Chatbots & Storytelling: ID Links 3/19/24

As I read online, I bookmark resources I find interesting and useful. I share these links about once a month here on my blog. This post includes links related to chatbots, storytelling, AI literacy and prompts, character images, and closed captions.

I’m experimenting with AI image tools to create images for my blog posts. This was created in Playground and edited in Affinity Designer.

Chatbots

Chatbots for learning – Part 1

Natalie Laderas-Kilkenny explains how chatbots can be used to support learning, describing a recent award-winning project where she built a chatbot coach and virtual tutor. This post is the first post in a series; check out the other posts in the series too.

Here are four ways chatbots optimize learning. They:
Offer an opportunity to practice without judgement.
Promote mastery and retention of knowledge and skills.
Reinforce complex concepts with probing questions.
Provide quiet time for reflection.

Storytelling

Tip 6: Show, Don’t Tell

Hadiya Nuriddin continues her series of tips on writing stories with “show, don’t tell.” Specifically, she talks about adding descriptions to focus on the emotional aspects, not just over-explaining what things look like. Hadiya includes several examples. I keep highlighting and bookmarking these articles because I appreciate how she breaks down these concepts.

Always lead with emotions when showing instead of telling.
-Hadiya Nuriddin

Tip 7: Be Strategic About Structure

Hadiya Nuriddin shares examples of how the structure of a story shapes the audience’s understanding of the content and the overall message. Note that Hadiya isn’t talking about the “hero’s journey” or some other overarching classic structure here (which I often find more problematic than helpful for scenario-based learning, especially branching scenarios). It’s more about how information is revealed and how the action is organized in the story. In this article, she summarizes three versions of a story where a secret is revealed at different times to show how the structure affects the message.

How, when, and why a reader is exposed to information in a narrative matters because it determines how the plot unfolds and impacts the audience’s understanding and engagement with the story.
-Hadiya Nuriddin

AI literacy and prompts

AI Literacy: Implications for L&D – Paradox Learning

Stella Lee explores tactics L&D professionals can use to support workplaces in learning the skills to use AI effectively. Each section includes suggestions of “What we can do” plus resources for more information.

Help me test & refine my Chat-GPT ‘Branching Scenario Builder’ prompt!

Tristia Hennessey is testing out a branching scenario builder prompt based on a prompt for writing Choose Your Own Adventure stories. Check out the prompt and test it for yourself.

Character images

40+ DIY Vector Kits to Create Your Own Character in Adobe Illustrator

A collection of vector illustrations for character sets. These are various sets from different sources and in different styles, but all of these include some mix-and-match vector elements like clothes, props, and sometimes facial expressions and poses.