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Questions and Answers

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This video is so empowering. Although it is 7 minutes long, I got to see how a teacher used google earth in a lesson. The students created a project and demonstrated their learning to the class.

Create interactive and engaging lessons that allow students to explore the world, learn about different cultures and landmarks.

If I wanted to do this in my classroom, I think if we were talking about landforms or bodies of water I would pull up google earth and show students where it is, the red lines around it, and what the description says. This is a perfect way to connect bodies of water/landforms to real life and maps.

Another example is having students learn about continents.

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Google Earth in the Classroom: Using Maps to Tell Stories That Matter

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Ways to use Jamboard in the classroom to make learning engaging!

Jamboard is a great way to create activities for students to do or for students to create their own activity.

Jamboard is such an easy way to make activities, worksheets, lessons, or student-directed learning projects.

I could use this for any subject like math, science, reading, history. Either I could create something that the students could use or the students could create thier own project/page of content we are learning.

Example of own creation:

https://jamboard.google.com/d/1-c-_gfk_rFyqpK6cNlus9qBHqcTsLnfXKFOxWatyF0M/edit?usp=sharing

Another example is drawing or creating different types of weather out of different shapes.

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Ed Tech

Whiteboards and chalkboards have been a fixture in classrooms for ages. They're great for gathering ideas and making thinking visible.

But there are drawbacks ...

Having to write "DON'T ERASE!" next to important stuff

Taking pictures of the whiteboard with your cell phone

Markers drying up or running out of ink

Having only so much whiteboard space in your classroom

If you can sympathize, you've got to check out Google's Jamboard app. Jamboard ( jamboard.google.com) is a physical device -- an interactive touchscreen display/monitor, and it's pricey. But thankfully, the app that runs on those interactive displays is a teacher's favorite price -- FREE!

The Jamboard app is a fantastic tool for learning in face to face environments and for virtual/remote learning. The features are simple and intuitive. It's really easy to collaborate. Plus, it's very visual.

What is Google Jamboard?

You can find Jamboard by going to jamboard.google.com. You can also find it by clicking the "New" button in your Google Drive and hovering over "More".

Don't have touchscreens? That's OK. You can use a mouse or touchpad on a laptop or Chromebook. Or you can download the Jamboard app for Android or iOS (Apple) mobile devices.

When you open Jamboard, you'll see all of the recent jams you've opened. You can click the + button in the bottom right to create a new jam.

1. Draw: Use a pen, marker, highlighter or brush. You can draw from pre-determined colors.

2. Eraser: Erase something you've drawn.

3. Select: Choose and adjust a shape, sticky note, image, text box.

4. Sticky note: Add a sticky note with text. You can choose from several colors.

5. Image: Add an image from your device, image search, Google Drive or Photos.

6. Shapes: Add a circle, square, triangle, diamond, rounded rectangle, half circle, bar or arrow. Choose border color and fill color from the menu bar at the top of the jam.

7. Text box: Add a box where you can type and format text.

8. Laser: Use a pointer to emphasize and highlight certain items on the screen when presenting ideas to others.

9. Background: Choose from dots, lines, graph, or dark colors.

10. Clear frame: Wipe everything off your frame with one click. (Undo if it was a mistake!)

11. Frame bar: See all of your frames in one place. Add new frames, duplicate or delete.

12. Menu: From here, you can rename your jam, download it as a PDF, save a frame as an image, remove, or make a copy your jam.

13. Zoom: Zoom in, zoom out, or fit to window.

14. Undo and redo: I'll bet you know all about this one already.

Note: If you watch videos or read documentation about Jamboard, you might get excited about some features that you can't access by just using the free app. Integrating Google Meet, adding files from Drive, and some other features only work when you purchase the interactive display. When in doubt, try it out on the app first.

Student collaboration with Jamboard

Jamboard is made for collaboration! You can also share your jams just like you'd share a document or slide presentation. Click the "Share" button and share with individuals and groups or create a shareable link.

Students can interact in jams in lots of ways:

Students can brainstorm and create in small groups face to face on one device.

Share an "everyone can edit" link with students in Google Classroom for whole-class collaboration.

In remote or online settings, students can work together in small groups in the same jam.

In lots of the ideas below, you can add a layer of collaboration by giving students an "anyone can edit" link.

Note: Jamboard does not have a version history. This does remove an element of accountability that encourages students not to abuse the activity, writes Wes Fryer in his Speed of Creativity blog. You know your students, so you may well know whether they'll abuse this situation or not. I could see using it with small groups more readily than a whole group because the one who acts out is usually trying to perform for a large audience. You can always use Jamboard to display your own ideas and make them viewable later.

The Do More with Google Jamboard Online Course!

This course will introduce you to Jamboard features you might not know. It will give you dozens of ideas for using it in the classroom.

Plus, it provides you with:
- A collection of more than 100 templates.
- 40 activity ideas you can use immediately
- Tutorial slide s to use as a quick visual review.
- I nteractive infographics you can give your students
- Video playlists, posts, and extra resources.

20 ideas for using Jamboard in class (+ FREE templates!)

So ... what could this look like in class? I'm glad you asked! Here are several ideas for using it with your students. If you like the ideas, then click the "Get this template!" button and make a copy of a template you can use right away with students!

9. Screen record to describe thinking

How do we know what students are thinking when they create with Jamboard? Let's give them a way to tell us! Have students do screen recordings of their jams with a tool like Screencastify. They can describe what they've done, show us how they do it, and tell us why.

Google Jamboard tips and tricks:

Control D to duplicate. For many items on Jamboard, you can choose duplicate out of a menu. But using the keyboard shortcut (Control D) can save lots of time.

Voice typing. Jamboard doesn't offer voice typing for those that struggle with using a traditional keyboard. But students can always open a Google Doc and use voice typing out of the Tools menu. Copy and paste the text into Jamboard.

Make jams available to students. Grab a share link to any jam you use to teach students. Put that link somewhere in Google Classroom or a class website so students can access it later. (Adding the link to the description of an assignment connected to that jam streamlines things!)

Make jams into templates you can copy. Want to make templates that you force the user to copy -- like I did in this post? Click the "Share" button and change the link to "Anyone with the link can view". Copy the link. Then, when you paste the link, change the end of it, deleting the word "edit" and everything after it ... then typing the word "copy" in its place. That link will force the user to make a copy of your file.

More Google Jamboard resources:

Have you used Jamboard? What are your best tips, tricks and ideas? Please share them in a comment below!

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How to use Jamboard in the classroom: 20+ tips and ideas

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Jamboard is a collaborative online whiteboard. It gives students lots of creative work space. How do you use Google Jamboard in the classroom? Check out

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This picture is a googledrawing used in the classroom where a teacher created this and students have to write/drag the word bank words into the correct box.

There are so many interactive ways googledrawig can be involved in the classroom. You can have students do a graphic organizer, mind map, create a poster, show work from a math problem, and more. I would use all of these examples in my classroom.

I think drawing shapes, writing the alphabet, writing numbers and drawing representations, and practicing spelling words, all correlate with my grade level I want to teach.

There are many options to do on googledrawings. You can use drawing tools, change colors, add shapes, size different shapes, drag & drop, add backgrounds.

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Can be a simply way to do daily check-ins with students, exit tickets to check for understanding, or parent newsletters to get parents involve in their child's learning.

For example, I could use this as an exit ticket for the class after a lesson or a send home questions to parents for a supply asking or holiday information.

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G Suite

Everyone wants data. Schools want it to track student performance. Companies want it to learn about their customers.

We track data in our own personal lives (fitness data, banking data, even social media data).

Teachers and students have their own data gathering and tracking tool that's free and easy to learn - Google Forms.

Google Forms lets you create a survey with lots of different kinds of questions:

Short answer

Long answer

Multiple choice

Checkboxes

Drop-down menu

... and more. You can distribute these surveys to anyone - students, parents, even yourself - and track the data in the Google Forms app itself or in a spreadsheet.

Teachers have used Google Forms to do quizzes and assessments for a while. But that's not the only way it can make our lives easier and better!

Do More with Google Classroom

Teach better. Save time. Make a difference.

The short how-to tutorials on Google Classroom are EVERYWHERE. But how do we teach well with it? In this book, you'll find practical ideas to do great teaching with Google Classroom and thrive.

Here are 25 ways to use Google Forms in the classroom and in schools.

Procedural stuff

1. Opinion surveys - Want to get to know your students better or learn about their preferences? How about parents? Create a simple survey. Add a short answer question for the name, or if you want to keep it anonymous, leave it out.

2. Quick poll - A simple one-question Google Form makes getting the pulse of the classroom quick and easy. Closed-ended questions can be displayed as graphs immediately in with the "Responses" tab in the form.

3. Late work submission (with email notifications!) - When students use this form, they can provide assignment details and a link to any digital work to turn in. You can receive an email when they submit the late work form. In Forms, use the "Responses" tab and click the three dots menu button. Select "Get email notifications for new responses". It will automatically send an email to the account you used to create the form. Here's an example of a late work submission form you can use.

4. Sign-up sheets - Need students or parents to sign up to bring something to class, work the concession stand, etc.? Have them sign up in a Google Form! Want to eliminate a choice once someone has taken it (i.e. remove a time slot when it's been claimed)? Use the Choice Eliminator add-on to remove that choice after someone makes it (so nothing gets claimed twice!). Check out the Choice Eliminator page to see how it works.

5. Sign-out sheets - Ditch the sign-out sheet when students leave and return from the room (or when they check equipment in and out). Use a Google Form instead! Use the CheckItOut add-on. It uses multiple choice, list or checkboxes questions. When something is signed out, it moves to another question - the signed-out group. When it's signed back in, it's moved to the signed-in question. Create a "Name" short-answer question and you can see the paper trail of who checked equipment in and out and at what time in the spreadsheet of results. This YouTube video (less than two minutes!) makes using the CheckItOut add-on crystal clear. Click to view what the form would look like, or click to make a copy you can edit yourself.

