We’re hearing a lot about Imaginative Thinking in the classroom, but what exactly is it? And how does it help our students? At its core, Imaginative Thinking encourages students to explore beyond boundaries. They generate new concepts using ideas that are real AND imaginary. Imaginative Thinking allows students greater freedom and flexibility to seek out unique possibilities.
Nothing is off the table when students use Imaginative Thinking. All ideas, real or imaginative, are valued. Students produce one-of-a-kind imaginative solutions and then merge those solutions with more methodical applications. The outcome is multi-layered innovation. A fresh idea fueled by imagination but grounded in logic.
Teachers typically see a natural tendency towards Imaginative Thinking in younger children, but as children age, they are taught to “un-learn” the creative process. They tend to become overly convergent in their problem-solving skills leading to one or two solutions that are often unexceptional, ordinary, and most likely similar to the ideas of others. When students are motivated through Imaginative Thinking to seek many different solutions to solve a challenge, they become far more confident in taking risks to create new innovative concepts.
Without innovation, we stand still. We need to train students to seek many solutions to complicated problems that don’t even exist yet. Imaginative Thinking teaches students to imagine what’s around the corner from the corner and gives students a stronger tool for success.
About the Author Kathleen Fox is the co-creator of ImaginGO. A former public school teacher, school librarian, and director of her own school. Kathleen authored two children’s books, dozens of educational games, and several professional development books for teachers. You can reach her at Kathleen@ImaginGO.com
For the past five years, I have spent time learning about and teaching about AI. I knew very little when I started back in January of 2018, writing my first blog about AI for Getting Smart. After diving in and exploring it in my eighth-grade STEAM Emerging Technology class, taking the ISTE U course on AI, and doing lots of reading and research, I become more confident. I started to present at conferences both in-person and virtually and loved sharing how I got started and helping educators to get started in their classrooms too.
Since the beginning of this year and after the big launch of Open AI’s ChatGPT in December, interest has increased tremendously. My sessions at FETC and TCEA on AI: What Do Educators Need to Know were well attended. I present often on the topic and have done some PD sessions and small group sessions focused on AI.
With so much discussion and coverage on the topic, it might seem that if AI isn’t already being used in your classroom that you’re falling behind when it comes to technology. However, it is first important to understand what AI is and establish some guiding questions such as: What role does AI play in our daily lives? And more importantly, what role does it or will it play in the future of education and the future of work?
Fortunately, there are many individuals and organizations throughout the world who are working toward building the knowledge base and available resources. Key areas are focused on researching and gaining a deeper understanding of artificial intelligence, the concerns surrounding it, the challenges that it might present, and how we can use it for good.
Starting with AI
As an educator, the start of the school year brings new opportunities to connect with students and build upon some of our teaching methods and resources from the prior year. It’s also a time to explore topics we learned about during the summer and possibly involve the students by collaboratively learning about a topic—in this case, artificial intelligence.
When I started, I looked for some resources on AI to help me as well as provide activities for my students. In the fall of 2018, I enrolled in the ISTE U course on artificial intelligence, where I gained new perspectives on AI and gathered many new teaching tools for use with my students. Michelle Zimmerman’s Teaching AI: Exploring New Frontiers for Learning was a tremendous help when working through the course and building my knowledge base. I also visited Montour School District, where students are enrolled in the first public school AI course. By engaging in these two learning opportunities, I felt more confident in understanding what AI is, how it works, the various industries in which it is being used, and ultimately what role it could play in our classrooms today and in the future.
Considerations for Education
We have all likely heard the concerns regarding AI and how it might impact educators. The most common: is whether or not artificial intelligence will replace teachers. Other concerns are whether AI will replace many of the other positions held in different industries of work and if it will continue to evolve to the point where it does in fact take on human capabilities beyond what it has been programmed to do or what it learns how to do as it iterates. We also have to be cautious when it comes to privacy. In particular, when using virtual assistants; for example, Amazon’s Alexa was reported to be recording conversations. All of these are valid questions and concerns that need to be considered.
I’ve been fortunate to teach my course in STEAM to eighth-grade students for the past seven years, and a large part of the course is focused on emerging technologies in the areas of artificial intelligence and augmented and virtual reality. There is so much information out there, that becoming an instant expert is not too likely. However, we can take the information we find and use it as a starting point of inquiry with our students because chances are they’ll be interacting with AI in the future wherever they decide to go after their high school careers. There is also the likelihood that they will be working alongside AI in the future in some capacity. It is happening now, with ChatGPT as an assistant, a co-blogger, you name it.
ChatGPT is a new AI chatbot that has been built and is an upgrade from GPT3, which was released in 2020. GPT3 is Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, a trained language model that uses deep learning and can simulate human conversation. You can learn more about GPT3 from this post that I helped to research in 2020. Now, ChatGPT, which has been released by Open AI, is artificial intelligence that is able to respond to prompts instantly and enable the user to basically engage in what feels like a human conversation. It responds to prompts through the use of natural language processing (NLP), which enables it to understand the questions from humans and to be able to generate responses that mimic a human conversation. It is able to understand the context of conversations and can answer within seconds of being asked about anything ranging from how to bake a cake to something very complex and also in different languages.
It is a language model, and it was released fully on November 30th within one week, it had more than 1 million users trying to explore exactly what it does, which led to a slowdown on the site. ChatGPT is the latest chatbot from Open AI that had its launch back in 2015, and it has tremendous capabilities. It simulates a chat similar to what you might get from a chatbot when using an online website for example. But the difference is that it provides responses that mimic what you might find in a normal human conversation because it has been trained through machine learning and artificial intelligence.
