SAEDNEWS: Professors at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) are using an artificial intelligence tool called Kudu to create textbooks, assignments, and more.
According to SaedNews, there are moments in life with AI that make us feel like we are crossing a threshold from which there is no return. The latest example of this is happening at UCLA, where a professor is using AI to create class notes, assignments, and teaching assistant resources for a course on literature from the Middle Ages to the 17th century.
Professor Zrinka Stahuljak is using an AI tool called Kudu, developed by Alexander Kusenko, a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA, and Warren Essey, a former Ph.D. student at the university.
They see Kudu as a high-quality and low-cost way for students to access all the information they need, while allowing professors to focus on teaching.
Kudu extracts information from PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, lecture notes, and other materials provided by Professor Stahuljak. According to UCLA, this process should not take more than 20 hours of the professor's time, after which they can edit the materials.
The resulting textbook is available digitally for $25 and can be printed or used in audio format. Kudu also uses the provided educational materials to answer students' questions. Additionally, it can determine whether more than half of a student's submitted content was generated by AI.
Professor Stahuljak says, "Usually, I spent class time creating content and using visual aids to demonstrate it, but now all of that is in the textbook we produced. I can actually work with students to read primary sources, explain and analyze their meanings, and think critically."
She added, "This AI allows us to spend more time teaching essential analytical skills, critical thinking, and reading skills in a consistent manner, which are tasks that professors excel at. She plans to use Kudu for other courses in the future."
This AI-based tool is currently being tested in an introductory history class this semester and will be available for Professor Stahuljak's course in 2025. We have to see how successful this will be, and more importantly, whether AI will remain a tool for teachers and professors or become a low-cost way to replace
