Prompt Power
Session Description
Discover the secrets to crafting compelling AI prompts that yield amazing results. Explore techniques to optimize your prompts, learn best practices, and gain insights into how to communicate effectively with AI to achieve your desired outcomes. You also get access to the TCEA Prompt Guide Educator, a Custom GPT that can assist you with crafting amazing prompts.
Today's Agenda
- Introducing the TCEA Essential Learning Expectations (ELEs) for various roles and AI
- Prompt Management and Storage
- Prompt Creation Core Skills
- Prompt Acronyms to Stimulate Your Thinking
- Long Prompt ("MegaPrompt") Creation
- Assessing Your AI's Results
- Citing Your AI Generated Content
Before We Get Started
Find prompt examples online using these icons. All is shared freely, no need to ask or cite (if you don't want to). You can also score and refine your prompts with a free tool. More on that later.
Here are four sources of prompts, megaprompts, mermaid prompts, and prompt use cases. And, at the bottom of this page, there's even more stuff. In case, you know, you get bored listening to me talk.
If you want to see some prompt ideas for Claude Artifacts to make games (e.g. Tower Defense, ASCII Star Trek game!), here are a few to get you started. More examples appear in the TCEA Claude for Educators course.
Advance organizer for upcoming section
Here's a quick advance organizer created via prompt in Mermaid syntax. These will appear before each section below. At the end, you will see the organizer for the entire Lunch and Learn, all created via prompting. Want to create your own? Read this for more information on Mermaid code as an output format for your prompt results.
Mermaid Code
```mermaid
graph LR
B[1. TCEA ELEs]
B --> B1[AI in Education]
B --> B2[Role-specific Expectations]
```
Mermaid Diagram
1- TCEA Essential Learning Expectations (ELEs)
Wish you had an easy to understand and apply set of expectations for technology in education?
The Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) has introduced Essential Learning Expectations (ELEs) to guide educators in preparing students for the modern world.
Let’s explore briefly how these ELEs can transform professional learning in schools.
"The better the prompt, the better the results."
-Matt Miller, Presentation on AI, Ditch That Textbook
Mermaid Code
```mermaid
graph LR
C[2. Prompt Management]
C --> C1[Storage Systems]
C --> C2[File Formats]
C --> C3[Browser Extensions]
```
Mermaid Diagram
2 - Prompt Management and Storage
The more you use AI, the easier it is to progress from simple one sentence prompts to long prompts. You may also find and adapt other people's prompts, or collect prompts from AI chatbots. How are you going to keep track of all of these?
You may find that you need some system for managing and storing prompts for re-use. After all, you may be using ChatGPT today, Raina tomorrow, Claude.ai next week, or Mistral or Llama. And, you may need to keep track of Mermaid syntax and render it in some way.
Wouldn't it be easier to have some meta-prompt management and storage system?
Did You Know?
Use AI Eraser browser extension to remove personal information from prompts you write for ChatGPT. AI Eraser is a free Chrome Extension that helps redact personal data (SSN, API keys, email address, etc.) from your ChatGPT prompts. It runs completely on-device and does not need your data to be sent anywhere. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring you have a positive experience using our extension.
"When teachers and students use the various AI models, there is a direct correlation between the quality of input and the resultant quality of the output."
-Meghan Hargrave, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, The Artificial Intelligence Playbook
Mermaid Code
```mermaid
graph LR
D[3. Core Skills]
D --> D1[Markdown]
D --> D2[Format Conversions]
D --> D3[Image Handling]
```
Mermaid Diagram
3 - Prompt Creation: Core Skills
One core skill when planning prompts? Know what format you want to end up in. While you don't need to specify that file format at the beginning of prompt creation, it doesn't hurt to know how to eventually end up there. There are many possible prompt formats you can export to depending on the AI tool you use. A common format you probably need to learn how to use is Markdown.
If you want to learn more about markdown, take a few moments to study the Markdown Syntax Cheatsheet. Want more information? Learn more about markdown via the Markdown Tutorial website.
If you rely on markdown as a way to keep formatting, you can use the Free Markdown to HTML Converter. I keep a browser tab open to this conversion website. There are also browser extensions to "Copy Selection as Markdown."
It’s free, and provides a markdown syntax cheatsheet. That cheatsheet can be helpful to those who may not be familiar with markdown.
Three Toolsets for You: Getting Content Out of a Chatbot
Tool #1: Copy Selection as Markdown
On a website and want to grab a portion of the webpage with its format intact? Use one of these popular “copy selection as markdown” browser extensions. Once installed, you can highlight text on any website. Then, right-click it and choose “copy selection as markdown.” This will make a copy in your device’s clipboard. You can then paste that markdown text with its formatting intact into your AI chatbot of choice.