How does it differ from Google or voice assistants? Think about when you ask questions to Alexa or Siri. You will receive a response that is limited, yet conversational, whereas ChatGPT is artificial intelligence that enables you to interact with a virtual assistant with the use of natural language. As mentioned, GPT3 is the third generation of this Generative Pre-trained Transformer text. The new ChatGPT is able to generate responses in real-time and without the need to complete Google searches or look through other resources to get information. It streamlines the process completely. Years ago, using the Dewey Decimal System to find books, to flip through pages became easier via Google Searches. Now, ChatGPT converts Google in a similar way. It eliminates the need for sorting and processing information. It decreased originality and creativity from students or people in general. This is why it has some people concerned.
Not just in the area of education, but in the world of work. ChatGPT and others that are developing as we speak, are the technologies that could potentially replace the need for many types of jobs. Think things like customer service representatives, coaches, and training providers, where you might need information that you normally would ask of a person and engage in a conversation, chat GPT will be able to complete the same task in far less time potentially.
So how can we help students and ourselves better understand what AI might look like in the classroom? We use some existing resources and find a way to tie them to the classes and open up a discussion. Years ago I visited Montour School District, and I was really impressed by the students and their work at the middle school level. It was one of the first schools to offer a middle-school curriculum on AI. Justin Aglio (@JustinAglio) has been doing some amazing work in the area of AI. He leads the Penn State Readiness Institute and has done tremendous work with AI. I recommend reading his blog posts or attending a presentation of his if you have the opportunity. Seeing the students excited about what they were learning made a huge difference. In areas like AI, where few people may understand the potential, it’s easy to criticize. Therefore, the first thing, I think we must do as teachers is to help students understand how to make informed decisions, give them opportunities to explore and research topics like this, and then have a conversation.
By attending conferences and other professional learning activities you can find tools that incorporate AI and that are worth exploring. Students should understand how these technologies work because they may very well end up being the ones who are creating AI and developing the technologies that we will be using in the not-too-distant future. We must first seek to understand before making any decisions about the relevance, benefits, or concerns about any type of technology we think about implementing in our classroom.
Some Resources to Explore
Here are a few unique educational resources I learned more about this summer and how they can be used in the classroom.
AI4ALL is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to increasing diversity and inclusion in AI education. Through AI4ALL, high school students have access to a free program where they can explore the resources available on the site and even participate in a “build your AI for good” project. Students will better understand AI and its potential through the resources provided.
AI World School offers three flagship AI courses for different age groups and also, several micro-courses. AIWS also has a virtual driverless car course.
DAILy from MIT offers a curriculum for students to explore AI as well as other activities and a mini-course Day of AI is coming up too!
ISTE’s AI and STEM Explorations Network has created four free hands-on AI projects for the classroom guides which are available for download from ISTE and GM. I helped to create a lesson on the use of AI in language classrooms. The guides are available in English, Spanish, and Arabic.
Microsoft AI for Good offers many resources for educators or anybody to look at how artificial intelligence is being used and to also better prepare teachers
There is a lot to learn about when it comes to AI, and the first step is in deciding the benefits for student learning and make sure that any privacy and security concerns are addressed. It is important that we help our students understand not only the capabilities of using AI in learning but also to develop their own skills to become the creators and innovators of the future.
Looking for PD for your school? I provide in-person and virtual training on the following topics. If you want to learn more about and explore AI and ChatGPT, contact me to schedule! Rdene915@gmail.com
Over the last couple of months, it’s unbelievable how much has changed in the world of artificial intelligence (AI). For the last couple of years, I have spent time researching, writing about, presenting on, and teaching about AI in my classroom and continuing to learn as much as I possibly can each year. When ChatGPT became available to the public in December, I didn’t hesitate to dive in and explore exactly what it was capable of doing. I even co-wrote an article about its potential impact on not just education but other areas of work.
After about 3 hours, I was pretty impressed with what I was seeing. I was also a little bit concerned about what it could be used for, whether by educators, students, or anybody for that matter. ChatGPT and the evolving AI technologies are not something that will impact educators and students, it is something that will impact many areas of the workforce and jobs that are out there. A big concern that has come up during this ChatGPT exploration is plagiarism. How will educators be able to tell when students may be using ChatGPT to complete their assignments especially with something evolving as fast as this technology? Will students begin to rely on this technology and as a result, lose the opportunity to develop essential skills on their own? What policies may need to be in place? Is it plagiarism if it is not citing a specific source? These are some of the many questions on the minds of educators and parents.
Plagiarism detection
There have been plagiarism checkers available for years and many educators and educational institutions use them. In my own experience as a doctoral student now, and when I worked on my Master’s degree five years ago, assignment submissions go through a plagiarism checker instantly. Turnitin is one that has been used. Honestly, there have been times when I’ve been shocked to see the percentage that comes back stating the likelihood of plagiarism, knowing that I did not plagiarize. I work hard to cite my sources but apparently, something that I did was not completely accurate and I used it as a way to evaluate my writing and improve my citations. Now enter ChatGPT.
Three years ago, I helped to do some research for a blog post about GPT-3 and I was impressed with what it was capable of back in 2020. Fast forward to early December 2022, working with and exploring ChatGPT, I was amazed at how much it had evolved since 2020 and the number of ways that you could use it. It didn’t take long for educators and lots of people to express concern about what the impact of this type of powerful technology would have on student learning.
