Tailoring AI for Education: A Comparative Look at ChatGPT’s GPT Builder and Poe’s Create Bot

As we delve deeper into the digital age, the tools we use to enhance learning environments become increasingly sophisticated. My journey through the realm of custom AI chatbot creation has been marked by exploration and discovery, particularly with platforms like Poe.com’s Create Bot feature. I have also begun sharing my experiences with other educators so that they too can build skills around this important endeavor. Recently, Open AI released their GPT Builder where you can also create a custom-built chatbot much like Poe’s Create Chatbot feature. Both have their unique flavors of innovation, but how do they stand up to the real-world educational needs of our students and teachers?

Crafting Educational AI with Poe.com and ChatGPT

While Open AI has just released this ability to some of its users, this function has been available since April of 2023 on the Poe Platform. This makes it highly applicable as it can be used in the educational environment.

On Poe.com, the process of creating a bot is an engaging exercise in precision and creativity when crafting the prompts to guide the Large Language Model you have chosen. For example, when developing a carbon footprint generator for students to integrate into their units of inquiry, the ability to tailor the prompt for the bot meant that the resulting interactions were highly relevant and educational. The students could engage with the bot, answering questions provided by the bot about their daily activities, and receive an immediate estimation of their carbon footprint. This interactive learning tool not only educated them about environmental impact but also encouraged them to think critically about their daily choices.

Similarly, being able to prompt the translation bot for our ELL teachers, on Poe was a streamlined process that yielded immediate benefits in the classroom. By fine-tuning the prompt, teachers could use the bot to generate custom vocabulary lists that catered specifically to their current lesson plans, allowing for a more targeted and effective approach to language acquisition.

To create highly useful bots, I needed to hone my prompting skills to instruct the bot to carry out my instructions. This process, while not difficult, did require some learning.

The User Experience with GPT Builder

ChatGPT’s GPT Builder introduced a different approach. Its ‘create mode’ guided me through the development process, which was helpful in quickly setting up a framework for the chatbot. Although I found that the initial prompts needed some refinement to meet the exact needs of my educational goals, the platform’s intuitive design was a boon for quickly creating a usable bot. For instance, while the bot initially generated by the GPT Builder was a good starting point, I applied my own expertise to refine its interactions, ensuring the chatbot could effectively fulfill its purpose.

What Can I Do Now?

While Poe requires a bit more knowledge about prompt crafting, it’s by no means a difficult endeavor. On the contrary, the platform is intuitive once you learn a few tips for prompting the LLM, making it an excellent choice for educators who wish to create highly customized tools for their classrooms. Another positive is that this bot creator is already available and ready to go.

On the other hand, ChatGPT’s GPT Builder simplifies the bot creation process with a more guided experience. While this may come at the cost of some initial precision, it lowers the barrier to entry, making AI chatbot creation accessible to a broader range of educators. Especially for those who have a Plus account. We may need to wait a bit until this rolls out to everyone, as it is currently only available for all Plus and Enterprise users.

Conclusion: Embracing AI in Education

The beauty of AI in education lies in its flexibility, and as we continue to integrate these tools into our learning environments, the potential for enhancement of both teaching and learning experiences is boundless.

I have created at the time of this writing 21 bots for various reasons from a Digital Barista, to Sketchicon image generation bot. I have also created some great bots just for fun. Like a superhero name generator.

You can find all my bots here. https://poe.com/DrDoak

I was lucky enough to lead a session on custom-built chatbots at the ACAMIS Technology Conference held here in China. I include some of the custom bots that have been created because of this session.

Teacher Friend Bot https://poe.com/TeachersFriendBot

This Friendly Bot helps make Teachers’ lives easier. Has a passion for IB (PYP & Secondary) but enjoys all curriculums. Ideas for use include lesson planning and unit planning; student feedback; parent letters; and advice incorporating creative ideas in the classroom.

Ersha Love Reading Bot https://poe.com/ersha_lovereading1

This is a library bot giving information about the books at the Ersha Campus of the American International School of Guangzhou.

As we forge ahead, I am optimistic about the role of AI in education. With each bot we build, whether it’s to calculate a carbon footprint or assist in language learning, we’re taking another step towards a future where education is more interactive, personalized, and engaging. Here’s to the ongoing journey of discovery and innovation.

Thanks for reading!

Dr. Shannon H. Doak