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Lab: Explore An Unknown Topic With ChatGPT

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Lab: Explore An Unknown Topic With ChatGPT

Objective

Use ChatGPT with your new account to explore a topic you know almost nothing about but are genuinely interested in.

The goal is not to become an expert in one night. The goal is to practice using AI as a learning partner: asking better questions, requesting different kinds of explanations, checking your understanding, and noticing what you still do not know.

By the end of the lab, you will create a plain text file that documents your exploration and record a short video explaining what you learned.

Success Criteria

  • Choose a topic you are curious about but not already knowledgeable in.
  • Use your new ChatGPT account to explore a topic through conversation.
  • Create a plain text file named ai-topic-exploration.txt.
  • Use an ELI5 prompt to get a beginner-friendly explanation of your topic.
  • Use at least four other exploration prompts to guide the conversation.
  • Record useful explanations, examples, vocabulary, and follow-up questions in your text file.
  • Use a teach-back prompt to explain the topic in your own words and get feedback.
  • Identify at least one thing you still do not understand.
  • Record a short video walkthrough of your exploration.
  • Upload your completed ai-topic-exploration.txt file for submission.

Instructions

  1. Open ChatGPT.

Use the new ChatGPT account you created for this course. Start a new chat for this lab so your conversation stays focused on one topic.

  1. Create a lab folder on your computer.

Create or select this lab folder inside your course labs folder:

~/labs/ai-topic-exploration

If your labs folder does not exist yet, create it first. The goal is for this lab work to live at:

labs/ai-topic-exploration
  1. Choose your topic.

Pick something you are interested in but do not already understand well.

Good topics are specific enough to explore in one sitting. For example:

  • black holes
  • sneaker design
  • ethical hacking
  • Roman concrete
  • music theory
  • electric cars
  • marine biology
  • fashion forecasting
  • quantum computing
  • game engines
  • espresso
  • mythology

Avoid topics you already know a lot about. This lab works best when you are starting from honest curiosity.

  1. Create your exploration file.

In your ai-topic-exploration folder, create a file named:

ai-topic-exploration.txt

You may use whatever editor you are comfortable with, including Zed, VS Code, TextEdit, or Notepad.

Add this starter structure to the file:

AI Topic Exploration

Topic I Chose

Why I Chose It

First Explanation Using An ELI5 Prompt

Vocabulary I Learned

Best Analogy Or Example

Misconceptions Or Surprises

My Teach-Back

What I Still Do Not Understand

Three Better Questions I Could Ask Next

Verification Notes
  1. Read the prompt shortcuts guide.

Open the course Library and find the guide named:

Prompt Shortcuts For ChatGPT

Read through the guide before you continue. Pay attention to the idea that these are prompt shortcuts, not official ChatGPT commands or hidden features.

In your ai-topic-exploration.txt file, add one prompt shortcut from the guide that you think might help with your topic.

  1. Try your first prompt shortcut.

For example, if you chose ELI5, ask ChatGPT:

ELI5 prompt: Explain this topic like I am brand new to it, but do not talk down to me.

My topic is: <your topic>

Replace <your topic> with the topic you chose.

Read the answer carefully. In your ai-topic-exploration.txt file, summarize the explanation in your own words. Do not just paste the entire ChatGPT response.

  1. Use more prompt shortcuts from the Library guide.

Choose at least four prompt shortcuts from Prompt Shortcuts For ChatGPT and try them in your ChatGPT conversation.

After each prompt shortcut you use, add notes to your text file. Capture what the shortcut helped you understand, what changed in ChatGPT's response, and any new questions it gave you.

  1. Use teach-back to check your understanding.

After you have explored the topic for a while, explain it back to ChatGPT.

Use this prompt:

Teach-back prompt: I am going to explain what I think I learned.

Tell me:
- what I got right
- what I misunderstood
- what I left out
- one better question I should ask next

Here is my explanation:

<write your explanation here>

Copy your own explanation into the My Teach-Back section of your text file. Then summarize ChatGPT's feedback.

  1. Add verification notes.

ChatGPT can be useful, but it can also be wrong or incomplete.

Ask:

Sources prompt: What should I search for if I want to verify this or learn from reliable sources?

In the Verification Notes section of your file, write down:

  • two search terms you could use
  • one type of source that would probably be reliable for this topic
  • one claim from the conversation that you would want to double-check

You do not need to fully research the topic tonight. You do need to show that you know where verification would begin.

  1. Record your video walkthrough.

Record a short video, about 2 to 4 minutes long.

In the video, show your ai-topic-exploration.txt file and explain:

  • the topic you chose
  • why you chose it
  • which exploration prompts helped the most
  • one thing you understand now that you did not understand before
  • one thing you still do not understand
  • how you would verify or continue learning about the topic

Your video should focus on your thinking, not on reading the file word-for-word.

Required Deliverables

Submit:

  • your completed ai-topic-exploration.txt file
  • a short video walkthrough of your exploration

Your uploaded text file should show your own summaries and reflections, not just copied ChatGPT answers.

Submit Your Lab

Upload your completed ai-topic-exploration.txt file in the LMS.

Also submit your short video walkthrough using the video submission option provided by your instructor.

Stretch

Stretch Objective: Build A Learning Roadmap

Use ChatGPT to turn your topic exploration into a short learning roadmap.

The roadmap should help you decide what you would study next if you wanted to keep going. This should be a conversation, not a one-shot answer. Let ChatGPT propose a starting roadmap, ask you questions about your interests and goals, and then revise the roadmap based on your answers.

Ask ChatGPT something like:

Help me turn this topic into a beginner learning roadmap.

First, propose a starting roadmap.

Then ask me a few questions that would help you improve it for my interests, goals, and current understanding.

After I answer, revise the roadmap.

Create a second text file named:

topic-learning-roadmap.txt

In that file, write your final roadmap in your own words. Include a short note about what ChatGPT asked you, how you answered, and how the roadmap changed after that back-and-forth.

Record a short video walkthrough, about 2 to 4 minutes long.

In the video, show topic-learning-roadmap.txt and explain:

  • what changed between the first roadmap and the revised roadmap
  • one question ChatGPT asked that helped improve the roadmap
  • what you would study or make next if you kept going

Submit both:

  • your completed topic-learning-roadmap.txt file
  • your short stretch video walkthrough