Would it lead students to lose learning opportunities?
Would they rely on everything that they found by using this, and lack skills that they need to be prepared for the future?
What should educators do when it comes to teaching about these technologies in the classroom?
How can you tell whether or not a student has used ChatGPT to complete an assignment or project and how do you handle it?
Learning opportunities
AI writing and the use of ChatGPT and other AI writing tools are increasingly common not only in business. Students are using it and know about it. There are high schools banning its use. Educators are worried it will erode writing skills. But is banning it the solution? Detecting the presence of artificial intelligence in a student’s writing is helpful, but I hope that it is focused not on catching them doing something wrong but rather to use it to improve writing. We should use it to start conversations with students.
Turnitin has been developing writing and feedback tools for educators for 25 years and has continued to refine the ways that teachers give feedback to students. Turnitin commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 1,011 parents and/or guardians of high school students in the United States to understand their perceptions of AI writing tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard. Interestingly, 81% of respondents believe that teachers should use technology tools to detect when something has been written by AI to check homework or test answers to cut down on cheating.
On Tuesday, Turnitin released a new AI detection feature that has the ability to detect AI with 98% accuracy. They are also continuing to monitor the detection settings to watch for false positives. The new AI detection feature works like similarity checking. If something is noted, then teachers can look at the writing and provide feedback to students. It becomes a conversation and a learning opportunity for teachers and students about how to evaluate information and also for properly citing sources that have been used. The software should not be viewed as something that is set to accuse students of plagiarizing.
[image via Turnitin]
Also helpful is the sidebar with resources for educators to explore.
[Similarity report via the AI writing feature]
As educators, we have a responsibility to help our students to develop skills to navigate all of these changes that are happening in the world of education, and that may impact them in their future line of work.
Lessons to learn
I see this new feature as a way to provide information for teachers so they have data for analyzing student writing and providing further instruction and feedback, not as a tool for accusing students of misconduct. We want students to understand the importance of academic integrity while also learning about the tools available, including ChatGPT and other AI technologies. It is a way to also build literacy skills and stress the importance of evaluating our sources and checking information for accuracy.
Now what?
I recommend following the conversation about ChatGPT in the variety of educator spaces and communities. As for tools that detect plagiarism, explore the resources available to assist educators in integrating this new technology into their classrooms. The Turnitin page features a glossary of AI terms, which provides a useful reference guide for educators who are not yet familiar with the technical vocabulary associated with this technology. Additionally, there is a guide on updating an academic integrity policy in the age of AI, which is essential for ensuring that educators have a clear understanding of the ethical considerations surrounding AI-generated text.
And the best advice I can offer is to dive into trying out ChatGPT. Think about questions that you ask your students, projects that you have assigned, assessments that you’ve created, and lesson plans that you’ve written, and put all of those in as prompts. See what it generates and then regenerate the response a few times and look for commonalities. I test this out to see how similar the answers are and also check it for accuracy. I have explored this with my students as well because we know that not everything that we find on the Internet is accurate, which is why we have to embrace this and help students to learn to be digitally literate and model this practice for them.
This post was in collaboration with Pando PR. Opinions expressed are my own.
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This strategy is based on Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process, which has amazing potential even outside of its intended use. After reading her book on this process, I have been pondering ways to use this model with students of all ages, and with some restructuring according to the age or grade level of the student, I believe it is possible. To use this, students must be creating, writing, or have a product that is in progress or not complete, or maybe even a rough draft. Then, as students are in the process of creating, whether it be writing, artwork, research, project-based learning (PBL), presentation, etc., this process can help students refine their work with controlled peer feedback. There are three roles for this process, and if you have a small class, then you can do this whole group. For larger classes, you may need to conduct the process with the whole group as a model, and then break it up into smaller groups if necessary.
JUST LIKE EVERY NIGHT HAS ITS DAWN
The purpose of this strategy is not to “fix” the student’s work, but to provide questions to clarify areas that need more work and statements to point out strengths of the work in progress. This is actually the hardest part for me, as I am generally in “fix it” mode. This is also the part that needs to be addressed up front with the students the first time you do this with them. They are not to offer ways to fix any part that the creator is struggling with but to come up with questions to ask the creator about those issues that will help them come up with their own solution. In step 5 below, you could allow an opinion to contain a “here’s what I would do,” but the creator is still the one deciding whether or not to accept or act on those ideas.
JUST LIKE EVERY COWBOY SINGS HIS SAD, SAD SONG
What is particularly striking about this process or strategy is the potential for students to truly see that the process of creating is important, there’s usually more than one right way to do something, the class can truly be a learning community, and that revising work is a natural part of the creating process. Students often get into the rut of the “one and done” mode. We write a paper, create a product, paint a picture, and then turn it in and move on. This occurs even when we use our beloved rubrics. I have conducted workshops on how to effectively use rubrics, like the single-point rubric, and teachers have complained that they hand back a rubric and the student looks at it and tosses it in the trash. My question to all who have experienced this is, “Was there a grade on it?” If so, that’s the feedback the student wanted. No need to reflect. A teacher in my previous district pointed out that she handed back the rubrics and a student looked at it and crumpled it up, and that the student was my son. I asked him about it later, and he said, “It had a 100% on it. What did I need to look at or do with the rubric?” Right. No need to reflect at that point is a common student reaction. I encourage not putting grades on rubrics, instead, it is better to use them to guide instruction and feedback in the process of creating the work.
EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN
The Unfinished Business strategy can help students see that revising as we go is a common and productive practice. Research shows us that reflecting is a powerful learning strategy, so what better way to teach it than to have students reflect on feedback to find ways to improve and revise the work in progress? According to John Hattie and Helen Timperly, feedback is the “consequence of performance.” So to elicit strong feedback to help learners value the creation and revision process, try the strategy below and adjust as needed to fit your learners.
Role 1: Artist/Maker
Offers a work-in-progress for review and is prepared to examine the work critically in conversation with other people.
Role 2: Responder
Commits to the artist/maker’s intent to make excellent work. They question and respond to questions. They want the artist/maker to do their best work.
Role 3: Facilitator
Initiates each step, keeps the process and students on track, and works to help the artist/maker and responders frame useful questions and responses. The project rubric, if you have one, would be helpful here. Students can either form questions based on the criteria or you can have premade questions from the criteria that students can ask. Giving students a question to ask when first trying this or each time it is tried can really help get a productive conversation going. Those questions would be scaffolds for the responders. Most questions they will need to generate independently and need to be useful to the artist/maker.
Step 1: Artist/Maker shares the work in progress or a part of the work that they are struggling with or aren’t sure of at that moment in the creation process, or even after a draft or prototype has been completed.
Step 2: Responders then respond to what was meaningful, surprising, interesting, exciting, and/or striking in the work they have just witnessed, heard, read, etc. Each responder verbally or on a sticky note writes one positive response to the work. They cannot use “I like” or “I love” in the statement. Instead of saying/writing “I like the way you…” students write or say things like “Your thesis statement is strong and engaging” or “The color choice really complements the piece,” depending on the type of work being reviewed.
Step 3: The artist/maker then asks any questions they may have about the work. In answering, responders must stay on topic with the question and may only express opinions in direct response to the artist’s questions. This might be tricky, so after a practice round or two, determining a limit on the questions the artist/maker may ask might help with the facilitation. Time constraints in general mean that having the artist ask 1-3 questions would prevent the process from dragging on, which is important for the engagement of the responders. All responders should write down a response and the artist/maker can choose one or two to call on verbally. The artist receives all written responses also. On the same sticky note, (Use one or two per student responder for each session.)
Step 4: Responders write out neutral questions about the work on the same sticky note, and the artist chooses 1-3 students to ask their questions and then they respond to those questions.
Questions are neutral when they do not have an opinion added to them. This step is one of the most fundamental, challenging, and misunderstood steps of the Critical Response Process as noted by Liz Lerman. The questions are focused on anything unclear, confusing, complicated, or too simplistic about the work and should promote critical thinking among the responders. This part of the process is meant to provide the artist/maker with areas to consider for improving the work. The artist/maker has ultimate control over the end product, and responders are not there to “fix” the work, so they should not include solutions. The “fixers” in your classroom may struggle with this, so be prepared to help them suppress that instinct.
Step 5: (Optional-if time permits) Responders state opinions about the work in progress, given permission from the artist; the artist/maker considers the opinions but has the option to say no. Here is where you could include “fix it” ideas from those students who are your “fixers.” This round may be best if it is oral and not written down. The artist/maker calls on one or two responders, and again, the decisions lie with the artist/maker to accept one, some, all, or none of the proffered suggestions.
YEAH IT DOES
Students who are in the role of responder will still get a lot out of this process. The artist/maker will as well. This will provide the motivation to reflect on the work and then revise it. This is the beauty in this strategy for me, as there are times when getting students to review, edit, or revise their work is like Sisyphus rolling his rock up the hill each day. Again, revise this as needed for younger learners. This strategy can also promote an inclusive and safe learning environment when done properly (manage unhelpful criticisms), which can lead to students taking academic risks. Set up time in your pacing guide for this in place or in addition to any peer review feedback activities that are already built-in, and then do the strategy. It could work as a one-day weekly activity or as needed. The goal is for students to manage their own learning, and you will know you have achieved that goal when students start requesting the strategy to receive help with their work. Good luck, and tag me on Twitter or comment below if you find it useful.
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As we planned our next “Change the Narrative” videos, I asked Kathy what topics she thought were the most important to cover. Without a pause, Kathy responded, “Coalition Building!”
So check out this video and build your team!
Why this Matters
Build a stronger coalition. Energize and develop the advocates of DEI initiatives. Resistance will form among some community members in dealing with any DEI initiative. In response to this resistance, we need to build up the voices of advocates for the work.
Build a broader coalition. Who are the groups that may not immediately jump on board with DEI work but may support some of the initiatives or changes you are advocating for? Find natural partners in this work.
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Social emotional learning (SEL) is the process in which people develop interrelational skills that include self-awareness, social and relationship skills, responsibility, empathy, and more. Social-emotional learning has become an important piece of high school education, as educators see improved student outcomes because of an emphasis on SEL. More and more schools and districts are adopting SEL programs or tracking social-emotional development during a student’s high school career in order to prepare a student for future success whether that is in a university or the workforce.
What Constitutes SEL
According to CASEL’S SEL framework, there are 5 elements that constitute social-emotional learning.
Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Relationship skills
Responsible decision-making.
Why is this important?
Social-emotional development is a vital part of a student’s upbringing. This kind of development impacts how a student shows up in the world, how they interact with their peers, how they approach school and jobs, and how they develop meaningful relationships. Social-emotional development is crucial in positive student outcomes because they are learning valuable life skills and concepts. Additionally, universities seek students who possess a broadened perspective on the world and developed self-awareness.
