Serendipity35

I mentioned in an earlier post that everyone in education - students and teachers - says that they use AI in their work, but very few can say they are formally trained or certified in the use of AI.

One option is Google AI Essentials. It is a short and affordable ($49 USD) online course that takes under 10 hours and provides you with an AI training certificate.

The course outline explains that there is a 21x increase in job postings mentioning AI technologies, so this training should give you an edge.

Google AI Essentials can help you discover how you can use AI to assist, empower, and inspire you. Learn how to use generative AI tools to help speed up daily tasks, make more informed decisions, and develop new ideas and content.

A course like this can help you use AI tools to boost your productivity. You can complete the course at your own pace. Zero experience is required

You can get started on Coursera

.Coursera’s CEO, Jeff Maggioncalda, says leveraging AI in online learning is key to a more accessible, flexible education experience. Coursera is a major platform for free and paid, non-credit and credit learning opportunities. Remember MOOCs? The term isn't in as wide usage as it was a decade ago but Coursera was an early serious player in that space and still offers short-form training and master’s degrees from Ivy League institutions like the University of Pennsylvania.

While many in education have been worrying about how AI is and will impact teaching and learning, online providers and course designers have been more likely to embrace AI tools.

Generative AI is good at language translations and Coursera who now has 4,200 courses translated into 17 languages as AI has made the translations easier and more affordable. They have also experimented with using AI for a personalized learning companion (chatbot) named Coach where students can ask for help on a concept, to create practice problems, or summarize activities. It won’t give users the answer, especially during testing.

For course designers, it can create outlines, write learning objectives, and compile lessons into new courses.

Coursera works with partners who can make content available for free.

When I was teaching in a high school, I used to tell students (and faculty) that we were not preparing them for jobs. I was sure many of our students would end up in jobs with titles that did not exist then. There is a song by The Byrds from the 1960s titled "So You Wanna Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star." In 2024, it could be "So You Want To Be An AI Prompt Engineer."

The role of AI prompt engineer attracted attention for its high-six-figure salaries when it emerged in early 2023. What does this job entail? The principal aim is to help a company integrate AI into its operations. Some people describe the job as more prompter than engineer.

There are already tools that work with apps like OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform that can automate the writing process using sets of built-in prompts. Does that mean that AI will replace AI prompt engineers already? For now, the prompter works to ensure that users get the desired results. They might also be the instructors for other employees on how to use generative AI tools. They become the AI support team. AI can automate "trivial" tasks and make more time for work that requires creative thinking.

What kind of training leads to getting this job? You might think a background in computer science, but probably a strong language and writing ability is more important. People who write in the corporate world might justifiably fear AI will take their jobs away. Being a prompter might be an alternative.

Still, I suspect that there is a good possibility that a prompter/engineer's job might be vulnerable as software becomes better at understanding users’ prompts.

If you are interested in being an AI prompt engineer, I posted last week about some free online courses offered by universities and tech companies that included three courses that relate to creating prompts for AI.

AI Applications and Prompt Engineering is an edX introductory course on prompt engineering that starts with the basics and ends with creating your applications.

Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT is a specific 6-module course from Vanderbilt University (through Coursera) that offers beginners a starting point for writing better prompts.

Another course on ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers is offered by OpenAI in collab with DeepLearning and it is taught by Isa Fulford and Andrew Ng.  It covers best practices and includes hands-on practice. 

If you are interested in taking some free AI courses offered by Google, Harvard, and others, here are 8 you might consider on a variety of approaches. For Coursera courses without the trial, go to the course you want to take and click 'Enroll for free', then 'Audit the course'. You'll need to create an account to take courses, but won't need to pay anything.

Google offers 5 different courses to learn generative AI from the ground up. Start with an Introduction to AI and finish having an understanding of AI as a whole.  https://lnkd.in/eW5k4DVz

Microsoft offers an AI course that covers the basics and more. Start with an introduction and continue learning about neural networks and deep learning.  https://lnkd.in/eKJ9qmEQ

Introduction to AI with Python from Harvard University (edX) is a full 7-week course to explore the concepts and algorithms of AI. It starts with the technologies behind AI and ends with knowledge of AI principles and machine learning libraries.  https://lnkd.in/g4Sbb3nQ

LLMOps are Large Language Model Ops offered by Google Cloud in collaboration with DeepLearning. Taught by Erwin Huizenga, it goes through the LLMOps pipeline of pre-processing training data and adapt a supervised tuning pipeline to train and deploy a custom LLM.

Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics is a 4-module course offered by Coursera from the University of California - Davis that covers big data and introduces IBM's Watson as well as learning about big data opportunities and knowing the limitations of AI. I think the inclusion of ethics is an important element.

AI Applications and Prompt Engineering is an edX introductory course on prompt engineering that starts with the basics and ends with creating your applications.

Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT is a specific 6-module course from Vanderbilt University (through Coursera) that offers beginners a starting point for writing better prompts.

Another course on ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers is offered by OpenAI in collab with DeepLearning and it is taught by Isa Fulford and Andrew Ng.  It covers best practices and includes hands-on practice.