6. Lesson plans - Want to quickly create detailed lesson plans with standards, learning objectives, activity descriptions and more? Add all the parts you want included in those lesson plans in a Google Form. (Add all of the individual standards as checkboxes.) Then view your own form and start filling in information. Use the Autocrat add-on to turn your responses in the Google Form into custom-created documents. You'll have a document with all of your lesson plan information for each day! These are great for turning in to administration, leaving for substitute teachers or filing away for next year. See the blog post I wrote with detailed step-by-step directions here!

7. Daily check-in - We want to connect with our students and know how they are doing every day. But it can be difficult to check-in with every student in every one of our classes. This daily check-in Google Form template created by Mari Venturino makes it simple and easy to get started connecting with all of your students.

8. Create a HyperDoc in Google Forms - Incorporate the lesson design that makes HyperDocs so effective in a Google form by including sections for students to learn or review the content, show what they know, share their thinking and apply their skills. You can even include links for students to explore once they have completed the task. Check out this blog post by Karly Moura that includes examples, creations tips, and a template to get started.

9. Customized email newsletters - Using a combination of Google Docs and Google Sheets (with an option to use Google Forms to input information), you can create personalized email newsletters with custom comments for every student. See the blog post I wrote with detailed step-by-step directions here!

Assessment

10. Autograded quizzes - If you create a quiz or other assessment with closed-ended questions, Google Forms will autograde it for you. Create your quiz and click the gear (settings) button. Choose the "Quizzes" tab and turn on "Make this a quiz". You have some options in that window. Then, go through your questions and select the correct answer (your answer key).

11. Quizzes with Flubaroo - Flubaroo is an add-on to Google Sheets that can create a detailed grading summary with student results from an assessment. When students complete a quiz/assessment in Google Forms, click the "Responses" tab and click the little green Sheets button. This will create a spreadsheet of results from the quiz/assessment. Open that sheet. Flubaroo's official user guide walks you through the steps of setting Flubaroo up to autograde your assessment. It creates a summary that shows average student grade, individual student grades (plus which questions each student got right or wrong), questions students struggled on, and more.

12. Exit ticket/bell ringer - Have students answer questions at the beginning or end of class with a Google Form. Add images, links, videos and more to the form to make it a richer multimedia experience. Then gather all of the student responses in a spreadsheet.

13. Quick grade log - To quickly mark a grade for simple assignments create a Google Form with every student's name. When I did this, I walked around the room and had the form loaded on my iPad. I put each student's scores into that form. Later, I pulled up the responses and transferred them to the grade book. Here's an example form of what that might look like that you can copy into your Drive!

14. Flipped classroom assessment - The flipped classroom comes in many different shapes and sizes, but many teachers have students watch a video and then answer some comprehension questions afterward. This is easily done in Google Forms. Create a form with a YouTube video (created by you or found on YouTube) and questions. Here's what a form like that would look like when students loaded it.

15. Rubrics - Create your rubric in a Google Form to make an easy place for you to assign grades and provide feedback to students. When you're done grading and writing feedback, use the Autocrat add-on to turn all that feedback into a document. Share that document with students (or parents too!). Here's what a rubric form could look like when you load it (click here). Here's the document generated with the feedback for students (click here).
16. Add math equations to Google Forms with EquatIO Chrome extension -

Teachers can use EquatIO to create math assignments and quizzes. Check out this video to learn more.

After adding the extension click the EquatIO icon next to any question or answer in the Form.

This will open the EquatIO toolbar at the bottom of your screen.

Students can respond right in the Google Form creating math expressions including equations and formulas.

Get the tools, the practical ideas, and the inspiration to transform the way you use technology in the classroom!

Lesson ideas and downloadable templates

A companion webpage full of FREE resources (click here to access NOW)

Brand new PIRATE engagement hooks

Encouragement and motivation to start

Learning and creating

17. Logs (for exercise, nutrition, reading, etc.) - If students need to submit information in logs to track progress over time, Google Forms can capture that information easily. Create a form with the student's name and all the information he/she needs to submit. Each time he/she submits, it's logged into a spreadsheet where students can review that data and submit it to you.

18. Choose Your Own Adventure stories - By using branching (the "go to section based on answer" choice in the three-dots menu in a multiple-choice question), you can create fun Choose Your Own Adventure Story-type activities. Create them for your students or let students create their own! Here's a math example from Mandi Tolen's class.

19. Sharing examples in professional development - Teachers can use Google Forms to share their learning, too! During professional development, direct teachers to a Google Form where they can share their ideas, reflections or experiences from the classroom. Provide a link to the spreadsheet of results to everyone in the group. That way, when everyone's done, each teacher can see everyone else's ideas all in one place!

20. Answer with an image - With younger students, the old version of Google Forms was tricky because almost everything used text. Now, you can ask questions AND provide answers with images! Teachers can cue students verbally and they can answer by choosing the correct picture. When creating the form, just click on the answer to edit it and click the image button at the right. Here's a VERY simple example of how to use images as an answer (click here).

21. Brainstorming with a word cloud - Provide a simple Google Form where students can reflect on what they've been learning, either with a sentence or a few individual words. When they finish, copy all of their responses from the spreadsheet and paste them into a word cloud generator like Wordle or Tagxedo. It will show the most common words larger in size than others, sorting the reflections of the class in a fun, visual form.

22. Personalized guidance via e-mail - Do your students (or teacher participants in professional development) need answers fine-tuned to their unique needs? Create a Google Form to let them choose the type of feedback they need, collecting their answers in a Google Sheet. Then, the Form Mule add-on can send them a custom e-mail response based on their answers. Basically, you write an email for every possible answer, and Form Mule sends it to them automatically when they submit the form. See more about Form Mule here.

23. Writer's conference schedule - If your students need to schedule a time to meet with you to discuss their writing, the Form Limiter add-on can help. Create a form in Google Forms and it will gather the data you'll need (name, class, time, etc.) in a Google Sheet. Form Limiter will stop accepting responses when specific Google Sheet spots are filled. No double-booking!

24. The Amazing Race, Google Style. This game is an intense mashup of Google Slides/Documents, Google Forms and Google Maps (optional). Students must complete several challenges provided by the instructor using Google Slides or Documents. Once the complete the first challenge in the slide presentation or document, they submit the link to the presentation/document in a Google Form. Once submitted, the link to the next challenge in the game is in a link on the confirmation page for the form. Clear as crystal, right? No? Check out this outstanding example by Michelle Green. Once you get it, this activity is super engaging.

25. Digital escape room locks - Use data validation to create a set of "locks" in a Google Form. This will make it so that the student MUST type in the correct answer in order to submit the form and "escape".

Check out this post for 30+ FREE digital escape rooms (plus tips and tools for creating your own) Want to try one out before you dive into using them with your students? This Ditch that Textbook themed digital escape room was created by Mandi Tolen and Karly Moura. Try and see if you can break free from Ditch That Textbook headquarters!

BONUS. Teach students how to make their own! - Show your students how to create their own Google Form and have them create one for their classmates. It's a fun way for students to show what they know and creating the incorrect and correct answers levels it up. Who knows, they might even stump you!

For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Is Matt presenting near you soon? Check out his upcoming live events!

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©2023 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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25 practical ways to use Google Forms in class, school

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Google Forms give educators a powerful data collection tool. Check out these 25 ways to harness its power in school.Everyone wants data. Schools want it

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1A8BhUVvuPjb0ovGcRlbdWXAsEda_cV8GbDocAp_cQbo/edit?usp=sharing

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Use the following links to explore Google Tools and pedagogical use suggestions.

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This can be used in so many ways to create/design presentations for a lesson, posters to make for the classroom, or take home newsletters/family updates.

Examples below:

Guidance Plan-

https://www.canva.com/design/DAF243N2-Tw/eWgjwV6K723dpfgoCZM_-A/edit?utm_content=DAF243N2-Tw&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Welcome Letter-

https://www.canva.com/design/DAF2QPwncFY/yMX1f6wrlBgizG7AaXbrEQ/edit?utm_content=DAF2QPwncFY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Calendar for parent involvement-

https://www.canva.com/design/DAF2UC42dEI/D4MIr77piWBOugERHq8EQg/edit?utm_content=DAF2UC42dEI&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

IEP Personal Profile-

https://www.canva.com/design/DAF6oZYRiY4/zHeztQVe3_URxAXMk2cDBA/edit?utm_content=DAF6oZYRiY4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Note to parents-

https://www.canva.com/design/DAFtstXxrws/DHZx1z2cgXpPTgFFyBjeOQ/edit?utm_content=DAFtstXxrws&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Family update form about their child-

https://www.canva.com/design/DAFucp7LcqY/j0YItEczmChem5AasXDSDg/edit?utm_content=DAFucp7LcqY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

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Use padlet for class, teaching lessons, organization, or subbing.

Provides a blank canvas for students to create and design collaborative projects

Teachers can do this to have students comment on posts where the whole class can see such as answering questions from a story. Or teachers can create a padlet where they have multiple books that students pick and choose what to read. (just a couple examples, so many more ideas)

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Teachers can use this in the classroom by having students use a code and interact with the slideshows presented.

Students can respond to slides, add feedback, and answer questions.

Formative Assessments to check for understanding.

Teachers can use this as a guide to make sure the class is following directions and/or use it a check for understanding.

In my class, I would put my lesson into a slideshow and have students go through the slides with me, follow along, and answer questions.

I could also have students use this as take home homework. Students could look through slides, videos, and answer questions to be prepared for the lesson the next day.

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Interactive Whiteboard: Great for teachers to use as a class to break down step by step problems.

Teachers can create videos, use voice overs, or give live presentations. If you have a sub, you could teach a lesson and the sub could display this or students could watch it independently on their ipads.

Has a variety of easy, flexible, and fun tools to use when creating lessons/videos.

