Unboxing Education

 Need to explain AI to teachers with a variety of background knowledge? Consider these points, policies, and activities.  Coaching AI  Presentation by Betsy Springer

  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...

  End-of-course surveys can give you valuable info so you can continue to perfect your course and your teaching. They support a growth mindset and allow for important reflection. 

  TL;DR: Prioritizing social-emotional health in the classroom is crucial for teachers and students, with a focus on health over grades. Teachers should take care of their own well-being to effectively support their students, as they cannot give what they haven’t mastered themselves. Poor social-emotional health among teachers negatively affects student outcomes, emphasizing the need for schools to prioritize teacher well-being, leading to better staff retention and improved student outcomes. SEL for Educators: Teachers are people, too. In the practice of social-emotional  health  in the classroom, school leaders and teachers need to prioritize social-emotional health before learning. We have a saying at my school that a student is a person first, and our priority is always health over grades. Teachers need to take care of their  own social-emotional health  before they can address that of their student s. It is often said that you cannot pour from an empty cup,...

 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...

 FERPA Defined FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law in the United States that regulates the access to and protection of student educational records. It gives students and their parents the right to access, review, and control their educational records, and sets limits on the release of personally identifiable information from these records to third parties. In an Online Environment FERPA can be tricky in an online environment when teachers are communicating, screen sharing, or hosting group lessons. In a synchronous environment, teachers may have little control or even awareness as to who can hear their conversation. Here are a few tips to protect yourself and your students in regards to FERPA and student privacy: Communication Limit the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) shared in the email. This may include a student's name, address, Social Security number, grades, or other sensitive information. Be sure to only contact a...

 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...