Chrome/Chromium browser extensions:
Using Firefox? You might find one of these options worthwhile.
Tool #2: Convert Google Docs to Markdown
As an avid Google Docs user, I often have complex Google Docs with headings and formatted text. There are times I want to drop a formatted document. I could export it as a DOCx or RTF, but I often like to copy-n-paste from one document to another. Saving files to my device can get tedious. To avoid that, I convert Google Docs in my browser using a Google Doc extension.
There are several “convert Docs to markdown” extensions in the Google Marketplace. One that I have relied on consistently is Bean Road Communications’ Docs to Markdown.
Tool #3: Convert WebP to JPG or PNG
Try to save a picture from ChatGPT, you will get a WebP formatted image. This can be a pain if you don’t have an image converter installed on your device. A workaround? Use one of the following browser conversion tools. You can right-click on an image, and save that WebP as a JPG or PNG image. That’s important because the JPG/PNG image formats are more widely accepted. At least, accepted by various programs that haven’t made the switch to WebP yet.
The first two browser extensions convert from WebP to PNG and JPG, respectively. The third converts from PNG/JPG to WebP.
"Until we solve AI Literacy, we are not going to see the value or adoption."
-Paul Roetzer, The Artificial Intelligence Show podcast
Mermaid Code
```mermaid
graph LR
E[4. Prompt Acronyms]
E --> E1[Prompt Structures]
E --> E2[Academic Prompt Architect]
E --> E3[Feynman Technique]
```
Mermaid Diagram
4 - Prompt Acronyms To Stimulate Your Thinking
Here are a few prompt acronyms (view | get a copy via Canva) that you may find helpful. Each of these is useful insomuch as it gets you thinking about how to structure a prompt. Let's take a look at the structure and components of these prompts, then ask ourselves, "How would I design a prompt that includes these elements?"
Before sharing those, let's take a look at the TCEA Prompt Guide Educator and rubric (get a copy) it is based off of. This can assist you in assessing your own (or my) prompts.
Notice the examples for each component reflect the ideal 3-point illustration of that component. However, a complete prompt will incorporate all of the components.
Refine Your Own Prompt
Go to the TCEA Prompt Guide Educator, and ask it to give you a prompt about a topic using one of the acronyms listed below. For example:
or
The Feynman Technique
The Feynman Technique is a powerful method for learning and understanding complex concepts by breaking them down into simpler terms.
Choose a concept
Explain the concept in simple terms
Identify gaps in your understanding
Simplify and use analogies
Instructions for the AI Chatbot
Assume the role of an expert educator. I'll provide a concept I want to learn.
First, explain this concept in simple terms as if teaching a beginner. Explain it to me as if I were a child with simple vocabulary and short sentences.
Then, identify and clarify any potential gaps or complex areas in your explanation.
Finally, simplify the concept further using relatable analogies or examples.
Throughout this process, use clear, jargon-free language. Begin by asking, "What concept would you like to explore?" and proceed only after I provide the topic.
Mermaid Code
```mermaid
graph LR
F[5. Long Prompts]
F --> F1[Megaprompts]
F --> F2[Context Inclusion]
F --> F3[Task Decomposition]
```
Mermaid Diagram
5 - Long Prompt (a.k.a. megaprompt) Creation Tips
With Claude.ai's Projects feature, as well as ChatGPT's Custom GPT, and to a lesser extent, any AI chatbot that accepts file attachments as prompts, you can use long prompts or megaprompts. These are instructions that are quite long but usually address three core components:
- Task
- Context with examples of desired output
- Specific instructions that direct the AI to do certain things, avoid certain words or approaches, adhere to a style guide, etc.
- Instructions on how the AI chatbot should interact with you as the user (which may or may not
Tools like Claude.ai's Projects and ChatGPT Custom GPTs make it easy to set up specific context that span short and/or long texts. How much context (e.g. PDFs, text files, images) depends on the AI tool you are using.
Claude.ai can hold the most content in its Projects. With ChatGPT Custom GPT, you can split up the jobs.
That computational thinking strategy of decomposition comes in handy. It simply means breaking big tasks into a series of steps.
"Claude is future-proofing our workforce. We're tackling daily challenges with more excitement and diving into AI-assisted collaboration."
-Luka Anic, Senior Director, North Highland
PreMade vs Open-Ended Prompts
When developing a prompt, I often try one of these metacognitive, interactive approaches:
- Rapid Spark. Ask yourself: "Do I need a quick prompt to kickstart my thoughts and generate initial ideas?"