I would use this if I had a sub that way students can follow along and hear my voice as if I was still teaching for that day. It also works great if a teacher is sick.

You could also teach this in class and record it for students to look back at if they forgot how to do an assignment.

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https://prezi.com/create/video-presentation/

If I had to be gone for class one day, students could watch a video presentation on Prezi of me. It gives multiple options such as thinking ideas, flashcards, and other templates to create lessons and students thinking.

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A way for students to feel connected and engaged in their reading/learning. Uses bitmoji's to share connections and feelings. A creative discussion post.

I would use this in the classroom to promote a student-centered learning. Students would read a book and read the captions that I wrote to connect their learning to other thinking. It could be used in a station rotation or quiet reading time.

Could also help struggling students by making it easier to comprehend text.

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Super cute and easy for young students to use.

Engaging and allows students to include their own interests to what they are learning.

(student voice- students would enjoy making their own art then adding voice to make it talk)

It is an easy way to check for understanding and apply their learning in videos, pictures, and texts.

After learning about a historical person, students could act as if they were that person and say facts about what they learned and/or talk as if they were them in their day.

Another example is having students describe a type of weather. They could act as if they were weatherman and present what kinds of things would be happening in the type of weather they chose.

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ChatterPix by Duck Duck Moose - Make Anything Talk!

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Station rotations could be used for so many things. One idea is to use it during a tier instruction time. Students could be in pairs and work on their own work or a group activity, while another group is working with the teacher.

Another type of station rotation could be study materials. Students would have a different way of studying their spelling words for example. One way could be writing them on white boards, another could be on technology (jamboard), and then the last way could be matching them with pictures.

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Learn more about the Blended Station Rotation Model by visiting the Blended Learning Universe at Blended Station Rotation Model

Students rotate through three stations: teacher, technology, and collaboration station on a fixed schedule or at teacher's discretion between learning modalities.

Learning at each station is aligned and there is a common thread amongst the three.

www.blendedlearning.org.

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Learn more about the Blended Station Rotation Model by visiting the Blended Learning Universe at Blended Station Rotation Model Students rotate through three stations: teacher, technology, and collaboration station on a fixed schedule or at teacher's discretion between learning modalities. Learning at each station is aligned and there is a common thread amongst the three.

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Safe search engine for kids.

If I wanted students to do research, I would have them use this website because I know it is safe for students to use and school appropriate.

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Kiddle is a safe search engine, offering a safe web, image, and video search. Results are vetted by editors.

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Brain breaks for students, set routines, explore holiday events, and engaged activities.

This video is learning syllables!

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Clap It Out - Learn Syllables | Songs For Kids | Dance Along | GoNoodle

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Teachers can have students watch a video and ask questions and hold them accountable to keep them engaged.

There are many benefits such as self-paced, bite-sized, flexible, and visual.

It is interactive, learner-centered, and data driven.

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We often hear that classrooms should engage in more student-centered instructional strategies, or that teachers should use more student-centered instruction. However, what does that mean? Does it mean every student is using educational technology that provides a "personalized" learning path? Does it mean that students are engaged in project-based learning? Does it mean an "anything goes" classroom with less rigor? Does it mean a classroom with a less formal structure?

To these, I would answer, respectively, "most probably," "possibly," "definitely not," and "it depends on what you mean by less formal...." For instance, it is true that a student-centered classroom-which uses what is often called learner-centered instruction -will have more personalization than traditional classrooms. It is also true that student-centered instructional strategies may seem less structured (and, at first glance, a bit "less formal") than traditional instruction. As students collaborate, conduct their own research, and create work products that look different from traditional essays and tests, classrooms can become messy and noisy environments. But this is not "anything goes." Instead of enforcing a quiet classroom of students dutifully attending to the teacher's lecture, the teacher's role is focused on ensuring that students are fully engaged in learning, and are actively working and collaborating on rigorous content that meets their personal learning needs. The teacher may also find that a student-centered classroom results in the teacher not knowing the answer to every question that arises-that's good news because it allows the teacher to model learning in an authentic setting!

While student-centered instruction has been used to mean many things, there are agreed-upon learning principles that form the foundation for a student-centered classroom: for authentic learning to take place, students must be engaged in what is learned, how it is learned, and what it looks like to exhibit expertise. In this post, we share a set of strategies that allow these principles to be realized in your classroom.

6 Key Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies

Student-centered instruction begins with an attitude that puts students at the center of the educational experience. There isn't a single strategy that absolutely defines a student-centered classroom. There are, however, some strategies that are common across a wide variety of learner-centered classrooms.

1. Support Student Voice and Choice

The key to a student-centered approach is allowing students to share in classroom decision-making, such as allowing students to determine the form of a learning product. As an example, after students read their next book, provide an option for what format they want to use for their book report:

Of course, this does not mean reducing rigor: students should understand, and preferably have input into, a grading rubric that makes clear the expectation of rigorous work. As students become more familiar with having a voice in classroom decisions, and as they understand the responsibility they have in ensuring rigor, students can be given more control. Students can determine how they will learn about a topic, the learning resources to be used, and how they will show competence in the area. As this shift occurs, you may find that students demand a deeper understanding of the "why" of learning and how it applies in a real-world context. For instance, a persuasive writing unit may become an analysis of media posts; or for older students, a unit on logarithms may become a project on understanding how we measure the strength of earthquakes.

2. Provide Differentiation

Not all students are the same, and student-centered instructional strategies build upon this fact. Students enter the classroom with different strengths and different backgrounds, and a student-centered view of the classroom accepts these differences as an asset, not as a set of student deficiencies to be remediated. Sometimes differentiation means that students use personalized technology to gain competence in background skills needed for the unit. More often, though, differentiation can take the form of ensuring that there are multiple ways to access concepts and show competence, as outlined in the approach called Universal Design for Learning, or UDL. UDL has guidelines for engagement (the "why" of learning), representation (the "what" of learning), and action & expression (the "how" of learning).

Thinking about learning from such a high level can help you differentiate instruction from the student's perspective:

A wide variety of contexts allows students the choice of context

Information and concepts are presented in varying ways, for instance, using text, simulations, and animations

Some learning activities are independent, and some are collaborative

You may find that students take time to become comfortable with a student-centered approach to learning. You may find that your students need support in areas such as responsible decision-making and self-management, as described by the CASEL framework.

3. Foster Collaboration

A learner-centered approach requires that the learners interact with each other, supporting each other in learning and engaging in joint problem-solving. There are many ways to foster productive collaboration, including:

Students mentoring each other based on the unique strengths of each student (for instance, a student who typically underperforms in class may be the class expert in video editing)

Students engaging in a jigsaw assignment, in which each student is responsible for a key part of the assignment and teaches the others what they learned

Additional techniques for moving towards more collaborative learning strategies and techniques can be found in another one of our blog posts. As students learn to collaborate, you may find students who traditionally don't speak up in class display unexpected strengths when collaborating with their peers. Student collaboration allows students to experience taking some responsibility for their own learning, making clear that their own ideas are centered on the learning experience.

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Learn about student-centered instructional strategies that are common across a wide variety of learner-centered classrooms.

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Tools for Formative and/or Summative Assessment

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Tools for Formative and/or Summative Assessment

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Assessment tool that is interactive feedback on their paper assignments.

Teachers and classmates can post comments and mark-up a student’s document digitally. Students can see and respond to feedback instantly or ask questions privately in order to enhance their learning.

This is a good app to use for any subject. For example, in math students can do problems and then their classmates or teacher can grade each others can give feedback. This supports learning for all. Another way to use this could be having students start with a type of weather and then have other students add to that picture. Each child would have their own type of weather but all students contributed to it.

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Watch on YouTube

Tool Snapshot

Type of learning

Social Learning: Students can learn from each other's submissions when they provide feedback on their classmate's work.

ISTE Standards

Empowered Learner: Using Floop, students can demonstrate their learning and seek feedback from their teacher and peers.

Global Collaborator: Students can use Floop to provide feedback to one another.

Ease of Use

The Floop website features articles to help you learn how to use the tool:

While resources are provided to learn how to use the tool, new users may need to take some time to figure out the interface as it can be tricky to navigate at first.

Accessibility

Floop does not have an accessibility statement or policy.

To login, a user has to share an email address and their full name. The privacy policy clearly outlines how information is used and shared. Floop does not feature advertisements for students. The company also collects all the images for an assignment posted on the site, the length of a work, and the feedback received.

Floop Video Tutorial

Watch on YouTube

Transcript
Floop & the SAMR Model

Dr. Ruben Puentedura's SAMR model offers a lens for examining how technology is adopted in a classroom. As you strive to incorporate online tools into your classroom, we encourage you to use this model as an analytic tool.

Here is an example of how Floop might fit within the SAMR model:

Substitution: Students are able to submit papers and their work online rather than submitting papers in class.

Augmentation: Students and teachers are able to extend learning beyond school walls by sharing feedback and responding to comments digitally.

Modification: Students can provide feedback on each other's posts and engage in ongoing conversations through the feedback feature.

Redefinition: Classmates and teachers together provide comments and engage in conversation digitally on the same document.

Far too often, technology is used as a direct substitute for other low-tech tools (e.g., pencil and paper). While substitution has some benefits (e.g., students develop their technical skills and knowledge), we encourage you to think about how you might use Floop to modify or redefine learning.

Learning Activities

Math

Students can submit math worksheets, sketchnotes related to a math topic, or even paper-based infographics featuring data about a topic of interest, and provide feedback on their peers' submissions.

Science

Students can submit diagrams or images of science experiments or pages from their science journals. Students can also leave certain aspects of their diagram blank and have their classmates fill in the blank through the comments feature.

English/Language Arts

Students can submit hand-drawn movie posters for a book, annotated maps that visualize the movement of a character in a story, or a photos of a hand-made art project representing a scene from a book.

History/Social Studies

Students can submit drawings that represent an important historic event/figure, maps that visualize a series of events of a historical point in time, and sketches of scenes from certain a historical figure's life.

