Classroom screen was a great idea especially as a lot of the people in our cohort will be TOC for a few years. It is a great way to individualize and personalize a space while we are working in it for a short amount of time. I love the feature that allows you to save white boards and go from one white board to another. It would be very handy to reuse different white boards for repeating lessons.
The other features that were very intriguing were the choosing a student tool. This would make it easy to make sure everyone has a chance to share or speak in class in a way that is fair. I also like that you can go in the back of the system and exclude students from getting chosen if you choose.
The other function I could see myself using quite a lot is the timer function. This is definitely a tool that I plan on using in the future.
It also is very practical as it allows you to write on the “white board” without having to turn your back on the class.
What strategies can we employ as educators to teach the ethical and productive use of AI?
Develop a curriculum that integrates AI ethics into various subjects. Teach the principles of AI, its societal impacts, ethical considerations, and real-world applications across disciplines like computer science, ethics, sociology, and more.
Organize debates or discussions on AI-related ethical dilemmas. Encourage students to express their opinions and reasoning, fostering a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives.
What strategies can we employ to minimize the risk of plagiarism?
Educate students about what constitutes plagiarism. Explain the different forms of plagiarism, including direct copying, paraphrasing without proper citation, and self-plagiarism.
Emphasize the importance of clearly attributing AI-generated content. Ensure that any content created with the help of AI tools is appropriately labeled or credited as generated by AI.
Educate users about the capabilities and limitations of AI tools. Highlight that while AI can assist in generating content, it’s essential to verify and complement AI-generated content with human expertise and judgment.
Foster critical thinking skills in students or content creators. Encourage them to analyze and evaluate AI-generated content critically and question its accuracy, relevance, and originality.
How can we prepare for instances of suspected plagiarism in our classrooms?
Establish and communicate clear guidelines about academic integrity, plagiarism, citation rules, and consequences for violations in your syllabus or course materials.
Review students’ work at various stages of the assignment process. Request drafts or outlines to track their progress and discourage last-minute plagiarism.
Establish a clear process for handling suspected cases of plagiarism. Determine the steps to be taken if plagiarism is suspected, including investigation procedures and consequences.
Keep detailed records of suspected cases of plagiarism, including evidence, communications, and actions taken. This documentation can be useful if further action is needed.
It is interesting that AI has been a rapidly expanding technology yet UVIC does not yet have regulations surrounding it yet. I find it fascinating how academia keeps up with technology that is ever changing and as an upcoming educator it is worth brainstorming how I am going to use AI effectively and teach students where is it effective. As well has use it to create aspects of lesson plans and use this technology in a way that maintains the personal aspects of in person instruction.
It is also crazy to look back at Science Fiction and media and see how much of Technology has been predicted. Star Trek envisioned transmitters before the invention of cell phones. The Incredibles shows the AI robot that learns from fighting superheroes it continues to get stronger and stronger until the only thing that is strong enough to destroy it is itself. I find the media predictions and portrayals of technology not only allows for imagining its potential but also can create fear and worry throughout society.
I think there is a lot of room for gamification in education. I remember learning to type by playing games like “Dance Matt Typing”. This made a task that in another setting I would have found boring into something fun that I would even sometimes practice in my free time. Other education websites such as Khan Academy use games to help with retention and repetition when learning now information. There are so many studies that show children learn so much through games and game play. Through my experience as a coach using games is so useful. Kids learn so many skills without getting bored.
I also think there is way to expand gamification in education into students making their own games. An example would be the website Twine. It would be fun as an English Teacher to have students make their own choose your own adventure stories on Twine and then have their peers experience the story and all of the different possible outcomes.
At link to practice I had the privilege of watching a teacher use GPT to make an assignment assessable for a student with Down Syndrome. They were doing a short story unit and the students were asked to write their own story. The teacher asked this particular student to create a list of words that they wanted to incorporate into a story. Chat GPT created the story and then the student was able to edit the story as they wished. This was a great example on how GPT can be used to engage all students and how accommodations to assignments can be made.
I was particularly interested in learning about ways to incorporate podcasts or dictation tools into the classroom and how that would be beneficial. This is a fabulous way to create opportunities for students that have difficulty with fine motor skills or processing delays. Teaching and allowing your students to use these tools is so important. Especially when as a teacher in most contexts I am more interested in knowing what the student knows rather then how well they are able to write it down. I find it sometimes difficult to write as quickly as my brain thinks and I think this is even more difficult for secondary students.
