{"676992":{"#nid":"676992","#data":{"type":"news","title":"School of Modern Languages Pilots AI Assistant for Language Instruction Created by Alum Tucker von Holten","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech alum Tucker von Holten, who mastered Spanish in high school and minored in German at the Institute, was surprised when his mother struggled to understand basic Spanish after more than a year of playing Duolingo.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo, the 2020 computer science graduate asked his former German professors in the School of Modern Languages if they would take part in the ideation and pilot of a new language learning technology \u2014 one that would support classroom language instruction, rather than trying to take its place.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLanguage acquisition goes far beyond vocabulary and grammar,\u201d said Associate Professor of German Britta Kallin. \u201cWe want students to experience the culture lived through the language.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVon Holten agreed, and so he got to work, founding the educational technology company \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/spirant.ai\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESpirant AI\u003C\/a\u003E. Over the next year, he stayed in contact with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/britta-kallin\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EKallin\u003C\/a\u003E and other faculty members while creating the Spirant Assistant, a language learning tool suite that harnesses the strengths of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to support language students and instructors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWith the Spirant Assistant, we wanted to provide students with more robust tools for language learning,\u201d said von Holten. \u201cWe also wanted to create a \u2018digital teaching assistant\u2019 for language instructors, who rarely have the luxury of TAs in their classrooms.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Initial Pilot of the Spirant Assistant\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Spring 2024, the Spirant Assistant was ready for its first classroom pilot \u2014 and the School of Modern Languages was up to the challenge. Kallin and her colleague, Assistant Professor of German \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/modlangs.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/joohyouna\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EHyoun-A Joo\u003C\/a\u003E, used the Spirant Assistant in their upper-level German classes at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKallin and Joo collected feedback from students and consulted with von Holten to share what was going well and suggest ways the assistant could be refined.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTucker is uniquely qualified to create a language instruction tool. This project is informed by his experience as an alum, as someone with computer expertise, and as a person who knows what it\u2019s like to excel in learning a language,\u201d said Kallin.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKallin said that her students and Hyoun-A Joo\u2019s found the spring class experience a positive one.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cStudents in our spring classes liked the writing and reading tools a lot, as well as the feedback and suggestions they got from the Spirant Assistant,\u201d said Kallin. \u201cWe suggested a few adjustments, and Tucker has implemented those for the fall.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKallin and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/modlangs.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/20db9345-1e19-5699-ad88-9d1a84e7ad2b\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJohn Lyon\u003C\/a\u003E, professor, school chair, and Charles Smithgall Jr. Institute Chair in the School of Modern Languages, are piloting an updated version of the Spirant Assistant in their advanced German classes this semester.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAny new tool creates a new way of learning for our students and new ways of teaching for instructors,\u201d said Kallin. \u201cWe\u2019re learning how to implement the Spirant Assistant in ways that best support our students and the course design. It will be great to see how it evolves, and how our teaching might make progress as we use it more.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat Does the Spirant Assistant Do?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen building the Spirant Assistant, von Holten and his team consulted with Modern Languages faculty about their needs. The result is a suite of different tools for instructors and students, all of which leverage the power of generative AI.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Assistant\u2019s primary tool is \u201cFirst Pass,\u201d an AI first-draft support function that reviews a student essay, applies the instructor\u2019s rubric such as grammar, suggests corrections in English or in the target language, and suggests a grade, which the instructor can either approve or change.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe were surprised to learn that instructors spend about half of their time grading,\u201d said von Holten. \u201cWe wanted to create something that would help with that process.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVon Holten is sensitive to potential concerns about the accuracy of a virtual AI grading assistant and emphasizes that First Pass is meant only to support the process of grading, not replace it. Instead, he likens the role of generative AI in the classroom to that of the calculator.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe calculator fundamentally changed the way we teach and learn mathematics. Like the calculator, AI isn\u2019t capable of human insight, reflection, or understanding. It\u2019s a tool.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Spirant Assistant also offers support for students, including an AI reading tool and a \u201cstoryteller\u201d function that creates stories in the language students are learning. Another of its capabilities is tailoring any given piece of writing to the student\u2019s reading level, making authentic or literary texts more easily understandable for students. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cInstructors or students can use the storyteller to create a story that illustrates a set of vocabulary words, or that repeatedly uses a grammatical concept such as passive voice or subjunctive,\u201d said von Holten.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMost language learners have had the experience of trying to read text in a new language with three or four reference books open on the side \u2014 a dictionary, a verb conjugator, and a grammar reference,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, we built the Spirant Assistant so that an instructor can input the text they want students to read, and the Assistant makes all of this reference information clickable, right in the text.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s Next for the Spirant Assistant?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn its current iteration, the Spirant Assistant supports language learning and instruction in German and Spanish, with plans to expand its capabilities \u2014 and its influence \u2014 on the horizon. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re very proud of our partnership with Georgia Tech. We\u2019re dedicated to enhancing language education nationwide,\u201d said von Holten. \u201cWe look forward to working with more universities to bring the Spirant Assistant\u2019s transformative suite of tools to classrooms across the country.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe School of Modern Languages is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETo find out more about Georgia Tech\u2019s policy on the responsible adoption and use of AI tools, you can visit the Office of Information Technology\u2019s \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oit.gatech.edu\/ai\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EArtificial Intelligence\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E page.\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe School of Modern Languages is piloting an AI assistant for language instruction created by computer science and modern languages alum Tucker von Holten.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The School of Modern Languages is piloting an AI assistant for language instruction created by computer science and modern languages alum Tucker von Holten."}],"uid":"35777","created_gmt":"2024-09-19 16:38:14","changed_gmt":"2024-09-23 19:47:25","author":"Stephanie Kadel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-09-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-09-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675050":{"id":"675050","type":"image","title":"Tucker von Holten, Britta Kallin, and others at the April 2024 Education in the Age of AI Symposium","body":"\u003Cp\u003ETucker von Holten, Britta Kallin, and others at the April 2024 Education in the Age of AI Symposium\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1726764400","gmt_created":"2024-09-19 16:46:40","changed":"1726764684","gmt_changed":"2024-09-19 16:51:24","alt":"Tucker von Holten, Britta Kallin, and others at the April 2024 Education in the Age of AI Symposium","file":{"fid":"258639","name":"Stephanie\u0027s 480x270 Sandbox.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/19\/Stephanie%27s%20480x270%20Sandbox.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/19\/Stephanie%27s%20480x270%20Sandbox.png","mime":"image\/png","size":191964,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/09\/19\/Stephanie%27s%20480x270%20Sandbox.png?itok=JNhEVCJx"}}},"media_ids":["675050"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/featured-news\/2024\/02\/AI-prompt-engineering-ChatGPT","title":"Prompt Engineering: The Art of Getting What You Need From Generative AI"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1284","name":"School of Modern Languages"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"167342","name":"School of Modern Languages"},{"id":"187812","name":"artificial intelligence (AI)"},{"id":"192863","name":"go-ai"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:stephanie.kadel@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EStephanie N. Kadel\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["stephanie.kadel@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}