Other

Teachers can post a study guide as an assignment to the whole class. Students can print out and annotate the study guide, snap a photo, and send it back to the teacher to provide clarification and feedback.

Resources for Floop

Resources for Feedback

How to Use Floop

Fill out class name, class section, and note if there are students under 13 in your class.

You will be given an access code to allow students to enroll in your class.

For students who are 13 years or older, give the access code assigned to your class to your students and let them create an account with your specific access code.

For students under the age of 13, you will need to get consent from the school or district before allowing them to sign up for an account.

When you click on the tabs for each class, you can see the assignments, the students who are enrolled, and a setting tab on the left. The settings tab will allow you to change the name and/or section of the class, along with the option to delete the class.

To create an assignment, click on the "+" button in the upper left next to the assignments tab.

Assignment: Choose the classes and due date. Give the assignment a name and a description (optional).

The dashboard shows the assignments posted in each class, the details of the assignments, all the submissions, the peer reviews, and the feedback is given/received. There is the option in the upper right to either edit or delete the assignment.

You can add assignments as needed throughout the academic school year.

Research

Duijvenvoorde, A. C. K. V., Zanolie, K., Rombouts, S. A. R. B., Raijmakers, M. E. J., & Crone, E. A. (2008). Evaluating the Negative or Valuing the Positive? Neural Mechanisms Supporting Feedback-Based Learning across Development. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(38), 9495-9503. DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1485-08.2008.

Witcher, C. (2019). Floop: Designing holistic feedback systems in secondary classrooms: Whitepaper. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1faCuK-mmgvu-4EMArXieO2CyMKzzFdMU/view

Laud, L. (2011). Using formative assessment to differentiate mathematics instruction: Seven practices to maximize learning, Grades 4-10. Corwin Press; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506335537

Authors

This page was created by Elisabeth Ng, Isabelle Wang, and Tyler Volpe-Knock.

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Floop is a browser-based tool that eases the process of providing students with digital, interactive feedback on their paper-based assignments and it’s available on all platforms. With Floop, students can submit their assignments by snapping a photo of their worksheet or document and uploading it online.

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Grade assignments and assessments in under a minute!

Get reporting and analysis on student performance.

Quickly send scores to students.

I would use this because it grades the assignment or assessment super fast and can send scores to students instantly.

Another way I would use this in my classroom is by recording and collecting student performance and data to check for readiness levels.

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Ten Things You Didn’t Know Flubaroo Could Do

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A mind-mapping tool designed to help you understand student thinking.

This is a good idea for making mind maps as a class or sharing this on the tv/smart board to the class about a topic they are learning.

Students could do a mind map about a historical person they are learning about or the question could be broad such as "who is your hero?" and they could answer whoever they wanted.

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Coggle is online software for creating and sharing mindmaps and flowcharts. It works online in your browser: there's nothing to download or install. Log in to start diagramming!

Whether you're taking notes, brainstorming, planning, or doing something awesomely creative, it is super simple to visualise your ideas with Coggle. Share with as many friends or colleagues as you like. Changes you make will show up instantly in their browser, wherever they are in the world

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The clear way to share complex information. Coggle is a collaborative mind-mapping tool that helps you make sense of complex things. Create unlimited mind maps and easily share them with friends and colleagues.

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Quick formative assessments

Quiz, space race (rocket progress), exit ticket, multiple choice, true/false.

Provides live results

Scans barcodes for quiz.

Easy to guide and use.

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Login or sign up for free on Socrative - your assessment partner for real-time assessments and instant insights.

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App that easily assess students for formative assessment.

Can ask quick questions or on the spot assessments.

Teachers can use a variety of options to gather feedback.

It can be creative and interactive activities. (Self paced, exit tickets, or quiz games)

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Socrative: A Formative Assessment Tool for Teachers

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Lectures, assessments, discussions, flexible classrooms, and more.

Teachers can ask and be asked questions.

Get a quick overview of group understanding and clarify any issues or confusion.

Boost participation with interactivity and anonymous voting.

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Online Learning Tools & Software for Educators

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Keep your students engaged with Mentimeter. Test knowledge, start discussions and have fun with the only interactive presentation platform you need!

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Teacher assigns a task.

Students submit work.

Students review each other.

Students engage with feedback.

Teacher has complete overview of work.

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Peergrade - Better feedback for your students

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Peergrade empowers teachers to create better students by letting students take part in evaluation and feedback. This saves time for teachers, gives students more feedback and trains critical thinking. Go to www.peergrade.io to try it out and learn more! Peergrade is a all-in-one peer assessment and peer feedback tool for teachers and students.

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Providing choice to see students knowledge.

Students can draw pictures and record themselves talking. This could be good for students who cannot write yet still be able to use their creative thinking with story telling/making.

Could be used as a formative assessment to check for student's understanding of a topic.

I would use this because students can demonstrate their learning by making it fun, interactive, and engaging. Students have the freedom in their hands but still are following expectations and content.

I could use this in history for making a story about a sequence of events.

It could also be used in reading to retell sequence of events, explain the plot, character, setting, and more.

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Use this powerful form of communication to build literacy for emerging readers and writers

Digital storytelling is a powerful way to connect young learners to reading, writing, and digital literacy. While students in the primary grades may be more likely to watch stories than read and write their own, today's digital tools make it easy for these emerging writers to create and publish their own stories.

Digital storytelling tools provide opportunities for primary learners to begin communicating their ideas by simply adding pictures and recording their narration to describe what they've drawn, providing an opportunity to practice retelling before they begin writing. Digital storytelling relies on showing as much as telling, exemplifying that 21st-century literacy is more than just words on paper.

For students who aren't yet strong readers or confident speakers, or are new to the English language, creating digital stories provides an authentic opportunity to practice fluency. Digital stories are meant to be shown and shared; if you give your young learners headset microphones, they can record, listen, and rerecord until they are comfortable with their fluency and ready to incorporate their narration into the digital story.

Digital storytelling develops strong foundations in the craft of writing

The process of developing a digital story provides opportunities for students at all competency levels to develop and improve their writing craft. Many digital storytelling tools include a storyboard view of the pages in a project, helping students see how their writing is organized and providing an easy way to change the order events and ideas. Students can also look at the visual details in the pictures they have added to their stories and then enhance the story with additional descriptive writing.

Digital storytelling provides a compelling need to read and listen carefully and to write and edit effectively. Writing, adding images, writing more, rearranging the order of a project, and changing specific details helps students see that effective storytelling requires time, reflection, and editing.

Digital storytelling establishes the relevance of school work

Creating digital stories, like the ones they are watching on YouTube and Netflix, help young learners see how the skills they are learning in school connect to the world around them. "Why do we have to do this?" isn't heard that often in a room of eager primary learners, but crafting digital stories firmly answers this question and establishes that what is learned in school is relevant to their world outside of it.

What can primary students create?

While digital storytelling requires skill in narrative writing, it isn't limited to this form of writing. In fact, the most powerful writing often combines informational, narrative, and opinion writing to inform and entertain, to raise awareness, or to change behavior.

Original Stories

Many young students love to tell stories, and some of them are even interested in writing them down. But for others, getting the ideas in their head down onto paper is a struggle. Because effective digital stories, show, not tell; images and sounds are as integral to effective storytelling as the text itself, easing the stress many young students feel when asked to write.

You might choose to have reluctant writers brainstorm ideas and begin "writing" by finding and adding them to their story. Tools for digital storytelling, like Wixie, make it easy for students to change the order of pages and then use the recording feature to narrate their story without having to write at all. You could also have them record their ideas as a first draft, find a parent or assistant to type the words into a word processing document and then have them work to edit the printed version before recording again.

Pattern Story Adaptations

Emerging readers love pattern stories because they "know" what is coming next and can "read" the story without having to know how to read the words. You can also use patterns to build the confidence of your emerging writers by asking them to add just a few words to complete a pattern for a class adaption of your favorite story.

After reading your favorite pattern story, use its pattern, or develop your own version, and ask your students to complete it. If the pattern requires just one or two words to complete, students may be able to type on their own or with you at a station or interactive white board. Have students use paint and imaging tools to add supporting illustrations.

There are many great children's literature titles that are easy and fun to adapt. Many digital publishing tools, like Wixie, even let you create your own template that makes it easy for students to begin creating their page as well as tools that make it easy to collect, combine, and share their work as a class book.

How-to Instructions

While not a traditional narrative, how-to instructions make for a great digital storytelling project. How-to writing helps teach students the importance of organization and sequencing. Using digital tools to create a short series of pages that each contain a simple sentence or two along with supporting visuals and illustrations, allows emerging writers to create products that effectively communicate an idea or process.

Many young students have already used a YouTube video to learn how to make glitter slime, do simple card tricks, or complete holiday crafts. Some of them even know how to search and find a video on their own when they want to learn something. Developing and publishing their own how-to digital stories connects the work students are doing in school to the world they encounter outside of it.

Passion Projects

Everyone likes to be an expert and many young students have high-interest and high-expertise in a specific area. Create a learning culture that shows students you expect them to share their expertise with other learners, by challenging them to create informational texts that teach others about the topics they are passionate about.

When you ask young students to develop informational texts, the added benefit is that you end up with informational texts written at the level of your learners. While the Web contains a wealth of information on just about any topic, the content and reading level of the information is often way above the ability of primary students.

If you share student work online, or export as PDFs or eBooks, you let students know that their work is important. Your digital library can be full of literature and informational texts that were written and published by your students!

Raising Awareness and Inspiring Action

Stories inspire action. Use digital storytelling projects like opinion pieces or public service announcements to let learners know that their writing and publishing can change the world. Students use their growing writing and digital communication skills to raise awareness and educate others about issues for which they are passionate.