- Process Mimic. Ask yourself: "Am I translating an existing workflow into an AI-powered process?" If so, document your usual steps, incorporate relevant examples (either from your work or created specifically), and test the prompt across multiple AI platforms to refine the results.
- Prompt Remix. Ask yourself: "Can I adapt an existing prompt to fit my current needs?"
Prompt:
Result:
As useful as premade prompts are, more adept users of AI tools will want increasing control over their creations. For example, consider this prompt written with the TCEA Prompt Engineering acronym (get a copy) in mind:
As a patient and energetic fifth-grade social studies teacher, generate a choice board activity to explain the significance of important landmarks, including the White House, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore, in accordance with Social Studies TEKS 5.16(D). The choice board should include a markdown table formatted with three columns and three rows. The center cell (B2) should have a catchy title. Include a mix of interactive, hands-on activities that can be done both online and offline. Ensure that activities reflect UDL 3.0 Design guidelines and ELPS for grades 4-5. Provide links to age-appropriate resources and videos.
Below is what an example of a table looks like in Markdown format:
| Choice Board: | Explore U.S. | Landmarks |
| ------------- | ------------- | ------------- |
| Cell A1 | Cell B1 | Cell C1 |
| Cell A2 | Cell B2 | Cell C2 |
| Cell A3 | Cell B3 | Cell C3 |
| Cell A4 | Cell B4 | Cell C4 |
| Cell A5 | Cell B5 | Cell C5 |
then copy and modify them to get the results you want.
"Crafting a megaprompt involves creating a detailed and structured set of instructions or questions that guide the AI to generate comprehensive and contextually relevant responses."
-Harry Pickens, AI Megaprompts for Coaching and Critical Thinking
Mermaid Code
```mermaid
graph LR
G[6. Assessing AI]
G --> G1[SHINE Framework]
G --> G2[Output Evaluation]
```
Mermaid Diagram
6 - Assessing AI: SHINE and Prompt Results
When I think about assessing AI, I ask myself two questions:
- Should I bring an AI tool into my current situation? (the answer might be, "Yes, but not until after you've thought through what you want it to do")
- How should I assess the AI outputs in response to my prompt or interactive prompts?
6a - Should I bring an AI tool into my classroom or organization?
6b - Assessing AI Output
"Critically evaluate all AI output for any possible biases that can skew the presented information. Avoid asking the AI tools to produce a list of sources, as they may generate false or nonexistent sources."
-University of Maryland
Mermaid Code
```mermaid
graph LR
H[7. Citing AI Content]
H --> H1[AI Archives]
H --> H2[Tool-specific Methods]
H --> H3[Conversation Preservation]
```
Mermaid Diagram
7 - Citing Your AI Generated Content
Best Overall
A.I. Archives. This is your best option if you use ChatGPT, Claude.ai, Google Gemini, or Meta AI
ChatGPT Specific
AI Prompt Genius. This Chrome/Chromium browser extension makes it easy to export (save) their conversations in a variety of formats.
ShareGPT. A browser extension, it tries to make exporting and sharing ChatGPT conversations. Export formats include images, PDFs, or shareable links.
Enhanced ChatGPT. This browser extension includes chat export and prompt templates, but more importantly, export current chat to Markdown.
Claude.ai Specific
Make a Copy of the Chat
Perma.cc (see screenshot below)
Joplin's Web Clipper (See result right)
"Whenever using information or ideas from any source, including AI, you need to include a citation. This allows readers to see and evaluate your information sources."
-University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Library
```mermaid
graph LR
A[AI Prompt Writing] --> B[1. TCEA ELEs]
A --> C[2. Prompt Management]
A --> D[3. Core Skills]
A --> E[4. Prompt Acronyms]
A --> F[5. Long Prompts]
A --> G[6. Assessing AI]
A --> H[7. Citing AI Content]
B --> B1[AI in Education]
B --> B2[Role-specific Expectations]
C --> C1[Storage Systems]
C --> C2[File Formats]
C --> C3[Browser Extensions]
D --> D1[Markdown]
D --> D2[Format Conversions]
D --> D3[Image Handling]
E --> E1[Prompt Structures]
E --> E2[Academic Prompt Architect]
E --> E3[Feynman Technique]
F --> F1[Megaprompts]
F --> F2[Context Inclusion]
F --> F3[Task Decomposition]
G --> G1[SHINE Framework]
G --> G2[Output Evaluation]
H --> H1[AI Archives]
H --> H2[Tool-specific Methods]
H --> H3[Conversation Preservation]
```