How do students develop social-emotional learning?
There are a number of ways students grow in these areas and they don’t come from just one thing! Many of these competencies are developed through school-related activities and programs. Five days out of the week and 7-8 hours a day, students are in school. They spend additional time with their classmates in after-school programs, sports, extracurriculars, etc. Tracking and encouraging social-emotional learning has become a priority for educators as they know so much of this comes from school or school-related activities.
There are three overarching ways students engage in social-emotional development through school:
Community service requirements, programs or clubs.
When they become active members of their communities through service, students are able to see outside of their small world bubble, and understand needs and different ways of life. Through service projects, students work with their peers, local or even national organizations, service activity coordinators, and individuals they are directly serving. This exposes them to needs and circumstances outside their normal bubble widening their world view. They are also learning valuable skills such as teamwork, communication, collaboration, and respect.
Many schools have a service requirement for graduation. Others highly encourage student involvement in the community and award it at graduation, while others have clubs and programs where students can engage in community service.
Work-based learning and internship programs
In part-time jobs, apprenticeships, internships, etc. students learn valuable workplace skills but they also learn the soft skills of problem-solving, relationship-building, empathy, understanding, cooperation, and collaboration. These school-based programs connect students with a job or internship and then have regular check-ins and assessments to evaluate a student’s development. It goes beyond a student just showing up for a shift, they are learning valuable skills they can take into the workforce in the future.
Service learning classes, humanities, or religion classes
Some schools have dedicated service learning classes or incorporate service and service learning in a humanities course. Private schools often incorporate service and service learning in their religion classes as it ties back to their faith and the mission of the school to encourage spiritual formation in students.
Service learning connects service to what students are learning in the classroom – this gives students context for their work and provides deeper connections beyond checking service hours off a list. They can see and understand the impact of their work and reflect on their experiences in a meaningful way.
Measuring and encouraging development
These school-based programs ensure students are given the opportunity to experience growth on a deeper level. Success and development come when educators can see a student’s progress month after month, year after year. Tracking their experiences, reflections, and areas of growth is an important step in advancing social-emotional learning.
x2VOL becomes an extension of schools’ student programs to ensure students can track their progress and educators have insight into student development. With x2VOL, students and administrators track and manage these experiences and reflections all online, in one easy-to-use platform. Click below to watch our 1-minute demo of how x2VOL works.
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The start of a new year is a great time to think about the progress we have made so far this year and consider trying some different methods and tools in our classrooms. Taking time to reflect on what has worked, what we have not tried, and areas, where we may be having some challenges, is important. We want to continue to reflect and implement new strategies and tools that will benefit our students and transform learning.
Just like at the beginning of a new school year, focusing on the continued building of relationships is essential year-round. To do so, we have to be intentional about evaluating our teaching practice and the opportunities that we provide for our students. For our personal and professional growth, we need to make time for reflecting on our daily work as educators. What are some areas that we notice where we have grown in our practice? Are there some methods or tools that we have on our list but have lacked the time to try? Have we asked students for feedback about their experiences in our classroom and what helps them to learn best? I think that this is important for our practice. Using surveys and having conversations with students makes a difference. There are even great tools available for educators to use such as LessonLoop, which helps teachers to better understand student engagement and their specific needs in our classrooms. Another tool that helps educators to really focus on their methods and classroom interactions is Edthena, a virtual coaching platform. Teachers can record themselves teaching a lesson and then the AI Coach uses prompts to guide you about your lesson and what your perception of their effectiveness was. With videos, we can go back and focus on specific parts of our lesson, and our delivery and then use this to guide our reflection.
Taking time to reflect is important so that we can start the new year fresh. Now is the perfect opportunity to dive in and start the new year off with some fresh ideas! By choosing some methods or focus areas and then leveraging different tools, we can transform student learning and provide opportunities for building essential skills such as SEL. The power of choice not only helps students to build content area skills but also will lead them forward into their future careers with a variety of skill sets. With different tools and methods, we can spark curiosity for learning and foster creativity in learning!
For educators, this means we have to be willing to try new ideas, make mistakes and try again. Doing this sets a good model for our students. We want them to become more comfortable with learning and making mistakes and the process of learning itself.
Choosing methods in our classrooms that help to foster joy in learning and also foster the development of social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, will benefit students now and in the future. Being able to master the content while also developing skills that enable students to collaborate and develop strong and supportive relationships are important for future workplace success.
One thing to keep in mind is to find ways to streamline the workflow and the types of methods and tools that we are using. We want to provide choices but not overwhelm students in the process. Finding methods and tools that are versatile and applicable to different content areas and grade levels is key. Here are four ideas to start with:
Elementari is a tool we started to use this year and it has been fun seeing what the students create. There are many options available with Elementari, including the option for students to create an interactive story and build their skills in coding. There are more than 10,000 illustrations and sounds available to choose from.
Genially can be used for genius hour, project-based learning (PBL), interactive lessons, and more. We have used it in my Spanish and STEAM classes for projects and I have used it personally for creating resumes, digital portfolios, and even presentations. Students can work individually or together on a collaborative presentation which also promotes digital citizenship skills too! Genially has thousands of templates to choose from with options for STEM and more.