When first-grade teacher Barbara Fairchild's students were studying families, she asked them to create stories that shared their opinions as to why a special someone was their favorite relative. She supported her writers by structuring the project so students created pages that:

1. stated their opinion,

2. shared two or three reasons or examples to explain why, and

3. finished with a concluding statement

When several of the people mentioned in the stories cried after viewing them, students saw the power that their words and stories could have.

Let your emerging writers know you believe in them!

Not only are emerging writers and primary learners able to create digital stories, the process of creating them develops strong foundations for digital-age communication. Digital storytelling also provides a powerful opportunity for students to practice authentic digital literacy skills through work that is shared with the world beyond the classroom.

Popular Topics

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Digital Storytelling in the Primary Classroom

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Digital storytelling is a powerful way to connect young learners to reading, writing, and digital literacy. While students in the primary grades may be more likely to watch stories than read and write their own, today's digital tools make it easy for these emerging writers to create and publish their own stories.

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Providing choice to see students knowledge.

Having students make a podcast is such a fun and creative way to increase student learning as well as check for understanding to see if they understand the content.

Age appropriate as well!

A fun idea would be to have students do a science experiment and make a podcast about their hypothesis and the steps throughout the process.

Another idea is having students give a podcast as if they were weatherman describing today's weather.

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Relates to standards and goals. (English and Math)

Has assignment tasks, can be designed by groups based on readiness, can change questions, and multiple classrooms.

Energy points to get to play games.

Students can draw on screen, read question out loud, watch an explanation video, listen to answer choices.

Used as a center, assessment, or task.

At own pace.

I could use this in the mornings for free choice/ bell ringer or when students are done with their math assignment they can go onto boggle and pick up where they left off. Since it is standards based students will apply what they are learning in class and relate it to boggle.

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Click here to login and start playing Boddle. Available on the web and iOS

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Gives students the ability to make a 30-second video of what they learned in a lesson.

Students can create videos, add pictures, music, and voice overs.

In the classroom you can use this to introduce new topics, give pre-assessments, give students opportunities to expand experience, encourage responsiveness, learning remotely, and it allows for differentiating learning for different levels.

It is easy to use with diverse templates, and gives students opportunities to create personal elements.

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Breaks down options by grade level and content area.

An easy fun learning game with differentiation. Students have to pass levels based on standards.

At own pace.

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The exact skills you need

Planning a lesson or prepping for an exam?
We've custom-built IXL skills to reinforce each topic within your:

State standards

Virginia's Early Learning and Development Standards

Textbooks

See skills that match every chapter of 80+ popular textbooks

Assessments

Use IXL for the NWEA MAP, ACT, SAT, and more

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IXL | Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish

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IXL is the world's most popular subscription-based learning site for K-12. Used by over 15 million students, IXL provides personalized learning in more than 10,000 topics, covering math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. Interactive questions, awards, and certificates keep kids motivated as they master skills.

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An example of a social story is above.

This website is an easy way to create social stories. Sometimes making your own social story can be beneficial because you can design it to their own needs or goals.

This does not have to relate specifically to Special Education. Students can create their own books in a classroom for a project or task.

It lets students create and publish their own illustrated stories. Whether students are beginning writers or not, StoryJumper provides an opportunity for them to use their imaginations as well as learn some real writing strategies.

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Kim and Jana learn how to handle frustration and communicate their needs. They use words, take deep breaths, and wait their turn. Kim likes to play wit...

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Watch the first 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

It shows how it is beneficial to students for learning and to get a full understanding of the content, but also beneficial for teachers. Teachers can use this to monitor and track student's progress or ways to differentiate in order to meet student's needs in the classroom.

I would use this in the classroom to help address gaps for my struggling students and gain independence with grade-level text.

I could also use this as a tier two intervention to provide targeted support for additional assistance.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBwzEwNqp0Q&t=73s

These youtube videos show how bridging apps can be beneficial for students with special needs.

I would use this because it a free resource that students can use to improve their learning of social and cognitive development. (reading books to help increase this)

I would most likely use this for students who need help communicating their needs.

There is also adaptive aids, toys, and software for clients.

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This gives read aloud stories that can improve reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking and concentration, and general academic aptitude, as well as inspire a lifelong love of reading.

I would use this in my classroom to help strengthen students comprehension, verbal, and literacy skills.

During quiet reading time, struggling students could use this to listen to a read aloud book and still learn as much as the rest of the class.

I would especially use this for ELL learners.

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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Special education refers to a range of services designed to meet a student's unique learning needs. Through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), federal law mandates that a free, appropriate public education is available to children with disabilities and special education services are provided for those who qualify.

One key component of IDEA is the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): students with disabilities are to be included in the general education classroom to the maximum extent appropriate. Teachers are to provide the necessary support and accommodations to make this possible, which are listed specifically in a student's Individual Education Plan (IEP).

A student's IEP is developed by a team of professionals and the child's caregivers, who offer insight into the child's need for interventions in the classroom. Many general and special education teachers use special education apps in the classroom to meet the student's targeted goals and accommodations, as listed in the IEP.

Accommodations and Special Ed Apps

There are many different types of accommodations that can be provided for a student. The IEP team determines which accommodations will benefit the student the most. Teachers may find special education apps to be particularly useful for the accommodations listed below:

1. Alternative format of instruction

Alternative instruction can take place in many forms, depending on how the student best processes information. The use of visuals, graphic organizers, learning apps, and audiobooks are all examples of this accommodation.

2. Incorporating technology and other digital tools

Digital tools can help to make content more accessible for students. Today, there are many special education apps specifically designed for special learning needs.

3. Frequent breaks

For some students, taking frequent breaks will help them to focus better. Many apps, like GoNoodle, provide mindfulness opportunities or even exercise videos to offer students a break.

4. Outlines, note-takers, or recordings

Some students may benefit from being provided with an outline of the lesson to help them focus their notes. You may also use a designated note-taker or an app to record your lessons to make them accessible for the student later.

During the meeting, professionals and parents will work together to decide which accommodations are best. Parents know their child best and can provide valuable insight as to which strategies may be helpful for their child's needs.

View Product →

Benefits of Special Education Apps

There are many benefits to using special education apps in a classroom setting.

Best Special Education Apps

We've gathered a list of the best apps for special needs students that can be used by special education teachers and general education teachers alike.

Assistive Technology

Life Skills

Speech Skills

Social/Emotional Skills

SentenceBuilder/ConversationBuilderTeen
The SentenceBuilder app is designed for elementary-aged children to help them learn conversational skills with their peers. ConversationBuilderTeen is a conversation simulator designed for older students.

Math Skills

Literacy Skills

Multipurpose Apps

Thanks to developing technology, there is an increasing number of resources available for students with special needs. Special education apps are an excellent tool to help students grow to their fullest potential and achieve success both in and out of the classroom.

Looking for more classroom resources and tips? Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with the latest teaching ideas and more!

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Top Special Education Apps | Continental Educational Publisher

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Looking for the best special education apps for your students? We compiled a list of the best ones for use in your classroom.

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My mom's classroom website for her students/parents to use.

Perfect website to create your own website whether it is for the school year, subject, or topic!

When I become a teacher, I would create a website like this as well. It is an easy way for students to easily bring up topics/content that they are talking about or learning in the classroom. It also provides a resource for study materials. Therefore, it also is a way for parents to see what students are learning, see newsletters posted, and/or other information posted for upcoming events.

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Welcome to 5th Grade!
Use the Tabs above to navigate throughout our site. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, contact Mrs. Hosick at .
We look forward to sharing our learning experiences with you! Thank you for visiting!

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Welcome to 5th Grade! Use the Tabs above to navigate throughout our site. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, contact Mrs. Hosick at colleen.hosick@bpsne.net . ...

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Record and track students behavior

Teachers would use the point system for tracking off-task behaviors. If a student is off-task doing something they are not supposed to be doing, the teacher can add points to their team

Student portfolios

Engage in school to home communication.

(Free!)

For my grade level I want to teach, this is a perfect app to use. It is a way to track student's progress, make sure they are on task, give feedback, and keep in contact with parents.

I would use this app because I like everything can be done on one app. It is easy and very organized.

I could also use this app to track behaviors and use the reinforcement system.

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Seesaw combines instructional tools, standards-aligned lessons, student portfolios, and inclusive communication features.

Helps you improve family communication and makes formative assessment easy, while students can use the platform to document their learning.

I would use this app because what students are doing in class can be posted/shared then parents can see what students are doing in the classroom.

I would also use this app because students get the opportunity to see their classmates work and comment on it.

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Helps you post assignments for students, and both you and your students’ peers can provide feedback.

Students can also monitor their progress and work.

Create and share assignments or lessons.

Monitor students progress and work.

Teacher gives feedback by awarding points, adding additional content, and add stickers without disrupting the rest of class.

Students can give feedback also: type, write, draw, or voice record by clicking on a peer's work.

Students can raise their hand on the app if they are stuck and need help.

($17 a month!)

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This allows us to see in real time what the students are doing on their iPads at any given time.

It also allows teachers to lock the children’s screens if they are not where they should be or lock the whole classroom so you have their attention.

This nifty app also allows teachers to share a website or doc with the whole class at once.

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Apple Classroom for iPad: Creating Classes, Inviting Students & Grouping Students

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Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge.

What they know, how they teach, and role of technology.

Allows teachers to reflect, examine their practice, how technology is integrated.

Incorporating teaching and learning from technology in meaningful ways.

https://youtu.be/yMQiHJsePOM

https://edtech-class.com/2021/06/30/all-about-tpack-a-teachers-guide-to-the-tpack-tech-integration-model/

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This use of technology demonstrates students learning because they are identifying parts of a plant. Students will be talking through the stages and functions of plants and what they need to survive. This technology use is beneficial because at this age students are not great writers. Having them record themselves gives me an idea of their understanding and a way for me to look back and assess it. It also is a fun and engaging way of learning that all students enjoy because they get to use their imagination to act as a plant.

