Sarah Hill, the current director of library services at the Learning Resource Center (LRC) on campus, is teaching workshops concerning Artificial Intelligence, or A.I.. Hill’s previous position at the campus library was the information services librarian. She has worked in various capacities at the LRC for over ten years.
In conjunction with her position on campus, Hill serves on the Board of Directors for the Network of Illinois Learning Resources in Community Colleges and is President-Elect of the SHARE Executive Council for the Illinois Heartland Library System.
Earlier in February, she taught the workshop, “English Language Arts Teachers,” at the Regional Office of Education (ROE) in Charleston. The ROE is located south of the square and across the street from Lefty’s Holler, as well as being across the street from the Charleston Carnegie Library.
Regarding the aforementioned workshop, she revealed, “There were fifteen participants in each high school from Casey, Tuscola, Mattoon, etc.” She explained the workshop is about “how the high school students are using A.I. and how the teachers can use A.I. to improve their teaching in the classroom.”
She mentioned, “On March 13th, at the LRC computer lab from six to eight in the evening, she and Andy Cougill will host the workshop, “ChatGPT: A.I. In Our Daily Lives” which is for community members that do not know what A.I. is. It will be general and broad. If you are currently using ChatGPT, then this workshop is not for you. We will discuss how to use A.I. ethically.”
“The workshop is for people who heard about Chat GPT on the news but have no concept in regards to what it is. The workshop will explain how people typically use A.I. in real life without realizing it. People use it all the time, such as search engines. It is everywhere now. It will be a general introduction.”
She explained, “A.I. has affected education quite a lot. President Josh Bullock is doing a podcast series about A.I. I think it is beneficial since it is a tool. People fall into two camps, totally for A.I. or against it. Once people learn about it, people will understand how beneficial A.I. can be. It is a great brainstorming tool and a way to summarize facts. As a librarian, as you gather sources, you have to evaluate them to make sure that it is accurate.”
In regards to applying the A.I. software, she clarified, “LRC is not paying for any specific service right now or in the near future, but other college libraries in the state have implemented reference chat online, where you chat with a bot first before you talk to a person, especially with reference questions.”
