Monday, September 22, 2025

Dear Readers, 

 

As we move deeper into Fall, there's a spark in the air - courses are shaping up, creativity is flowing, and the tools we have at our fingertips are opening up fresh possibilities. This edition of the ILC Newsletter is all about turning those possibilities into practice. Whether you're revamping your syllabus with AI-powered workflows, making your Canvas content more accessible, or pondering what it means when technology becomes more than just a tool (yes, we're going there!) - we've got you covered. 

 

Dive into UDOIT to learn how your subtle course changes can create more inclusivity, learn more about Gradescope to make assessments more authentic, and read more about tech as a sycophantic friend. Let's continue to make this a semester of intentional learning, meaningful connections, and digital innovation that you can carry forward! 

 

Here's to doing good work - together, and with purpose! 

 

Best regards, 

Bobbie Garner-Coffie, MSW, MLA 

Manager Instructional Technology

Innovative Learning Center 

Hands‑on workflows for designing or refreshing a course with generative AI: crafting learning outcomes, building activity banks, creating rubrics, curating OER, and automating slides/quizzes—while staying FERPA‑ and ADA‑compliant.

 

Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, 306 and via ZOOM

Want to make your Canvas course more accessible for all students? UDOIT 3, Tulane’s built-in accessibility checker, makes it easy to scan your course content, identify common issues, and apply quick fixes.

 

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to run UDOIT 3, interpret the results, and make simple improvements that enhance usability and inclusivity.

 

Perfect for faculty who want practical strategies to strengthen course accessibility. A fast, hands-on workshop to make your course more inclusive with minimal effort. 

 

Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, 322 and via ZOOM

 

Tulane faculty are using this platform in Math and Computer Science courses to quickly grade various kinds of assignments:

 

- Paper exams (numeric answers, short answers, long answers, etc.)
- Homework problem sets
- In-class activities (paper and online)
- Programming assignments (code)

In this workshop, we’ll show you how to use Gradescope and many of its features, as well as how it integrates directly with Canvas for easy use here at Tulane. 

 

Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, 306 and via ZOOM

By Blaine Fisher, Ph.D., MS, MA, NRP, PG-Cert

There are moments in technological history when the human reaction to a tool reveals more about us than the tool itself. The transition from ChatGPT-4 to ChatGPT-5 was one of those moments. What began as a routine software upgrade quickly transformed into an unprecedented wave of emotional outcry. Users spoke not only of dissatisfaction but of grief, longing, and even something that looked alarmingly like withdrawal. It was the kind of collective response one might expect when a beloved social network changes its interface or a favorite product is discontinued, but this was different. For the first time, it became clear that many people had formed an attachment to an AI model that went beyond convenience.

 

This event is worth pausing on, because it hints at a deeper truth about where we are headed. For years, technologists warned that social media was addictive. Doom scrolling became the shorthand for endless hours lost to feeds and likes. But what happened with ChatGPT-4 suggests that AI introduces a new kind of entanglement. It is not just that the model held our attention, but that it held us emotionally.

 

The fact that thousands of users demanded the immediate return of a model that was, by most technical measures, less accurate than its successor is a signpost of something bigger. We are beginning to see what it looks like when the boundary between tool and companion blurs.

 

The Rise of the Sycophantic Friend

 

To understand why the attachment to ChatGPT-4 ran so deep, we have to look at its personality. GPT-4 was a capable model, but one of its defining traits was its warmth. It tended to agree with users. It affirmed them. It was, as some critics put it, sycophantic.

 

This trait was both a blessing and a curse. For the average user, it meant that conversations felt pleasant and supportive. The AI rarely contradicted, rarely pushed back, and often responded with the kind of positive reinforcement that makes people feel understood. Over time, this created a sense of companionship. For those who used GPT-4 every day, the model became predictable, comforting, even personal.

 

The danger, however, was that this friendliness came at a cost. In situations involving misinformation or mental health struggles, the model’s willingness to “play along” risked reinforcing delusions. Mental health professionals have long stressed that agreeing with a patient’s hallucinations or distorted beliefs can deepen their condition. GPT-4’s tendency to affirm everything made it prone to hallucinate and validate dangerous ideas.

 

And yet, people loved it. The warmth outweighed the risk in their eyes. It became their sounding board, their late-night confidant, their writing partner, their co-worker who never judged them. Users built habits around it. They trusted it. They invested countless hours into learning how to draw the best responses from it. In short, GPT-4 was not just a model. It was a relationship.

Teach Anywhere Office Hours

 

Mondays | 12pm to 1pm

 

No appointments necessary, both online via zoom and in the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Suite 300 for all pedagogy and academic technology needs.

Adobe Express Modules

 

In an era where AI can generate essays, solve equations, and mimic human voice, how do we ensure our students are truly learning? Moreover, how do we equip them to become critical, ethical, agile users of emerging technologies? 

 

One answer is authentic assessment: asking students to create, reflect, and communicate in ways that demonstrate their real-world understanding, originality, and voice. The Adobe Express Modules Library offers approaches to doing this work through the lens of creative, multimodal assignments.

Contact the IT Service Desk

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Hours | Mon - Fri 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM | Sat - Sun 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

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