Unboxing Education

In education, consistency is often championed—but when it comes to setting due dates and AI usage policies, the "one size fits all" approach is more harmful than helpful.  It’s time we acknowledge a simple truth: not all subjects (or students) are the same. So why are we still enforcing blanket rules? 📚 Different Subjects, Different Cognitive Demands Subjects vary not just in content, but in the kind of thinking they require. Consider these examples: Math and Science often rely on sequential problem-solving. Timely practice and feedback are essential. Late work in these subjects may mean missed opportunities to correct misunderstandings before moving forward. English Language Arts requires deeper reflection, drafting, and revision. Rigid due dates can discourage the iterative process that leads to strong writing. Electives like Art, Music, and CTE often assess creativity, iteration, and production over time. Artificial urgency can hinder authentic learning. ...

There’s No Magic Bullet in Virtual Instruction—and That’s a Good Thing When you started teaching virtually, you probably found yourself asking: "What’s the one tool, activity, or strategy that will finally reach all my students?" I hear it all the time as an instructional coach: “Just tell me the best way to...” But here’s the truth I always circle back to— There is no magic bullet in virtual instruction. And honestly? That’s not a problem. That’s the point. The virtual learning model is designed to give students personalized pathways,  not standardized experiences. That means it’s perfectly normal (and expected ) for students to take different routes to the same goal. As teachers, it’s our job to provide multiple access points, not one perfect solution. The Myth of “One-Size-Fits-All” In a traditional classroom, we’re already used to differentiation, but online, it can quickly feel overwhelming. It's not just about a conversation; it may be lesson design, 1 on 1 m...

 What does learning look like in the age of AI? Generated with Adobe Firefly AI Cheating Is Getting Worse AI cheating is hopelessly, irreparably corrupting US higher education AI cheating is overwhelming the education system These headlines tend to frighten educators both about their current work and their future relevance. It has caused me to honestly reflect on what I want my students to do and know upon leaving my courses.  Do I want them to know HOLM  (the acronym for Shakespeare's tragedies)?  Or, do I want them to think critically about human behavior and universal themes? What it comes down to is that I want my students to think about their learning. This is why the use of AI presents problems in the classroom. Not because it shortcuts creativity or gives them ideas they wouldn't have come up with. Those aspects can be assets to certain learners. As I wrote here , I want students to know, or remember, the purpose of assessment, and it's not to submit the corre...

Do you feel attacked when you open your To Be Graded list?   Nearly every online teacher has been in a situation where the grading inbox seems to be an avalanche of work that needs attention, feedback, and evaluation. There are even days when a teacher grades one assignment only to return to find the queue has grown by 5.  While most of the advice available begins with the beginning, course design, there are things a teacher can do TODAY to manage the load. Then, the teacher can find time to plan for the future, to minimize the storm of grading next semester. What to do TODAY: Wrangle the TBG Monster (To Be Graded): 1. Search for or scan for items that are easy to grade. Eliminate short assignments, assignments with rubrics attached, and anything that is for completion. Return any blank assignments, documents that are not shared, or other errors in submission. 2. Sort by Date: Feedback is most impactful when it is timely. If an assignment is more than 5 school days old, the st...

 Am I the only one overwhelmed by the possibilities of adding AI to my classrooms? Why do the articles that state  3 Simple Ideas for Introducing AI Into Your Teaching  seem neither simple nor helpful?  I find myself searching for the bridge, the path from the way I've been using curriculum to the future where AI is a natural aid in my students' learning experiences.  I find myself researching how to build a bridge.  What have I been doing to retrofit the curriculum to survive this transition?  I'll share my successes and failures below. AI Detectors From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository I'll start with the rocky relationship I've had with investigating the use of AI. I teach British Literature and have grappled with AI-generated essays since early in 2023. While the rise of AI brings up important, philosophical discussions about the ongoing value of essay writing (which I discussed in a previous blog post ), the fact is I'm still using cur...

