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New Paper: Initial Discussions of ChatGPT in Education-Related Subreddits

There’s a good bit of good news coming in the next few weeks, and I wanted to kick things off my highlighting a new publication that just came out in the Journal of Research on Technology in Education: “Initial discussions of ChatGPT in education-related subreddits” (DOI:10.1080/15391523.2024.2338091). My Ph.D. candidate, Hunhui Na, led a team of six that included myself and four of his peers (Hui Shi, Jaesung Hur, Dan He, and Chaewon Kim), handling his first-author project-manager role adeptly.

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Article abstract:

Generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, have ignited global discussions and debates about potential educational impacts. By examining initial reactions to ChatGPT shared in online spaces, this study aims to deepen understanding of opportunities and concerns related to integrating such tools into education. With the keyword “chatgpt,” we searched 25 education-related subreddits on Reddit and conducted a content analysis of 7,009 posts and comments, identifying 4,397 containing reactions to the tool. Findings showed that initial ChatGPT discussions predominantly focused on perceived threats and educational applications, much less on strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities—although the discussions were multifaceted, nuanced, and contextualized.

The article is available on Taylor & Francis’s website.