Blog Journal 7

I used a school called Seminole Science Charter School and the website provided information about the school and classes. The information one can see publicly are the main events upcoming at the school, the different clubs/organizations the students can join, and other miscellaneous information about the school. I was able to access the different class pages by clicking on the curriculum link under the academics tab, and each different curriculum for each of the grade levels described the goals that the classes wanted to accomplish. For example, within first grade, the curriculum of the math class would like to accomplish the “eight key areas as required by the Florida Standards: Number and Numeration, Operations and Computation, Data and Chance, Measurement, Geometry, Patterns, Functions, and Algebra.” Overall, lots of information useful for parents and students alike can be found on the schools website, https://seminolescience.org/index.php. 

I envision myself using technology to accomplish my professional responsibilities more efficiently and effectively by relying on tools that boost my productivity and help with collaboration with my peers. For example, I would boost my productivity by using tools such as Canvas and Google Classroom to post assignments, my syllabus, and deadlines so students would know what is expected of them. In addition, I would use Google Calendar so students would be able to see the schedule for the future year and they would get reminders. I would boost my collaboration with my peers through tools such as Google Docs and Microsoft One Drive to work with other teachers to create a suitable curriculum and rubric for students. Overall, through the use of technology, these tools would help me complete my professional responsibilities.  

During my experience with Assignment 2: Critical Evaluation, using Canvas group, I used Generative AI to create a lesson plan suitable for students as well as accurate with its information. The aspects of lesson planning that AI could support are creating an outline for the lecture and activity of the lesson. The aspects of lesson planning that I think still require human teacher expertise are keeping the students engaged with the material and adjustments to the lesson plan in order to accommodate students. This assignment taught me that a “good” lesson plan keeps the students engaged, the information is accurate and reliable, and the material is appropriate for the student’s learning. Evaluating the AI-generated plan changed how I think about designing my own lesson plans because it taught me that the information should be more detailed and the lessons should include more real-world examples in order for students to understand how the lesson applies to the real world. I like that the Canvas group tool allows for the group to be able to communicate efficiently and work together in order to create the different pages/work that is required from the assignment. I would not recommend another tool as I feel that the Canvas group tools fulfills the responsibilities that the assignment asks for.

Blog Journal 6

 During the tour, we learnt about the different aspects of the Tech Sandbox and the activities available for students to learn. If I were to envision myself using any of the tools in my future classroom, I would use the VR headset and the small robotics. I think that the VR headset would be an interactive way to explore different lesson plans while keeping students engaged with the technology and the content. I would implement the VR headset by having lectures and then having the students play learning games on the headset. The robotics would be beneficial to students because they could interact with the technology and play around with the robots while learning the material, and I would implement this tool the same way as the VR headset. 

A Florida Standard that implements technology is SC.8.ET.2.1 – “Explore the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) device to accomplish a task.” This standard is used for 8th graders to explore how AI works within the real world. Within the standard, students understand the effect of AI on the real world and use examples such as generative AI like chatbots and algorithmic AI like seen in social media. The standard focuses on digital literacy therefore prompting students to understand the inner workings of AI and not just surface level AI. I think that I am somewhat prepared to implement the standard based on my current skill set, because while I do understand AI to some level, I am unaware of some of the tools that AI offers. 

A resource I can use in my teaching is the Original Student Tutorials, because these tutorials help bridge gaps in understanding that students, parents, or teachers may have. The tutorials are interactive and include lesson plans designed to motivate students, embedded practice activities, and are focused on the standards that are appropriate to the grade level of the student. Therefore these three criteria help keep students engaged with the content as well as helping students stick to the curriculum. Original Student Tutorials can be used in my teaching because these tutorials are mobile and extremely easy to use as well as it requires no preparation to use, so I can use this resource on days that require less lectures and more interactive activities.

Blog Journal 5

 Within my experience blogging, I like the interactive format it introduces. For example, blogging allows for the blogger to use different formats such as text as well as images in order to convey their thoughts. In addition, it allows for viewers to comment and include their thoughts on the pieces written by the blogger. So far, I have learned how to add text to the blogs, how to add images to the blogs, and how to add copyrights to the blog posts. Overall, blogging is an interactive and exciting new experience that I enjoy. 

Artificial intelligence within education has become more popular within the last couple of years. My initial thoughts about using AI within a K-12 setting, is that while it can be helpful in the short term, I believe it to be harmful in the long run. While AI can quickly find answers for specific questions, it lacks originality, by paraphrasing or plagiarizing other sources, as well as even sometimes lacking credibility/accuracy. Therefore, due to the lack of originality and credibility, I believe that if students were to use AI from K-12, it would limit their understanding of the knowledge and core skills that K-12 provides, instead relying on AI which ultimately fails the purpose of schooling. 

While using Generative AI for Participation Portfolio Item #10, I used the Generative AI ChatGPT. I asked ChatGPT to generate a science lesson for 7th graders about cells and their functions and the lesson plan it gave me was highly detailed. There wasn’t anything that didn’t work, as the lesson plan covered activities and accommodations, and was extremely helpful. Next time, I would possibly use it to create an outline for an assignment or I may use it to structure tables or other miscellaneous objectives. 

Within my teaching practice, I would use Generative AI sparingly. I would use it for outlines, tables, or other small items within my lessons, however I would be hesitant to commonly employ the use of AI. I would use very little AI in order to address ethical concerts, because I believe that many of the ethical concerns from AI are because people use so much of AI. For example, the ethical concern of originality being lost when AI is used is eliminated if one simply does not use AI. Overall, while Generative AI may be very helpful, this is mainly due to other materials that AI is taking from, therefore rendering your work when one uses AI as a copy of something rather than a unique and original piece of work.