Spaces EDU is a great tool that teachers can use individually and create different types of “spaces.” There are individual, class, and group spaces through which teachers and students can collaborate and communicate using multimedia options. With an individual space, students can share their learning with teachers in a space where they are able to build confidence in learning. Individual spaces work well for methods like genius hour and PBL or for checking in with students. A group space has been fun for doing activities in stations or a collaborative PBL or even something fun like a scavenger hunt. Spaces EDU also has curriculum tags and more that help teachers to connect the curriculum to the activities created in Spaces.
STEM-related: There are some new resources we have explored this year including iBlocksPBL which helps educators to dive into PBL and students can learn about relevant topics related to the SDGs that help them to develop essential SEL skills, especially in the competencies of self-awareness and self-management. A few years ago I used Hummingbird Robots with my STEAM class and more recently, we used the Finch robots from Birdbrain Technologies. Teachers can use these tools in any content area and have students create something to reflect what they are learning in class while building coding skills and even learning about AI. These are just a few to explore in your classroom. If you are interested in PBL, SEL, and STEM, any of these options would help to focus on those areas with the use of one tool. Involve students in the conversation and see what the impact is of using the different methods like genius hour or PBL or trying one of these tools. And for our own growth, using a survey created with Google or Microsoft Forms, or trying the LessonLoop student engagement survey, can help us to plan with our students’ interests in mind and continue to reflect on our practice. Taking risks and facing challenges along the way is a great model to set for students!
About the Author:
Rachelle Dené is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s nExT in Emerging Technology Teacher at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. Rachelle is also an attorney with a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. Rachelle is an ISTE Certified Educator and serves as the past president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network. She was named one of 30 K-12 IT Influencers to follow in 2021.
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We have thousands of resources to choose from, and ideas we can gather from the different learning communities that we belong to, however, it can be overwhelming and time-consuming to sort through all of our options. It is always important when we consider our options to think about the purpose for using them. I try to find tools that have benefits beyond their educational use and that are applicable to the real world and will help students to prepare for the future.
As we look for activities and new ideas to keep students engaged, I think it is the perfect opportunity to explore some of the emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality. While traveling around the world or exploring objects up close is limited during this time, we can use some of the AR and VR tools available to explore and also to have students create their own. Giving students the chance to engage in a more meaningful way with the content they are studying and move from consumers to creators using these tools helps to increase student engagement and leads to higher student achievement.
Using tools for exploring and immersing more in learning through AR and VR enables students to connect more closely with what they are studying. Having choices for creating with these tools, also enables us to meet specific student needs and interests. As a bonus, these tools are also fantastic options for anyone interested in learning about these emerging technologies.
Here are eight options to get started with:
Big Bang AR. Download the Big Bang AR app to learn about the big bang theory and engage in an interactive journey in mixed reality. Travel back 13.8 billion years and see the formation of the universe happen right in your real-world space. Imagine seeing the stars as they form right in front of your eyes.
Devar: Choose from one of the lively characters to bring into your classroom or home. Devar is easy to get started with and is a fun way for students or anyone to learn more about what augmented reality is and how it can be used for storytelling. Start by selecting a character and add music or your own narration to it and record. Share the video with students or have students create their own to tell a story. Check out the other resources available from Devar such as games and books related to different content areas and grade levels.
DisruptED. Provides augmented and virtual reality tools for students in pre-K through third grade. I recently learned about this one from Jaime Donally and had a chance to see the possibilities for engaging students through AR books. The new starter kit includes activity books, gamified activities, a headset and more. The newest AR book “Bee Safe” is available for a free download.
Google AR/VR. A website full of resources for learning about augmented and virtual reality through Google. Check out the experiences which include opportunities to learn about math, science, the human body, and more in AR. Bring prehistoric creatures or other animals into your environment. You can even create your own AR experience by downloading the software development kit (SDK) to create with Google ARCore. With the SDK, you can create new AR experiences or enhance existing apps with AR features.
Nearpod: Offers many options for promoting student engagement through its interactive multimedia platform. My first VR experiences were with Nearpod and there are thousands of lessons to choose from which include 3D objects and VR field trips. Lessons through Nearpod are great options for immersing students in different learning experiences and traveling around the world or exploring places and objects more closely.
It is important to offer multiple options to students that lead to more meaningful experiences that promote the development of essential skills for the future and empower them through self-driven learning. We have an opportunity to innovate and reimagine learning as we embrace the new school year. We can use these immersive tools to create new learning experiences for our students and empower them to create their own!
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I recently attended my fourth TCEA conference. This year marked the 43rd year of the TCEA (Texas Computer Educators Association) Convention and Exposition which was held in San Antonio, Texas at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Since the first time I attended TCEA in San Antonio in 2017, it has become one of my must-attend conferences each year. With more than 700 sessions to choose from on a variety of important topics, TCEA provided a great learning experience for educators again this year. There were also lots of spaces for educators to connect and build their network. Luann Hughes served as the 2023 Convention Chair and sent emails each day with an overview of the day’s schedule, some “Sessions to Savor” and other helpful information to get attendees excited for the day!
The highlights
The people: It is so nice to be able to join together in person at events like the TCEA conference again. For some people, this may have been the first time meeting a friend face-to-face or the first time seeing a friend in the past few years. For me, I love the opportunities to spend time with friends, make new connections and build our learning networks.
The mock schedules: Deciding on sessions to attend can always be a challenge especially when there are so many choices. One of the things I love about TCEA is that they put together mock schedules focused on the different roles of educators. The conference planning team reviews all sessions being offered for roles such as classroom teachers, IT, leaders, and librarians, or with a specific focus on SEL or STEM, special populations, and other important topics in education. Being able to look at a sample schedule helps any attendee but definitely, a first-time attendee to build a schedule focused on their specific interests and needs for professional learning.
