20 How to use GAJIX to augment lessons for students who wish to delve deeper into a topic

Critical Media Literacy, or in the province I teach, Digital Literacy, is a concept that is becoming increasingly important. According to British Columbia’s Ministry of Education and Child Care, Digital Literacy (DL) is defined as:

… the interest, attitude, and ability of individuals to use digital technology and communication tools appropriately to access, manage, interpret, analyze, and evaluate information, construct new knowledge, and create and communicate with others. (Ministry of Education, & Child Care, N.D.)

The AI tool Gajix is designed to assist learners with many of the DL competencies mentioned in the definition above. As the tool has a simple interface and will display information on virtually any topic, even students with limited understanding of technology, can execute a search, and obtain results within a few seconds. The creators of Gajix have also placed limitations on the subjects that can be researched and have strived to ensure that results are safe and family friendly. In this way, students should only be receiving school appropriate information. All topics that are searched within a student’s account are saved, ensuring students have a record of the exact terms used when searching for information. This will allow students to manage their requests and see how changing prompt wording will result in a different response.

The power of Gajix truly lies in its ability to provide a wealth of information in response to a single-word topic request. Initially, students will receive a multi-point summary of their chosen topic, along with several potential follow-up questions. If a student has a specific purpose for their search, the tool will request the reason and explain how the results relate to their goal. Students can also pose their own questions about the program’s responses, and the program will generate a new response directly related to the student’s question. For those who wish to delve deeper into a topic, there’s an option where the program will add new, more specific  information to the summary.

Finally, Gajix offers a critical thinking component to the tool, allowing users to request ‘thought exercises’ based on their learning. Logical reasoning, lateral thinking, problem-solving, critical reading, and comprehension exercises are just a few examples of what the program can create upon request. The skills that students gain from these exercises are, and will continue to be, crucial for enhancing their intellectual capabilities and overall cognitive skills. These skills are valuable not only in academia but also in the professional world, equipping students with the tools needed to adapt, thrive, and excel in an ever-evolving and competitive landscape. (Halpern, 2014)

Affordances and Constraints

As with all AI tools, there are some positive features with Gajix, as well as, some negative features with the tool.

Affordances:

• User friendly.
• Simple interface.
• Available whenever students wish to gain more information.
• Allows students to ask questions about the returned information.
• Creates critical thinking exercises for students to complete using their newly gained knowledge.

Constraints:

• After 30-day free trial, monthly subscription fee of $7.99 required.
• As an AI tool, responses may contain erroneous information.
• No teacher oversight of the tool is available.
• If a student is not engaged, it is very easy for the student to ‘wander’ away from the topic.
• Unless specified in the topic request, responses written by Gajix are at an advanced level.

The Process

Go to the Gajix website. Once an account has been created and credit card information has been entered, a 30-day free trial of the program will be given.

Below is the home page of the website:

For this demonstration, I will select the ‘Take a Tour’ option.

One component of the website that was not mentioned in the tour is that after a ‘topic to learn’ about has been selected, a full syllabus is created. The syllabus is organized topically, and users can either read it in order, or skip to a section that interests them. See an example of a syllabus on the left-hand side of the image below: