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Last updated on 8/19/24

Expand or Summarize a Text

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Let’s now look at other examples of expanding or summarizing texts.

Ask ChatGPT to Expand a Text

Sometimes, you might need to develop your ideas or expand a text to flesh it out and add further details. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Get hold of the text you want to expand, extend or flesh out. It might be a brief summary, an idea, or a concept that you want to develop a bit further.

  2. Log in to the ChatGPT interface and paste your text into the input area.

  3. Clearly tell ChatGPT what you want it to do. For example, you could write: “Develop this text with more details and examples” or “Expand this text into a full blog article.”

  4. Let ChatGPT do its thing! It will build on your text and add any relevant information, examples and additional details to flesh it out more fully.

Here’s an example where I provide the start of an article and ask ChatGPT to finish it off:

🧔🏻‍♂️: Could you expand the following text into a full blog article?

Title: Flipped learning methodology on OpenClassrooms

Not many people are aware that when we create a training course on OpenClassrooms, we follow a very precise methodology that we’ve refined over a number of years. It involves starting from a job role to observe what skills are being used every day, then thinking of projects that would test these skills, and finally, creating courses to prepare students to complete these projects. Essentially, instead of starting from the course, we start from the end point, which is the job role.

In this article, I’m going to explain how we do this. Let’s get started!

🤖:

Title: Unveiling the Flipped Learning Methodology on OpenClassrooms: Crafting Courses from Job Roles

Introduction:

OpenClassrooms, a renowned online education platform, boasts a unique and refined methodology in crafting its training programs – the Flipped Learning Methodology. Unlike traditional approaches, OpenClassrooms begins its course creation journey not from the starting point of the curriculum but rather from the end goal – the job role. In this article, we delve into the intricacies of this innovative methodology, shedding light on the process that has been honed over years of experience.

Understanding the Flipped Learning Methodology:

The Flipped Learning Methodology at OpenClassrooms takes a reverse approach to traditional curriculum development. Instead of crafting courses based on a predetermined curriculum, the process begins by scrutinizing specific job roles. The primary objective is to identify the skills essential for thriving in these roles on a day-to-day basis.

Observing Job Roles:

The first step in this unique methodology involves a meticulous examination of various job roles within a specific industry. OpenClassrooms aims to understand the intricacies of what it takes to succeed in these roles, focusing not just on theoretical knowledge but also on practical, real-world applications.

Identifying Essential Skills:

Once the job roles are thoroughly analyzed, the next crucial step is to pinpoint the key skills that professionals need to excel in their respective fields. These skills become the cornerstone of the curriculum, forming the basis for the entire learning experience.

Project-Centric Approach:

With the identified skills as a guide, OpenClassrooms adopts a project-centric approach. Instead of traditional lectures and assessments, students engage in real-world projects that simulate the challenges and demands of their future job roles. This hands-on experience not only reinforces theoretical concepts but also cultivates practical skills that are directly transferable to the workplace.

Crafting Courses Around Projects:

The heart of the Flipped Learning Methodology lies in the creation of courses centered around these practical projects. OpenClassrooms designs each course to prepare students to successfully complete the assigned projects, ensuring that the curriculum aligns seamlessly with the skills required in the job market.

Personalized Learning Paths:

Recognizing that every learner is unique, OpenClassrooms tailors its courses to accommodate various learning styles and paces. The platform provides a flexible and adaptive learning environment, allowing students to progress at their own speed while ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

Industry-Relevant Content:

To stay abreast of industry trends and changes, OpenClassrooms maintains a dynamic approach to course content. Regular updates and revisions ensure that students are equipped with the latest knowledge and skills demanded by the evolving job market.

Conclusion:

The Flipped Learning Methodology on OpenClassrooms represents a paradigm shift in online education. By starting from the endpoint – the job role – and working backward to craft courses around practical projects, OpenClassrooms ensures that its students not only acquire theoretical knowledge but also develop the skills essential for success in the professional world. This innovative approach, coupled with personalized learning paths and industry relevance, distinguishes OpenClassrooms as a trailblazer in the realm of online education. The Flipped Learning Methodology stands as a testament to the ongoing pursuit of quality education in the digital age.

