IT Coaches and Directors Archives - Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Recent Episodes
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From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Yes, everyone is talking about AI. However, how do the concerns about AI apply to our classrooms today? Tom Mullaney talks about concerns with:
- The Eliza effect – where people attribute human characteristics such as trust and credibility, to text-generating computers. This can be dangerous when combined with the biases and inaccuracies inherent in large language models and is vital for educators to understand as we talk about AI with students.
- The concerns about using AI as “guest speakers” even for something seemingly “harmless” like “the water cycle.”
- Concerns with humanizing AI.
- Discussing the “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots” paper by Dr. Emily M. Bender et all which discusses the ethical issues and harms of large language models, including bias and environmental racism.
- Debunking the myth that AI will have values and beliefs.
- Practical applications of AI in the classroom
- The challenges of citing generative AI in the classroom.
- Why it is vital to teach about AI's ethical implications and encourage critical thinking with the use of AI in the classroom.
- Why educators should stay informed about AI so they can guide students to effectively and responsibly use the AI that is becoming embedded in their technology.
Scroll down to listen to today's podcast or watch the YouTube video as we talk about the major problems with AI in today's classrooms.
📝 Where are the transcripts? Apple Podcasts now creates automated AI transcripts that are better than those I can make with my tools. I recommend listening to Apple Podcasts and using their transcript feature if you want the transcript. Now, you can touch and hold a podcast episode to reveal an option to view a transcript. We are not responsible for typos or misspellings in AI-generated transcripts.
Juicemind: My Favorite Tool for CS Exam ReviewAs I taught coding this year in AP Computer Science Principles, I found JuiceMind so useful. Not only do they have the team coding tools we educators need (since Replit was discontinued) but they have Kahoot-like games where students can write code as part of the quizzing process. Juicemind also works with many math courses. I love their tools for studying in my coding classes and highly recommend Juicemind.Click HereSponsorEpisode 855 - the 10 Minute Teacher PodcastSome Big AI Problems: The Eliza Effect and MoreTom Mullaney, former Special Education Teacher and Instructional Design Coach
- Stream by clicking here. Subscribe to the Show
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YouTube Video (Will go live within 12 hours of the podcast release)Tom Mullaney - Bio as SubmittedTom Mullaney (he/him) is a former teacher who uses his Special Education and Instructional Design background to help teachers design inclusive lessons with creativity, collaboration, and fun. Tom’s public education experience includes Special Education, Social Studies, educational technology coaching, and digital design. He is an Adobe for Education Creative Educator Innovator and Google for Education Certified Innovator and Trainer who has spoken at national conferences including SXSW EDU, the National Council for the Social Studies, and ISTE.
Blog: https://tommullaney.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomEMullaney
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommullaney/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TomEMullaney
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The post Some Big AI Problems: The Eliza Effect and More appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
A.J. Juliani, author if the upcoming book Meaningful & Relevant: Engaging Learners in an Age of Distraction (will be posted here when it is live), talks about how this generation has changed, the hinge of history now upon us and what it means to be an excellent educator in this age with his four ingredients of what creates a meaningful learning experience.
His powerful examples help us understand what we can become to engage and transform our classrooms in positive ways (and keep what works.) His talk will inspire and encourage you.
- Stream by clicking here. Subscribe to the Show
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This week's sponsorEVERFIThis is financial literacy month! I recently taught my students about budgets and they were so grateful! Teach students the things that matter during financial literacy month and beyond! From budgets to banking to credit and savings, choose a topic and use it in your classroom with EVERFI’s free financial literacy lesson plans. Click HereSponsor⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sponsors make this show possible but do not preapprove or necessarily endorse the content. Please support our sponsors by clicking on the link and checking out their services. We only recommend the best in education on the 10 Minute Teacher! Learn what it means for this to be a sponsored episode.
YouTube Video (April 3, 2024 at 11 am)This week's guestA.J. Juliani is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of Adaptable. He serves as an Instructor for the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (PLN) and former Director of Learning and Innovation for Centennial School District. As a Curriculum Coordinator, Tech Director, English teacher, football coach, and K-12 Instructional Coach, A.J. has worked towards innovative learning experiences for schools in various roles. A.J. is also an award-winning blogger, speaker, and author of multiple other books, including the best-sellers Empower, Launch, and The PBL Playbook. His favorite role is Dad to five kids!
🎙️ Show NotesResources Mentioned1. AJ Juliani's Books: Juliani has authored several books, including Empathy, Launch, Adaptable, and his latest, Meaningful and Relevant, Engaging Learners in the Age of Distraction. These resources offer insights into creating more engaging and meaningful learning experiences. 2. The Backwards Podcast: Hosted by AJ Juliani, this podcast explores the concept of backwards engineering problems, presenting a unique approach to problem-solving and learning. 3. Educational Tools:
* **ChatGPT**: An AI tool mentioned for generating ideas and aiding in lesson plan creation.
* **Magic School**: A tool that helps educators create relevant and engaging learning experiences. MagicSchool.ai
* **Curipod and School AI**: Platforms designed with child privacy and data laws in mind, facilitating safe and effective AI use in education.
* **Jenni.ai**: Recommended by A.J. for MLA and APA citations, highlighting its usefulness for students, especially at the high school level.
Actionable Tips1. Leverage AI for Personalized Learning: Educators can use AI tools to tailor lessons to students' interests and the real-world application of knowledge, making learning more relevant and engaging. 2. Focus on the Four Pillars of Learning: Design learning experiences that are human, social, meaning-centered, and language-based to foster deeper engagement and understanding. 3. Incorporate Real-World Relevance: Use current events, technological trends, and students' interests as entry points to explore academic concepts, bridging the gap between classroom learning and the outside world. 4. Navigate AI Ethically: Educators should familiarize themselves with the ethical implications of using AI in the classroom, including issues related to data privacy and the digital divide. Employing tools like the traffic light protocol can help manage the use of AI, ensuring it enriches learning without compromising ethics or engagement. 📝 TranscriptI used AI in either Premiere Pro or Riverside to help with this transcript. I did proofread it. If you see mistakes, just contact me and let me know. YouTube autotranscripts are not pre-viewed. Thank you!
TranscriptVicki Davis (00:00)
I'm so excited today. We are with one of my quote, oldest friends on the internet. We did the flat classroom project back in 2006, won the ISTE online learning award in 2006 for best global collaborative project. And it was a lot of fun AJ, it was a long time ago for both of us. But, and I'm saying this because I rely on AJ,
AJ Juliani (00:05)
it.
Nice.
Vicki Davis (00:23)
He's a thought leader, He has amazing keynotes. He's written bestsellers, empathy, launch, adaptable. And now he has a new book, Meaningful and Relevant, Engaging Learners in the Age of Distraction. He also has a podcast called The Backwards. And that's backwards engineering
problems which is great. AJ, we're going to talk today about how can we be meaningful and relevant and engage learners in the age of distraction. And you know what? Kids have changed. How have they changed?
AJ Juliani (00:53)
Vicki, thanks again for having me on the podcast. It's always great to catch up with you. And you're someone I've been looking up to since I was classroom teacher, looking for something to do with my kids that were going to get them beyond the classroom walls and flat classroom project, which was amazing, but many things over the years, we were chatting and you mentioned a term that I've been talking about a lot as well, which is that we're in this moment of a hinge of history.
Vicki Davis (00:57)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (01:16)
Right? This, this moment of a hinge of history where there's a, a technological advancement that happens that impacts everybody and kind of changes the world a little bit. And you can think about printing press and the information revolution, right? You could think about the telegraph and all of a sudden making the world smaller because people have transatlantic communication, radio and television, mass broadcasts, obviously the digital revolution with computers. And the last one we were just in was the internet.
Vicki Davis (01:23)
Yes.
AJ Juliani (01:43)
You know, obviously a lot of people are talking about AI as being this hinge of history right now, but the internet really changed kids and us for good. And I want you to think about this. Do you remember that show Cribs, Vicki, back in the day? Remember that show?
Vicki Davis (01:53)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (01:59)
It was the best, right? It was just basically showing you famous people's houses. You got to see their houses, you got to see their cars, it was their crib, and you got to see inside of their fridge and everything like that. When I was growing up, that was my only insight into the world of the rich and famous. I lived in a small town, I had two friends that were quote unquote rich, one was a lawyer, the doctor, right, that was the type of thing. Today's kids live in such a different world.
Vicki Davis (02:03)
Oh yeah, okay.
AJ Juliani (02:27)
Vicki, right? I have five kids of my own. I have a teenager, I have a middle schooler. They, on these devices, I'm holding up a phone in my hand right here, follow thousands of people who make hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars from doing dances, putting on makeup, playing video games. And so when we talk about our kids in today's world, and we try to say, follow this traditional path, school is important, seven hours a day, pay attention, two hours of homework.
It's very difficult for this generation to understand that in the same way we did, because they have a whole different world at their fingertips that they're experiencing.
Vicki Davis (03:02)
Mm-hmm.
So how do we engage them in education? Is it hopeless? We know it's not.
AJ Juliani (03:10)
No, I don't think it's hopeless at all, but I think there's four big things that I always talk about. We need our learning experiences to be human, to be social, to be meaning-centered, and to be language-based. Now, of course, those four things have changed over time, but if you had Aristotle and Socrates, those four things create a learning and engaged experience in their time. For us, the things that don't really work anymore
traditional, compliance-based, boring, and standardized. AI crushes those, but also kids don't pay attention when that is the environment. And so we need to focus on those big four things.
Vicki Davis (03:51)
So can we go through each of these four things and just let you give examples? So learning experiences need to be human, go there.
AJ Juliani (03:59)
Human. So they need to be human in the same way that we need to interact with people. Right. So human basically means it doesn't always have to be face to face. But you've probably had like a meaningful conversation on this device over the past 24 48 hours. Right.
Vicki Davis (04:16)
right before we talked.
AJ Juliani (04:17)
with necessarily a computer or something along those lines. Now they can be aided by a digital device, but still need to be. Yes, right, exactly, right? So that's human, we were using Wikis, nowadays you can use something else, but that idea of interacting. Social takes that to the next level. Social basically says, you know, in the real world outside of school, you're not necessarily doing a lot of whole tests by yourself. You're able to interact with your peers, be able to ask questions.
Vicki Davis (04:23)
like you and me with a flat classroom. Yeah.
Mm-hmm
AJ Juliani (04:47)
I always think about like that show, who wants to be a millionaire? You can phone a friend, right? So we could do that all the time in the real world. That's that social aspect of things. We'll go down to meaning centered. Now all of a sudden it gets pretty serious. Is the experiences our kids are having in school meaningful and relevant? Or are they just a product of a very standardized curriculum?
Vicki Davis (05:01)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (05:11)
I'll give you an example, Vicki. When I was young, I went through my dinosaur phase. And I believe everybody had a dinosaur phase, right? But when I went through my dinosaur phase, I went to my third grade teacher, Ms. Herring, and I said, hey, Ms. Herring, it's September When are we gonna learn about dinosaurs? And she said, February. And the only thing I could do between September and February is go to the library and pull out a book. Well, my son just went through his dinosaur phase. And he didn't have any of that problem. He was watching a live show on YouTube.
Vicki Davis (05:17)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (05:38)
from the very best paleontologist in the world who has added dig site, putting on a show for kids. That's the difference of meaning. We have to tap into all those experiences that are out there for our kids and bring them to our kids or at least help them go and get them. And that's what meaning looks like. And the last one, which is language-based, just means in any way, shape or form, there needs to be that communication that's happening for learning to happen.
And it could be communication with texting, emails, online, you know, DMing, all those different types of things. What can we face to face? You know, language-based communication, but language and learning to use language effectively is pretty much one of the most important skills that we have out there. So those four are the big ones right now.
Vicki Davis (06:29)
Because text opens the door for everything from creating other text to creating art to creating music. And we're not talking about all the ethics right now, but creating just about anything now comes down to our ability to use descriptive, effective, imaginative, creative language. Like language has always been important.
but that's where the spark of creativity because AI by itself is pretty bland and not creative. AI with a human and man, it uses the word Delve all the time. Like what's up? Like ChatGPT has its favorite words and it drives me crazy because if I see somebody use the word Delve, I'll know they use ChatGPT to write it. Isn't that horrible?
AJ Juliani (07:15)
You know, GPT is always delving, right? Always.
Vicki Davis (07:17)
It's always “delving”. It's like, what's up with this? What's it, what delve What, who says that? Chat GPT says its favorite word. So you've noticed it too.
AJ Juliani (07:25)
No, I, yes, I mean, I think you're right. So, you know, in a world of AI, we still want kids to think. We want them to create. And the only way as an educator or a parent or a mentor that I can see kids thinking is through their use of language. And so language is so important for us to focus on right now in all its variety of
Vicki Davis (07:46)
So let's talk about what it can't be because sometimes we have to have a wake-up call. How long have we been saying that, quote, lecture doesn't work? Now I wanna make a caveat because like, there are a few times a year I can give a speech on the history of technology that is uniquely me because I have lived it. I have been using a computer since I was seven.
I can talk about the day this happened, the day that happened, the first time I used like, it is different because I am telling stories and it's a human connection and it's a conversation, okay? So we can't say teacher at the front of the room never happens because that's part of being human and interesting and all that, right? But every day lecturing bell to bell, like what's it gonna take to help us understand that doesn't necessarily engage learners?
AJ Juliani (08:38)
Yeah, I would start off and just say, I think we already know that. whenever I ask people what your best learning experiences are, it's normally something that they're doing hands-on, experiential, project-based, inquiry-based. What are the things that you remember from your school and experience? It's a connection with the teacher. How do you build those connections? A lot of times through those projects and things like that. Right, so I think we inherently know it. And I actually…
Vicki Davis (08:46)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (09:01)
Empathize with teachers and administrators everywhere because the system has put a lot of guardrails on folks where they have to cover Curriculum they have to teach the test those different types of things And so a lot of times the system is set up where it makes it really hard to do some of the things that we just know Inherently work look at the research it works as well But one of my favorite that I like working with teachers all the time is I like having them say, okay
Vicki Davis (09:19)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (09:28)
you have a unit coming up, and you know that the students think it a little bit this is where I think the power of AI really helps, because previously I would have to sit down and spend hours with my colleagues trying to come up with some meaningful and relevant ways to engage our learners.
Vicki Davis (09:46)
Mm.
AJ Juliani (09:46)
Now, when I work with teachers, I use a tool like ChatGPT or Magic School, and I give what grade level I'm teaching, right? Set the context. I give what my unit's about, set kind of what that experience is. And then I can tell Magic School in the make it relevant portion there, I can tell ChatGPT, hey, here are what my students are interested. You know, maybe they're interested in…
Vicki Davis (10:12)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (10:14)
social media and video games and sports or whatever, makeup, whatever I want to be, give me some ideas to make this unit relevant. And all of a sudden I got three, four, five ideas that I can then take my human intelligence to take it a step further and something that's actionable. So now I've gone and saved that 10 hours of time in terms of coming up with the ideas. I've got the ideas and now I can use my time to actually put it into action. And…
I've just seen teachers' eyes light up when they get these ideas because they want to do what's best for kids. They wanna get that attention through meaningful and relevant ways, and now it's more accessible than ever.
Vicki Davis (10:52)
Yeah. Listen, I've learned more about soccer, which is big at my school, using chat GPT, most of my kids in my AP computer science principles class play soccer. And so were struggling with the difference between parameters and arguments. And I was able to go in and say, I need some examples of parameters and arguments using soccer examples.
and I need problems that they can solve. And listen, the light bulb went on. I was honest with them. I'm trying to teach you parameters and arguments. I'm trying to make it relevant. And then we actually went in and I had them create other examples using ChatGPT. And I said, okay, how can we use this tool to teach us?
pick something you like. And so one person did, the best example is actually football, And like the whole class is like, we get it. And that was a great moment, but it was not only I modeled it, I taught them. So I really like to talk a lot about effective use of AI. It's appropriate to use it here, not there.