It was also interesting learning about how important contrast in colours on power points are . While creating power points both for work and school I have been more conscious of the choices I am making. I also am trying to make my slides more simple and not as busy as I am more aware that a busy backdrops can be overwhelming to the learner. It is a difficult balance sometimes to use meaningful images that create context to the material while not bombarding the viewer with images.
The pandemic created a huge surge in the prevalence of technology in Education. The pandemic hit while I was completing my undergrad and I finished my degree on Zoom. In that context I actually preferred aspects of learning in an online setting. I liked that I was better able to balance my working life and school and I liked that I was able to go back and rewatch lectures. I also have a difficult time sitting still so it was nice to be able to watch a lecture while making lunch or on an exercise bike etc.
I found that professors had to create more creative interesting assignments because they could not rely on giving in class tests. However, I did find with a couple of exceptions that it was a much less personal experience. Most people, myself included, would keep their cameras off which resulted in a lot less student discussion and engagement. From the instructors prospective I would imagine it would be difficult to maintain enthusiasm and energy through a 2 hour lecture without seeing anyone’s face.
I do not know if the online setting would be as beneficial for the education program. Perhaps some classes it would be okay. But as a teacher a huge part of your job is to connect with students and learn how to manage different learners and personalities. I think it would be very difficult to learn these things on an online platform. Examples: how to run a discussion, manage a classroom, role pay lessons etc.
I used the AI photo generator (Designer Microsoft) was a fun and applicable experience. I can see it being incredibly helpful when searching for images. I had fun experimenting with what words and phrases produced images that were in line with what I had in mind. I found that using colours worked quite well.
The one issue I ran into was that it was because my blog is about backpacking and hiking a lot of the images produced were of different landscapes none of them seemed to be from the west coast. I tired to specify but it still did not work. So I was surprised when putting in “Vancouver Island” provided an image I was happy with. At first I didn’t think that being TOO specific would be helpful. I started with “mountains and ocean images” and narrowed the search until I was happy. It was fun being able to have such autonomy over the images being used in my blog. It was will be useful when I need to find specific images to accompany specific information.
I love the idea of an interactive video. It gives the opportunity for the user to answer questions and engage with material as it is being presented. This makes the video more aligned with the positives of zoom or even a classroom. It provides more incentive to follow along and engage with the video as it is playing. This may translate into the viewer retaining more of the information as it breaks it into segments and encourages them to respond to the content as they are consuming it. It also gives opportunity for videos to become even more multimodal. If during a video I am able to go explore relevant text, images, or websites and return to the video it allows the ability to be presented information in a variety of medias and formats.
However while attempting to set up HP5. I have run into a number of technological difficulties. Mainly the extension has been loading for hours and I have not been able to create my interactive video yet. So it will be coming soon! It opens discussion for the room for error when relying on technology. Everyone is has heard “hang tight everyone we are experiencing technically difficulties”. So how can we as teachers mitigate these difficulties and make sure technology is helpful rather then a hassle. I think the first thing is taking the time to become familiar with the tool and do a trial run before getting up in front of a class or a group of people. This also will allow you to be in the moment while teaching as opposed to figuring out technology on the spot. It is also important to have a plan B if something doesn’t load or work. How can you pivot and achieve the same objectives?
This weeks lesson combined how to do the skills with how it can benefit students. It made me think about technology in the classroom more then just a means to save time or paper but rather enhance students learning and experience from a multimodal perspective .
We have all had a professor or teacher that would put up a slide show with dense text straight out of the text book and read off of the slides. This is not an effective use of technology and does not engage leaners in an effective way. We as teachers hope students will remember what we are teaching. Understanding information processing is helpful because it allows us to understand how the brain memorizes information most effectively. But even more helpful is brainstorming ways that tech in the classroom can enhance the retention of information. It is also important to find the balance between finding ways to use tech to present information in a efficient way and avoid phenomenon like the split attention principle.
I am beginning to become more familiar with the blog and how it works. Learning about privacy and safety is very important to me. Confidentiality is something that should be stressed but in the context of information being stored online often times errors may occur due to ignorance.
This weeks lesson regarding cyber security and privacy was very interesting. I have seen in Link 2 Practice a lot of the teachers use Google Classroom. However I know that students accounts are not activated until a permission slip has been sent home and signed. Learning about FIPPA was very enlightening. Also interesting to think of data storage existing within a country. I rarely think of the data and storage online as existing within a country or province. I also wonder about schools or government sharing information with the outside sources. For example in one of our talks in another class a teacher was talking about how the Foundations Skills Assessments (FSA) results in the past have been shared with the real estate markets and have influenced housing prices. I wonder about the ethics of distributing that information.
This lesson also made me think about how important it is to educate students on cyber security and help give them the tools to protect their online identity and image.