Ask ChatGPT to Summarize a Text

We’ve all had to summarize a long text or article to make the content more accessible or just to save time. I’ve personally saved a whole lot of time by providing ChatGPT with long texts to summarize and it genuinely works really well.

To summarize a text using ChatGPT, here are the steps you need to follow:

  1. Get hold of the text you want to summarize. This might be a blog article, report or perhaps even a chapter from a book.

  2. Log in to the ChatGPT interface and paste your text into the input area

  3. Ask ChatGPT to summarize your text, remembering to add a clear instruction after the copied text. You could say “Summarize this text for me” or “Create a concise summary of this text.”

  4. Let the magic happen! ChatGPT will analyze your text and provide a well-structured, concise summary in just a few moments.

Here’s an example:

🧔🏻‍♂️: Could you please summarize the following text?

“Global warming is a major problem that has been affecting our planet for several decades. The main causes are human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, both of which result in an increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases retain the sun’s heat and cause the temperature on Earth to increase. The consequences of this phenomenon are many and varied, including a rise in sea levels, melting ice and disruption of ecosystems and meteorological conditions. To tackle climate change, we must reduce our energy consumption from fossil fuels, preserve our forests and promote sustainable practices.”

🤖: Global warming is a significant and long standing issue caused primarily by human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation, leading to heightened greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. These gases trap the sun's heat, elevating Earth's temperature. Consequences include rising sea levels, ice melting, and disruptions to ecosystems and weather patterns. Addressing climate change requires reducing fossil fuel consumption, preserving forests, and promoting sustainable practices.

In the early days of ChatGPT, there used to be a 4000-character limit to queries you can put to it. An error message would appear advising you that your message was too long. As of late 2023, that limit is no longer in place. So I asked ChatGPT what the new limit was. This was the response:

🤖: I don't have a strict character limit for queries, but there are practical considerations. Generally, I can process and respond to reasonably sized inputs within the capacity of the conversation context. However, excessively long queries might get truncated or receive incomplete responses. It's often more effective to ask questions or provide information in a clear and concise manner. If you have a specific question or topic you'd like assistance with, feel free to ask!

So perhaps hold off on asking for that summary of an unreadable text book—or board report… but the best way to find out is to warm up your typing fingers and see what works… and what doesn’t!

Try it for Yourself

Try it yourself exercise banner

Let’s imagine the following fictional scenario. You’re an online course author on the OpenClassrooms platform and you’ve just finished writing a course about managing conflicts. The learning designer who’s working with you points out that you’ve forgotten to add a “Let’s Recap” section at the end of each chapter, which is standard on the platform. To save time, you decide to hand this task over to ChatGPT.

For this exercise, we’re going to focus on a single chapter that we want to summarize. Write a prompt asking ChatGPT to create a summary of this chapter that conforms to the expected format for the “Let’s Recap” sections that appear at the end of each chapter in an OpenClassrooms course.

Then, compare your result with the current “Let’s Recap” section in the chapter that we wanted to summarize. Looking at the result, is it better? Worse? Why? Is anything missing from your prompt?

Tip: add some instructions concerning the number of bullet points to create, or how long they should be.

To develop this further, ask ChatGPT to create a summary sheet for the whole course, based on the “Let’s Recap” sections from all of the chapters.

Let’s Recap

  • ChatGPT can be used to summarize texts and expand ideas.

  • To summarize a text, copy it into the ChatGPT interface and ask for a concise summary. Check the quality of the summary, particularly the first few times.

  • If a text is too long, split it into parts and ask ChatGPT to summarize each part separately.

  • To expand a text, copy it into the ChatGPT interface and ask it to flesh it out with further details and examples.

At this stage, you should be starting to see how useful ChatGPT could be in your daily life. In the next chapter, we’re going to explore one of its other superpowers, and that’s translation. 

Example of certificate of achievement
Example of certificate of achievement