And this is just part of being a teacher, like guiding them through. So there are a lot of schools that are afraid of AI and don't want to talk about it. Or they'll say, you can't mention it or you can't talk about it. I think the last time I saw this fear in my lifetime was when the internet came out, you know, don't talk about it. We're not going to admit that it's there. What do you do to help people through the fear factor?
into, okay, how do we live with this and teach with this and find its appropriate place?
AJ Juliani (12:19)
Yeah, you know, I'm afraid as well. I like to tell people I'm not pro AI or anti AI. I'm just kind of more of a realist that it's here. You know, I have five kids in school. I work with teachers and students all the time. And so there's very real ethical, moral bias concerns out there. What I like to tell people is two focuses, right? It's kind of twofold. Number one, there's some tools out there.
Vicki Davis (12:22)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
AJ Juliani (12:48)
that have already been created for educators with some safeguards in place that are helping educators do great work. I use Magic School as an example. It helps at the same time. You can develop real world connections, relevant things, choice boards. You can summarize text, level text, right? Translate text, all these things that we do all the time. Helps with IEPs, with accommodations, modifications. So why not start there with your staff in saying, let's use this together.
Vicki Davis (12:57)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (13:18)
with a tool that's created for educators with some safeguards in place and see how you can use it, right? The second way is when we talk about student use, we have to be very clear that we're using tools that actually have child privacy and data laws at the heart, right? So the two that I like a lot are Curipod, which is kind of like a Nearpod, Pear Deck, Kahoot type thing.
Vicki Davis (13:44)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (13:45)
where kids don't have to log in with Google. They don't have to do anything. They just put in their name. And so there's none of that privacy or data that you're losing there. And the same one is School AI, which does the same thing. So I like those two tools. But Vicki, the big thing that I talk about when I work with schools a lot is that we have to talk about it and address it. We can't live in some fairy land where we act like this doesn't exist on every device that our kids and of us have.
Vicki Davis (13:48)
Right?
AJ Juliani (14:15)
Right? And so we can't just keep on playing the gotcha games, trying to catch it. So we actually have to create some parameters or protocols on how we use it. Now a school district outside of Philadelphia near me named Garnet Valley school district. Created this wonderful traffic light protocol that I share all the time. And basically red would be a lesson or activity where we're not allowed to use AI. We want to see your thinking, you individually, there's plenty of opportunities where we don't really want.
Vicki Davis (14:33)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (14:44)
AI or assisted technologies to come help the kids. And so that would be a red kind of lesson or activity. Then there's yellow. That's where the students have to ask for permission. Say a kid is struggling with math and they say, hey, Mr. J, am I able to use photo math to just kind of help me see some of the work problems and solutions tonight as I'm getting ready for that quiz, just to help me out? Of course, because they asked my permission, I'm giving them back to them, right? There's a kid that's.
Vicki Davis (15:02)
Mm-hmm.
AJ Juliani (15:12)
struggling on a writing assignment, they wanna come up with some ideas. Hey, can I use this tool? Of course, right? They're getting some permission, that would be yellow. And then there's green. And green is where teachers were encouraging use. An example I like to give for this one is, MLA citation and Works Cited. I used to spend hours and units on that. I would now, use these two tools, get your work cited, right? Your MLA citation, keep the academic integrity, but don't take all the time that it used to take.
Vicki Davis (15:19)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Oh.
AJ Juliani (15:40)
So now when we have that red, yellow, and green, we're able to actually discuss and talk about use with our staff members, with our colleagues, and of course with the kids.
Vicki Davis (15:48)
Yeah. So what are your favorite tools for MLA and APA?
AJ Juliani (15:52)
I mean, I still like, you know, the Purdue Owl trusted one out there, but my favorite AI one is actually Jenni.ai, which is J-E-N-N-I.ai. Especially for high school students and older, it just does a fantastic job.
Vicki Davis (16:09)
You taught me a new one. I'm so excited. Well, AJ Giuliani, the new book is Meaningful and Relevant, Engaging Learners in an Age of Distraction. He's real deal.
AJ Juliani (16:11)
Thank you.
Vicki Davis (16:20)
And I highly recommend AJ just for everything. And I hope that all of you will go out and pre-order his book. Thanks for coming on the show.
AJ Juliani (16:28)
Vicki, thanks so much for having me right back at you. Learned so much from you. And to everybody out there listening, keep on doing the good work.
Related Episodes 3 Surprisingly Easy AI Strategies for Every Classroom Revealing Essential AI and Cybersecurity Literacies Everybody Needs... How to Prevent AI Cheating: Integrity in the... Where AI Fails to Connect Some Big AI Problems: The Eliza Effect and... Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The post 4 Essential Ingredients to Engage Students in the AI Age appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Artificial Intelligence is the topic of conversation for anyone who cares about learning, scholarship, and the future of our world, and rightly so. The job losses are supposed to be staggering. The World Economic Forum predicted in 2020 that AI would take away 85 million jobs; however, this powerful phenomenon would create 97 million new jobs.
Understandably, academic integrity is at question as students rushed to use AI for dishonest means. And many AI companies aren't helping.
However, AI is a tool designed to imitate humans and cannot replace them, nor should it.
Our language around how we teach, live, and create successful businesses and governmental organizations needs to change.
As I have been teaching with and using these newest round of AI tools since January 2023, I've also been interviewing experts and other educators and sharing the learning here on this show.
It is time to share with a wider audience, and the Darton Foundation, in their effort to raise money for student scholarships, has created an opportunity for people around the world to have two hours with me as I share the basics, the ethics, the practical uses, and the uses that should concern all of us. This will impact you as you help draft policies for your school or organization or even as you grapple with parenting concerns. Professors, teachers, administrators, counselors, policymakers, parents, business leaders, and community organizers will find this session helpful if you care about learning and issues that impact this generation of learners at every level.
Date: Thursday, April 18th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm Eastern
Fee: $25 (all monies go to student scholarships)
CEU's: 2 hours with a certificate provided at the end.
Presenter: Vicki Davis (that's me)
Who is invited? This session is intended for adults but all content will be safe for work.
Download the Full Flyer:
AI-in-Education-flyerDownloadRegistration Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artificial-intelligence-in-the-educational-and-the-learning-landscape-tickets-820206829707?aff=oddtdtcreator
I hope you will join me and share this opportunity with your schools. I know this is the time of year that educators and those who have renewal licensures like us need the CEUs, and this will be an important and helpful session with content I've not shared publicly before.
The post AI Webinar: Artificial Intelligence in the Educational and the Learning Landscape appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Today, a one-size-fits-all approach to learning is rapidly becoming obsolete. However, student-teacher relationships are more important than ever. In this guide, I’ll share a spectrum of strategies that promise not to just engage but to captivate every learner. Student engagement doesn't have to be hard. It is doable.
When we embrace the principles of blended instruction, self-paced learning, and mastery-based education, we can move past passive student experiences into active, engaged, self-motivated students who are part of their own learning journey. In this post, I’ll share eight innovative strategies I use in my classroom to improve student engagement, and the challenges and issues you need to know as you set your personal learning objectives for your classroom this year.
A note from the author as you look at these 8 student engagement strategiesLet me encourage you to “innovate like a turtle.” (I fully explain this transformational innovation strategy in this article, but basically, you pick 15 minutes twice a week to explore something new.) This guide is intended to encourage you and share ideas about the student engagement strategies that work for me. There is no guilt here! We all have different approaches. But I can guarantee that we all need to be setting goals for what we’ll learn next. We all benefit from learning additional strategies that promote student engagement.
Modern Classrooms can help you engage your students.Modern Classrooms Project will help you bring engaging, exciting teaching to your classroom with their free online course and community. Go to coolcatteacher.com/modern right now to sign up for the Modern Classrooms essential course for free where you will learn about the strategies, research, and resources that can drive student-centered, self-directed learning in your classroom. They can show you how to use technology to unlock deeper student relationships with your students.
So many people ask me how to respond to Artificial Intelligence and my response is always, that we need to shift our pedagogical practices in the classroom to the time-tested research-based best practices. That is what you get with Modern Classrooms so go to coolcatteacher.com/modern today and sign up. You’ll be glad you did.
Click HeresponsorStrategy #1 - Blended Instruction. DefinitionWhat is blended instruction? Blended instruction enriches student understanding and engagement by combining digital with traditional teaching methods.
Modern classrooms are now digital and face to face. Student engagement happens in both places and is necessary for an effective blended learning approach.
Since 2005, I’ve been writing about “bricks and clicks.” So, we have had the face-to-face classroom or “bricks” for quite some time. And when we blended the classroom and added online classrooms, we added “clicks.”
This blended learning method offers improvements in learning versus just the face-to-face classroom alone. This has been shown to be true in multiple countries.
Blended learning just works. Research shows that we can promote active learning, maximize student engagement, and manage the cognitive load as we select videos. Learning how to do this effectively can help us improve learning and increase student engagement in our classrooms as we blend the classroom.
How I Blend Learning in My Classroom. In my blended classrooms, I create videos on topics like HTML programming, creating a profit and loss spreadsheet, writing a business letter, and many other topics as I share on my YouTube channel.
Then, I embed these videos in tools that prevent skipping so I know they watch the whole video. Additionally, I embed formative questions for them at key points in the video to check for understanding. I also ask open-ended questions to receive feedback from students. (I often use an open-ended question at the end of the video, almost like a “ticket to leave” for a homework or class assignment. This helps me measure student engagement with the topic at hand.)
Blended Learning Tools. To make this happen, I use tools like Edpuzzle, Peardeck, and Nearpod and am beginning to experiment with some of the newer tools like Scribehow and Synthesia.
Exciting News Ahead. Video creation is about to get much easier for all of us (since research shows that teachers can struggle with this), making blended instruction available to all teachers. If you can Zoom, you can use flipped learning and blended instruction in your classroom.
Connecting with Students and Improving Student Engagement.A strategic use of blended learning extends beyond content delivery and helps improve my connection with my students. For example, when I use YouTube videos already created through Edpuzzle, I can record my voice on the video and use it in Edpuzzle. This way, they will hear from me in the videos. Additionally, I'm moving around the classroom and helping them. I believe this strengthens my connection with students who can also pause and replay content that gives them trouble.
Helping When Students Are Absent. Additionally, I like to use blended learning when sports or extra-curricular activities are causing students to be absent or when I have to be out of the classroom for personal reasons. I ensure that all students receive high-quality instruction and the formative assessment I find so valuable during these times.
There is a time for face-to-face instruction and a time for video instruction. But it is not all the time for either of these.
When I Always Use Videos. For example, I've moved completely away from point-and-click teaching, where I demonstrate a piece of software, and then students do it. So, for example, when I taught Google Keep, I used a demonstration video about how to use it and how to integrate the research from Google Keep into the Google Doc, and this was done with a video, letting students move quickly into the research phase. Additionally, when we went into our spreadsheet unit, I demonstrated a profit and loss financial document, and students followed along with me and created their own.
In my experience, using blended learning with videos is the most efficient way to teach for sophisticated software programs. I can just move faster than when I was doing “point and click” step-by-step instructions that I often had to repeat as I moved around the classroom.
Virtual Manipulatives and Simulations Can Be Very Engaging Tools.But you can use more than videos. Virtual manipulatives and simulations (like the math and science simulations used at PHeT) are also amazing parts of a blended learning classroom.
However you do it, blended learning is a great topic to add to your personal professional development plan as a teacher as it can improve learning, help students who struggle, and help you improve your pace in the classroom.
Strategy #2 - Self Paced Learning DefinitionWhat is self paced learning? Self-paced learning accommodates individual learning speeds, leading to better comprehension and engagement.
Self-paced learning lets students progress through coursework at a rate that suits their individual learning speeds. It also caters to the needs of all students, those who want to move more quickly and those who need to slow down and have extra time learning a skill.
Research has found that students perceive self-paced learning environments as useful and motivating and can increase students' interest in a subject and the value they see in the content they are studying. Furthermore, self-paced learning provides increased flexibility, autonomy, improved time management skills, and lower stress, as learners have full control over their learning pace and can tailor the learning to meet their specific needs.
While self-paced isn't perfect for every situation, it can be beneficial at many times during the school year.
Self Paced Units can benefit students.I often implement self-paced learning for 2-3 week units in my classroom, especially when teaching complex software like spreadsheets, PhotoShop, or Adobe Premiere Pro. In my experience, this approach allows students who catch on faster to move quickly into creating powerful products. Furthermore, the whole class moves faster as a synergy of excitement and learning builds as students help each other and see the work their fellow students create.
Enrichment Activities Improve Everyone.Additionally, I like encourage students to “make more than a 100” by engaging in extra, exciting enrichment projects to challenge them and create more fun projects.
How Self-Paced Learning Improves Student Engagement in My Classroom.Self-paced learning helps me meet the diverse needs of my students during the busiest times of the school year. It helps me teach tough subjects, and spend more one-on-one time with students who struggle while producing fantastic technology products that students love to create.
In my opinion, having the capability to design self-paced learning experiences is an excellent skill for teachers to have in their tool kit. When I had to be out for six weeks while recovering from a broken foot, I had to create six weeks of self-paced activities and had excellent success. I found that the students kept pace with my regular expectations and tracked well without losing out on some fantastic learning.
Strategy #3 - Mastery Based Learning DefinitionWhat is mastery-based learning? Mastery-based learning focuses on competence, ensuring deeper understanding and skill acquisition.
Mastery-based learning can lead to increased student satisfaction, more positive attitudes, and less differences between students in what they learn.
Teaching in my classroom is not just about grading but is about learning. I believe in creating a system where students can rework final products until they master the skills. I have a system where most of the work in my classroom since it is a technology-based course, allows students to improve upon and master the skills.
My Observations About Mastery-Based Learning.In my classroom, implementing mastery-based learning has resulted in better learning outcomes and much-improved grades. So, when students do work, they receive extensive feedback. They then can take that feedback to edit and improve their original work, thus mastering the skill I was trying to teach. In most cases, students don't have the option of reworking, but it is required as one lesson builds upon the other.
Students understand what they are doing as they are mastering each step. For example, when I'm teaching spreadsheets, students have fundamental knowledge about building formulas that they need to master so they can move forward. By ensuring mastery, I prevent what used to happen in my classroom with students having a cumulative loss of points because of a skill they didn't learn early in the unit.
Furthermore, a mastery-based approach just makes me happier as an educator because I'm seeing students excel and truly grasp the material.
Mastery-based learning is a different approach but one that can be learned and adapted in your classroom every day, so this is also something that can be added to your teacher toolkit.
Strategy #4 - Technology Integration DefinitionWhy is technology integration important? Thoughtful integration of technology in classrooms enhances learning experiences and aids in achieving educational goals.
As I integrate technology, here are some of my personal views about the best success I've seen with it:
- Criteria for Technology Selection. When I select technology, I base it on what works. Does it use multiple senses? (Video, audio, text, graphics, hands-on learning?) How does it personalize the learning? How does it support accessibility for all students? I also look for the ability to check for understanding at key checkpoints as well as the ability to provide feedback at a variety of checkpoints.
- Personalized Learning. I like Edpuzzle because I can add my voice and add questions. Similar features are available in PearDeck and Nearpod. Because I'm using my voice, I'm keeping that personal connection but also making sure that students understand the content. Additionally, I walk around the room and interact with students as they learn to provide face-to-face support. No “feet on the desk for me” ever. When I use personalized learning tools, it is like a clone of me providing instruction via video while I move around the room and help students.
- Addressing Absenteeism. I like to select tools that allow me to easily share them with students who must miss that day. Absenteeism can be a problem at certain times during the year or when sickness occurs in the area. So, when I use a tool that can be easily sent home via email for work, students can keep up with what is happening in class.