  AI does not take the summer off! While many in education were relaxing at the beach or vegging out to Netflix in their PJs (or was that just me?), AI was plugging away, making developments that made so many of the policies and practices from Spring obsolete.  Once I finished my Netflix binge, I tackled the mountain of AI updates, tools, and trends that I had been bookmarking since June. Here is a round-up of what's new and worth reporting: Nolej Nolej recently released update 1.0. While I fear there may be a requirement to move to a paid plan soon, there is still a free version and it got some new bells and whistles. Most notably, I can now upload a graded quiz to my LMS using SCORM packages: Nolej still offers teachers the ability to create microlearning packages while limiting the AI to only the knowledge provided by the instructor, thus offering some guardrails that don't exist in AI at large Conker Conker has been my go-to for quick, AI quizzes, especially for reteaching...

 Incorporating student choice into assignments can increase engagement and show mastery of 21st-century skills.  A popular method for choice is a choice board. Choice boards give students parameters for demonstrating mastery of concepts but allow them choice in the final format of the assignment.  Check out a great Literacy Choice Board Here: This assignment demonstrates mastery in the following CCSS ELA Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.10 By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11—CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11—CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently. This link will take you to a Canva project that includes the slide above, a rubric, and step-by-step instructions for each project listed. Tools use...

 Welcome to my blog post on AI tools for teachers!  As an instructional coach, I am always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to enhance the teaching and learning experience.  Artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to revolutionize education by providing teachers with powerful tools that can automate routine tasks, analyze student data, and personalize learning experiences. In this post, I will explore some of the most exciting AI tools that are currently available to teachers, and explain how they can be used to improve student outcomes and create a more engaging and effective learning environment.  Whether you are a seasoned educator or just starting out in your teaching career, this post will provide you with valuable insights into the world of AI and its potential impact on education. So let's dive in! 1. Conker : Conker effortlessly write a variety of questions for quizzes on an array of topics when you give it a s...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the education landscape in many ways.  One of the most promising applications of AI in education is its ability to personalize learning through differentiation. Differentiation refers to the practice of tailoring instruction and assessment to meet the unique needs and abilities of each student. Traditionally, differentiation has been a labor-intensive process, requiring teachers to create and manage multiple lesson plans, assessments, and activities for each student. (Thanks, ChatGPT ) However, with the advent of AI, differentiation is becoming more efficient and effective. This video gives one example of differentiation in an asynchronous literature course for twelfth graders.  Start to finish, this lesson example took 30 minutes.  How are you using AI to differentiate instruction and encourage mastery learning?

  The edu-sphere is abuzz with the potential of ChatGPT , both for good and for evil. How should teachers and schools react?  If in the madness of teaching during the holiday season, you missed the coverage of the new chatbot that writes a variety of genres, including essays, lesson plans, and even computer code, you can read more here  and here .  I concur with Matt Miller and others that blocking access to one chatbot is an exercise in futility. For one, filters likely only work on campus networks. Moreover, more chatbot tools will likely emerge as the technology grows in popularity. It would be a waste of manpower to try to keep up with all of them.  What can teachers do, then, but embrace the potential? Embrace, also, the responsibility to incorporate education and model best practices. For instance, MLA and other style guides provide guidelines for citing the outputs of chatbots and other AI tools. Did you use ChatGPT to generate that stellar parent-teache...

Proper creation of an online course involves hours of planning, design, and beta testing. Who has the time?  Finding a stock course to use in your online school is a godsend. While many quality courses are available at a variety of price points, virtually none will work in every course, every time.  Furthermore, research shows that the ability to both use stock courses AND modify them are key elements of quality online teaching. When studying teacher-student engagement, Borup and Graham cited minor "tweaks" to the purchased curriculum as being significantly important to maximizing teacher satisfaction. Some of the most common tweaks were reorganizing units, adding school policies, or customizing an assignment for a specific student. Teachers without the ability to modify their courses felt disconnected from the learning process.  As important as customization is, it often overwhelms already busy teachers. Furthermore, when courses are likely to be updated or refreshed ev...