Week 4: Generative AI for Educational Purposes

Activity 1:

One of the goals for our blog this week was to change settings in our blog to make it more accessible. The two that I chose were changes in the blog headings and changes in the font. For the blog headings, I was able to change the headings through the headings tab to make each blog easier to read and more organized. This gave me a good feel for how to space out a blog if I were to continue to write one in the future. I also made sure to change the font for each blog to ensure easier-to-read text on the eyes. Small text, such as Times, was harder to read than the current text I am using, Verdana. 

As for my first blog, I used a screen reader and timed how long it took to read through my blog. In total, the blog was four minutes and twenty-four seconds. I believe that for an academic blog, I wouldn't change the length or the tone of my writing. 

Activity 2:

Part 1: Generative AI Lesson Plan

In Magic School AI, I asked it to make a lesson for a 6th-grade health class on digital citizenship. I asked it to use SHAPE standard 3, and ISTE standard 1.2.d. Below is a copy of the lesson the generative AI produced:

Digital Citizenship in Health Class

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
Students will be able to take action to protect their digital privacy on devices and manage their personal data and security while online.

ASSESSMENTS:
Students will create a digital privacy poster that illustrates at least three strategies for protecting their personal data online.

KEY POINTS:
Understanding digital privacy and its importance.
Strategies for protecting personal information online (e.g., using strong passwords, privacy settings).
Recognizing secure websites (look for HTTPS).
Identifying what personal data is safe to share.
The role of digital footprints and their long-term implications.

OPENING:
Start with a question: "What do you think happens to your information when you use the internet?"
Show a short video clip on digital footprints to engage students and capture their interest.

INTRODUCTION TO NEW MATERIAL:
Discuss the concept of digital citizenship and why it's essential.
Use real-life examples of data breaches to illustrate risks.
Explain secure behavior online, including setting strong passwords and recognizing secure websites.
Anticipate the misconception that only "bad" people are targeted online; emphasize that everyone is at risk.

GUIDED PRACTICE:
Break students into small groups to discuss scenarios where they might need to protect their information.
Provide example situations, starting with simple (e.g., creating a password) to more complex (e.g., handling suspicious emails).
Monitor discussions, asking guiding questions to deepen understanding, such as "Why is it important to update your passwords regularly?"

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:
Have students create a digital privacy poster that includes at least three strategies for protecting their personal data.
Set clear expectations: posters should be colorful, informative, and visually appealing.
Allow students to present their posters to the class for peer feedback.

CLOSING:
Conduct a quick review quiz using Kahoot! or similar platform to summarize key concepts learned during the lesson.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY:
For students who finish early, invite them to research a recent news story about a data breach and share their findings with the class.

HOMEWORK:
Assign students to write a short reflection on what new strategies they will implement to protect their digital privacy at home.

STANDARDS ALIGNED:
SHAPE Standard 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to use social skills to interact positively with others.
ISTE Standard 1.2.d: Students take action to protect their digital privacy.

Overall, I feel as though this lesson, with some tweaks, would be a great lesson for my 6th-grade health class. To begin, I feel that for the age group, it is rigorous enough that make it engaging for them. The assessment, creating a poster that illustrates three strategies for protecting their data, would be an engaging way for them to enhance their understanding of the topic. One portion of the lesson that I would change would be to have the posters be made in small groups of two or three students. Standard 3 from SHAPE asks students to demonstrate the ability to use social skills to interact positively with others. By keeping them in groups after discussion, they would be able to collaborate on effective ways to protect digital information.

I believe that this tool, if used in the proper way, is wonderful for the creation of rigorous lesson plans. This is a tool that our district's technology coaches have introduced to us, and I have been able to utilize it for lessons that I feel need some changes in my classes. Last school year, I was looking to change a lesson on the effects of alcohol and tobacco on the human body. The previous lesson was quite boring, and with the use of magic school, I was able to make a more positively engaging lesson. The lesson went from a boring section of guided notes to a scavenger hunt that led students through what can happen to the body when under the influence of alcohol and tobacco.

This lesson, shown above, relates to both Gura’s work on creativity and authentic instruction in assessment. Gura (2020) asks that we foster creativity in the classroom, and a colorful, informative poster fits very well into this category. Additionally, when discussing authentic instruction, a lesson such as this fits the criteria of construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond the school (Newman et. al., 2007).

Part 2: Generative AI Tools

The tool I chose to try out is the rubric generator. This tool generates a custom rubric for any assignment. Creating a rubric is something that feels like tedious work, especially for work that is done by middle school students. With this tool, I was easily able to make a rubric for the AI-generated lesson from Part 1. The rubric was comprehensive and would be a tool I would add to my collection, as I wouldn’t have to spend extra time making a basic rubric. Instead, I would be able to spend more time creating authentic instruction for my students.

Part 3: Reflection

In my honest opinion, I feel as though Magic School is a high-quality tool to use in my classroom. This generative AI has a plethora of useful tools for many tasks we face as teachers today. Tools such as presentation generators, YouTube video questions, and even a 5E Model Lesson plan are a short list of beneficial AI tools. If I found a useful way to utilize this in my class with students, I would! As of now, I do not as many of my lessons that require the use of AI, but in the future, with changes in technology, I have a feeling this will change. Luckily, this is a tool that our district encourages us to use through our technology coaches. As a young educator, a challenge I foresee is relying too heavily on the use of generative AI for any class. A colleague of mine is someone who uses generative AI for nearly every corner of their class. While this can be helpful, I feel as though it can be overtly inauthentic, as these are not thoughts and lessons that come from the self, rather something that is given that could come with mistakes, as the prompts must be specific enough to fit what needs to be taught. In the Guidance and Considerations for Using Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma K-12 Schools document, there is one glaring guideline that stands out to me. This guideline details that generative AI should be the middle component, not the final step, of our teaching process. I agree with this statement because, although these generative AI tools are great at creating content quickly, the model will not be 100% in tune with the needs of our students. These tools are much better for a starting outline that is enhanced with teacher experience and knowledge.

One final tool that I would like to discuss is Brisk Education. This tool is a Chrome extension that can utilize generative AI in any Google Drive function you may need. For example, let’s say I would like to make guided notes for a presentation I am giving in class. Instead of using more time than needed during prep time, I can ask the AI tool to make guided notes directly from the presentation.


References
Gura, M. (2020). Fostering Student Creativity. EdTech Digest the State of the Arts, Creativity, and Technology 2020: A Guide for Educators and Parents. p. 7. Gura (2020).pdf
Newmann, F. M., King, M. B., & Carmichael, D. L. (2007). Authentic instruction and assessment: Common standards for rigor and relevance in teaching academic subjects. State of Iowa Department of Education. Introduction, Chapters. 1 & 2 (30 pages).