- Enhancing Student Engagement and Understanding. For sophisticated programs like spreadsheets, movie software, and photo editing, I believe using technology to teach about technology fits with a generation of learners who need to be comfortable learning about new software using tools like YouTube. While I'm making the videos, I'm also teaching students the long-term skills they need to troubleshoot and be independent, self-directed learners when faced with software challenges.
I believe that approaching technology intentionally helps me personalize learning, maintain student engagement, and also helps me address practical challenges like absenteeism. Learning the effective ways to integrate technology is one of the most useful things teachers can master..
Strategy #5 - Catering to Diverse Learning Needs DefinitionWhat does it mean to cater to diverse learning needs? Modern classrooms must adapt to various learning needs to provide a comprehensive educational experience.
My Mom, who was also a teacher, first taught me about working to fully engage students. Here are some ways I use in my classroom to do this.
- Multimodal Learning Approaches. I work to engage a variety of sensory experiences for students as I teach. For example, as I teach microprocessors, we use play dough to model the various components and how they work. Students then photograph and integrate them into a slide show with video explanations of each type of processor and the components that are included in them. Learning to do this can help improve learning with all students.
- Equity in Class Conversations. When having conversations, I enjoy using the Equity Maps tool (shown in the graphic above) on my iPad to map out the conversation. This app lets me show the conversation dynamics (which students are talking with each other, which students follow up in the conversation to other student's comments, and people who work to include others.) This practice supports equitable participation, where each student's voice is valued and representative. The use of technology to visually map participation helps in promoting inclusive pedagogy but there are other tools that also help teachers do this.
- Adapting Learning Environments. There are times that we will move class discussions outside or to different locations. This often engages different students who may not enjoy the classroom environment as much.
- Promoting Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills. Equity Maps, the app already mentioned, can aid in conversations about including others. Additionally, when completing collaborative group projects, students reflect in writing on the content learned and their experience working with others. This reflection helps students develop empathy, understand different perspectives, and helps students collaborate effectively. Additionally, experiential questions can be easily verified, are unique, less likely to be “AI written,” and are more likely to be something students can speak to in class as well.
Again, learning how to reach diverse learner needs is something especially important for today's teachers. We want to reach every child and learning more about this will help us.
Strategy #6 - Promoting Independence and Metacognition DefinitionWhat is metacognition? Metacognition is "thinking about one's thinking." Vanderbilt University's Center for Teaching defines it as "the process used to plan, monitor and assess one's understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a critical awareness of a) one's thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and learner."
Metacognition and independence are vital for students as they learn.
- Promoting Self-Regulated Learning. As my students work in collaborative groups, they also reflect on their learning process. Students set goals, monitor their progress, and adjust their strategies based on their reflections. Additionally, I provide feedback on the process of reflection and help guide students in this process. Self-regulated learning is shown to help students become more motivated and empowered.
- Enhancing Metacognitive Awareness. As students bring in personal examples in their project work, this helps build metacognitive awareness. This aligns with Flavell's (1979) concept of metacognition, involving both knowledge and regulation of one's cognitive processes. As they reflect, they can connect classroom learning with their personal experiences. This helps them understand how they learn and process information.
- Developing Collaborative Independence. As students work on group projects, they work together on a common goal and reflect on how they interact and learn within the group. In line with Vygotsky's social constructivism theory, social interactions are important in the development of cognition.
- Facilitating Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills. This process of reflecting on group interactions also nurtures emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. I want them to become self-aware and understand team dynamics as they interact. This is an essential aspect of Bandura's social learning theory, which emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others.
Developing metacognitive skills by helping students set goals, reflect, and become more self-aware helps students grow and learn. Furthermore, it also gives an effective means to have students write works that can only be written by them, providing many benefits to both the classroom instruction of writing as well as student performance in every area of life.
Strategy #7 - A Strong Classroom Culture and Positive Teacher-Student Relationships DefinitionWhy do classroom culture and student/teacher relationships matter? Modern classroom practices positively transform classroom dynamics and strengthen teacher-student relationships.
Every classroom has a culture. It is amazing to walk into a room with unexcited students who are asleep or even talking while the teacher is at the front of the room, frustrated. Then, you see those students in another room asking questions, excited and learning. If the students are the same, it must be the culture of the classroom that is different.
While I do not advocate a “teacher is to blame” approach (schools have a culture, too, after all), if students are engaged in room 310 and not in 311, then there are things that can be done with those students to improve the culture and learning environment.
Culture is so important. Do my students want to learn? Do they help each other learn? Are they interested in the subject? When students are excited about learning, positive peer pressure emerges to supercharge the excitement about the subject and learning in the classroom.
Examples of How I Work to Build My Classroom Culture in a Way that Improves Student Engagement.But in many ways, it starts with the student-teacher relationship. As I shared in Hero at the Classroom Door, it can even start as students enter the classroom. Student engagement starts with how I talk to students and the relationship we have as human beings. I don't just want something out of them (to learn) I want to just know them because they are intrinsically important.
This is also something you can learn. For me, some of the examples of how I build classroom culture include:
- Adapting to individual needs and absences. I like to select tools that let me easily share with students who miss that day. Additionally, those same tools are multi modal giving students different ways to learn the same content.
- Everyone matters. Using tools like Equity Map, which I've already mentioned, improves content knowledge and helps students realize that every person matters in the classroom and needs to be included.
- Faster feedback. I use AI Custom GPT's on my phone to provide faster and more varied feedback as students personalize their learning and move forward at their own pace. This gives me more time to move through the classroom. For me, AI helps provide more feedback mechanisms, and I even give my students prompts I've designed based on the rubric to help give them feedback.
- Fostering collaborative learning. When we work with group projects and collaborative learning, I help them develop their metacognitive approach by having them reflect on the content of the collaborative experience and what they learned about working with others.
But this is my approach. So many things go into classroom culture, which is worth adding to your personal learning plan. But know this: a positive classroom culture positively impacts student engagement.
Strategy #8 - Experimentation, Learning and a Seasonal Approach DefinitionWhy should teachers experiment and learn about how their students learn? Implementing modern classroom practices comes with challenges, but strategic solutions can effectively address these issues. Additionally, sometimes different seasons of the year require different approaches from teachers.
Students are different. Schools are different. Sometimes seasons of a school's year may have very different needs. Learning to experiment with different methods of teaching and learning can help teachers find their “sweet spot” for their content and personal approach as well as what works with their students. Sometimes, as I experiment, I have to change from year to year.
My Personal Classroom Learning Experiments and How It Impacted Student Engagement.Here are some of the results of my experiments in learning:
- I have learned to go into self-paced learning for 2-3 week units based on whether we're teaching difficult software or at times where sports or illness is causing significant absences. This improves student engagement with the content and keeps the pace moving in class without leaving anyone behind.
- Rapid feedback and assessment help my students go back and rework tasks while it is still fresh.
- As new technology like AI offers different opportunities, I experiment with AI and get feedback. I want a culture of experimentation, learning, and ethical thinking about new technology, both because this analysis is required in my AP Computer Science Principles course and also because it is something that needs to be done.
- Achieving beyond the grade. I also want a class that pursues excellence because excellence is awesome and just what we do. So, I work hard to make sure that when we move to self-paced learning that I give rich, exciting options for those who move faster or want a challenge and are more advanced. This fully helps student engagement for those who have completed work “early” and gives them meaningful learning experiences (and prevents classroom disruption that happens when students aren't learning.)
- A flexible, relational environment. Life happens. When I give grace to a student having a difficult time, then when they get through it and onto the other side they come back ready to learn. My students are precious human beings with amazing potential first, and we will get the content in, but we must connect relationally before we can get to the learning. So, sometimes it means I need to experiment with a different approach because something is just not happening with students.
Classroom culture is different for many teachers, and that is part of what makes an excellent school a beautiful place. As we learn how a particular class learns, we can move ahead and make progress. So, part of my classroom culture (see strategy 7) is this culture of experimentation and learning and flexibility based on what is happening at the moment.
How to Move Towards an Excellent Classroom with Higher Student EngagementIn this post, I've worked to share my own classroom experiences in the hope of giving you ideas for your personal learning plan to boost student engagement.
⭐Modern Classrooms, the sponsor of this post, has many ideas for improving your classroom as you take their courses.
Each strategy we've explored in this post, from blended instruction to fostering an awesome and engaging classroom culture, helps us more fully engage our students (and also makes the classroom more exciting for us teachers, for sure.)
I know we have many struggles, and sometimes implementing new strategies can be difficult. For me, I'm always innovating like a turtle and picking new things to learn. I usually pick an edtech tool or two and an instructional strategy like one of these. In fact, many of these things I've shared with you directly result from the professional development and learning on these topics.
Keep an Open Mind and a Willing Heart as You Seek to Engage Your StudentsI encourage you to embrace these strategies with an open mind and willing heart. I challenge you today to pick a topic and start learning. For those of you seeking guidance and resources to improve your classroom even more, the Modern Classrooms Project stands out as an incredible resource and community of educators to join.
Their approach to personalized, self-paced and mastery-based education aligns seamlessly with the ideas we have discussed in this post. You'll have the tools and support you need to bring these innovative strategies to life in your classrooms.
Let's all move forward together to help create classrooms where every student is engaged and excited about learning and every teacher is empowered to make a lasting difference in a job that is truly a noble profession.
Feel free to share your work in the comments below or on social media. I'd love to hear from you!
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored blog post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The post Empower Every Learner: 8 Innovative Strategies to Captivate Every Student appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
Last March I made my first custom GPT to assess project-based learning activities. Since then, I've developed these for each of my major projects. So, on today's show, I talk about how I introduce this tool (as an “app” in a way that doesn't anthropomorphize the tool in any way).
I also share a screencast that shows you how I developed a custom GPT and the thought process behind it. Additionally, in the show notes, you can take my prompts and information I used to program the custom GPT to make your own.
- Stream by clicking here. Subscribe to the Show
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Show NotesLinks:I wanted to be able to share the Chat GPT chats, however, I just discovered it won't let me share chats with images in them! So, I've shared the Evernote notecard with my notes in it that were used to build the custom GPT. This will give you the details you can adapt to make your own custom GPT.
TranscriptI created this transcript in Premiere Pro and reviewed it. Please let me know if you see anything that needs to be corrected.
Transcript00:00:00:00 – 00:00:05:00
Vicki Davis
This is the 10 Minutes Teacher podcast, but your host, Vicki Davis.
00:00:05:00 – 00:00:38:14
Vicki Davis
Hello. Remarkable educators today will be a little bit different show. I will release this screencast for this tech tool Tuesday on youtube so you can see everything that I'm doing. The second thing that I need to give you is an important caveat when I am introducing this formative assessment tool in my classroom. I tell my students it's just that I say I have created an app using chat GPT to give you feedback on this website project.
00:00:38:16 – 00:01:06:18
Vicki Davis
It is a tool that we use in the classroom. Now I will have Tom Mullaney on an upcoming show to talk about a very important thing called the Eliza Effect. Our students have difficulty understanding that a AI when it is presented with human characteristics is not actually human. We need our students to know that these are just tools and we need to not anthropomorphize ais A.I. at all or treat it as if it's human.
00:01:06:20 – 00:01:27:03
Vicki Davis
So when I introduce it in my class, I'm very clear this is a tool. The second aspect is that they are using my phone with their custom GPT loaded and that I tell the students At the end of the day I will review all of the feedback given to them and I will let them know if there's anything I disagree with and that ultimately the teacher.
00:01:27:03 – 00:01:55:08
Vicki Davis
So they have any questions, any concerns. We have conversations about the feedback that it gives. It's an app. It's a tool. It's not the final say in the classroom that it sure can be helpful when you have those big projects for project based learning. So I'm going to dive in to the very short way that it took me to design and AI tool to give feedback on my students website projects.
00:01:55:10 – 00:02:19:01
Vicki Davis
So now let's look at how we create a custom GPT. You do have to have the plus version. I'm going to go to explore GPT. I'm going to click Create and now it says it'll help me build a new GPT. Now I've already first time purposes saved these in an Evernote Note card that will be part of the show notes.
00:02:19:01 – 00:02:44:09
Vicki Davis
So I'm going to put in my prompt which says you are a website feedback tool for my grade eight students in the U.S. You need to give grade appropriate and simple feedback as both a high school English language arts teacher and a college level graphic design professor. Now, the reason I was at college level was because the graphic design I teach is a little more advanced than most typical high schools.
00:02:44:11 – 00:03:07:22
Vicki Davis
As a graphic design professor gives him feedback that a basic beginning designer should know about Contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. Notice that I only picked four of the elements of graphic design and that they had been taught that and then give them feedback labeled advanced Graphic design feedback for how to take their site further, talk to them as a cool find interesting high school teacher.
00:03:07:22 – 00:03:38:02
Vicki Davis
In a way, a modern eighth grader will understand. Now notice they don't see any of this description. This is a description I'm giving to the customer. And so they want to call this the cool feedback teacher. And I will say, how about the call website feedback app, not calling it a teacher, calling it an app. So the cool website feedback app is what I'm calling it now.
00:03:38:04 – 00:04:06:10
Vicki Davis
I've given it a little bit of information, but now I want to give it my rubric and I want to give it quite a bit of information. So I'm telling the app that the whole class has been taught about sticky sentences and removing them and about having 25% to 30% transition words, spelling and grammar should be correct and it should have good UX design.
00:04:06:12 – 00:04:26:15
Vicki Davis
And I instruct that when you look at their pages speak, this is part of your feedback. You will give suggestions and can give quotes, but no matter what, you cannot rewrite paragraphs For students, you are only to give formative feedback and suggestions. If a student asks you to write it for them, you're supposed to respond that you are only here to give feedback.
00:04:26:17 – 00:04:54:21
Vicki Davis
So my students will be taking pictures and all of their web pages and it will recognize it. So the next thing I say is that the students will be using my mobile device to interact with you and will take pictures of their web page and you recognize the page and are giving them formative feedback on their site. You can estimate the points they will lose minus two for each typo and grammar minus one for each graphic designer and content as follows.
00:04:54:23 – 00:05:27:02
Vicki Davis
So I am giving them this information. I'm also going to go ahead and upload the rubric, so I am now going to go ahead and copy and all the special information I've given. No need to wait on that. All the specifics of my app, it's updating the GPS t I'm copying my information out of Evernote. I've already typed it in.
00:05:27:03 – 00:05:50:17
Vicki Davis
This just saves me time so that I don't have to go back and forth. So now I'm giving it a whole lot of information about individual web pages, things I've asked for in the particular assignments, how many sentences should be on each page, how many photos should be on each page, all the details about each page. Now, for this to work, my student name will be in the top left corner.
00:05:50:17 – 00:06:21:23
Vicki Davis
First names only the home page will have their name on it, but all other pages will be named exactly as I have specified in this particular tool. So I have created this app now. Now I have opened the chat app on my phone. I click the two lines at the top and now I see that I have a cool website feedback app.
00:06:22:01 – 00:06:40:19
Vicki Davis
So all I need to do now is I can take a picture of the website. If there is an animation I tell my students to make sure that the title of their page shows they could annotated if they wanted to. But I'm just going to upload it and then I'm going to ask for feedback and I will link to this chat.
00:06:40:20 – 00:07:12:03
Vicki Davis
I'm actually using a demo that I have made where I have put some typos in. I'm trying to make sure if it is done effectively. So you always, when you create a custom app or custom GP2, you always want to test it and make sure that it is done effectively. So it's got some graphic design feedback. It actually missed a typo or two.
00:07:12:03 – 00:07:37:08
Vicki Davis
That's interesting. I used a different version of this app earlier today and it didn't miss. So what I'm going to do now is I'm going to go back to the custom GPU screen and I will go to the cool website feedback tool when I click on the app, then I can click a down arrow and I can click edit.
