Teacher Tech Spotlight

When it comes to hot topics in education, AI (artificial intelligence) stands at the forefront. Depending on your perception of AI, the role of AI in the classroom can be a polarizing topic, for sure! In a recent survey announced by Instructure (the company behind Mastery Connect), 55% of teachers, students, and administrators felt positive about AI in the classroom, while 30% remained neutral. However, even with all the opportunities that AI brings to the classroom, the number one concern is cheating. While there is the potential for students to use tools like ChatGPT to cheat, there are also ways to use AI to spark curiosity, engage in powerful discussions, and take a deep dive into a topic otherwise difficult without AI. Here are just a few of the many ways you and your students can use AI in the classroom!

Text to Image Generator: Use the Magic Media tool in Canva to generate images or video based on a text description. Visualize a concept, historical event, a descriptive narrative, or have students put their creative writing skills to the test by seeing how it is interpreted by the AI. In the example to the top right, I copied the opening line of Charles Dickens’, A Tale of Two Cities, and this is what it visualized!

Generative Writing AI: Large Language Models (LLM), such as Bard, ChatGPT, or Canva’s Magic Write offer unique opportunities for students and teachers by providing a writing and research partner. If you are curious what it can do for you in the classroom, just ask it! The trick is to use prompts that provide context and explain in detail what you need. Pro tip: You can also ask it to teach you how to write a good prompt to get the most out of its capabilities.

Diffit for Teachers: This is a free (for now), new tool powered by AI that aims to make planning easier for teachers. Diffit can take any text, article, or video and change the Lexile level, create a vocab list, and generate assessment questions. It can even translate the text into 50 different languages. As with anything, be sure to vet the material before giving it to your students. Check it out at diffit.me

Doceri's recording features are what I started using when I flipped my dual enrollment class the fall before COVID due to the number of students in that section that year, and I'm so glad I did! At that level, the material moves so quickly that if a student misses days of class, they can get far behind fast. I use a hybrid flipped classroom teaching style, where sometimes they take notes on videos, and sometimes I teach traditionally. Still, I have flipped lessons that are easier to understand so that we can apply the knowledge in class together in labs. I have recorded lessons that are harder to understand so that if a student misses class, they can still catch up on the material, or if a student feels the need to revisit a lesson, they can.

Although recording the lessons took many hours, I can use them forever. Occasionally, I have my students watch "lecture" videos on easier-to-understand material at home so that we can do more in-class labs and group activities to apply the knowledge we've learned. Using Doceri/recordings allows me more time to design, set up, and create lab/application experiences for my students. Ultimately, it allows students more time to reflect, apply, and collaborate.

Additionally, the students have multiple opportunities to use the recording feature on their Chromebooks to demonstrate their mastery of learning. For example, each fall, students complete an Integumentary System project, where each group gets to choose how they teach the material, and the most commonly selected options are the movie and song, where students use the recording feature on their Chromebooks to teach the content and then share it with the class.

1) How do you utilize the data spreadsheet or Google Sheets in your classroom?

I created a spreadsheet to track how my students are doing. I wanted to be able to compare their performance from last year to this year to ensure that they are growing. I also wanted to be able to easily share the data with the students so we could have data conversations and set goals. I collaborated with Melissa Deskin and Chris Cooper and found that I could use a plugin called AutoCrat that would easily sync the data from the spreadsheet to a template that could be shared with the individual students with a click of a button.

2) What inspired you to use Google Sheets this way?

I wanted to be able to have powerful data conversations with the students and it is harder to do if the data is not in the same place. I wanted to get students to know their data and use it to strive to reach their full potential.

3) How much time do you spend setting up the spreadsheet? How much time is involved once you’ve got your initial spreadsheet set up, and you’re just updating test scores?

The actual spreadsheet takes very little time to create. Most of the information in my spreadsheet was copied and pasted from Skyward and Mastery Connect. Moving forward, I am having the students set goals for each chapter test. They are entering the information on a Google Form Survey and I am copying and pasting that into my spreadsheet. I will then spend a few minutes making a few tweaks in AutoCrat and it will email an updated PDF to the students. Any time I add new data I will follow that process.

4) How does Google Sheets benefit your classroom?

Google Sheets and AutoCrat give me a medium to connect with my students in a new way. It makes the conversations much more meaningful when the students can see all of their data in one place and see how they are performing. It is easy to customize it and I will make changes as more data comes in. If anyone would like help doing this for their students, I would be happy to meet with them to show them how to set it up.

