Technology Tools Updates
October 2024
Read Along in Google Classroom Help
Google Help Page: Read Along in Google Classroom
With Read Along as a feature on Classroom, teachers can assign reading assignments effortlessly and get insights into the overall class performance and individual students reading performance. This includes data for each assignment on accuracy, speed and comprehension. Using Read Along to assign stories can help teachers to:
- Understand students' progress better and on a continuous basis.
- Modify their teaching approach with regular and actionable data.
- Focus their in-class attention optimally on students based on their learning needs.
- Share student progress with parents and school leaders.
Read Along is designed to engage readers and it:
- Has a library of diverse reading materials (fiction, non-fiction), eye-catching illustration and an engaging reading experience.
- Provides real-time feedback.
- Offers assistance and avenues for help when they struggle.
- Encourages and rewards them with stars and badges when they do well.
- Guides them along as they progress.
⏬Below: 2 Videos from Google on How To Use Read Along⏬
ChromeOS Inclusive Technologies
Create an inclusive environment that is essential for everyone to thrive! You can make the student Chromebook work better for students to meet their needs when you turn on accessibility features.
Find accessibility features
- On your computer:
- At the bottom right, select the time.
- Press Alt + Shift + s.
- Select Settings Accessibility.
- Optional: To have quick access to accessibility features, turn on Always show accessibility options in the system menu.
Turn on Chromebook accessibility features
Find Accessibility features
- On your computer:
- At the bottom right, select the time.
- Press Alt + Shift + s.
- Select Settings Accessibility.
- Optional: To have quick access to accessibility features, turn on Always show accessibility options in the system menu.
Turn on a feature:
Choose the accessibility features you'd like to use:
✅Text-to-speech: Turn on the screen reader or Select-to-speak.
✅Type text with your voice: Turn on dictation.
✅Display and magnification: Turn on:
- Color correction: Color filters for protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia, or find the display in grayscale. You can adjust the filter intensity.
- Color inversion: Screens change from light to dark and vice versaa
- Full-screen magnifier: Use to enlarge items on the screen.
- Docked magnifier: To find screen magnification, use a split-screen.
- Reduced animations: Limit on-screen movement.
- Display settings: To make items on your screen smaller or larger, change display size.
- Website text size and font: Customize text size and font for the web browser.
- On-screen keyboard: Use the on-screen keyboard.
- Dictation: Type with your voice.
- Switch Access: Control your device with one or more switches.
- Sticky keys: Turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Highlight item with keyboard focus: Item is highlighted when you move focus.
- Highlight text cursor: Cursor is highlighted when it appears or moves.
- Text cursor blink rate: Adjust the text blink rate to fast or don’t blink.
- Navigate with text cursor or caret browsing: Use the arrow keys to move through items letter by letter.
✅ Audio: Play all sounds together through all speakers or play sound on startup.
✅ Chrome Live Caption: Turn on Chrome Live Captions for media played on your Chrome browser.
Mentoring Responsible use of Generative AI
AI has the immense potential to benefit AI in Education.
It is important that educators take the time to to about artificial intelligence with their students. Educators need to teach content, but also serve as mentors, facilitators of learning and co-learners with their students. Embrace AI with your students! Model, teach, and facilitate how to use AI properly, responsibly, and ethically.
Teach yourself and your students how to write a strong input for their prompt and how to evaluate and use the GenAI output.
Input For Your Generative AI Prompt
Use the acronym PARTS to write a strong prompt.
✨P = Persona
- Identify your role. This gives context to your request.
✨A = Aim
- State your objective so AI can focus on your desired outcome.
✨R= Recipients
- Specify the audience. This step gives Gemini the information it needs to tailor language, tone, and content to resonate with recipients.
✨T = Theme
- Describe the style, tone, and any related parameters.
✨S = Structure
- Note the desired format of the output: bullet points, in code, emojis.
By including all of these building blocks in your prompt, you can increase the accuracy and appropriateness of AI's output.
Example Prompt: Acting as a 1st grade teacher, draft a choice board with word work activities for students to use in the form of a poster.
Output From your Generative AI Prompt
Use AAA to critically evaluate and respond to your output prior to your use.
✨A = Accurate
- Does the response contain factual errors or misinformation?
- Can you verify the statements made using reliable sources?
- Is the logic and reasoning sound, or do they make unsupported claims?
✨A = Aligned
- Does the response directly address the question or prompt you entered?
- Is it on-topic and relevant to your task?
- Does it move the dialogue forward in a meaningful way?
✨A = Appropriate
- Is the response suitable for the educational context?
- Does it use language that is professional and aligns with educational norms?
- Are the ideas or examples provided context and age-appropriate?
AI can be your starting point for a draft, but it should not be the end point. Always check your AI output using the AAA framework before using it for your tasks. Review the output. Refine the output.
Handout: GenAI Tips for Input/Outputs
Magic School AI
Alma Fidel, Mary Hoge MS
I like Magic School AI. I use it to develop impact statements unique to different disabilities of special education students I service and develop their IEP goals.