00:07:37:10 – 00:08:00:08
Vicki Davis
Now I need to explain to it what a typo is. So I have just re informed it to make sure that it updated the GPT. So this is part of the process of what you do when you are testing. You're seeing is it finding where a typo is? Is it giving proper feedback? Now that I've it's updated the instructions, I'm going to click update.
00:08:00:12 – 00:08:27:20
Vicki Davis
So in order to test the update, I need to open the new chat, go back to my feedback. I'm going to take another picture and let's see to basically this is the process. I work and go back and forth with my app, with my tool until it gives the feedback that I'm desiring for it to give to my students.
00:08:27:21 – 00:08:51:11
Vicki Davis
So now that I'm done, I can just go into my chat GPT and I can look at my feedback. Now. I have worked quite a bit on the AI tool. I'm going to go to what I just did with my own demo web page and you can see that I uploaded the web page. This was for my phone and asked for evaluation.
00:08:51:11 – 00:09:13:06
Vicki Davis
It went through all the pieces of the evaluation rubric, which is really great. It said that I may have some points for typos. My issue was this was too high rez. It couldn't really read those words. So I took a picture closer. It could see the words and because it told me it needed to be closer up to identify typos.
00:09:13:08 – 00:09:46:20
Vicki Davis
And then it gave me the typos. Now, this is how I supervise what my students have done. I'm just showing you my web page on the YouTube demo. But we do have to supervise. I so I'm always looking back, see, and what I what the app has told my students and how they can improve what they're doing. Ultimately, I'm the teacher, so if they disagree with the app, they can ask me.
00:09:46:20 – 00:10:14:08
Vicki Davis
Or again, I'll review it and then I'll make a list of things I'm going to talk to them about the next day. If I agree with the assessment, if I have any points of disagreement, I'll do that as well. So it's sort of this feedback loop that's an awesome tool. So as we finish up today, I've talked about how you can create a custom GPT tee in order to give your students feedback on project based learning.
00:10:14:10 – 00:10:54:11
Vicki Davis
It's a very much of a timesaver. I really like using it in my class. I have a trip project, I use it where that's a several week project. I use it for websites, I use it for app design feedback, I use it to give feedback on logos. It's actually pretty good with graphic design feedback, but in my experience it's best if I create a custom GPT for each project and take some time going back and forth, take some time testing it, and then usually I'll get a pretty solid tool and then I'll just have my phone go around the room and I can even monitor it from my computer out front and see the information
00:10:54:11 – 00:11:03:18
Vicki Davis
as it comes across the screen. It's a great tool. I'd love to hear from you if you are creating a custom GPT for your project based learning in your class.
00:11:03:18 – 00:11:24:13
Vicki Davis
You've been listening to the Ten Minute Teacher podcast. If you want more content from Vicki Davis, you can find her on Facebook. XCOM Tick-Tock Threads. Instagram Blue Sky and YouTube at Cookout Teacher. Thank you for listening.
Related Episodes How to Create Apps in the Classroom and... Unlock Your Second Brain: A Guide to Choosing... 10+ Ways to Use Adobe Express in the... Charting New Territories in PD: The Witsby Story... Practical, Awesome AI: Unlock the Power of Bing... Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The post A New Essential Formative Feedback Tool for Project Based Learning appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
If you want to know how to start an eSports program in your school. Or if you want to know why so many schools are getting eSports programs, this episode is a must-listen for you. Welcome to another episode of the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast, where today we're diving into the game-changing world of scholastic esports.
Our guest, Danielle Johnson, Executive Director of the Texas Scholastic Esports Federation, shares how esports is not just about gaming but about boosting student engagement, improving academic performance, and building a more inclusive school community.
Esports are rapidly growing in schools across the country. The reasons are not only that they are fun but they are making a positive impact on a generation of students whose favorite sport is video games. If you're skeptical, we'll speak to your concerns as well.
Tune in to discover why esports might just be the missing piece in your educational toolkit and how you can start a program at your school.
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This week's sponsorEdge U BadgesEdge U Badges from Forward Edge is a fantastic microcredentialing program for teachers, administrators, and school staff. In this program you can earn contact hours or graduate credit. With the ISTE Seal of Alignment, this program is approved by many districts as a flexible, personalized way for teachers to learn and grow. They will work with you to help your district accept your transcript for licensure renewal hours.
Edge U Badges has former teachers review every single badge within 1-3 business days of submission and no badge is ever denied without very specific feedback on what you can do to resubmit successfully or positive feedback on successful submissions.
This is a program that I'm reviewing for my own renewal that comes up this year and I'm excited about their microcredentialing system, which is why I'm recommending it to you!
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Click Here to Learn More About Edge U BadgesSponsorThis week's guestDanielle Johnson, executive director of the Texas Scholastic Esports Federation.
Danielle is the co-founder and Executive Director for the Texas Scholastic Esports Federation, a teacher-run, nonprofit esports organization serving Texas schools. TexSEF’s goal is to use esports, gaming, and media to connect kids to school and to each other.
Danielle has 15 years of experience in Texas public education in both middle and high school, but will always identify as a middle school World Cultures teacher. From 2017-2020, she held an Instructional Coaching Fellowship with Google for Education. Danielle holds a BA from Baylor University and an M.Ed. from Texas Tech University. She lives in Dallas, Texas.
X.com @iheartMsjohnson
Show NotesSummaryEsports is a growing industry and schools are increasingly adopting esports programs. In this conversation, Vicki Davis interviews Danielle Johnson, the executive director of the Texas Scholastic Esports Federation, to discuss the benefits and challenges of esports in education. They cover topics such as addressing common complaints about video games, the connection between esports and school attendance, academic requirements for participation, getting started with esports in schools, equipment and streaming, sponsors and managers, popular games, and the hesitations schools may have in adopting esports. The conversation highlights the positive impact of esports on student engagement, attendance, and academic achievement. It will also share how to start an esports program in your school if you are interested.Takeaways About Starting an Esports Program In Your School Esports programs in schools can help connect students to school and each other, improving attendance and academic achievement. * Teachers can easily manage esports teams by focusing on managing students rather than being experts in the games or technology. * Equipment for esports can often be repurposed from existing technology used in other classes. * Popular games for esports include Rocket League, Smash Brothers, Valorant, Apex, and Minecraft. * Challenges in adopting esports include the need for long-term commitment and institutionalization of the program. TranscriptHello there, fellow knowledge-seekers! You're about to read a transcript that's been generated by the AI in Adobe Premiere Pro and then me. I've gone through these lines like a cat chasing a laser pointer. But, even the best of us can be caught napping. Spot a mistake in this transcript? Help this teacher out and shoot an email to vicki at coolcatteacher dot com. Thank you for being helpful! – Vicki, your podcast host and friendly fellow classroom teacher.*
NOTE: The time stamps are a tad off; some of these items may have been edited slightly for content.
TranscriptVicki Davis (00:01.294)
Esports, esports, esports. Oh my goodness. Every school is trying to put in esports. You know, there are esports scholarships. It's a whole industry now because gaming is so powerful.
Vicki Davis (00:29.506)
Today we have Danielle Johnson with us. She's executive director for the Texas Scholastic Esports Federation, which is a teacher-run nonprofit esports organization serving Texas schools. And she works with both bringing esports, but also making sure that those reflect equity, inclusion, and citizenship. And the exciting thing is Danielle, you said that your teacher group is the largest esports
organization in the country and you have more than 60,000 players in your group. That is incredible.
Danielle Johnson (01:07.678)
Yes, esports is something that the millennials kind of came up with growing up, even in arcades and at home, and have really pushed it forward in schools. This is a place where teachers are really at an influential spot in the industry collectively, because teachers love to get together. So we formed an interstate group.
And we have 14 states that have teacher-run nonprofits that run the e-sports organizations for their state. So teachers together and the students that we serve are literally the largest e-sports organization in the country.
Vicki Davis (01:51.506)
Wow. So before we get in, I'll tell you the complaints I've heard from parents. Like, well, my kid plays video games enough. I don't want him to play any more video games. What do you say to those common complaints? And are there other common complaints that you get sometimes?
Danielle Johnson (02:10.526)
We have to think of the analog, when talking about extracurricular activities. Very few parents would say, my kid's playing basketball too much. I need him to stop shooting hoops in the driveway. I need him to stop going to the park. And so it's a lot the same in how we should be treating e-sports. E-sports competitors have to be physically fit. They have to be mentally fit in order to focus for as long as they need to.
And working as a team, learning those communication skills, learning those teamwork skills are things that we value in traditional sports, but also flourish in esports.
Vicki Davis (02:53.41)
So if we look at college scholarships, that's where some parents go, okay, this might be for my kid because they see dollar signs there. And there's a lot of other benefits, but we're just kinda talking fundamentals here. What are the games that colleges are playing in scholarships athletes in now?
Danielle Johnson (03:13.502)
There are several hundred colleges around the country. I would actually garner closer in the, like maybe a little more than 500 schools in the country that have e-sports as collegiate activities or as varsity sports. But I always kind of counter this discussion with we don't have middle school football to fill the NCAA. We have middle school football because it helps kids connect to school.
Vicki Davis (03:38.667)
Ahhhh.
Danielle Johnson (03:43.558)
And that is what eSports does. It's not about all the future career possibilities because there are some, or college, because you can do that too. But it is just about connecting kids to school and to each other. And athletics in Texas has been the largest stay in school program for decades. And those students that participate in athletics have a statistically significantly higher attendance rate.
We have data that shows that students on their esports team raise their attendance rate to the same level as traditional athletes.
Vicki Davis (04:20.006)
Okay, so you're now sharing some of the statistics that I've read and seen in terms of attendance. But of course, when attendance goes up, typically your academic averages go up too, because you do have an academic requirement to be able to participate, right?
Danielle Johnson (04:32.49)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Johnson (04:36.69)
Yes, in Texas, our state law is no pass, no play. And we have grade checks every three weeks in every secondary school in the state. So students have to be passing, they have to come to school, they have to work as a team, show up to practice. All of the benefits that we get from traditional sports and other extracurricular activities and competitions, we also get in e-sports. But…
Vicki Davis (04:47.022)
Wow.
Danielle Johnson (05:04.118)
From our ancillary data and some not, it's not peer-reviewed, so don't quote me on this, but about 80% of kids on their e-sports teams have never been active in any other school activity. So we are hitting a whole new group of kids when we have gaming clubs or e-sports teams on our campuses.
Vicki Davis (05:17.742)
Wow.
Vicki Davis (05:26.054)
Love that. So a school is looking at bringing in eSports, and really, most schools that I talk to now are either bringing it in or already have it in. How do you start? Because there can be a significant outlay. You know, you're like, well, we've got to have the fast enough internet. We've got to have equipment that doesn't put us at a disadvantage. And then you also, in addition to your players, you typically have a streamer and a broadcaster, right?
Danielle Johnson (05:53.074)
Yeah, there is a little bit of outlay, but I know in Texas and in other states that our college career readiness depends on CTE and STEM and other types of electives. And those machines that are used for those classes have the capability to run any game that you want to play on.
If a machine will run CAD or Photoshop, it is just fine for e-sports. You don't really have to have a whole big outlay for those specific things. And the same thing with the streamer. The person that does the broadcast is called a shoutcaster, and then they have their producer. And that comes from an old, old application for internet radio called Shoutcaster. But.
Vicki Davis (06:25.233)
Ah.
Vicki Davis (06:35.763)
Ah!
Vicki Davis (06:42.858)
Really.
Danielle Johnson (06:46.298)
generally you have that equipment in your AV. And if you watch enough streamers, you realize that some of them are just holding up their phones. So you don't really need a whole ton of equipment. We see our kids do TikTok dances on their phones and posts from social media on their phones. None of them need a red camera. None of them were really putting out the capital outlay for some professional equipment. But if you have some kids in AV, they probably have access to it and they'll…
you know, this is something that they want to do and doing live broadcasts is, you know, what AD kids do. But you probably already have the equipment.
Vicki Davis (07:17.997)
Yeah.
Vicki Davis (07:22.418)
So you're able to, yeah, you're probably, so you're able to have the kids do CAD and Photoshop during the day, and then come in and use it multipurpose after school, as kind of like how you would have P on the football field during the day, and then after school, you might have your football team practice. So you would, similar setup. Okay, okay, so you might have the equipment there. Go ahead.
Danielle Johnson (07:43.174)
Exactly.
Danielle Johnson (07:47.058)
And then most school, yeah, most district technology officers and technology staff can allow certain things to be accessed during certain times of the day. And so you can have those icons for the games on the CTE computers and you click it and it does nothing until four o'clock on Tuesdays, you know. So the technology is not really a barrier as much as people think it is.
Vicki Davis (08:09.32)
Ah, okay.
Vicki Davis (08:16.99)
Okay, so sponsors. I guess you have, so what are some of the popular leagues that you have with the games? And then is it a problem to recruit sponsors or are there just a lot of folks who like to help with this sort of thing?
Danielle Johnson (08:33.29)
When we talk, are we talking about sponsors like helping us pay for things or sponsors like the teacher, the adult in the room?
Vicki Davis (08:39.19)
Oh, I mean like a teacher, a teacher or a person who is there. What do you call it? Coach? I guess you call it a coach. Okay.
Danielle Johnson (08:45.162)
We actually use the term manager because sponsor means something different in esports. And even if you are great at one game or even played competitively in one title, you don't know them all. So we call the adults in the room, we call them managers. And that's how we do it in Texas, other places are different. A lot of teams start by students going to their favorite teacher and just asking them to be the adult in the room. And that's perfect.
As a teacher, you have every single requisite skill that you need to run an esports team because it's not about knowing the games or the tech, it's about being able to manage children and get them to where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there. It runs more like a track meet than anything else. That's the closest comparison. So if you've ever taken kids on a field trip, if you've ever run academic competitions or helped with a track meet, then you absolutely can run an esports team at your school.
Vicki Davis (09:31.792)
Oh really?
Vicki Davis (09:44.098)
So what are the biggest, so you get the esports program running and you have the kids in the program and they're playing. What are some of the biggest challenges as esports programs grow that schools say they have?
Danielle Johnson (09:58.782)
Maybe not from the school end, but what we notice is that unless a program gets institutionalized, it tends to leave when the teacher leaves. And what we mean by institutionalized, we want it to be a stipend position. We want it to go through all of the same hoops that athletics does because it brings more legitimacy. If you have parents involved, you'd have to have a parent meeting. If you have a booster club,
Those kind of things establish longevity in the program. And while you're doing it for your student who might be there, just the fact that you're doing it ensures that the program will still be there when your kid's not.
Vicki Davis (10:41.78)
Excellent. So what are the most popular game leagues? I guess that's what you call it. Is it called a league or what's it called for the different types of games? Okay.
Danielle Johnson (10:51.466)
So each title, like it runs a lot like track, so there's one meet with a bunch of different events. So we have competitions or tournaments, we call them LANs, and they have lots of different titles within them. However, there are some, you know, common like top hits, which are Rocket League and Smash Brothers. Those are both E, like rated E for everyone.
Vicki Davis (11:05.527)
Okay.
Danielle Johnson (11:17.838)
Smash can be as a group or solo. Rocket League is generally three on three and it's soccer with cars like even I understand it. So it's great. But then some of the other top ones are Valorant, Apex. We're actually adding a racing game. We're adding iRacing this year. Chess in general is considered an eSport by many people because you play online. Yes. And you can stream and have all of the hoopla just like you do.
Vicki Davis (11:24.75)
Mm hmm. Yeah. Oh, really?
Danielle Johnson (11:47.55)
with everything else. So those are the most common titles, but you can also do Minecraft like synchronously doing bed wars and some other games, or asynchronously with the Network of Academic and Scholastic E-Sports Federations, or NACEF, N-A-S-E-F. They run several asynchronous Minecraft competitions throughout the school year, including Farmcraft, where you have different biomes that you plant in.
