Portfolio Item #19

Smekens Education Solutions:

 Shortened URL: https://tinyurl.com/3vt47d49

This is a teacher development resource that focuses on reading and writing instructions for k-12 and offers live webinars as well as certificates for many of its sessions. 

Blog #7

 

After looking at a couple teacher pages, I saw a couple of ways to contact the teachers via email, phone number etc. There were also many resources listed such as calendars for future events and course curriculums that outlined the content of the year. In addition to these things, there was commonly an "about me" page that was meant to familiarize students and parents with the teacher. This included things such as the teacher's background as well as photos and updates of classroom expectations.

As a teacher, I envision using technology to help improve and build upon my workflow. This can include helping with organization and brainstorming better learning opportunities for my students. Specific teacher and productivity tools I would use include Google Drive for student collaboration and Nearpod for interactive lessons. Gradebook could also be used for grading to save time and help me to focus more on the instruction part of teaching.

I think AI is effectively supportive when it comes to outlining lesson plans, for the generation of ideas. However, human expertise can be more effective when there needs to be specialized modifications to teaching in the emotional atmosphere of things. Not all students respond the same or need the same things. Assignment three taught me that a good lesson plan should be diverse and allow room for growth and change. Evaluating an AI generated plan did give me many ideas on how a lesson can be formed instead of following the same basic format. I liked being able to edit things on the same platform as my classmates but I didn't like that the tool wasn't completely synchronous. 

Blog #6

 

During our visit to the Tech Sandbox I learned a lot about different kinds of technologies that can be used to improve learning. There was the number finder that helped with focus as well as things that helped with comfort such as the robotic cat. Out of all of these tools, I might use the robotics kit as a way to facilitate problem solving and comprehension of instructions. I could implement it as an activity that gives you instruction through your answering of literary questions.\

The standard I chose is from computer science and includes the evaluation and teaching of the impact of various devices. Based on my current skill set, I feel like I could implement a decent variation of this standard. Growing up in the digital age, I have experienced many of the impacts myself and have analyzed many of the rest through school and personal curiosity. To create a more extensive and all encompassing plan for this standard, I would still study up a bit more and look at examples to see what this standard looks like in a classroom environment.

I think that the CPALMS Educator Toolkit has some really helpful resources and tools to help along teachers. They offer all kinds of lesson plans as well as assessments and tutorials. In my teaching, I would use the lesson plans and other tools as a backdrop for my end goal. I want to be able to create my own lesson plans but I know that can be very difficult, especially as a new teacher. Using pre established plans with standards already built in can be incredibly useful. 

Blog #5

 

Blogging is not my favorite activity but I think it can be very useful. I don't necessarily like posting about daily opinions or experiences online, however it can bring some clarity to see the opinions and experiences of others. This is especially the case when they are in a similar position to you, and in this case, if they also want to be a teacher. Seeing the blog of those like you or in positions that you aspire to be in can help you along in your own everyday journey. 

My initial thought is that AI should be integrated within the k-12 setting in some way. It seems like AI is going to be a part of our future whether people want it to be or not. With this being the case, children should be educated on it. Teachers, as well, should be educated on how to make AI a tool instead of a mysterious tech entity. AI can be very useful in making daily tasks easier as well as a way to brainstorm and improve upon lessons plans.

I had Chat GPT write out the lesson plans that I wanted by setting a couple parameters and giving it the topic that I wanted to discus. It gave me very nice results, planning out a lesson that covered not only lecture based class time but also activity portions, collaborative assignments and other forms. At first, it did not set out the lesson to the length that I wanted it so I had it change that and it stretched out the lesson for a week. Next time, when I have more time, I might try to get even more specific about certain goals or activity ideas. 

I envision using Generative AI in my teaching practice to help me think of lesson plans and brainstorm ideas. To address ethical concerns, I would set some limitations for myself and my students. I think that AI can be really helpful in aiding people with their work, but it should not be a substitute for individual thought and creativity. Limitations can be placed to allow for aid in brainstorming or outlining but prohibiting plagiarism.