Power Hours: There were a variety of session types and events during the conference. Each day started with a Power Hour with a featured speaker. On Monday, Dr. Adam Saenz focused on “The Power of a Teacher” and how important it is to remember the “why” behind the work that we do and the importance of focusing on relationships. On Tuesday, Dr. Michael Hinojosathe spoke about “How to Leverage Educational Technology as a Learning Strategy.” He has more than 40 years of experience in public education, as a teacher, coach, and superintendent/CEO. On Wednesday, the Power Hour “Keep it REAL. Keep it FUN. Keep it UP!” with Joe Dombrowski, an educator who has studied the art of improv comedy. He shared ideas and personal stories about how he uses improv to boost student engagement. His goal is to help students “want to be in school rather than have to be in school.” There was a lot of laughter during his inspiring session.
[Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis]
Thursday’s Power Hour was with Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, a former Sandy Hook Elementary teacher and the founder and executive director of Classes 4 Classes. She inspired educators with her message focused on making choices with “purpose, passion, perspective, resilience, and hope.”
One of many interesting spaces in the center.
The sessions and topics
There were several hot topics this year. Attendees were very interested in learning about AI and in particular, ChatGPT, and its implications for education. Blockchain, NFTs, and the metaverse were also of interest, with several sessions available covering each of these. I presented a few sessions on artificial intelligence, emerging tech like NFTs, blockchain, the metaverse, and augmented and virtual reality. I also presented and attended several sessions on SEL. There were so many great sessions to choose from. As a presenter, I learn so much from attendees and I look forward to those opportunities to connect. The interactions in sessions lead to new connections and spark interest in new areas for teachers who walk away feeling more confident in diving into some of these new topics and trends.
One of my presentations focused on Chart A New Course: Teaching Essential Skills. Sharing methods and tools like BookWidgets, StoryJumper, Marty the Robot and many more!
Jaime Donally had a great experience for anyone looking to learn about augmented and virtual reality during her sessions such as “Top AR/VR Trends to Transform Learning” and the Digcit VR Journey. Rabbi Michael Cohen (The Tech Rabbi) presented a few sessions on Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, NFTs, and web 3. Also, a big focus was on SEL, with a great session for teachers presented by Jenallee, the eTwinz, and Scott Bricker. Many sessions covered these topics and drew large crowds. Monica Burns had so many ideas to share in her “15 Ways to Collect Actionable Formative Assessment Data” session. She presented quick ideas and also digital tools that help educators gather important data about student learning.
Strategies for Teachers Session by Jenalee and the eTwinz
There were a variety of sessions focused on specific tools such as Google from Dr. Desiree Alexander who had a lot of great tips for streamlining Google Drive. Holly Clark and Matt Miller presented on AI and ChatGPT and shared some ideas for how educators can explore this technology and ways to help students understand it and its implications for learning now and working in the future. Another engaging session was “Three by Thursday! Electrifying Strategies to Ensure Engagement in Learning” by Stormy Daniels and Wendy Hedeen. These are just some of the many topics you could explore and sessions that provided actionable strategies and many resources and also helped with building confidence in taking some risks in our classrooms.
The poster sessions: At each conference, poster sessions are a great way to take in a lot of new ideas in a short amount of time. Being able to interact one-on-one and ask questions specific to your needs in these topic areas really does make a difference. There were poster sessions for CTE, Librarians, Professional Learning, STEM, CTE, and content areas. Sometimes it can be tough to decide which sessions to attend at a conference, but there were opportunities everywhere, especially through the poster sessions.
Panel and Roundtable Discussions: There were roundtable and panel discussions held each day on topics such as equity, personalized professional learning, sustainability, and really relevant focus points for educators. Each day had a variety of panel discussions focused on issues relevant to classroom teachers, educators, and librarians and provided an engaging space to ask questions and make new connections.
Presenting on AI and sharing Marty the Robot
The big topics: Some of the big topics in emerging technology this year were blockchain, cryptocurrency, the metaverse, NFTs, and also ChatGPT. There were also a lot of sessions focused on SEL for students and ideas for educators for their own well-being. TCEA even had an SEL room available for educators to take time to relax in a calming and relaxing environment. It was also a space where educators could learn more about SEL practices and gather some resources.
The Exhibit Hall
I enjoyed exploring the exhibit hall this year with so many companies present and different opportunities to interact with cutting-edge technologies and new ideas for STEM and emerging technologies. Some of the favorites were the Escape Room bus, the Esports area, and of course the endless swag that was available to attendees. There was a lot of interest in STEM-related resources such as Ozobot, Sphero, Marty the Robot, and more hands-on learning materials for younger students like this awesome learning mat from Active Floor.
It is also another great way to learn some new ideas by checking out the different technologies and solutions or catching some of the booth demos given by educators. It gives attendees the chance to learn about a lot in that one space and also to walk away with some fun swag too!
Esports was popular this year with several sessions happening as well as a space in the expo for attendees to take in the esports experience. Throughout the hall, there were booth demos by educators sharing their experiences of using some of the tools like Book Creator, Edpuzzle, Kami, and Spaces EDU, and many booths with live presentations happening every 15 minutes.
Attendees could also step inside and take a tour of a fully renovated, 43-foot school bus that has become a makerspace on wheels. It’s a STEAM dream come true!