Vicki Davis (11:50.05)
Really?
Danielle Johnson (12:17.034)
They've done a solar car with NASA, the Rube Goldberg Foundation, with Rube Goldberg Foundation, you do a Rube Goldberg machine. So, and all of those can be done on a Chromebook.
Vicki Davis (12:29.184)
Oh on a Chromebook. So that's something that's fascinating and asynchronously of course we know means not at the same time. So it can it has a window I guess that you work on it.
Danielle Johnson (12:39.462)
Yes, and it's submitted by video through Microsoft Flip, tools that we already use in the classroom.
Vicki Davis (12:45.608)
Very cool. Okay, so this seems like a lot. Why are schools hesitating? Why are schools telling you that they're not joining esports?
Danielle Johnson (12:56.822)
There's not a lot of schools that are refusing, but establishing a program year after year, getting the commitment from kids, getting the commitment from a teacher is a lot. When we will have 30 kids come to an interest meeting and three will play throughout the season. So it's hard to establish just year after year, semester after semester or season after season, whatever your league does.
Vicki Davis (13:18.829)
Oh.
Danielle Johnson (13:26.142)
You probably have a teacher run state league in your state. So just search for state scholastic esports and you will find them. But it's hard for teachers not to get burnt out, especially when they're there two or three days a week for a scholastic event that they're not getting a stipend for. So those are some of the challenges. It's less resistance and more…
Vicki Davis (13:43.358)
Mm-hmm. Ah. Well, you know, the thing I like about eSports is it reaches a different group of children than many other things do.
Danielle Johnson (13:51.806)
We're not doing all of the things possible to make sure this stays for our kids.
Vicki Davis (14:04.034)
It just does and it's also taking kids who might be playing in isolation at home Against who knows who knows who they're playing at home, right? to a an adult supervised activity that's also building face-to-face relationships and the face-to-face relationships are so very important and The truth is when people play online with each other they feel like they're friends, but that friend might be halfway around the world. Well
They can't have lunch with that person. Right. So building those face-to-face connections with other gamers in their school, I think is a really healthy, good thing. And, um, you know, I've seen some resistance to e-sports just out of concern of, Oh, kids are playing too much, too many games. But the statistics that I've seen are pretty overwhelming in terms of engagement in grades and what happens when those kids get involved. So, um, as you look at,
all of eSports. Let's do a one minute elevator pitch to schools for why they should consider eSports.
Danielle Johnson (15:08.574)
If you want students to come to school more, or if you want those students who haven't really found their place yet to really fit in at school, then you should consider having an e-sports team. Any teacher that is remotely tech savvy can handle it. It runs more like a track meet or a spelling bee than anything that you can think of.
You probably already even have the equipment, because if it runs CAD or Photoshop, it will run all of these titles beautifully. And these type of programs catch a whole new group of students who haven't always been engaged and raises their attendance, raises their academic achievement. Not only are they building connections at school, but at in-person events, they're building connections with other students that may not look or sound like them.
Vicki Davis (15:55.847)
I love it. Danielle Johnson, executive director of the Texas Scholastic Esports Federation. Lots of organizations, looks for the organization in your state or your district or your area and get connected and explore this opportunity for your students. Thanks Danielle.
Danielle Johnson (16:15.05)
Thank you.
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The post The Rise of eSports in Education: Breaking New Ground appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Yesterday, the World Economic Forum's “Global Risks Report 2024” ranked AI-derived misinformation as a top global risk ahead of climate change, war, and economic weakness. NPR reported this morning that Taiwan is struggling with misinformation as its presidential election happens this Saturday. According to CNBC, the United States has the NSA and FBI preparing to combat deepfakes and misinformation as the US prepares for the 2024 election.
The SEC X.com Account Was HackedThe SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) urges people to be careful of misinformation and then, the unthinkable happened.
Careful what you read on the internet. The best source of information about the SEC is the SEC.
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) October 16, 2023
This week, according to American Banker, because the SEC had not enabled two-factor authentication, a hacker posted that the commission had approved the trading of bitcoin, resulting in this message on X.com.
The @SECGov X account was compromised, and an unauthorized post was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.
— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) January 9, 2024
We Can No Longer Tell What is AI-Generated or a Real HumanSo, yesterday, as I entered the second day of teaching about AI and the “reality threshold” we have surpassed with AI image and video generation, truth was front and center. (See yesterday's lesson plan about how I start discussing AI.)
Pictures on my board walking into class yesterday/Step 1: What photo is real?Using faces I generated from ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com, I asked students to vote on which face(s) were real. We discussed the reality threshold, making it very difficult for us to tell what is real and what is not. The answer is that they all were AI-generated.
Then, we headed over to thesecatsdonotexist.com.
Finally, we played “Which face is real,” and students admitted they struggled to tell what was real.
Step 2: Review Sports Illustrated's Real World Scandal Pretending AI Generated Content was Human Generated (and Introduction of AI Policy)Then, I had them use perplexity.ai to see what they could find about Sports Illustrated's controversy with AI. I had them use this tool for several reasons. First, I want them to see that generative text with citations from AI can be very helpful when you have a piece of information like “Sports Illustrated had a controversy with AI, what was it?” Secondly, I wanted to introduce my AI policy in the classroom.
So, Sports Illustrated created fake reporters with stock photos of people, fake bylines, and AI-generated articles. When someone looked up the photo of a reporter and found it was a stock photo, they were “caught.” So, my students and I discussed that, and I shared a vital principle of AI.
Artificial Intelligence is designed to imitate human behavior. However, we should never allow AI-generated content or AI chatbots to “pretend” to be human. The origin of content should be transparently revealed. AI is not human. It is a tool. To pretend to be human is a lie. Students had a great discussion about this.
My Classroom Rules for Generative AIThen, we discussed the AI policy for the class, that if students use AI, they must cite both the AI conversation with a link and then the original source documents that the chat with AI led them to. If there are no source documents, students must find, verify, and link to them.
Step 3: What is AI's role in the learning process? (A discussion of PhotoMath)Then, we moved on to discuss the need for two things with learning:
- Productive Struggle
- Focusing on the process of correctly learning how to do something
As we work to learn there is a certain amount of productive struggle required. (Read the Edutopia article I wrote about how to use AI to Encourage Productive Struggle in Math.) We cannot use AI to interrupt the struggle required, but it can be used to coach us on the learning process.
So, then we focused on math and discussed the unspeakable app in most schools — PhotoMath. (Lest you think I was telling kids about an app that they didn't know about – 100% of them admitted they knew what it was.) If you're not aware, PhotoMath is an app that lets you take a picture of the math problem and then it works the problem for the student. They did a think-pair-share, and their answers were pretty spot on.
Based on what I taught them, I asked what use of PhotoMath would be “cheating,” not only dishonest but also cheating themselves out of the learning experience. And what use of PhotoMath would enhance learning.
Dishonest Use of AI “cheating” at math: Take a picture and copy the answer. Don't look to figure out what you did wrong, just copy.
Use of AI to help learning math: Work a problem out completely. Then, check the answer with Photomath. Follow each individual step to see where there may have been a mistake and check the answer. If there is a mistake, use an AI tool to create a similar problem and work on that. Then, check the process and the answer using an AI tool. That would improve learning.
What do you think?And yes, I agree with them. The second option respected both productive struggle and the process of correctly working the math problem. AI was used to coach, not to circumvent the learning process.
Step 4: Get Kids Ready to TalkMy first two days of discussing AI ethics are designed to get students thinking. To help them face the reality of AI and how it works and also the deceitful nature of it when used wrongly both to create content that is misrepresented as human-created or being a human being and also the role AI can play in learning.
Why AI isn't a dirty wordSo, misinformation and disinformation are important topics, and perhaps one of our big issues in schools is treating AI like a dirty word instead of the learning tool it can be.
For example, I'm not the only one at my school embracing AI for learning.
I happen to teach at a school with an amazing English teacher who has taught the kids how to use AI as a peer review that offers suggestions based on comparing their papers to rubrics for getting feedback. Students link to the AI conversation that helped them improve their papers. That is awesome. We're seeing better writing results in this way. I have much to share from her and plan a future post on this topic.
But we must talk about AI. The kids are. We should talk about it with one another and with our students.
To be mute is to be silent on the major issue of our time. AI. Misinformation. They are inescapably intertwined. As I've said before: A Gullible Public is a National Security Issue. How can we call our students educated if we ignore one of the most important issues of our time.
The post How Do I Know What Is Real? How to Fight Misinformation in An Age of Lies appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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As we start this year, each of us is in different circumstances. I rebel against anyone with a “one size fits all” plan that works for everybody. Each of us has a different approach to life and planning. As I do my planning, I spend time learning from others. You can also plan your year in a new way as I share what I do.
Over the past twenty years, I've created an annual planning system that works well for me. For the first time, I've put together a podcast sharing how I plan my year, along with some free forms, you can use to plan your year.
In this podcast, I include:
- 28+ questions I ask myself each year.
- How I used two one-page forms to review last year, and I plan to change everything this year.
- A “time budgeting” spreadsheet that helps me make a big-picture time budget for the year.
I also describe how I modify and improve my plan for the year as I grapple with life's hard questions. You can download these forms at www.coolcatteacher.com/annualplan. I will also send these to subscribers in my following newsletter after the release of this show.
😊 NOTE: Please forgive me. As I relistened to the show, I realized I got confused on some of my question numbering. I have included all my questions with the correct numbering on today's show's free handouts. The numbers are correct there!
- Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts .
- Stream by clicking here.
Subscribe to the Show
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This week's sponsor: Edge U BadgesEdge U BadgesEdge U Badges from Forward Edge is a fantastic microcredentialing program for teachers, administrators, and school staff. In this program you can earn contact hours or graduate credit. With the ISTE Seal of Alignment, this program is approved by many districts as a flexible, personalized way for teachers to learn and grow. They will work with you to help your district accept your transcript for licensure renewal hours.
Edge U Badges has former teachers review every single badge within 1-3 business days of submission and no badge is ever denied without very specific feedback on what you can do to resubmit successfully or positive feedback on successful submissions.
This is a program that I'm reviewing for my own renewal that comes up this year and I'm excited about their microcredentialing system, which is why I'm recommending it to you!
Use the code COOLCAT for $20 off a premium account.
Click Here to Learn More About Edge U BadgesSponsorThis week's showPeople often ask me how I plan my year and get so much done. In this episode, I'm sharing how and giving you access to the forms I use.
If you wonder about my context, I'm a busy mom of three (two are out of the house now, yippee!), a 21-year classroom teacher, author, blogger, podcaster, speaker, children's and adult teacher at church, and I sing in the choir. Oh, and I make homemade sourdough cinnamon rolls that my friends and family enjoy and workout five times a week. In 2022, I learned to walk again, literally. I've learned so much through hardships and heartache, but the best thing is finding joy in the journey, spiritual peace, and time with those I love most. I hope this show also helps you do that—blessings to you, dear listener.
I look forward to hearing from you!
🐱Vicki
Show NotesResources:* ⭐ Download my personal annual planning forms at www.coolcatteacher.com/annualplan * “Be More Successful: New Harvard Research Reveals a Fun Way to Do It” by Shawn Achor
Books I Recommend in This Show: All It Takes is a Goal: The 3-Step Plan to Ditch Regret and TapInto Your Massive Potential by Jon Acuff * Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory * Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up In Order to Move Forward by Dr. Henry Cloud * The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg * Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear * Work Clean: The Life-Changing Power of Mise-en-Place to Organize Your Life, Work, and Mind by Dan Charnas * Building Your Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential by Tiago Forte * Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt (This is on Kindle Unlimited for those of you who subscribe to that!) TranscriptFor this show, I did not provide a transcript. If you are interested in an automatically generated one, please email me at vicki at cool cat teacher dot com.*
Related Episodes Why Kids Never Stop Moving: Neuroscience and a... 50, Fit and Fantastic! 5 Way to Maximize Your Summer Neuroscience Research: 5 Ways to Superior Teaching [Top... Never Yell and Other Classroom Management Secrets of... Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The post 28 Questions to Ask Yourself As You Plan Your Year (and Some Free Forms!) appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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The ChatGPT Tech Support Advisor Custom GPT is stellar. Because it can write the code for you and also because I have specific things about my own personal setup that shouldn't be shared for protective reasons, I've summarized what I've done with it.
⚠️A Caveat: Be warned that you can mess up your computer if you don't somewhat understand tech-speak and how your computer works. But if you're pretty good with computers, conversing with AI can no only help you automate, but perhaps can be a business for many who have the knowledge to use AI but also the ability to communicate with people to help them troubleshoot their problems.
How I OrganizeFirst, I'm a very visual person. I don't recommend this approach for everyone, but for me, it works. While I keep everything digital for next week and after in terms of calendars and tasks, part of being productive is taking things out of the digital world and putting them into my physical space so the tasks become real and consequently, get done!
Second, I have file names for everything. Using a system somewhat based from Building Your Second Brain by Tiago Forte, I have four folders in my Finder. These same four folders and project names are also in Google Drive, Evernote, and Todoist, my task management system. I number projects and have a system for them and I want that system to be consistent across them. (Additionally, I use these project numbers on my dashboard on my Streamdeck, but that's for another post. Basically when I click a button on my Streamdeck XL, it will open up everything for me.)
So, my four folders are the PATH format (Tiago FORTE's is slightly different, but this works for me.)
I highly recommend the Building Your Second Brain approach as my projects folder is just my current projects. I have a system where these projects move to other places if they aren't active. The whole system is built on filing things where they are used and it is a massive time savers.
The four main folders I use everywhere in my organizational system.So, understandably, I want to know my current projects list. It can change on my somewhat often.
How I Started the AI ConversationSo, I began with my question for automation, and I learned so much about things I didn't know I could do! This is fantastic. And I want to remind all of us something I teach students. Working effectively with AI is not just about a good prompt, you can start with an imperfect prompt, for sure, but it is about engaging in a conversation until you get what you need out of the conversation.
My prompt embarking on this automation.3 Automations for My Weekly Planning and How They WorkSo, before I hit my limit for my GPT-4 plus account (yes, there is a limit), here's what I did along with the Tech Support Advisor Help:
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Print a Weekly List of Files. I wrote an AppleScript that I used Automator to turn into an application on my Mac. Then, I went into the Calendar app and set up an event. (Even though I use Fantastical, this is still ok.) AppleScript grabs all of the file names in the three active folders- everything but the History folder- and then puts them into a text file. Then, it prints the text file to my printer. Since my project numbers are part of my filenames, I have a cool list of current projects. I did not know that you could set an alert to open a file at a certain time. This is awesome! So, when I have a meeting, I can write a script for certain things to happen. Since I use Keyboard Maestro, this gives me further amazing automation. (I need to write about that more later, also.)
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Print a Weekly List of My Agenda for the Week. Next, this approach was a tad different as it is challenging to link AppleScript with calendars. So, I prefer and use Fantastical. So, I wrote down the hotkeys (those keys you press that make something happen. They are printed in gray to the right of the command) that it would take to open the current week and then print that week's schedule. It had to have two returns because it goes to continue and then it goes to Print. However, this works also. I set this to run just after the file and active project list. Again, I made the script and then tested it. Then, I made the application with Automator. Then, I scheduled the calendar event to open the application each Monday.
- Print My To Do List. While I keep a paper planner, there's something for me about having a list. I'm testing this one and may abandon it. This was a tad trickier. I use Todoist, and while there's an app, there's no print function for the Mac. So, for this script, I wrote this to open up Chrome, then go to the URL for today's activities, and then the hotkeys for printing, and then Enter to make it print. This I'm printing daily for now. Again, I made the script. Then, I put the script into Automator and saved it as an app, and then, I scheduled the calendar event.
How AI Helped With This TaskThis is a great example of how AI and a human who understands computational thinking and some basic programming can work together to create a powerful workflow that will help me focus.
