The January 2025 meeting of the Harnessing AI for Educators working group featured a presentation by Dave Rakestraw, who explored two primary topics: using the phyphox smartphone app and ChatGPT for physics experiments, and leveraging ChatGPT for interview preparation and college counseling. The session provided hands-on demonstrations and practical insights into how AI tools can enhance both scientific inquiry and educational planning.
Dave began by showcasing the phyphox app, which enables students to conduct physics experiments using their smartphone sensors. A key demonstration involved analyzing physiological tremors through Fourier analysis. Participants conducted their own mini-experiments using phyphox, collecting data via their phone’s accelerometer. Dave then demonstrated how ChatGPT could process and convert this raw data into the frequency domain, allowing students to identify individual frequency peaks for deeper analysis. This AI-assisted approach simplifies complex data interpretation, making advanced physics concepts more accessible to students. Notably, a premium version of ChatGPT was required for this analysis, though alternatives such as Perplexity Pro were also discussed. Dave provided a Google Drive folder with additional resources for those interested in further exploration.
In the second part of the meeting, Dave discussed the use of ChatGPT as a tool for interview preparation and college counseling research. He shared how his daughter successfully used ChatGPT for mock medical school interviews, finding it a valuable resource for refining her responses. Additionally, ChatGPT was employed to streamline the college research process by generating structured tables of potential universities based on specific criteria, such as location and size. This demonstrated the potential of AI to assist students in organizing their college searches efficiently and preparing more effectively for admissions interviews. Perplexity Pro was again mentioned as an alternative platform capable of similar tasks.
The meeting concluded with a look ahead to the next session, scheduled for Thursday, February 13. Ted Scovell will lead a discussion on MagicSchool AI, a tool designed to support educators in both administrative and pedagogical tasks. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of how they have used the platform or consider specific tasks for which AI assistance might be beneficial. The session promises to be another opportunity for educators to explore AI-driven solutions that can enhance their teaching and professional responsibilities.
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