Take 5: Pros and Cons

In our bimonthly Take 5 column, International Educator poses a thought-provoking prompt to five members of the NAFSA community. These international educators, who represent a diverse range of voices and perspectives, respond with their insights, recommendations, and personal reflections on the myriad themes and questions that are facing the field.

Choose a specific technology such as generative AI, chatbots, social media, or virtual learning. What’s one thing the technology is wonderful for? What’s its biggest downside?

Taya Carothers, Northwestern University
All of us use technology all day every day, and for me, it’s essential in my daily work across time zones and borders. I have learned to use generative AI quite regularly at work. After experimenting with this technology, I feel like I have a better grasp of why generative AI use is so debated right now.

It’s incredibly helpful for graphic and image generation, creating maps with pins in specific places, ensuring wording is accessible and concise, and in conducting data analysis. It’s saved time for me and my team on those tasks and others. What generative AI cannot do, however, is provide insights or a deeper understanding of the implications of the data, wording, or whatever you’ve asked it to review. This is what we humans should still do!

Myle Duong, IES Abroad
Social media is one of the best tools we have for making international education feel more accessible and attainable. It allows us to share authentic student stories and experiences in a way that is immediate