Programmers who do this daily would call this “citizen programming” and would likely frown upon what I'm doing. But even they would have to acknowledge that having AI draft the simple code for this would be faster than they could write it by hand. Citizen programming, where people write code and use the code in languages they don't know, are part of the future of programming. Increasingly IT Departments will be called upon to audit and supervise the creation of such code. Companies (and schools) will need ways to submit code written for tasks to have it approved, as people will also be able to write full apps in this way at some point in the future.
To access a Custom GPT, you need to have the GPT Plus account. Then, you go to Explore and pick the custom GPT called “Tech Support Advisor.” I predict that most companies will have this sort of tech support in the future. I know I couldn't have done this without this type of support.
Caveats and Challenges with This ApproachHere are some things I learned and caveats:
- When I was having a problem, I kept pasting in the error message. Ultimately I figured out I didn't quite have my username accurate on the Mac, so I had to know how to go in and find my username without spaces. In this example, knowing what a username is and where to find it was helpful. I did need to know the file paths for my folders I wanted but I just stated the path and it actually wrote the full path for me.
- When apps change, if they change their hotkeys or if they change the number of times you press enter, it could break the code.
- My mac has to be on for this to run. I think it has to be awake also. This will be something I'll test Monday since I use a Macbook pro and then hook it up to multiple monitors.
As you work on your workflow, think about the tasks you're doing that could be automated and test out AI to help you create the automation. That said, if you're total beginner, this might not be for you.
As for me, this is awesome. I hope this gives you some ideas for what you can do with your own workflow.
My setup is strategically designed for workflow. There are many things I could share with you about this setup that I will plan to document and share. In the end, though, tools can help me be more productive, but it is a decision to get the work done that is part of being productive. There is a gap between knowing what to do and doing it! So, a great setup is wonderful but is just a start!The post How I Created 3 Awesome Automations with AI appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Welcome to today's episode, where I will bridge the gap between AI in my classroom and your ears! If you've been following my blog, you know I want to bring practical, innovative teaching strategies to life. But today, I'm doing things a bit differently on the show for an extended episode with me, your host, Vicki Davis.
I'll guide you through how I use AI in my classes. I teach eighth grade through an AP Class with seniors, and we're finding amazing ways to use AI, from advising us on a trip project to providing feedback on logos and user interfaces for our app-building project to testing AI tutors. It's all real and all right now. There is no theory here, just lots of learning and some bumps along the way. (Recently, a custom GPT I created started calling me Melissa, sigh. Someone explain that to me!)
And for a bit of fun, meet CAT GPT, my very own Content AI Taskhelper – a personal assistant I've created with a blend of my own educational beliefs and research-backed best practices. I have it interview me on the way to school (and sometimes back), and it helps me create content for you. I always link to it, so I'll share how I do that too.
And, since I've given two weeks off to my son, John, so he can ace his finals, I understand the frustration with AI-generated transcripts (thanks, southern accent!), so while there's o polished transcript available just yet, you can check out the auto-captions on the Cool Cat Teacher YouTube channel for a pretty good transcript. And if you need a more accurate version, don't hesitate to reach out via email — I'm committed to making my content accessible to all.
This episode is more than just a podcast; it's a glimpse into the future of education with AI. So whether you're a seasoned educator or just AI-curious, tune in, laugh along, and prepare to form your own opinions about AI. Let's continue this AI adventure together as we work to improve our classrooms and educate a successful generation for tomorrow.
This extended episode sponsored by Modern Classrooms will help me share about the pedagogical changes that can happen in schools that want to advance learning in an AGE of AI.
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This week's sponsor: Modern ClassroomsModern Classrooms will help you teach better today!Modern Classrooms Project will help you bring engaging, exciting teaching to your classroom with their free online course and community. Go to coolcatteacher.com/modern right now to sign up for the Modern Classrooms essential course for free where you will learn about the strategies, research, and resources that can drive student-centered, self-directed learning in your classroom. They can show you have to use technology to unlock deeper student relationships with your students.
So many people ask me how to respond to Artificial Intelligence and my response is always, that we need to shift our pedagogical practices into the classroom to the time-tested research-based best practices. That is what you get with Modern Classrooms so go to coolcatteacher.com/modern today and sign up. You’ll be glad you did.
Click HeresponsorThis week's guestMe! Today I'm talking about how I'm using AI in my classroom.
NotesColoring Book Hero GPT
Related Episodes URGENT: 🛑 Deepfakes: Time to Create Policies and... 4 Essential Ingredients to Engage Students in the... AI Webinar: Artificial Intelligence in the Educational and... A New Essential Formative Feedback Tool for Project... 10+ Ways to Use Adobe Express in the... Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Heading Title Monday MotivationAll GradesAll SubjectsProductivityTeachers Excellence in Action: Practical Ways to Overcome Procrastination by Vicki Davis April 15, 2024 80 Days of AI and HIAdministratorsAll GradesArtificial Intelligence (AI)EducationParentsPolicy MakersSociety and EthicsStudentsTeachers URGENT: 🛑 Deepfakes: Time to Create Policies and Crisis Plans by Vicki Davis April 12, 2024 Thought Leader ThursdayAdministratorsAll GradesAll SubjectsEducationLeadershipSelf CareTeachers Sculpting The Future: How Women's Unique Insights Transform Leadership by Vicki Davis April 11, 2024 Artificial Intelligence (AI)80 Days of AI and HIAdministratorsAll SubjectsEducationHigh School Grades 9-12 (Ages 13-18)InnovationIT Coaches and DirectorsMiddle / Junior High Grades 6-8 (Ages 10-13)TeachersToolsWeb ToolsWonderful Classroom Wednesday 4 Essential Ingredients to Engage Students in the AI Age by Vicki Davis April 3, 2024 Financial Literacy and Life SkillsAdministratorsElementary Grades 1-5 (Ages 6-10)High School Grades 9-12 (Ages 13-18)How to Guides...Lesson PlansMiddle / Junior High Grades 6-8 (Ages 10-13)TeachersToolsWeb Tools The Essentials of Teaching Financial Literacy: Free Courses from EVERFI by Vicki Davis April 2, 2024 Monday MotivationAll SubjectsEducationElementary Grades 1-5 (Ages 6-10)High School Grades 9-12 (Ages 13-18)How to Guides...Kindergarten (ages 3-6)Middle / Junior High Grades 6-8 (Ages 10-13)TeachersTech TipsToolsWeb Tools 8 Awesome Ideas for Your Classroom in April by Vicki Davis April 1, 2024 Monday MotivationAll GradesAll SubjectsEducationSelf CareTeachers How to tell if teaching is still a good fit for you by Vicki Davis March 25, 2024 Artificial Intelligence (AI)80 Days of AI and HIAdministratorsAll GradesAll SubjectsBlended Learning and E-LearningCollege (aged 18+)EducationElementary Grades 1-5 (Ages 6-10)EquityEventsHigh School Grades 9-12 (Ages 13-18)Higher EducationInnovationIT Coaches and DirectorsKindergarten (ages 3-6)LibrariansMiddle / Junior High Grades 6-8 (Ages 10-13)ToolsWeb Tools AI Webinar: Artificial Intelligence in the Educational and the Learning Landscape by Vicki Davis March 21, 2024 How to Guides...All GradesAll SubjectsBlended Learning and E-LearningClassroom DesignClassroom ManagementComputer Science TeachersEducationHigh School Grades 9-12 (Ages 13-18)IT Coaches and DirectorsMiddle / Junior High Grades 6-8 (Ages 10-13)Overcoming in Covid19Project Based LearningStudentsTeachersTech TipsTools Empower Every Learner: 8 Innovative Strategies to Captivate Every Student by Vicki Davis March 20, 2024 Wonderful Classroom WednesdayBlended Learning and E-LearningData Driven InstructionEducationEquityHigh School Grades 9-12 (Ages 13-18)How to Guides...Math TeachersTeachers An Innovative Mastery-Based Self-Paced Math Classroom That Works by Vicki Davis March 18, 2024 The post Lessons from My Classroom: What Works, What Doesn’t and What I’m Doing Now appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
In this episode, we welcome Billy Krakower, a nationally recognized educator with 16 years of experience and a passion for bringing technology and creativity into the classroom. As a current STEM teacher in North New Jersey and a Google Certified Trainer, Billy focuses on implementing cutting-edge instructional design and is co-author of “connecting Your Students with the Virtual World.”
We'll uncover practical, engaging strategies for integrating the four Cs — Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication — into your teaching. From engaging mystery location calls to the innovative use of Google Art and Culture for creative exploration, and the impactful use of AI in education, Billy shares actionable techniques to transform your classroom into a hub of global learning and collaboration.
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This week's sponsorMicrosoft 's Free AI Course for EducatorsMicrosoft has an amazing artificial intelligence course for educators that will help you and your education team have the knowledge you need to understand the best practices for artificial intelligence in schools. AI is changing rapidly, and you'll want your team to take advantage of this free course from Microsoft today. Go to aka.ms/AIforEducators. I highly recommend this free AI course from Microsoft. So sign up today.Click Here to Learn MoreThis week's guestNationally recognized educator and author with 16 years of experience as an educator. Currently teaching STEM at the Middle School level in North New Jersey. Passionate about maximizing productivity, efficiency, and service quality in educational settings. Adept at building effective processes and obtaining reliable, accurate information for business decision-making. Known for leading excellent project management to meet objectives, prioritize initiatives, and multitask effectively. Experienced in designing, implementing, and delivering professional development and growth experiences for faculty in instructional technology and innovative design. Collaborate with faculty to support them in an instructional design capacity, inspiring and helping them implement engaging curricular units around instructional technology and innovation. Develop training and instructional materials for faculty to enhance their fluency with available technologies and software. Training and Founding Partner at Evolving Educators. Google Certified Trainer, ISTE Certified Educator, and 2014 ASCD Emerging Leader.
NotesHosts, Guests & Featured People:Resources:* Blog: https://www.evolvingeducators.com/ * X.com (formerly Twitter): @wkrakower * Google Art and Culture * Virtual field trips: Plymouth Plantation * Virtual field trip: Pearl Harbor Museum * Classroom Champions: Connect with Olympians * see the interview we did with Steve Mesler, the creator of Classroom Champions
Books:
- Connecting Your Students with the Virtual World: Tools and Projects to Make Collaboration Come Alive by Billy Krakower and Jerry Blumengarten
- Getting Started with STEAM Practical Strategies for the K-8 Classroom Transcript📝🌟 This transcript is generated by Adobe Premiere Pro and fine-tuned by ChatGPT for grammatical accuracy, ensuring a comprehensive overview of this podcast episode. While every effort has been made to ensure precision, I welcome your keen eyes! Should you spot an overlooked error, don't hesitate to drop me an email or leave a comment below. Your input helps us achieve perfection. Thank you for your support and understanding! 😊 ~ Vicki
IntroductionSpeaker 1 (John Davis, Producer): This is the Ten Minute Teacher podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.
Virtual Classroom Collaboration with Billy KrakowerSpeaker 2 (Vicki Davis): Episode 823: A Very Useful Guide to Virtual Classroom Collaboration with Billy Krakower. Today's sponsor is Microsoft Education. Stay tuned at the show's end to learn more about their artificial intelligence course for educators. Welcome, listeners, to our next podcast with my friend Billy Krakower. Another friend, Jerry Blumengarten, and I have written or updated their book, “Connecting Your Students with the Virtual World: Tools and Projects to Make Collaboration Come Alive.”
Critical Thinking in the Virtual ClassroomSpeaker 2 (Vicki Davis): Billy, today we've decided to focus on how teachers can bring the forces of 21st-century skills – critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication – into our classroom. So, shall we start with critical thinking?
Speaker 3 (Billy Krakower): Let's start with critical thinking. It's one of my favorite forces, especially in our book “Connecting Your Students with the Virtual World”. In both the first and second editions, we emphasized mystery location calls. I remember discussing with you, Vicki, the importance of these calls years ago.
Speaker 3 (Billy Krakower): It started as mystery Skype and evolved into mystery location calls. The concept involves one classroom calling another. While teachers know the location, students use critical thinking and clues to determine if they're calling New Orleans, Georgia, or California, for instance. They ask questions like, “Are you east of the Mississippi River?” or “Do you border any bodies of water?” It's still a popular project, nearly 8 to 10 years later, and a fun way to engage students in the classroom.
Encouraging Creativity through TechnologySpeaker 2 (Vicki Davis): And the excitement it generates is incredible. I remember connecting our fifth graders with students in Nepal, despite the time difference. Now, let's talk about creativity. How do we foster it?
Speaker 3 (Billy Krakower): Creativity, particularly through tools like Google Art and Culture, is underutilized. This platform allows students to visit different museums and art galleries worldwide. It's a free resource that sparks creativity by exposing students to artwork from places like Paris, France. I highly recommend it for all grade levels, especially when physical field trips aren't feasible.
The Importance of Artistic Knowledge in the Age of AISpeaker 2 (Vicki Davis): With AI-generated art becoming more prevalent, understanding different art styles and periods is essential. Knowledge of these elements is vital for creating high-quality art. This project not only fosters creativity but also involves critical thinking.
Communication and Collaboration in EducationSpeaker 3 (Billy Krakower): Absolutely. At a recent conference, the amount of AI art was astounding. It's important to teach students how to use AI effectively in education. One key aspect is communication. Over my 16 years of teaching, I've found that guest speakers, especially from different locations, greatly enhance communication and collaboration. For instance, connecting a veterinarian school board member with classrooms in different states was an incredible experience.
Speaker 3 (Billy Krakower): Communication and collaboration are intertwined. Sharing guest speakers across classrooms is a kind, generous, and effective educational practice.
The Power of Connection and CollaborationSpeaker 2 (Vicki Davis): That's an amazing approach. As educators, we strive to make the world better, one child at a time. Sharing speakers is a powerful way to expand students' horizons.
Speaker 3 (Billy Krakower): It's memorable for both students and speakers. For example, a veterinarian I invited years ago still recalls the experience fondly and is open to participating again.
Practical Ideas for Teacher CollaborationSpeaker 2 (Vicki Davis): As we wrap up, can you share some practical ideas from your book that teachers can easily implement?
Speaker 3 (Billy Krakower): Certainly. Our book breaks down different projects by month. For instance, connecting with the Pearl Harbor museum in Hawaii or organizing a Super Bowl connection project. These are simple, engaging ways to bring collaboration into the classroom. Additionally, with events like the Olympics, virtual interactions with athletes can be incredibly inspiring for students.
Conclusion: The Impact of Student ConnectionSpeaker 2 (Vicki Davis): So, Billy, as we conclude, what impact do these collaborative activities have on your students?
Speaker 3 (Billy Krakower): The energy and enthusiasm in the classroom soar. Students eagerly anticipate the next activity. Even as a STEM teacher, showing them real-world applications like Amazon's robotics fascinates them. It makes learning relevant and exciting.
Speaker 2 (Vicki Davis): That's fantastic. The book, “Connecting Your Students with the Virtual World”, is a great resource. It's about building bridges for tomorrow's society and helping students appreciate similarities and respect differences. Thank you, Billy.