My daughter is currently working at the White House as a Research Fellow for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Research Policy. She sent me an email this past summer that had contact information to reach out to another NOAA Research Fellow who had an opportunity to conduct research off the coast of Hawaii. She would be available to share her research with educators and classrooms via a live ship-to-shore video call from Hawaii while she was aboard the E/V Nautilus.

I contacted the NOAA fellow to arrange a virtual field trip for my 3rd and 4th grade ESL students. I knew this would be a perfect experience to share with my ESL students while we were studying Ecosystems, Life Cycles, and Endangered Species. I saw this as an opportunity to reach all of the third and fourth grade students at FHES. We were able to have two 30-minute ship-to-shore live video calls! Our ITC, Mrs. Knoll, provided technology assistance and our administrators, Mr. Percoski and Mrs. Bennett, approved the virtual field trip as we were able to connect the 3rd and 4th grade ELA and Science standards.

During the virtual field trip, the students were able to see live video footage of life on the E/V Nautilus ship, the sunrise from the ship via drone footage, video clips from the ocean floor, and the creatures that live around the ship. The students were also able to see how the ROV robot takes videos and collects data for scientific research. The students were able to interact with two female scientists (a marine biologist and a marine policy and science communication research fellow). The scientists were able to share information about the ecosystems of the ocean around the Hawaiian Islands where they were sailing. The students were also allowed to ask questions. It was surreal to be able to bring the students across the United States at 4:00 AM Hawaii-time and to be able to "explore underwater" with two female scientists. I'm thankful to all of the people involved who helped make this fantastic experience a reality.

Quotes from teachers and students during the virtual field trip:

"I was totally geeked out seeing all of the cool sea creatures and the ocean exploration vehicles!" Kristie Gretke, third grade teacher

"My favorite part was when the scientist showed a Sperm Whale rubbing into the robot. That's how he was checking it out." R.S.

"I loved seeing the octopus garden and the Vampire squid up close and swimming." A.D.

1. How do you utilize technology in your classroom?

We utilize technology twice a week with math practice by using IXL Group Jams. I also use it to send home parent newsletters each week via Smore.

2. What inspired you to use these programs?

I enjoy learning that's interactive. IXL Jams give me live responses, so I'm able to see who has a strong grasp of the concept immediately. This gives me a better idea of who I should pull for small groups.

3. How much time do you spend setting up & creating these programs?

The newsletter only takes 20 minutes and I am able to reuse the same template each week. IXL Jams don't take much time at all because I already know which topics I want to cover.

4. How does using this technology benefit your classroom instruction?

Students become excited when the learning goes beyond pencil and paper. They get excited about learning, and that makes MY job easier. Parents love the Smore newsletters because it puts all the information they need on one page. It also includes pictures and highlights from the previous week, so they are able to feel more included in the learning environment.

5. Are there any downsides to using these programs?

NO :)

Learning Target: I can research data on the planets in the solar system in order to sort them as inner or outer planets based on their physical properties.

Dogwood Third Grade students went Above and Beyond making their planet projects spectacular. The project was two-fold. They had to first create an at-home 3-D prototype of the planet of their choice using household materials. In class, they created a research based Google slide presentation to share with peers. Presentation day was a BLAST as students rotated or "orbited" around each display learning fascinating facts about each of these 8 amazing planets.

How do you utilize IXL in your classroom?

I use IXL in a variety of ways in my classroom. We use the learning, assessment, and interactive components of the program. I think my students enjoy Group Jam most. It is a live interactive whole class experience. The students each answer the same question but depending on how they answer we can review it right there or move to the next question. It gives me instant feedback and the students can spread out in the room, so they have their own space to think and work. You can decide to make the next question harder, the same or easier depending on how your class answers. We also play some fun music and celebrate when we all get it correct.

What inspired to use IXL in a various of ways?

I think the ease of the program and ability to use it in multiple ways makes it a great program. I always feel like making students do the same thing over and over gets boring for them. It gives them access to all of our math standards, and students enjoy learning and teaching themselves skills we may not have officially began learning in class.

How time consuming is setting up IXL for your students?

Using it is easy and quick in the classroom. I would say most parts of the program take a couple of minutes to set something up for the students.

How does using technology benefit your classroom?

Regarding the IXL program, I really like to give them a quick “quiz” so that I can check for understanding. I can decide which standards I want to address and then send it out to all students. I get the results as soon as they are done and can see what they got wrong and what they put for the answer. This shows me what I may need to work on with them in RTI.

Are there any downsides to using the technology this way?

I think the downside to technology for everyone is when it’s not working. I also feel like technology should be used in moderation in the classroom. It’s important for students to work equally with paper and pencil.