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Technology is also important in this TPACK model.Using seesaw gives students to connect what we are learning about animal habitats to the real-world. Students will be going home and taking pictures of different habitats they see around their house. This gives students an opportunity to apply what they have learned in class to the real-world. Technology is effective because not only can they do this from home, but other students will be able to see what their classmates post and the habitats they found around their houses.

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A perfect tool to use when creating lessons, rubrics, report cards, professional emails, and so much more. This AI website can be super helpful as a future teacher and save time!

I would totally use this to help me write IEP goals and accommodations. This can help me brainstorm new ideas to help support the needs of my students.

I would also use this to help me brainstorm ideas for lesson plans.

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MagicSchool.ai - AI for teachers - lesson planning and more!

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Join over a million teachers saving hours of time using the #1 AI Platform for Education, MagicSchool, to help lesson plan, differentiate, write assessments, write IEPs, communicate clearly, and more!

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Substitution- Technology acts as a direct substitute, with no functional change

Augmentation-Technology acts as a direct substitute, with functional improvement

Modification-Technology allows for significant task redesign

Redefinition- Technology allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable

https://vibe.us/blog/samr-model/#:~:text=The%20SAMR%20Model%20categorizes%20online,conventional%20materials%20with%20digital%20versions%2C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC5ARwUkVQg&t=1s

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Using AI as a learning partner for students in your classroom to deepen their own learning.

I agree, I think AI is a learning partner for students and teachers. AI can help my students by providing questions and answers that deepen their learning/thinking about a content they are learning. As long as it is safe, I feel my students should learn about this resource and apply their knowledge to work as a learning partner with AI.

Having AI be a learning partner for students is also important because it stimulates their imagination. For example using School AI and talking to "Abe Lincoln."

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How Students Can Use Artificial Intelligence As A Learning Partner

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Different prompt examples to use as a teacher to help make you a better teacher and new ideas to use in the classroom or with your lesson.

I agree, using these prompts can help myself become a better teacher and help me brainstorm ideas with new lessons. This saves time and may help me come up with ideas I did not think about beforehand.

I would also use prompts because it helps me, as a teacher, be a critical thinker and be aware of a variety of circumstances that are related to the content.

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50 ChatGPT Prompts for Teachers - Class Tech Tips

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I have 50 ChatGPT prompts for teachers you can use to save time this school year and make the most of this free tool.

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Website gives a variety of AI tools to use that are beneficial to the classroom and student learning.

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Artificial intelligence is growing by leaps and bounds. It's no longer science fiction anymore!

Lots of AI tools can serve as our own personal assistants -- answering questions, helping us write text, create images, speak more effectively, and more.

Time has always been a barrier in the classroom. Most teachers would agree that they would be able to do more -- including the things that are most important -- if they had more time.

Teachers can find AI tools that are ready to help them out right now. Lots of them are free or have "freemium" plans with limited free options.

Below is a description of AI and how you can start using it to support your work in class.

What is artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of a computer or machine to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, decision-making, and more. There are several different approaches to building AI systems, including machine learning, where a system is trained on a dataset and can improve its performance over time, and rule-based systems, where the system follows a set of predetermined rules to make decisions.

AI can be applied to a wide range of areas, including natural language processing, image and video recognition, robotics, and more. The goal of AI research is to create systems that can perform tasks at least as well as, or ideally better than, humans. AI has the potential to revolutionize many industries and transform the way we live and work, but it also raises important ethical and social questions.

30 AI tools for the classroom

We have gathered 30 of our favorite AI tools for the classroom below. You can scroll down and check them all out or jump to any category of tools by clicking on the icon below.
Note: Pricing is accurate as of our most recent update in November 2023.

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Artificial intelligence is growing by leaps and bounds. It's no longer science fiction anymore! Lots of AI tools can serve as our own personal

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Website lists a variety of ways ChatGPT can be used when teaching in the classroom. It provides ideas of differentiation, remixing student work, feedbacks, routines, learning experiences, and so much more.

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AI just stormed into the classroom with the emergence of ChatGPT. How do we teach now that it exists? How can we use it? Here are some ideas.

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot. Drawing on tons and tons of data and massive processing power, it uses GPT3 technology to let users talk to the AI about practically anything.

It'll write you a song. Tell you a story. Make you a list of gifts to buy or reasons to do something.

It'll write your lesson plans. (Go ahead and try it!)

It'll even do your students' homework for them.

ChatGPT (chat.openai.com/chat) was released on November 30, 2022, the first very notable public AI chatbot. (It certainly won't be the last.)

Immediately, students were thinking ...

"Can this write my English essays for me? Write speeches for class? Do my math homework?"

Immediately, teachers were thinking ...

"How will I run class when students can ask a chatbot to do everything for them?"

Meanwhile, the IT staff was thinking ...

"We've got to get this blocked immediately." (Of course, we know that won't stop students from using it, right?)

Now, we're wondering ...

What is ChatGPT? And, more broadly, what are chatbots and AI?

How is this going to impact education?

How can I teach tomorrow knowing that this exists?

Can I use this as a tool for teaching and learning?

Should we block it through the school internet filter -- or try to ban it?

Calculators.
Search engines.
Google Translate.
Wikipedia.
PhotoMath.#ChatGPT.

They disrupt traditional teaching.

We adapt. Education evolves forward.

Blocking them isn't the answer.

Making education more relevant is.
- Matt Miller (@jmattmiller) December 14, 2022

Jump straight to a section (click a button below):

⭐️ Add thoughts, ideas, resources in the comments at the bottom! ⭐️

Define: ChatGPT, GPT3, chatbots, and artificial intelligence.

These are some of the important things to understand as we wrap our brains around what this is and how to navigate it in the classroom.

I'll do plenty of my own human thinking and reasoning, but for the purposes of information, I'm going to let ChatGPT give us working definitions to use:

1. ChatGPT, what are you?

I am an artificial intelligence assistant trained by OpenAI to help answer questions and provide information on a wide variety of topics. I am not a physical being, but rather a program that is designed to process and generate text based on the input I receive. My primary function is to assist users like you by providing information and answering questions to the best of my ability. I have been designed to have a conversational style and can understand and respond to natural language input. I do not have personal experiences or feelings, and my responses are based solely on the information and knowledge that has been programmed into me. Is there anything else you would like to know?

2. What is GPT3?

GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3) is a language generation model developed by OpenAI. It is a neural network-based machine learning model that is trained on a large dataset of text data to generate human-like text. GPT-3 has the ability to perform a wide range of language tasks, including translation, summarization, question answering, and text generation. It can be fine-tuned on specific tasks or used to generate text in a more general sense. GPT-3 has received a lot of attention due to its impressive performance on various language tasks and its ability to generate human-like text.

3. What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the Internet. Chatbots are often used in customer service, marketing, and other areas where being able to communicate with customers or users in a natural, human-like way is important. Chatbots can be programmed to understand and respond to specific commands or questions, or they can be more general and able to hold a conversation with users on a wide range of topics. They can be integrated into websites, messaging apps, and other digital platforms, and they can be programmed to use natural language processing (NLP) techniques to understand and respond to user input. Chatbots can be very useful for automating tasks and providing quick responses to frequently asked questions, but they are not as advanced as some other artificial intelligence (AI) systems and may not be able to hold more complex or nuanced conversations.

4. What is artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of a computer or machine to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, decision-making, and more. There are several different approaches to building AI systems, including machine learning, where a system is trained on a dataset and can improve its performance over time, and rule-based systems, where the system follows a set of predetermined rules to make decisions. AI can be applied to a wide range of areas, including natural language processing, image and video recognition, robotics, and more. The goal of AI research is to create systems that can perform tasks at least as well as, or ideally better than, humans. AI has the potential to revolutionize many industries and transform the way we live and work, but it also raises important ethical and social questions.

Want to make sense of the world of artificial intelligence and its impact on education? Sit in on the panel discussion in the video above, featuring:

Victoria Thompson, Microsoft education executive and former classroom teacher

Donnie Piercey, fifth grade teacher and 2021 Kentucky State Teacher of the Year

Holly Clark, education consultant and National Board Certified Teacher (formerly in the classroom)

Dee Lanier, author, speaker, and former classroom teacher

Matt Miller, author/creator of Ditch That Textbook and former classroom teacher

What are the implications for the classroom?

As soon as the genie was out of the lamp, so to speak, there were effects of ChatGPT and AI on teaching and learning. Whether we felt those impacts right away or not, as soon as it was released, things have the potential to change. Below, we'll talk about ChatGPT in particular, but know that this is just the first one ... and we're thinking long-term about new products to come later.

1. Students can use ChatGPT to do their assignments.

There. I'll just say it clearly and plainly since we're all thinking it. For lots of assignment types (not all of them!), students can ask ChatGPT to do the work for them. They can copy/paste the work into a document or your learning management system and submit it.

2. TurnItIn and other plagiarism checkers can't catch it.

What ChatGPT creates is an original work each time you ask it. It creates something new every time you ask, and its responses are not in the databases of plagiarism checkers. ChatGPT doesn't keep a log of responses it creates, and even if it did, I'm thinking OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT) has no incentive to make all of that available to plagiarism checkers. (Even if it did, the processing power necessary to query that database would be enormous.)

Some people will, undoubtedly, try to find ChatGPT detectors to track down students using it (in a similar way to plagiarism checkers). You may find them. I found one on social media called GPT-2 Output Detector Demo. It's a demo, so it's not a finished product. It's based on GPT2 technology (which is a predecessor to the GPT3 technology that ChatGPT is using as of the writing of this post).

Also, it can be wildly inaccurate. I copied a blog post I wrote into it and it identified it as 92.54% chance of being real. I copied something out of ChatGPT and it identified it as 99.98% chance of being fake. ("Fake," being the term for "written by a bot.") A poem ChatGPT created for a friend, however, was flagged as real.

Beware of using detectors as your way of dealing with this.

They're not reliable. And this approach isn't the long-term solution to helping your students become modern learners.