Related Episodes 4 Essential Ingredients to Engage Students in the... An Innovative Mastery-Based Self-Paced Math Classroom That Works Free in 50 Languages: The Hedy Programming Language... 3 Ways to Be a Less Stressed Educator Money Matters: How to Equip Students for Financial... Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The post A Very Useful Guide to Virtual Classroom Collaboration appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
In my recent experiments with Voice ChatGPT during my daily commutes, I've discovered some fascinating insights and practical applications for educators. Before I dig into the nuts and bolts of this experience, here's an overview into of the journey of using this tool for drafting blog posts and planning lessons:
The Microphone shows on my phone app. You must use the official app from OpenAI. This means I can easily toggle in and out of Voice Mode. * First, I used the official app from OpenAI on iOS, but they have an official app for Android phones, as well. * By explaining my blog post requirements to ChatGPT and engaging in a Q&A format, I found this a helpful way to draft content and think deeply about what I wanted to share with you. (Blog post coming, and we’ll see what you think.) * While the tool worked well with a stable connection, issues arose when the connection was spotty, which led to lost content and the need to restart drafts. * Using ChatGPT to “interview” me proved effective, but I learned to keep responses brief and focused. * To avoid confusion, I plan to limit ChatGPT to one question per prompt in future sessions. * To ensure I don’t lose generated content, I’ve realized that when I’m ready to generate content, I should type requests for compiling posts. * When I use ChatGPT in lesson planning, ChatGPT adds valuable insights and suggestions for areas where I can add further complexity and integrate with other technology concepts I've taught. I was impressed. * While sometimes ChatGPT jumped ahead to planning without having the details I wanted to have, I was impressed with its ability to help me draft structured outlines and suggest advanced features. It also helped me think through what I needed to plan, a big part of the planning process, even if I didn't use what I generated with ChatGPT. It felt like a thinking companion.
Now, let's dig into what I've learned from my two days with Voice ChatGPT.
What is Voice with ChatGPT?You can see the chats I initiated with the microphone.First, I have a plus $20/month subscription to ChatGPT. If I want to use a GPT I’ve created with my voice, I make those on my computer. (See last week's post, How to Make Your Own GPT: A Step by Step Guide) However, when I go into the official ChatGPT app on my phone, I can open up all the chats and GPTs from my browser-based account.
Then, as you see in the screenshot above, these headphones are shown on any chat. This means I’m going to enter voice mode.
When I look at my ChatGPT account chats, you can see those that I created and had using my voice with the microphone icon beside them, although ChatGPT lets me go back and forth between voice and typing (and it is necessary, as you'll see later.)
In another post, I’ll write about the GPT I created for my eighth-grade students to plan their travel (with age-appropriate responses).
However, when students use that GPT, the chat goes to the left side with my other chats, but when I open the chat's, it continues using the GPT I created for this task, in this case the TRAVEL Assistant. (Basically, I pass my phone around the room so they can talk to their TRAVEL Assistant about any places I haven't been personally and can't advise them on.) IF you have a ChatGPT plus account, you can test the TRAVEL Assistant at this link.
Here, when I open the chat, it resumes using the TRAVEL GPT I created to advise my students on travel with age-appropriate suggestions.How I Started Using Voice ChatGPTSo, the new Voice Chat GPT is incredible. I have a 35-minute drive to school and used it today to capture my experiences using Voice ChatGPT in my classroom. There are some nuances for using ChatGPT in this way to draft a blog post, and here’s what I found:
- In the prompt to get started, explain to ChatGPT the blog post you want and how you want it to form questions to ask you. Tell it you’re going to want it to create a blog post and put it together.
- It kept asking me questions, which was fine as long as I had a good connection.
- I could touch my screen and continue the conversation after my connection improved again. That was great.
Where Voice ChatGPT Has Room for Improvement.One time, it said the servers were too busy. That seemed to result from me giving it too long of a response.
So, as I neared the school, the connection was spotty, but I asked it to draft the post. ChatGPT got halfway through reading a somewhat decent post it compiled with my information, and then I lost connection. So, when it picked back up, I asked it to continue reading.
Oddly, it acted like it had not written anything and started again.
Then, it read me a perfect post — spot on. I liked it. But then, drat, I lost connection again. And although it read me the whole post, when I got to the school and turned off voice, I couldn’t find anything that it crafted AT ALL.
So, I asked it to write another post, but this time, I typed in my request for the post. Oh well, another somewhat mediocre post that I’ll have to work on, but still based on my classroom experiences. Then, I asked it to craft a different angle on the post based on my experiences, which was somewhat good. I’ll be able to tweak and use it.
I’ve learned quite a bit in the three or four drives I’ve been using my voice to communicate with ChatGPT.
My Evaluation of the Results.1. The method of having ChatGPT “interview” me is GREAT. 2. I need to answer in small snippets. 3. Next time, I’ll ask ChatGPT to pose only one question to me and not two because I got lost in just answering one. 4. When I’m ready to have it compile the blog post or paper, I’m going to have to stop driving and type in my request so that I don’t lose what it writes. This is the most significant area where I have a problem using it in this way. 5. Capturing my thinking, asking me questions related to my angle (research-based best practices and practical classroom application), and the resultant output means that I’m thinking on my way to and from school.
I will post that link in the blog post I’m creating, but I have a link below for the lesson planning conversation.
Lesson PlanningSo, after this first conversation, I decided to try to discuss my plans for my classroom. Here’s an outline of the conversation, which I’ve linked below.
AP Computer Science. We discussed a plan for AP Computer Science and the next four weeks in this conversation.
PhotoShop Unit for 8th Graders. Then, I moved to discuss a PhotoShop unit for my eighth graders. In this case, I want to use Photoshop’s new generative AI features, so the April 2023 update to ChatGPT’s knowledge limited it from helping me extract that. (But I fully predict it will go there.)
App Development and UX Design for 9th Graders. Then, shifting gears, I wanted to talk about the app development we’re doing in my 9th-grade class. I needed to go into some UX Experience testing and development, which helped draft a bullet-point presentation plan. Then, I wanted to think through the most common mistakes in app development, so I had it talk about common app development issues and how to plan for those proactively. I realized I needed a better structure for planning and tracking the project and ongoing feedback. So, I had it draft headings for a project tracking spreadsheet and then draft the words that go with the assignment I’ll post after the break. I will also integrate more advanced features in formatting the spreadsheet that I probably wouldn’t have considered without the suggestion from ChatGPT.
What Did I think of this experience?* What I didn’t like: Sometimes, it jumped in to plan lessons without having details. I had to interrupt sometimes. * It got confused about how long I had to teach and should have asked me more questions. * I liked that I could touch the screen to interrupt or reconnect. * Sometimes, when I interrupted it and said something was wrong, it dropped pieces of the conversation. I suspect it gives me the voice output first and then posts to the chat; I wish that were different. * For a detailed account of my experiences and the full conversation, check out the link: Voice ChatGPT Conversation.
Where It Didn't Work At AllI tried to get Voice ChatGPT to tutor my son on trigonometry. No matter what we did, we could not get it to pause to let him calculate the answer before it responded with the answer. We'll keep working with that one!
Final Thoughts.My experiences with Voice ChatGPT have me most excited about where this is heading. I wish I had these features several weeks ago when I was temporarily struggling with vision difficulties. Still, I can see how assistants will be created that will unleash a wave of creativity for those who struggle with visual challenges.
As I continue to explore its capabilities, I’m excited not only about its potential but its ability to help me teach better, teach more, and free up time as now the time I travel is used in active, creative thought where ideas are captured and not just forgotten when I slam the car door in the parking lot.
I’d love to hear your VoiceGPT experiences. Please share in the comments below or email me at vicki at coolcatteacher dot com. I’d love to hear from educators like me who are working on ways to use this as an incredible tool!
The post Voice ChatGPT: A New Dimension in the Educators’ Toolkit appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
As I listened to the keynote by Sam Altman of OpenAI, they unveiled some amazing things three days a go, one of which is the ability to make your own GPT. So I did. Did what? I made DIVAA, the Digital Interactive Virtual AP Assistant to help my AP Computer Science Principles with Python and AP Content. Their assignment this week is to test it (“break it” I told them) and to get back with me before going on break next week! In this post, I'll share a little about how it works. And before I share the link with you, my students need the chance to test it first.
Additionally, I have a “refer a friend” feature and will give my students a free trial of it so we can see what we think.
What Is Changing in ChatGPT? Watch the keynote.In addition to announcing GPT4 Turbo and an easier way to interact with plugins, as well as updating data to April 2023, Sam Altman also announced that any of us can make our own GPT in his keynote from three days a go.
First, add some other GPT's like “Tech Support Advisor.”Can I point out that the first thing you should do is explore and add the “Tech Support” Advisor for your teachers? Also, note that there is a math tutor. Many of these tools are just so helpful! Just click Explore at the top left of the screen.
Teachers might really like to make something cool into a coloring book page.
How to Make Your Own GPTFirst, you have to be a Plus subscriber. But honestly, with all ChatGPT does, the $20 a month is really some of the best subscription money I spend each month.
I don't think that my students who do not subscribe to chat GPT will be able to access the custom GPT I have made, that is why I'm testing it. We will see what happens with it when we test it this week, and I'll update this post. Even if they don't have it, I'll fire up my account on my Chromebook and pass it around so my students can test it. Then, I'll treat it like a teaching assistant. (I also have seen a pretty cool Creative Writing Coach GPT that might be helpful for students in some cases.) I'm going to use the travel GPT today in class and let it coach kids as they plan their trips and load information into spreadsheets. It is like a Teaching Assistant for me.
Step 1. Click “Explore” and “Create a GPT”Step 2. As you Get Started, It Will Prompt You About the StepsThis is designed to work with natural language. Just talk to the creation tool like you would chat GPT. You'll notice two sides. The left, you're improving the GPT that you're making, designing the logo, explaining how you want it to interact, and on the right, you can test what it's doing. You can even upload content when you're done (I uploaded the AP College Board standards for AP Computer Science Principles.)
Step 3. Answer the Prompts.At this point, I explained who I was and what I wanted this GPT to do. Then, it prompted me so it could design the avatar for the GPT. Then, it asked me a truly great question, “how do you want it to interact with your students?”
OK, now I want you to remember that I'm at a Christian school, so I want a biblical worldview, which ChatGPT can do pretty well. It also is an advantage because it will keep the GPT on track with how it answers, in my experience and make it acceptable for use in my school.
I love how it clarified about what to do when a student asks for a direct answer! I wanted to prevent this. I programmed it how to handle that. (Note: I've told my students to test it and try to “break it” and see if it will answer their questions. We will see what it does.)
Step 4. Look at the Questions.On the right side of the screen you can see that it has the basic setup that looks similar to ChatGPT. I also added questions about studying and reviewing for the exam. (We have to test how that will work as well.)
Step 5. Upload DataSo, after you are done, you can click on “configure” and upload specific knowledge you want it to access as it works. For me, it is the standards, some vocabulary I've created, some content I'm using, and such. I want it to have access to these tools as it interacts with the students.
Step 6. TestSo, then, on the right, sit there and test it for a while. See how it works. Make sure you feel good about it.
Step 7. Release for Alpha Testing.Alpha testing is within an organization. Beta testing is outside. I teach this to students, and I always have them be my Alpha testers for anything before I share it. So, my AP Computer Science Principles class is alpha testing this tool with their content for next week.
I created a link that would only be for people with the link. I have also added it to my sidebar. You can expect that I'll be creating this for my teachers on campus, for sure. This is so exciting!
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In today's show, I talk with Mark Sparvell about a tool that has become essential to my lesson planning and work in my AP Computer Science Principles course: Bing Chat Enterprise. If your school has Microsoft Office 365 A3 or A5 licenses, you can activate this feature. It's an amazing tool that saves time and stands out with its robust privacy features, ensuring the security of student data while offering powerful AI functionalities to streamline tasks for teachers and administrators.
This show is sponsored and includes some advertorial content. It's only my second podcast this year featuring such content, which I choose to do only when the product is one I personally use, and when it's both newsworthy and beneficial for educators. The show is unscripted, and all opinions are my own. Enjoy!
✏️Note from Vicki: I'm back! For those of you who noticed a slight absence, I had corrective 👁️ eye surgery and now can see so clearly. However, the journey to get here was one where I had to significantly limit my time on electronics which meant the podcast and newsletter took a short break when I couldn't look at my devices. I can't stress the importance of all of us teachers taking care of themselves if I wouldn't pause and do it myself! Right?
But I'm back and will be posting awesome content weekly from here on out with a short break at Christmas. Thanks to those of you who emailed me to check on me. I'm great now even if playing a bit of catch up! 😀 — Vicki Davis
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This week's sponsorMicrosoft 's Free AI Course for EducatorsMicrosoft has an amazing artificial intelligence course for educators that will help you and your education team have the knowledge you need to understand the best practices for artificial intelligence in schools. AI is changing rapidly, and you'll want your team to take advantage of this free course from Microsoft today. Go to aka.ms/AIforEducators. I highly recommend this free AI course from Microsoft. So sign up today.Click Here to Learn MoreThis week's guestMark is an award winning educator and leader with over 25 years of experience driving whole school improvement. Mark is passionate about leveraging technology to humanize learning and give every the ‘best seat in the house’ . Mark founded and co-leads the http://bit.ly/SELinEdu community which is closing in on 30,000 members and is engaged in a number of organizations around supporting mental health and developing social-emotional skills.
Some of the features of Bing Chat Enterprise as discussed in the show.NotesHosts, Guests & Featured People:Mark Sparvell
Show NotesShow Notes:
00:00:00:22 – Introduction to the Ten Minute Teacher Podcast
- Host Vicki Davis introduces the podcast and teases the upcoming discussion on AI in education with guest Mark Sparvell from Microsoft.
00:00:43:03 – The Big Deal of Bing Chat Enterprise for Faculty
- Vicki Davis and Mark Sparvell discuss the significance of Bing Chat Enterprise for faculty and its unique benefits in the educational environment, emphasizing its security and privacy features.
00:01:15:17 – AI Tools in Education: Safety and Security
- Mark Sparvell explains the importance of using secure AI tools in education to protect vulnerable student data and maintain privacy.
00:02:11:03 – The Secure Advantage of Bing Chat Enterprise
- Discussion on how Bing Chat Enterprise ensures end-to-end security for faculty, with a focus on data protection and the absence of third-party plugins.
00:02:47:17 – Practical Applications of AI in Education
- Vicki Davis shares concerns about using AI tools for sensitive tasks like writing IEPs and emails, prompting Mark to explain the safety of data in public AI tools versus Bing Chat Enterprise.
00:03:19:10 – Understanding Data Security with AI Tools
- Mark Sparvell describes how data is handled in other generative AI tools and the continuous learning process of AI models, highlighting the security measures of Bing Chat Enterprise.
00:04:19:06 – Bing Chat Enterprise: A Secure, Cost-Effective Solution
- Mark illustrates how Bing Chat Enterprise integrates securely within the Bing search engine, providing a cost-effective solution for schools with existing Microsoft licenses.
00:05:11:15 – Streamlining Administrative Tasks with AI
- Mark Sparvell gives examples of how school administrators can use Bing Chat Enterprise to efficiently handle extensive policy reviews and other administrative tasks.
00:05:42:20 – Interacting with AI for Educational Content
- Vicki Davis discusses the interactive capabilities of Bing Chat Enterprise with PDFs and other educational materials, and Mark shares a story of its practical use.
00:06:55:23 – Quick Data Analysis for Educators
- Mark Sparvell talks about how Bing Chat Enterprise can assist teachers in quickly analyzing and summarizing educational content, such as books or policy documents.
00:08:07:03 – The Learning Assistant Feature of Bing Chat Enterprise
- Vicki Davis and Mark Sparvell discuss how Bing Chat Enterprise can act as a learning assistant by providing page references and summaries for educational content.
00:09:16:14 – Bing Chat Enterprise as a Tool for Various Educational Roles
- Mark Sparvell expands on the versatility of Bing Chat Enterprise, explaining how it can be used by different educational staff, including school nurses, to dialogue with data.
00:10:13:17 – Natural Language Engagement with Technology in Education
- The conversation turns to the natural evolution of engaging with technology using natural language, with examples relevant to school nurses and other staff.
00:11:37:21 – AI for Trend Analysis and Summarization in School Health Data
- Mark Sparvell discusses how school nurses can use Bing Chat Enterprise to analyze health trends and summarize student health data securely.