The Quest Escape Room bus
The space that TCEA creates
Arriving at TCEA each year, attendees are welcomed as soon as they enter the space. There are volunteers ready to assist you and lead you in the right direction, make sure you are enjoying the experience and check in on presenters to make sure everything is set to go. Don’t worry about attending this conference alone. It is a welcoming space and you will meet and connect with educators right away!
Meeting up with friends at registration to kick off the week!
Planning for next year! If you have been thinking about attending a conference, I definitely recommend TCEA. It has become a favorite event each year. The topics and strands focused on different roles for educators, the variety of sessions, and the welcoming TCEA staff and volunteers, really provide a tremendous learning experience for all attendees.
Rachelle Dené is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s nExT in Emerging Technology Teacher at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. Rachelle is also an attorney with a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. Rachelle is an ISTE Certified Educator and serves as the past president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network. She was named one of 30 K-12 IT Influencers to follow in 2021.
She is the author of seven books including ‘In Other Words: Quotes That Push Our Thinking,” “Unconventional Ways to Thrive in EDU”, “The Future is Now: Looking Back to Move Ahead,” “Chart A New Course: A Guide to Teaching Essential Skills for Tomorrow’s World, “True Story: Lessons That One Kid Taught Us” and her newest book “Your World Language Classroom: Strategies for In-person and Digital Instruction” and Things I Wish […] Knew.
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Guest post by Dr. Shelly Vohra in collaboration with @ClassComposer
Response to Intervention (RTI) is a strategy geared towards students who face learning challenges. Students struggle for a variety of reasons and it’s important to understand why these students are struggling and the best way to create a learning path so that they are successful and feel good about themselves. The premise behind “interventions” is to ensure that students receive the supports they need so that the gaps in learning are not exacerbated. It is important to note, however, that “gaps” should not be seen as deficits; rather gaps are areas of growth for students and each student has their own areas of growth based on a wide range of assessments. I, personally, have an issue with the term “gaps” but that is a topic of discussion for another time. It is also important to know that RTI is not a program; it is an approach that identifies student needs based on collecting data from various sources and in a variety of ways and then identifies and applies relevant instructional strategies to develop those skills in students.
Gathering and accessing data
When it comes to data, there are many sources available for educators to learn about the needs of individual students. Being able to gather all of this information, sort through it, share it with other teachers, and develop a plan can take time. Not having a streamlined space for this makes it challenging. With Class Composer, educators have everything they need to be able to monitor student progress. The information is readily accessible to anyone, at any time. It enables all teachers to access the information they need about each individual student when they need it.
With Class Composer, it is easy to track and record student growth toward individualized goals and share this information within your PLC to best provide for all students. Simplify how you manage all the assessment data collected!
Supporting teachers to support students
As it is, one of the most important parts of the RTI process is to build a team to effectively support students who are struggling. The team should include classroom teachers, administrators, teachers who support special education students and those students who are learning English, the school psychologist, speech-language therapist, and parents. Teachers provide targeted teaching and then use formative assessment practices to determine if the intervention strategies are working.
With Class Composer, it makes it easier for teachers to have access to all this information in one space. It enables teachers to create a supportive learning community for students. These teacher-student connections lead to the development of the essential relationships that need to exist for all students to be successful. The simplified space creates a better way for teams to collaborate and access the information they need when they need it.
If they are not working, the team must decide how they will adapt and modify their instructional practices to ensure that students are indeed learning and growing. A significant aspect to keep in mind is that formative assessments inform us of what we must do to ensure student success, not what the student needs to do. In other words, how are we adjusting our practice to best support students? Assessment informs instruction; it is our responsibility to continuously revise what we are doing so that students meet the learning goals related to curriculum standards and expectations.
Even though there is no one correct way to implement RTI, it is a three-tiered approach and you can think of it as a pyramid in which each tier increases in the intensity of support. They are:
(1) whole class
(2) small group, and
(3) intensive interventions.
Some school boards call this a multi-tiered system of supports or MTSS. Although there are many benefits to this approach, I also see several problems and issues arising from the basic foundation upon which RTI and MTSS were built.
I will be discussing these issues in future blog posts as well as digging deeper into this system of support and how to best implement this framework so that all students succeed, grow, and have positive self-worth.
About the Author
Dr. Shelly Vohra is an educator, coach, and consultant. Dr. Vohra teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in Technology and Mathematics as well as working with students who are learning English. She holds an M.Ed in Adult Education & Distant Learning and a Ph.D. in Educational Technology. Dr. Vohra has over 20 years of experience in education (K-12) teaching various subject areas. Dr. Vohra has written several courses related to Indigenous Education, Multilingual Learners, and Mathematics.
Most recently, she was on a writing team that revised the Science Curriculum (K-8) for Ontario. She has presented at various conferences in Canada and the U.S.A. Dr. Vohra’s work includes designing learning experiences for students through an integrated curriculum lens that combines inquiry with equity. Her research interests include social media in education and blended learning, Dr. Vohra is currently writing a book on her journey. You can find her blog at https://techdiva29.wordpress.com/. Her website will also be launching in late Fall. You can also follow her on Twitter @raspberryberet3 and on Instagram @elevate_ed_21.
**Interested in writing a guest blog for my site? Would love to share your ideas! Submit your post here. Looking for a new book to read? Find these available at bit.ly/Pothbooks
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Guest post from 
Learning as I go: Reflections & lessons learned 