3. Schools and districts will try to block it, but that won't stop much.

Immediately, IT admins are going to have to decide if they want to block ChatGPT with their internet firewalls. And lots of them will indeed block it. If they do, I hope they don't think that they've solved the "problem" they think they have on their hands.

First of all, blocking ChatGPT on the school's network won't do much. Sure, students won't be able to access it with their school devices on the school network. But did you know that students have cell phones? Phones that operate on a cellular network that the school can't control? They can run to the bathroom, sit in a stall, ask ChatGPT for answers, copy them to a document, come back to class, and transfer the text on that document into their assignment and turn it in. (They can do that at home, too. Or on the bus. Or quietly under the desk in the classroom.)

Whether to block ChatGPT school-wide is still a decision schools and districts have to make.
The bigger decision is: what will teaching and learning look like going forward now that this technology is available?
(Check out the section below called, "Should we block it or try to ban it?")

4. ChatGPT and forthcoming chatbots like it have their limitations.

When you load ChatGPT for the first time, it even tells you what some of its limitations are. Here are a few that it states -- and some others to be aware of for schools/classrooms:

It may occasionally generate incorrect information. As of publication of this post, it's still in "free research preview." That means it's an imperfect product that they're trying to improve.

It may occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content. Any artificial intelligence is as good as the dataset it's drawing from -- and how it uses it. It has to make judgment calls just like humans do. Bias exists in judgments. It's still learning how to work with and eliminate its bias.

It has limited knowledge of world and events after 2021. Think of its dataset in a sealed box. It isn't drawing from current events. It can't pull anything from social media. It can't even search the active internet.

It won't make ethical decisions for you. I've asked it a few things where it has to make decisions based on morals, ethics and personal values. It has declined, explaining that that's beyond the scope of what it's trained to do.

I've heard that it struggles to do math sometimes. I admit this is a really, really subjective thing to include with very little to back it up. I keep seeing posts on social media about this. Take this for what it's worth to you.

5. School/class uses of ChatGPT, chatbots, and AI aren't all bad.

Lots of teachers are making judgment calls about the use of this new technology, and many are concerned about its immediate impacts. Here's the truth: it'll make lots of teachers reconsider some types of assignments they'll assign going forward. Hey, they don't want to know how a bot will respond to their prompts, questions, and assignments. They want to use it to gauge learning in a human being. It makes sense.

But let's put it this way. There are some really, really mindless, terrible writing prompts out there ... and math worksheets ... and project assignments. If we're looking long-term, this technology will eventually start to push some of those terrible assignments out and force us to come up with something new. It'll probably be painful, and many of us will probably hate parts of the process. But in the end, we will evolve to something better.j

AI isn't going away. But if we ask students to write on paper right now -- as a stopgap, we know it's coming from their own brains. But please don't long-term plan like this.

Also -- just like we did with the calculator, Wikipedia and Google searches -- students and teachers will find productive, meaningful ways to use this new technology for teaching and learning. (More on that below.)

6. Students will have to learn how to navigate life with AI.

Big picture, this is a shift students will deal with for the rest of their lives. Artificial intelligence will continue to get better and better. This version of ChatGPT is the weakest, most rudimentary artificial intelligence of its kind our students will ever use. My friend Holly Clark called it the "Commodore 64 of AI" -- a technology that was revolutionary at the time but is now seen as antiquated and obsolete.

Students will have to wrestle with questions of humanity -- what sets us apart as humans? When should AI be used, and when shouldn't it be?

They'll wrestle with questions of obsolescence -- what can I do that AI can't do? How can I do my best to be sure my work, my passions, my place in this world isn't replaced by artificial intelligence?

They'll wrestle with ethical questions -- how can AI use be fair, equitable, unbiased, good? What happens if it gets in the hands of bad actors? How can I make sure I'm using it in an ethical way?

Big-picture, AI will cause a shift students will deal with for the rest of their lives. They'll wrestle with questions of humanity, questions of obsolescence, ethical questions. Let's help them with this.

What else? How could ChatGPT and artificial intelligence be used as a classroom tool? Share your ideas in a comment below -- and check out what others say!

FREE teaching ideas and templates in your inbox every week!

How to define "cheating" and "plagiarism" with AI

What is cheating? What is plagiarism?

We thought we had a pretty clear idea of how we'd define both of these.

As more and more artificial intelligence (AI) come on the scene, we're going to have to update our definitions.

That is ... if we want our education to be relevant to our students' future.

If AI tools are everywhere -- and they're only going to get better -- they'll be a vital part of the workforce when students progress through school and graduate.

So our definitions will have to morph.

The question is ... where will we draw the line?

Here's a slide I shared during a conference presentation about ChatGPT and AI in education. It was the most-shared slide on social media from that presentation.

We're going to have to draw a line -- as educators, as schools, even as school districts -- to determine what we're going to allow and what we aren't.

First, let's make sure we're clear on these two words. Here are my best definitions for these terms ...

Cheating: When a student does something dishonest in academic work that misrepresents what they understand or are able to do for an unfair advantage.

Plagiarism: When a student represents some type of work to be their own creation when, in reality, it isn't their own work.

Those definitions might not be perfect, but they highlight an important reality.

There's LOTS of gray area. It's fuzzy and unclear.
Which of these would you consider "cheating" or "plagiarism"? (From the image above ...)

Student plugged prompt into AI, copied response and submitted it to the teacher.

AI created a response. Student read, edited, adjusted, and submitted.

Student created multiple AI responses, used the best parts, edited, and submitted.

Student wrote main ideas. AI generated a draft and offered feedback to improve.

Student consulted the internet/AI for ideas, then wrote and submitted.

Student wrote all assignment content without consulting AI or the internet.

There's a good chance your gut reaction -- your visceral answer to this question -- relates to how our current education system operates or how you've taught in the past.

Of course, things are changing.

The artificial intelligence available today is some of the least powerful our students will see in their lifetime. ( ChatGPT is like the MySpace of artificial intelligences. We'll look back on it and laugh at how powerful we thought it was.)

Think of a 10-year-old in school right now. She graduates high school in eight years. She graduates college in four years.

By the time she enters the workforce, artificial intelligence has improved and evolved for 12 years.

As we consider our answer to the question, "What is plagiarism/cheating?," our answer has to be relevant to that student in 12 years.

Also, if we want to be fair, we have to ask ourselves this question:

Which of the above options would we use in our work as adults? If we're willing to use AI in our work right now, it's only going to become more commonplace in the future.

Of course, as educators, we're still trying to grasp AI and its place in the world.

We don't have to have the perfect answer right now.

But now is the time to start trying to get it right.

AI detectors: What's available? Should we use them?

In the days and weeks after ChatGPT was released, teachers kept wondering about one thing.

"How do I know if students used artificial intelligence to do their work?"

Immediately, there was a demand for AI detectors.

Today, there are several options. (We'll get to that in a second.)

But it begs a bigger question: Do they really solve the problem? (And is the perceived problem really a problem?)

Let's put it this way.

When TurnItIn came on the scene, did it fix the problem of plagiarism in classes? Did it make plagiarism go away? No. It's a tool.

Point 1: AI detectors are a tool, not a cure-all. If you found the most accurate, effective one, it wouldn't keep students from using AI to do their work, and it won't make AI tools go away.

Point 2: Today's AI detectors aren't very reliable. They routinely produce false positives, saying human-created text was created by AI. Just like in court, you can't accuse someone using evidence that isn't reliable.

Point 3: They can be the beginning of a discussion. If a student turns in work that appears to be heavily AI-generated, it might be time to talk. How do I know what you've learned? Are there barriers preventing you from doing the work yourself? In a world with more and more AI, how will you leverage your humanity so you're not outsourced by AI?

Point 4: Use your teacher eyes and teacher brain. If you've been reading your students' work and following your progress, your human senses might detect that something doesn't look or sound like them better than an AI checker could.

So, with that all established, what's available?

Should we block it or try to ban it?

If we block ChatGPT (or tools like it) and think we're solving a problem, we're deluding ourselves.

There are two decisions that need to be addressed since ChatGPT was released.

A big, systemic decision that needs to be made is: What will teaching and learning look like with ChatGPT and AI in existence?

We've started unpacking that above (and in conversations all over the globe).

But there's a more pressing question, and it's one that requires a bit of nuance ...

Do we block it at school?

Immediately, schools and districts must decide whether to block access to it on school networks and devices.

That decision, however, won't solve "the problem." (I use quotes because I'm not convinced that the proliferation of AI is a problem. It really does disrupt how we have done -- and are doing -- school, though.)

Students still will have access to it. It's like social media. It can be blocked at school. But students can access it (as I mentioned above) on their phones under a desk, in the restroom, on a bus, at home ... anywhere. They'll get access.

But someone has to decide. Should it be blocked at school?

What educators in my social media circles are saying ...
The resounding answer has been, "No, don't block it."
Their rationale: This is the future. It's not going anywhere. Students must have access to it. It'll prepare them for the future. Why would we want to keep students from accessing something so powerful?

There's something to know about these social media circles, though. Lots of people in them aren't in the classroom and don't have a good perspective on what full-time teachers go through.
(Full disclosure: I don't teach full time anymore either. I'm in my wife's and kids' schools a lot, but I don't teach full time.)
The ones in these social media circles that are in the classroom? They're dreamers (like me). They've seen the ways the system is broken. They're ready for change.

In the end -- if we're playing the long game (and I think we are), I side with them.

Generally.

What regular teachers in regular classrooms are saying ...
If you walk into any given classroom in schools across the United States (and some parts of the world)? The resounding answer has been, "Please block it. Right now!"
These are the teachers who write lesson plans. Every single day.

They grade student work. Every single day.

They teach and supervise and facilitate class. Every single day.

They never have enough time to do what they need. Their checklist is never complete.

There's a level of survival in these classrooms.

Reinventing their teaching methods and assignments at the drop of a hat because a new AI bot came out?