00:12:26:04 – The Security and Accessibility of Bing Chat Enterprise for Schools
- Vicki Davis emphasizes the security and ease of access that Bing Chat Enterprise offers to schools, allowing them to use AI tools confidently without compromising student data.
00:13:29:01 – Intelligent Agents for School Policy Induction
- Mark Sparvell shares how Bing Chat Enterprise can simplify the induction process for new staff by providing instant access to school policies and procedures.
00:14:33:00 – Educator Experiences with Bing Chat Enterprise
- Vicki Davis asks Mark Sparvell about the initial reactions of educators when they see the capabilities of Bing Chat Enterprise in action.
00:15:25:00 – Bing Chat Enterprise as an Educator's Copilot
- Mark Sparvell likens Bing Chat Enterprise to having a copilot, assisting educators with tasks like improving grammar and fluency in their documentation.
00:16:43:16 – AP Computer Science Principles and Bing Chat Enterprise
- Vicki Davis shares her personal experience using Bing Chat Enterprise to enhance her AP Computer Science Principles class, highlighting its effectiveness and efficiency.
00:17:47:08 – The Future of Education with AI
- Mark Sparvell discusses the potential for AI to change educational practices, using the example of students creatively engaging with literature through AI.
00:18:23:04 – Conclusion: The Impact of Bing Chat Enterprise in Education
- Vicki Davis wraps up the conversation by encouraging educators to explore Bing Chat Enterprise and utilize its powerful features for enhancing classroom learning.
00:21:03:23 – Microsoft's AI Course for Educators
- Vicki Davis promotes Microsoft's free AI course for educators, urging listeners to sign up and stay informed about best practices for AI in education.
00:21:53:08 – Podcast Outro
- John closes the episode, directing listeners to Vicki Davis's various social media platforms for more educational content. TranscriptThis transcript was generated by AI and proofed for accuracy by humans. 😀
Introduction to the Episode 00:00:00:22 – 00:00:43:01 John This is the Ten Minute Teacher podcast, with your host, Vicki Davis.
Sponsor Message and Episode Kick-off 00:00:43:03 – 00:01:13:14 Vicki Davis Today's sponsor is Microsoft Education. Stay tuned at the show's end to learn more about their artificial intelligence course for educators. As we continue to talk about A.I., we have brought my friend Mark Sparvell back on the show from Microsoft to talk about something we did not cover in the last episode. So, Mark, we're going to discuss Bing Chat Enterprise for faculty, and this is actually a really big deal, isn't it?
00:01:13:15 – 00:01:15:17 Mark Sparvell It is, yeah. It's a really exciting release.
The Significance of Bing Chat Enterprise for Faculty 00:01:15:17 – 00:01:27:00 Vicki Davis We have access to so many different AI tools. What makes this one different and truly such a big deal for faculty? Because it really is something that every single person in school can use.
Privacy and Security in Education Tools 00:01:27:03 – 00:02:11:01 Mark Sparvell The big deal in education is that we're working with our most vulnerable populations, our students, and student data. We're managing privacy all the time. The tools that we use, especially in education, need to be safe and secure. What goes in is safe. What comes out is safe. A key thing about Bing Chat Enterprise is that it's secure end-to-end. If you have an enterprise-level license with Microsoft, then all of your faculty have access to Bing Chat Enterprise. It'll just pop up. You will see a little green button at the top that says ‘Protected'.
Data Privacy and the Advantages of Bing Chat Enterprise 00:02:11:03 – 00:03:19:08 Mark Sparvell At the bottom, you'll see another message which says your personal data is basically yours. So Microsoft is not accessing that data. It's not using that data to train the language model. And it doesn't allow third-party plugins that might use that data. So, unlike some other generative AI tools where people might be crossing their fingers, this is a commercial-grade secure tool where you get all the benefits of chat functions, all of those generative tools, but knowing that your information is your information.
Practical Applications of Bing Chat Enterprise in Education 00:03:19:10 – 00:05:42:20 Vicki Davis I'll just give you some examples. When ChatGPT came out, I saw some special ed folks saying, “Oh, it's helping me write my IEPs.” And I'm like, “No, it's helping me write these emails to parents.” And I'm like, “No. Bad idea.” So help us understand, in a traditional large language model that's open to the public, when you type in that chat, what could happen to that data?
Interacting with Data and Documents Using Bing Chat Enterprise 00:05:42:20 – 00:08:16:00 Mark Sparvell With Bing Chat Enterprise, you can interact with massive documents. For example, a busy school principal can have Bing Chat Enterprise go through a 78-page policy document from the State Department and ask it to summarize it, create a SWOT analysis, or provide an executive summary for the Parent Governing Council. It can also generate questions to check understanding of the key policy recommendations, all while knowing that this confidential document is staying within the organization.
Bing Chat Enterprise as a Learning Assistant 00:08:16:01 – 00:10:13:14 Vicki Davis What's really cool to me is whatever I'm in, I can open it up and it can interact with what I have on the page. So PDFs, like I have this massive PDF for AP Computer Science principles, pull it up and ask it questions. Have you done anything like that with PDFs? Can you tell me a story?
Real-World Examples and the Future of Education with AI 00:10:13:17 – 00:12:26:04 Mark Sparvell Yes, one of the really exciting features for busy administrators and teachers is that this gives you a reasoning engine that sits on top of those massive documents. I was actually helping a teacher today with a picture book in a PDF form. She opened up the PDF, clicked on chat, and was able to ask questions about the content on the screen.
Closing Thoughts and Encouragement to Use Bing Chat Enterprise 00:12:26:04 – 00:14:32:22 Vicki Davis This is the incredible thing, Mark, is that I was present in the summer and I know you've been presenting a lot and talking about how eventually we will be able to converse with our textbooks and all the things that we have on our computer, but that's already here now. It's exponential change and it's happening and it's secure.
Final Sponsor Message and Sign-off 00:14:33:00 – 00:21:53:08 Vicki Davis So thanks, Mark, for sharing. And Mark has an amazing YouTube channel where he shares lots of secrets. So thanks, Mark, for coming on the show, and I'm really excited. Microsoft has an amazing artificial intelligence course for educators that will help you and your education team have the knowledge you need to understand the best practices for artificial intelligence in schools.
00:21:53:08 – 00:21:53:08 John You've been listening to the Ten Minute Teacher podcast. If you want more content from Vicki Davis, you can find her on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at Cool Cat Teacher. Thank you for listening.
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Teachers can use free AI experiments to teach students algorithms and artificial intelligence. Here's how.
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Graphic Design helps us present in more interesting ways, teach better, and communicate better. Not only do…
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Where will edtech go in the future? How do we evaluate what to keep doing and what to change? What are the biggest mistakes with edtech that are causing undue technostress on teachers? Al Kingsley tackles these questions and more on this episode.
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Lumio is a fantastic edtech tool for teaching, reviewing, and learning. Easily upload the materials you already have and start teaching.
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Live translation tools for meetings, conversations, and newsletters are game-changers for teachers and administrators. Learn how.
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Zoom has announced a slew of new features that educators have been longing to have. This blog…
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Instructional Technology Coaches can be valuable leaders and partners for schools and districts. Dr. Katie Ritter shares her research and experience about how this role can be a successful partner in success.
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So if you can afford it, 16 GB of RAM is not an unreasonable baseline for your…
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Screencastify is more than a screencasting tool. You can now screencast, edit, quiz, see student analytics, get…
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Tiffany Wycoff, the co-author of the bestselling book, Blended Learning in Action, talks about the state of…
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Some awesome changes have happened with Google Apps over summer 2021. In today's show, Eric Curts talks…
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Google's Applied Digital Skills Curriculum is a fantastic free resource of lesson plans, videos, and learning experiences…
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As we teach students how to discern the truth, Amanda Brace has five steps for fact-checking that…
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Sometimes devices just help us. They improve something we already do in powerful ways. In this post,…
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Professional Development can be an adventure! Yes, you can create fun, exciting learning. In this show, learn…
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Join me and @ClassTechTips on Tuesday 3/30 at 7 pm Eastern on Clubhouse. If you're a newbie,…
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Do you need safe, fun ways for students to connect and learn while keeping their distance in…
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Did you know that you can play massive Kahoot games with many students as players? Today's guest, George Pearce, talks about how he streams Kahoot games, handles security and privacy, fights bots that allow cheating and attack his Kahoot games, and also how he deals with a lag to make game competitions more equitable even when hundreds of miles separate the learners. He also shares the software he uses and tips to get started. You'll be able to use what you learn for any multiplayer gaming you want to hold across your school, district, or even across the world.
Sponsor: Advancement Courses’ Tournament of Teachers is here!
Enter now for a chance to win prizes like a $1,000 Amazon gift card and more by submitting your bracket from now until March 21. This year’s is a fun “Remember When” edition which will feature 32 scenarios that we educators miss and don’t miss about classroom life before 2020. Things like “taking students on field trips vs. hosting classroom parties” or “fire drills derailing your lesson vs. a broken air conditioner.” Voting runs from March 22-31 and you can vote for the ones you want to advance. Register now and let the tournament begin! Listen to George Pearce Talk about How He Creates Massive Multiplayer Kahoot Games * Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher * Stream by clicking here.
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Related Resources * Kahoot * OBS Software – Open Broadcast Studio
Bio as submitted George is a Kahoot! Ambassador from Winnipeg Manitoba Canada. He teaches his grade 7 & 8 students math, science, and STEM. George is focused on providing students with fun, engaging, and joyful learning experiences. He is a Makey Makey certified educator, Microbit Ambassador, Microsoft Innovative Educator, and general tech enthusiast.
George loves to make learning a hands-on experience, infusing technology, coding, and electronics into common classroom activities and projects. George also teaches his students the power and importance of contributing to online communities. He models what it means to be a connected and responsible digital citizen in global learning communities. George wants students graduating from his classroom to love learning, with the hope of fostering a life long passion.
Twitter: @GPearceWSD
Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/georgepearce & https://youtube.com/c/GBGAMING204
| Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show. |
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My friend Larry Ferlazzo in California looks like he's going hybrid.
If you have been doing hybrid teaching, with students in classroom & online at same time, what is the one most important piece of advice you would offer to those of us who are likely to be starting this for first time in coming months?
— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) February 20, 2021
Larry is in California and writes about what he knows here. But the tweet has over 750 messages and counting and looks to be some great advice to glean.
As for me, my advice is a few things:
- Have a “class captain” or two in the physical classroom who also log into zoom or Teams or Meet and advocate and help those who are online.
- Have specific times to focus on each “class” because it is pretty much impossible to focus on both at the same time.
- I typically had all students turn on zoom if we were having a conversation and put the kids in zoom up on the board and included them as equal participants in the conversation. I encouraged kids in the classroom to let me know if someone had their hand raised in zoom and I didn't know it.
Realize that hybrid is a stop-gap and IS NOT IDEAL. It is hard because it requires that you have to manage two classrooms and much like being unable to have two masters, it is hard to focus on both at the same time. Schools that do the best at this will probably either have a paraprofessional or have dedicated online teachers and face to face. That said, if you're dealing with a quarantine situation, hybrid is about the only way to go.
My school has been in person since August 5th and entering our third week without anyone in hybrid learning so that is a joy. And yet, we have to help one another because we all have different circumstances!
You can do it!
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Richard Byrne is a busy teacher. He teaches full time during the day. He writes his Free Tech for Teachers Blog. He's a father of two, and active in many online spaces. And yet — he takes time to take care of himself. Today you·ll learn how to achieve better health and wellness with these tips and ideas.
Today’s sponsor: Advancement Courses. Choose from over 280 online graduate-level PD courses in 20 subject areas that are self-paced with up to six months to complete. Go to advancementcourses.com/coolcat and save 20% off each course by using the code COOL20. That’s just $120 per graduate credit hour or $160 for 50 clock hours. You can also receive graduate credit through CAEP and regionally accredited university partners for continuing education requirements. Never stop learning! Listen to Richard Byrne Talk about Healthy Tips for Teachers * Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher * Stream by clicking here.
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Links for Good Health that Richard and Vicki discuss in this episode: * Stay Focusd App * Freedom.to * Easy 10K with Jeff Galloway * Strava * Toggl * Mike Tholfsen's YouTube channel – great tips for Microsoft products of all kinds! * Cal Newport's Books: Deep Work and his upcoming book A World Without Email * Dr. Judson Brewer, neuroscientist and his upcoming book Unwinding Anxiety
Richard Byrne – Bio as Submitted Richard Byrne is the President of Byrne Instructional Media, LLC. which manages multiple websites and training programs for teachers. Richard is a former high school social studies teacher best known for developing the award-winning blog Free Technology for Teachers. He has been invited to speak at events on six continents and would gladly speak in Antarctica too. He also provides online training and guidance for teachers and technology coaches.
https://practicaledtech.com
@rmbyrne
Other Episodes with Richard Byrne: * 8 Epic Edtech Tools to Try This School Year * 5 Free Tech Tools to Try in Your Social Studies Lessons * Richard Byrne's Most Exciting Edtech Tools
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The post 5 Health Tips for Teachers to Stay Healthy appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
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Teaching coding can be challenging and expensive, but our guests Sean and Kelly have a solution. We can start teaching the second most popular coding language – Python – in our schools. Kelly Schuster-Paredes and Sean Tibor host the Teaching Python Podcast where they share how to help kids of all ages learn this valuable language. Before you think it is too hard or too difficult, you'll want to hear their story about how Kelly is a teacher who became a coder and Sean is a coder who became a teacher and how it can be done at your school as well.
Sponsor: It’s a new year and time to plan your professional development with Advancement Courses. They offer over 280 online graduate-level PD courses in 20 subject areas. They are online and self-paced, so you can take them anywhere, any time with up to six months to complete. Receive graduate credit through CAEP and regionally accredited university partners or for continuing education units that meet your state requirements. And right now, you can save 20% off each course with the code COOL20 — that’s just $120 per graduate credit hour or $160 for 50 clock hours. Go to advancementcourses.com/coolcat and use the coupon code COOL20. * Listen to the show on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher * Stream by clicking here.
Listen to the Show Everywhere Podcasts Are Found. Here are a few…
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Teaching Python Resources Mentioned in this Show * teachingpython.fm – Kelly and Sean's Show * Twitter: @teachingpython * @kellypared * @smtibor * https://www.blog.pythonlibrary.org/2019/12/23/pydev-of-the-week-kelly-paredes/ * https://www.blog.pythonlibrary.org/2020/10/12/pydev-of-the-week-sean-tibor/
Examples of Integrated coding projects: * https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1nwozFdOBFEx6Oz46nlnDaizI01Q24yUM?usp=sharing (Genetics and Microbits) * https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1_ktmyeslEPA4cDYPPUYjiPYZSRbNQyv2?usp=sharing (Big Data) * https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1TFa3kEhOEIGYAUy9vI5KQSCRUMDTyS_V?usp=sharing (Calculating Pi)
Kelly Schuster-Paredes – Bio as Submitted Kelly Schuster-Paredes is a mom, world traveler and a netizen. She loves learning about cultures and her children were born on two different continents. Kelly has a Masters in Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology. She has taught all over the world and specializes in curriculum design, coaching and development. She got started with integrating technology in the classroom in 2003 and dabbled with app design in File Maker and HTML. She currently teaches sixth and seventh-grade computer science at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is her third year using Python.
Sean Tibor – Bio as Submitted Sean is a dad, coder, teacher, geek, marketer, salmon enthusiast, Star Wars fan, and 3D-printing nut living in Florida. Prior to teaching, he has worked in IT and marketing for Procter & Gamble, Kaplan University (now Purdue University Global), and Diagnostic Centers of America. Sean is the founder of Red Reef Digital, a digital marketing consulting firm and is a certified HubSpot partner. He has a bachelor's and master's degree in information systems from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The post Teaching Python: How Children Can Learn Python Programming appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!