Larry Ferlazzo: This Week’s Free & Useful Artificial Intelligence Tools For The Classroom. “At least, for now, I’m going to make this a weekly feature which will highlight additions to THE BEST NEW – & FREE – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS THAT COULD BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM.”
Larry Ferlazzo: The Best New – & Free – Artificial Intelligence Tools That Could Be Used In The Classroom. “I also thought it would be helpful to readers – and to me – to begin yet another AI list where I collect various free (or ones that let you do enough free stuff to make it worth our time before they start charging) AI tools. I’ll add them to various specific other ‘Best’ lists too – if they fit and as I have time – but this list will also be more-or-less an AI potpourri of sorts. Who knows how long this list is going to end up being!”
Aberystwyth University: Language teachers could ditch essays in favour of graphic novels. “… a team of Modern Languages academics are inspiring teachers and students to adopt new and creative ways of researching language and assessing language learning – through art. The team have launched the Creative Modern Languages Hub, a free online resource which provides examples of creative assessment and artistic research from the UK and beyond.”
Larry Ferlazzo: How I’m Using AI Art Generation To Teach English To Newcomers. “I’ve previously shared THE BEST RESOURCES FOR TEACHING & LEARNING WITH AI ART GENERATION TOOLS, which included some preliminary ideas on how to us AI art creation sites in the classroom. I thought I would share how I’ve been using them in my ELL Newcomers class over the past few weeks, and hope that readers will share even better ideas.” I have a great deal of respect for Larry, but this time I want to disagree with him about terminology. I don’t think we should call them “art generators”. I think we should call them “image generators.” Referring to the output as “art” gives it a cultural credibility it does not deserve.
Android Police: Spam invites for Google Classrooms are out of control and unstoppable. “Spam has a way of getting around to all the platforms we use online. Whether it’s good ol’ fashioned phone calls or email, the comments section of anything, or automated content generation polluting the tubes of YouTube, it’s all unpleasant and messy and the only real saving grace we have is the ability to ignore it. But for Google Classroom users who are dealing with a wave of fresh textual horrors, they might not even have a valid way of doing so.”
EdSurge: Before Using Augmented and Virtual Reality Tools, Teachers Should Develop a Plan. “As an early adopter and enthusiast for immersive technology in schools, I’ve had the opportunity to share ways to use augmented and virtual reality to transform learning with educators around the world. I provide staff development and training, and many of the teachers I work with are enthusiastic about trying new tools…. But I’ve seen a lot of teachers dive in too quickly, selecting and using a tool without carving out time to think through how to implement it with fidelity.”
Larry Ferlazzo: Four New & Helpful Resources About Using ChatGPT For Education. “I’ve been adding quite a few new links to THE BEST POSTS ON EDUCATION & CHATGPT over the past couple of weeks without highlighting them, so you might want to check it out.”
WIRED: Banning TikTok Hurts Higher Education. “While students can certainly still access TikTok within the privacy of their own homes, professors can no longer put TikToks into PowerPoint slides or show TikTok links via classroom web browser. Brands, companies, and novel forms of storytelling all rely on TikTok, and professors will no longer be able to train their students in best practices for these purposes. Additionally, TikTok makes parts of the world more accessible, as students can see the things they are learning about in real time. The world keeps turning as these states implement their bans, leaving their citizens disadvantaged in a fast-paced media world.”
Stanford Graduate School of Education: Stanford faculty weigh in on ChatGPT’s shake-up in education. “The recent release of ChatGPT — a new natural language processor that can write essays, spit out a Haiku, and even produce computer code — has prompted more questions about what this means for the future of society than even it can answer, despite efforts to make it try. Faculty from the Stanford Accelerator for Learning are already thinking about the ways in which ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence will change and contribute to education in particular.”
Faculty Focus: How and Why to Evaluate Open Educational Resources (OERs). “I expected a good experience when I was asked to review an online course in the spring of 2022 that was comprised of OERs. Unfortunately, as I began reviewing the course the saying, ‘You get what you pay for’ kept going through my mind. But fortunately, it was a good reminder of how to avoid potential pitfalls when using OERs.”
MakeUseOf: These 4 Sites Make Test-Making Easier. “Being a teacher isn’t easy, and making resources can be some of the most difficult work that you have to do. Printing tests can be time-consuming, difficult, and not to mention has an environmental impact as well. If you want to share tests digitally, however, it can be overwhelming with all the different options available for you to choose from. Fortunately, you don’t have to trawl through all the available options yourself.”
The Tech Edvocate: Product Review Of Teachingbooks.net. “TeachingBooks.net is an online book database, assisting educators, parents, and librarians with finding multimedia resources, lesson plans, and links to extend curriculum in the classroom around books. The database features a huge number of fiction and nonfiction books and associated resources, with a heavy focus on materials useful for author studies and introductory lessons as well as supporting the diversification of what books and authors are taught.”
WIRED: The Tricky Ethics of Being a Teacher on TikTok. “The hashtags #teacher and #teachersoftiktok have a combined 72.1 billion views on TikTok. While many of these videos feature educators simply discussing their job, others take place inside the classroom and include children’s voices, faces, and schoolwork. And even though many teachers on the platform clearly understand how to safeguard their students, the rise of these accounts does raise a number of ethical questions: Should educators really be filming while they’re teaching?”
CBC: Alberta’s searchable teacher registry to go live this week. “Starting later this week Albertans will be able to search an online database and find out the names and professional standings of 162,000 teachers and teacher leaders dating back to 1954. The province’s new teacher registry will have information about what certificates teachers hold, what the status of those certificates is and when they were issued.”
Larry Ferlazzo: Kapwing Just Made Their “Pro” Plan Free For Educators And Students. “Kapwing, a cool multimedia tool that includes video-editing features and easy ways to produce memes, just announced that their ‘Pro’ plan would now be free to educators and students.”