They just don't have time for that. (And they don't have the capacity in their already fractured personal wellness to do that.)

I understand.

I think, deep down inside, these teachers know the potential of AI and tools like ChatGPT. They know that it's going to change how teaching and learning looks.

They just need to survive the day. The week.

They need to survive until break.

They're on the front lines, dealing with all sorts of difficult situations and a lack of resources and a lack of respect for the classroom and the teaching profession.

They also just did this. Do you remember? (If you don't, you probably haven't taught in a classroom for a few years.)

Teachers are just starting to feel a sense of normality after pandemic-induced remote teaching. They had to reinvent the way they teach -- immediately! -- to a remote format, one that most weren't prepared for, technologically or pedagogically or logistically.

As teacher wellness expert Mandy Froehlich (Twitter: @froehlichm) said, they're trying to get out of emergency mode. And when you finally get out of emergency mode, there's a let-down ... an emotional, sometimes physical, response to the trauma you've dealt with.

So to those that look down their noses at teachers who are begging for this to be blocked, let's just remember the recent past. And let's also remember that they likely understand the impact of this.

They just want to survive the week. Survive until break.

Survive until we get a spare moment to think about this. Learn about it. Brainstorm some ways to change our assignments so that they can't

A proposal for schools/districts that's a middle ground

(Hear my justification for this proposal in the video) Let's block it until the end of the school year.
Let's not make a long-term decision to block ChatGPT (and tools like it) forever.

Let's also not make a long-term decision to leave it open forever.

(I'm not totally confident that this is the right answer. But I haven't heard anyone argue for the middle ground yet, so I want to add this voice.)

Let's agree to block it on student devices and networks (and allow it on teachers devices/networks if possible) just until the end of the school year.

To look at their assignments and consider how they'd like to change them in light of this new technology.

To look at how they teach and how this might be incorporated in it.

To look at how technology like this might augment classroom discussions

Here's why ...

Teachers need some time to regroup ...

... and on and on.

We need some space. Some time. A little room to ponder, to sit with all of this. To talk to other educators about what they think. To talk to students and to parents.

Let's just give teachers a little space.

However, let's also make a few things clear.

1. This isn't the long-term answer. This is a stopgap to help struggling teachers to survive this sudden change.

2. Students still will have access to this. Just because we block this on student networks and devices doesn't mean they won't plug your writing prompts and questions into this technology. This just buys you a little time to finish the year with your traditional assignment types to come up with something new.

A faculty-wide discussion and brainstorming session about best ways to teach and learn is in order at the end of the year. Everyone shares their best ideas and prepares for their implementation. (And let's pay the teachers for this extra meeting, OK?)
1. Will this technology be blocked on school networks and devices? 2. How will we evolve our teaching practice now that these technologies exist?
Then, at the beginning of next school year, let's open the ChatGPT floodgates.

Even if this isn't the solution you (or your school/district) comes to, there are two decisions that need to be made:

Blocking ChatGPT district-wide is one decision.

Deciding how teaching/learning happen while it exists is another. (to me)

If a district thinks blocking it will solve the problem, they're deluding themselves.

Blocking it can be one part of a solution, I believe. https://t.co/CvHCT2RqSQ
- Matt Miller (@jmattmiller) December 14, 2022

What other resources can help me learn about this?

Below is a list (albeit incomplete!) of resources I've found in the weeks after ChatGPT came into existence. I'll share links along with why I like them as resources. Please add other resources -- even your own! -- in the comments below!

ChatGPT in Classrooms: What to Know (U.S. News and World Report) -- Students, teachers and others in education weigh in on this new AI tool and the implications it has in the classroom.

What can English teachers do about ChatGPT (Learning in Room 213) -- This post explores what ChatGPT is, the problems with blocking it, and suggestions: entice personal engagement, avoid formulaic assignments, build critical thinking, etc.

No, Artificial Intelligence Won't Destroy High School English (or Any Other Subject) (John Spencer, Spencer Author) -- I've waited to read this because I wanted to create my own piece of content without copying anyone, but I've been excited to see John's thoughts on it. Hang on a second, let me read it ... Yep, it's as fantastic as I expected. Some of John's points include: "Almost any task can be automated, but what's the joy in that?"; "If we outsources every task, we might short-circuit the learning"; and "AI can't replace your voice." This is really, really good.

Human Skills in a World of Artificial Intelligence (John Spencer, Spencer Author) -- In this post (which dovetails wonderfully with the one above), John outlines the problems with a couple approaches to AI and advocates for another one: "the human approach."

The conversation about how much we care (Twitter thread by Evan Weinberg @emwdx) -- This thread doesn't seem to have gotten much attention, but I really like where Evan's going with it. He introduces it with: "As we see start to see how easy it is for a tool like #ChatGPT to generate text that sounds convincingly like us, it is starting the conversation about how much we care. We care a lot more than we might initially admit."

Ideas for using ChatGPT in the Classroom (IB English Guys) -- They opened up this collaborative Google Doc to share ideas. There are 10+ ideas with rationale and comments from educators.

AI Homework (Stratechery) -- This is an interesting, thoughtful, nuanced look at the intersection of homework and artificial intelligence. He talks about the struggles that ChatGPT has with math, and he even runs a virtual machine (like a Linux terminal) inside ChatGPT.

Yes, Teachers, You Should Be Panicking About AI (The Broken Copier) -- This post provides six reasons why we should be concerned about ChatGPT and AI (in light of the condition of education in many classrooms right now), helping us make sense of how we move forward.

The College Essay is Dead (The Atlantic) -- This was one of the first posts I saw (that was circulated widely) about the impact of ChatGPT in education. It's a paid article on The Atlantic. I subscribed so I could read it so that I could tell you ... it's talking points and not much else. If you'd like to read commentary about it and you're a subscribers to The Atlantic, go for it. I wouldn't pay for it ... especially since I'm focused on what we can actually do with this technology.

No, ChatGPT is Not the End of High School English. But Here's the Useful Tool It Offers Teachers (Forbes) -- Here's the best point in this whole article (so you don't have to read it): ChatGPT is an excellent prompt tester. Think you've come up with a good writing prompt? Feed it to the chatbot. If it can come up with an essay that you would consider a good piece of work, then that prompt should be refined, reworked, or simply scrapped.

Learning More about Chat GPT in Education (Jennifer Casa-Todd) -- Jen has written books about social media, digital literacy, and technology's impact on children's lives. She shares some of the best things she's found about the topic.

Education is about to radically change: AI for the masses (Nate McClennen and Rachelle Dené Poth for Getting Smart) -- AI already does and will continue to impact education - along with every other sector. Innovative education leaders have an opportunity to build the foundation for the most personalized learning system we have ever seen.

Let's Chat: OpenAI and ChatGPT (THRIVEinEDU podcast by Rachelle Dené Poth) -- Have you tried OpenAI yet? What has your experience been? Rachelle shares some background info, insights, questions and more in this episode. She also shares at her blog: www.Rdene915.com.

Chatbots in Education: Middle School and High School (Heather Olvey and Terri Files) -- These teachers pulled together slide decks with ideas for implementing chatbots in the classroom.
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ChatGPT, Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence in Education

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AI just stormed into the classroom with the emergence of ChatGPT. How do we teach now that it exists? How can we use it? Here are some ideas.FEATURED

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Students will see a number 1-20 on the page. They will have to apply the number of objects to the page, then write the number afterwards.

TPACK:

This designed assignment gives students a pedagogical chance to understand the concept of one-to-one correspondences and practice writing numbers 0-20.  The content goal of this technology tool is to provide a different way for students to learn and practice counting objects 1-20 with one-to-one correspondence. During this, the teacher can walk around and help students who seem to be struggling. Teachers can use this as an assessment at the end to get a grasp if the students understand the content or if the students are not quite understanding. Students are supporting and extending their learning by practicing recognizing that this one-to-one correspondence goes with a certain number using technology. The role of the technology is to create a sense of independence for the students and practice their understanding of counting and writing numbers 1-20. This is an effective way of teaching because before using this app of technology, we broke it apart into pieces of one-to-one correspondence then writing numbers. On this app, students are now putting what they learned and practiced all together.

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Writing and naming numbers - Google Jamboard

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Math- jamboard

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This activity can be for students working on sequence and events. Students can do this independently.

The goal ofthis is for students to read, comprehend, and remember the order of events. They will have to guess from the three options which order the houses happened in the book. They will follow the site by reading, looking at choice options, and concluding with the google form attached to assess which of the students understand the content.

This is more effective on technology because everything is connected into one document for the students to follow.

TPACK:

Pedagogical- Students can do the read aloud and if they remember the sequence click the best answer. However, those that do not remember can listen to the read aloud again and confirm an answer by checking their resources.

Content- The pictures that are to be put in chronological order, help and support students identifying the order and sequence of the three houses.

Technological- The role of the technology is to create a sense of independence for the students and practice following step by step directions, along with learning sequence of events.

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After an activity students will use a google form to do a quick assessment.

This is an easy grading system for the teacher to know where each student is at.

I would use this instead of paper because it is fast and easy assessment. The teacher can get results right away or come back to them at a different time.

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Google Forms - create and analyze surveys, for free.

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2nd grade reading:

Substitution: have students read online and give them the option of e-books

Augmentation: Students will read on the “EPIC” app. Students can click on words to see the definitions of them

Modification: Students will use Book Creator to write a short story

Redefinition: Students will Zoom with another class in a different state and share the story they wrote on Book Creator. This will serve as a virtual book club.

1st grade math:

Substitution: Students have online flashcards using Quizlet

Augmentation: Students will have online flashcards on “Boomcards” that can read to the students and give them feedback on mastery level.

Modification: Students will use the app “Prodigy” to complete and master math facts. The students gain more magic and gain levels based on their mastery.

Redefinition: Students will complete a GooseChase at home to find patterns throughout their house/yard, or complete the Chase in a separate classroom

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Community helper heroes- chatterpix