Collaborative Creative Writing in English with OpenAI Playground.

In this article, we will attempt to write a short story with OpenAI Playground. We kindly ask OpenAI Playground to be our ghostwriter for a short story about settlers in the USA. First, we politely ask if OpenAI would be our ghostwriter:

From now on I want you to pretend you are the author of a novel about the settlers in usa. You will be a ghostwriter for a novel I am writing. Acknowledge Yes or No.

Playground responds quickly with a "Yes," and we can begin. As a first step, we inquire about the setting: "Describe the world as the settlers started to arrive in America."
Our AI ghostwriter responds as follows:

The world the settlers arrived to was a vast and untamed land. The Great Plains spanned from the east to the west, and the Appalachian Mountains rose from the north to the south. The land was filled with wild animals and unpredictable weather patterns, and the settlers had to learn quickly how to navigate the landscape and survive the elements. The land was filled with opportunities, but also with danger and uncertainty. The settlers had to learn to work together to build homes and communities, and to cultivate the land for their families to prosper.

We also want to know the year the story is set and receive the answer: "The year is 1776."
Furthermore, we wish to learn more about the characters and ask: "Who are our main characters? Describe them." We receive the following character descriptions:

Our main characters are a family of settlers, the Smiths. The family consists of husband and wife, Robert and Rebecca, and their two children, Charles and Sarah. Robert and Rebecca are brave and determined pioneers, eager to start a new life in the New World. Charles is a bright and inquisitive young boy, while Sarah is a gentle and kind-hearted girl. The Smiths are determined to build a life for themselves and their children, despite the dangers and uncertainties they face in the New World.

To get an idea of the plot, we request some conflicts to drive the story forward: "We need a few conflicts to drive the history." The ghostwriter explains:

The Smiths face a few conflicts as they start their new life in the New World. One of the main conflicts is the threat of Native American attacks. The Smiths must learn to either befriend or defend themselves against the Native American tribes. Another conflict is the harshness of the wilderness. The Smiths must learn how to survive in an unpredictable landscape, and how to cultivate the land for their families' needs. Lastly, the Smiths must also learn how to coexist with their fellow settlers, as tensions can rise between competing groups of settlers.

We continue to explore the environment: "Describe the environment, the smells, the nature." The ghostwriter provides the following environmental description:

The environment of the New World is one of great beauty and diversity. The air is crisp and clean, and the scent of pine and earth fill the air. The Great Plains stretch endlessly, and the sky is filled with stars and an ever-changing landscape of clouds. The Appalachian Mountains tower above and provide a stunning backdrop, while the rivers and streams provide sustenance and adventure. Wildlife roams freely, and the fields and forests are filled with a variety of plants and flowers. The environment is both majestic and unpredictable, and the Smiths must learn to navigate it for their own safety and survival.

We could go on indefinitely, but now we ask for a summary of what we've discovered. We can employ various approaches to use OpenAI Playground constructively and effectively in education: "Summarize our ideas so far."

The Smiths are a family of settlers who arrive in the New World in 1776, eager to start a new life and build a future for themselves and their children. The environment is one of great beauty and diversity, with the air filled with the scent of pine and earth, and the landscape filled with stars and ever-changing clouds. However, the settlers must also face various conflicts, from Native American attacks to the harshness of the wilderness, as well as tensions between competing groups of settlers. The Smiths must learn to navigate this unpredictable and dangerous land in order to build a successful future.

We can employ various approaches to use OpenAI Playground constructively and effectively in education. One application of the program could be to provide students with a summary of a story like the one about the settlers in the USA and then ask them to develop the story into their own short story.

Another approach could involve asking students to use OpenAI Playground as a ghostwriter. At the same time, students would keep a log of what the program suggests and how they subsequently edit and rephrase the ghostwriter's drafts in their language.

Both of the above suggestions for using Playground will contribute to expanding students' vocabulary and aiding in idea generation for short story writing, especially the latter, which is a challenge for many high school students. There is educational potential in using OpenAI Playground; we must integrate this new technology into our teaching practices.