since my son is studying in Chinese school), this helps us much faster in addition to the textbooks he is using." — Aimee Pablo, 33 years old, mom of two boys

"I’m using AI to translate Filipino subject homework. We’re from Mindanao so Tagalog is not as used in our household. We use Bisaya and English." —Kris Angelica Yu, 32 years old, has a daughter in second grade

5. Creating sample questionnaires

For parents who are busy juggling different roles, ChatGPT can provide a reviewer or sample quiz for their kids. 

Example: prompt “Can you create a sample questionnaire about the life cycle of a frog?”
Tip: You can also copy-paste the chapters you want ChatGPT to create a reviewer for or a mock exam. 

"Usually for review namin ginagamit ang ChatGPT. For example, they already reviewed their topics. We ask ChatGPT to give them identification type of exam to cover their reviewed topics. We also use it for topics that I, myself, am not 100% certain of. Especially for High School Math, we ask ChatGPT for guidance on how to better understand the topic. We feed it with the question and the answer, and ask it for the reason why that was the answer." —Armie Punla, 34 years old, IT specialist, mother of 3 kids

6. Study planning and schedule

ChatGPT can help parents create study plans for children, setting up schedules and goals for learning new subjects, preparing for exams, or managing their time effectively.

Example prompt: “Can you help me create a study schedule for my child who has an exam in two weeks?”
Tip: Incorporate breaks and fun activities in the schedule to keep things balanced.

"ChatGPT is not a replacement of critical thinking and creativity, but, it should help you brainstorm ideas and give suggestions. In the end, ikaw pa din magdedecide nung finalized output." —Aimee Pablo, mom of two boys

7. Explaining complex concepts

If a child is struggling with a difficult topic, ChatGPT can simplify it and explain it in a way that’s easier for them to understand.

Example prompt: “Can you explain photosynthesis to my 8-year-old in simple terms?”
Tip: Ask for examples or analogies that will resonate with your child’s experiences.

"Using ChatGPT to assist with excel formulas can be quite helpful in formula creation, describe the problem or the calculation you want to perform. For example, "I need a formula to calculate the total sales from a range of cells", or for more complex scenarios, explain your data layout and what you want to accomplish. "I have sales data in column A and B, and I want to calculate the average sales only for values above 100." —Joyce Montilla on complex concepts such as using ChatGPT for spreadsheets, 32 years old, mother of two boys 

8. Personalized learning resources

ChatGPT can help curate resources like book recommendations, videos, and websites that match a child’s learning needs and interests. This helps parents find additional materials for various subjects.

Example prompt: “Show me a list of books for kids ages four and below”
Tip: Tailor recommendations based on their age, needs, or interests. 

"The output of AI is based on how you input the command or instructions what it has to generate. Ang maganda kasi sa AI you can counter check it by asking for legit references. Or in my case, since I am a teacher and specialist sa ginagawa ko, I can counter check its output if it is right or wrong. You can type in the prompt instruction the link of the article or website where it lifted the information so one can countercheck. Creativity is a big part of putting your prompt in ChatGPT/Gemini, the more specific the prompt the better output it will give."—Dr. Alsun Cabarles, MD, 40 years old, instructor/specialist at San Beda University, using AI for more than a year and half now (teaching students how to use the technology responsibly)

"...do not divulge personal information in your prompts because when learned, others may be able to generate responses based on your previous interactions too."—Arnie Punla, IT specialist, mom of three

ChatGPT as guide

ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can transform your review process with clarifications, examples, summaries, flashcards, step-by-step guide, and more. By leveraging its capabilities, you can make studying for your kids more interactive and efficient, ensuring that your children are well-prepared for exams or projects. However, as parents, we must not lose the opportunity to promote critical and creative thinking—they’re still supposed to conduct research, analyze a story, or understand a process. What ChatGPT can do for them now is assist in checking what they have discovered or carving a huge concept into easy-to-digest chunks of knowledge. 

Read Also: Should You Be Worried About ChatGPT's Effect On Education? Teacher Gives Pros And Cons

"It has the capability to generate excel files for you, create a document outline for you, or even act like your online assistant. You can even talk to it in Tagalog! But as much as possible, do not divulge personal information in your prompts because when learned, others may be able to generate responses based on your previous interactions too," says IT specialist, Mommy Arnie. "AI is all about training. The response that we get is what it was trained, too. So as much as possible, don't share your personal information."

"ChatGPT is not a replacement of critical thinking and creativity, but it should help you brainstorm ideas and give suggestions. In the end, ikaw pa din magdedecide nung final output," Mommy Amie reminds.

"Set clear guidelines and boundaries, encourage critical thinking and verification, monitor usage, provide guidance, and help the child understand the AI usage as a valuable tool, not a replacement for human mind," Mommy Kristia concludes. 

Here's what an educator says about ChatGPT. Read here what she has to say.