Unboxing Education

When teachers begin to attend professional conferences, they sometimes develop an imagined perception of the speakers of those sessions as unparalleled experts in the field.  This creates feelings of imposter syndrome , in which the teacher in the audience feels like they could never be that teacher at the front of the conference. However, as someone who has worked both as a conference speaker and a member of a program committee, I can attest that the speakers at conferences are very normal people who learned something new and wish to share this with fellow teachers. This post offers tips for all teachers to gain confidence and seize the opportunity to share the amazing things they have learned.  The time to begin thinking about presenting is well before the conference begins. using about six months before the conference is scheduled, the conference committee will issue a call for proposals. Be sure to the on the mailing list so that you receive this notice as early as possib...

The Essay is Dead? Gloom and doom predictions about the impact of AI on education, especially essay writing, claim that AI will ruin any validity of essay writing, particularly unproctored essay writing. The real question is, "So what?" To understand what is, or rather isn't, at stake, one must explore the originals and uses of the essay writing process.  The History of Essays The history of essays in education can be traced back to ancient Greece, where scholars such as Plato and Aristotle used writing as a tool for intellectual discourse and exploration. In the Middle Ages, the essay evolved into a form of personal expression and self-reflection, with religious scholars writing introspective pieces on their spiritual journeys. The Renaissance period saw the emergence of the essay as a literary genre, with writers such as Michel de Montaigne popularizing the personal essay form.  Essays went from a way to evaluate learning to a way to evaluate writing.  In modern times,...

Occasionally, when all the winter weather aligns, my kiddos and I find ourselves home during a winter storm without the ability to venture out until the snow plows rescue us from the blizzard. Today was such a day. During my lunch break, my 8-year-old brought me his broken self-stirring mug , asking if it was fixable. My response was, "What's the worst we can do at this point?" We began disassembly, then more disassembly, then cleaning.  The diagnosis was a seized motor. The only logical next step? Consult YouTube. We found a great tutorial by a knowledgeable young man and applied what we learned. After a few applications of the miraculous liquid known as WD-40 , we had movement. Drunk on our success, we assembled the cup a little too quickly and disconnected the ground wire. Daddy came to the rescue with a quick solder job and we were back in business. Now #8 was the proud owner of a refurbished self-stirring mug and a renewed interest in engineering.  The problem? We h...

In today's world, Artificial Intelligence has become an integral part of our daily lives.  From education to productivity, audio to video, art to fun tools and toys, AI is making a significant impact in each and every aspect. With AI tools, we can simplify and automate many tasks, make our lives easier, and have some fun while we're at it. In this post, we'll dive into the world of AI and explore some of the most interesting and innovative tools available. So buckle up, grab a cup of coffee, and let's explore the fascinating world of AI tools together! (Intro draft generated with ChatGPT ). The list of possible AI tools quickly becomes overwhelming. Furthermore, tools range from free, to freemium, to paid accounts. I have included a list of some great tools for beginners, with not to various applications for AI for teachers. I have tried out each tool and, where possible, including a sample of what I created in a relatively short amount of time. Each tool included is av...

  Using ChatGPT in the Writing Process I’ll admit, my first reaction to AI authors was a mixture of horror and fascination, akin to my reaction to a natural disaster. However, as more information and examples have been shared, I have come to accept AI tools as the way of the future. Look at chatbots as spelling/grammar check 3.0. If spell check was the first generation of computer-assisted writing, and  Grammarly  was 2.0, chatbots are a natural leap into the future. They are not going away. Rather than work to  ban  them (a futile exercise), how can teachers embrace this new technology? Furthermore, what is the role of education in  preparing  students for a future in which chatbots exist, for better or for worse? Read more...

Weekly, nay daily, more people are handwringing over the latest development with AI, specifically ChatGPT . Is it warranted? Is it wise?  I asked ChatGPT to help me with this article as a means to evaluate and educate about AI in the wild and in the classroom. Prompt 1: Write one paragraph of professional-sounding text defining ChatGPT. ChatGPT: ChatGPT is a cutting-edge natural language processing model developed by OpenAI. It utilizes a deep learning technique known as transformer architecture, which allows it to process and understand human language in a highly accurate and efficient manner. With its ability to generate human-like text, ChatGPT can be used in a variety of applications such as chatbots, language translation, and text summarization. Additionally, it has been fine-tuned on a diverse range of texts, enabling it to have a broad understanding of various topics and industries. Overall, ChatGPT represents a major advancement in the field of natural language processing a...