Category: Weekly Reflections

This week we had the class final project presentations.

All presentations were quite well done but the software that stuck out to myself the most was mentimeter.

Mentimeter as it was described, is an online software that allows users to create powerpoints that students can interact with. I love this concept as all too often we as presenters are stuck in a situation halfway through a presentation when we notice our crowd beginning to lose focus as their attention dulls. MENTIMETER COULD BE A SAVIOUR IN THESE SITUATIONS. frequent interactive moments sprinkled into a powerpoint would skyrocket engagement as audience members would have a draw to the content. Not always is your audience going to have a passion for the material you are presenting on. It’s in these instances that a tool like Mentimeter could save the audience from getting heavy eyelids or realizing they haven’t checked their phones. As a highschool teacher interactive presentations would allow me to observe if my students are actually being receptive to the content I am throwing at them. Therefore I expect most if not all of my powerpoints as a teacher will be through this medium or something similar.

This week we discussed how to ensure the use of AI in our classrooms is of an ethical intent. I took the opportunity to use chat GPT to evaluate myself just how much of an advantage it can give me at answering the following prompt: What strategies can we employ as educators to teach the ethical and productive use of AI? The response I was given is below.

Teaching the ethical and productive use of AI is crucial to ensuring that students understand the responsible application of this powerful technology. Here are some strategies for educators:

1. Incorporate Ethical Discussions into the Curriculum:
   • Integrate discussions about ethical considerations related to AI into your lessons. Explore topics such as bias in algorithms, privacy concerns, and the social impact of AI technologies.
2. Case Studies and Real-World Examples:
   • Use real-world examples and case studies to illustrate both positive and negative impacts of AI. This can help students understand the complexities and consequences of AI applications.
3. Hands-On Projects:
   • Assign projects that involve building or implementing AI systems. This hands-on experience allows students to grapple with ethical considerations in a practical way, fostering a deeper understanding.
4. Guest Speakers and Industry Experts:
   • Invite guest speakers or industry experts to talk about their experiences and perspectives on ethical AI. Hearing from professionals in the field can provide valuable insights and practical advice.
5. Interdisciplinary Approach:
   • Integrate AI education into various subjects to emphasize its multidisciplinary nature. Discuss AI applications in science, mathematics, social studies, and ethics to show its broad impact.
6. Teach Critical Thinking Skills:
   • Emphasize critical thinking skills to help students evaluate the ethical implications of AI technologies. Encourage them to question assumptions, analyze information critically, and consider diverse perspectives.
7. Promote Diversity and Inclusion:
   • Discuss the importance of diversity in AI development and its impact on avoiding bias. Encourage students to think about how diverse perspectives contribute to more ethical and inclusive AI solutions.
8. Emphasize Responsible Data Use:
   • Highlight the significance of responsible data collection and use. Discuss the importance of obtaining informed consent, protecting privacy, and ensuring that data is used ethically.
9. Stay Updated on AI Developments:
   • As an educator, stay informed about the latest developments in AI and its ethical considerations. This knowledge will enable you to provide accurate and relevant information to your students.
10. Encourage Open Dialogue:
    • Foster an open and respectful classroom environment where students feel comfortable discussing ethical dilemmas related to AI. Encourage debate and dialogue to promote a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives.
11. Assessment of Ethical Implications:
    • Include assessments that require students to evaluate the ethical implications of AI technologies. This can be through essays, presentations, or other assignments that prompt critical thinking.
12. Promote Lifelong Learning:
    • Instill a mindset of lifelong learning in students. The field of AI is rapidly evolving, and it’s crucial for students to understand that staying informed and adapting to new ethical challenges is an ongoing process.

By implementing these strategies, educators can play a vital role in preparing students to use AI ethically and responsibly in their future endeavors.

As can be seen the answer is very elaborate and thorough. To be honest it introduced me to concepts that I hadn’t yet considered, making me realize that chat GPT can be a marvellous source of novel information but this simplicity of knowledge production could easily be misused. The hard part of my role as a teacher is being able to ensure that I am aware of how Chat GPT presents its information. As the more knowledgable on the software I am the better I will be at evaluating when a students work is not of their own production. Summaries of data provided by chat GPT will unfortunately be a common thing for me to be marking however the tool is now a part of students tool boxes and I will need to appreciate that they are allowed its use.

AI in education has been a polarizing issue in the education community, this is because AI comes as a huge assistance to learning but can also be seen as a crutch that will reduce our ability to be independent. AI is now more capable than we could have imagined 20 years ago and it’s rate of expansion has been profoundly fast. Many are sceptical of AI as it has expanded so fast and most are ignorant to how it acts. New things will always be confronted with controversy before acceptance into regular society but the ability to be a good critic requires learning about the thing you are critical of so that you can actually form a cohesive argument. Unfortunately most critics of AI won’t spend the time to learn about its functions properly and therefore criticize it from empty grounds.

We have hit a wall in which AI has now advanced to such a point that we can ask it to preform tasks for us and it will, without needing careful direction. It seems as though this profoundly powerful AI can act and think on its own, a concept which scares many. Therefore I find it completely understandable that many are reluctant to adopt it, however its trajectory is clear and it is only going to advance further and become a bigger part of our world, making it an individuals responsibility to understand how to use it and how it functions, regardless of their moral viewpoint on it.

I am conscious to the fact that students can now take simple testable questions and retrieve the answer through AI. I may not be happy with this reality as it will force me to adapt how I evaluate students and approach teaching, potentially making my job more difficult. Although my opinion is not important as the fact is that the world is now changing and AI is now a tool people have access to. This means my role as a teacher to prepare students for success in adult life will now entail not avoiding AI but instead teaching them how to use it efficiently. We as teachers need to realize we cater to our students requirements and are not simply trying to teach our own values. So I will happily welcome AI usage in my classes when I allow it, as if students can learn how to facilitate their lives and learning through the use of AI I am better preparing them for their futures.

When looking back I can see that with access to AI in my first years of my undergrad degree, school would have been so much easier but my learning would have been completely equivalent. My undergrad was spent finding the easiest ways to get a high grade on a scholarly paper or assignment, BUT NEVER did any of these papers help me on any exams. Exams are taken in a classroom without the access to any other tools, hell even the calculator we can use is a simple calculator model we must buy through the library, therefore why CAN I NOT USE CHAT GPT FOR A BIOLOGICAL PAPER. I can reliably say I learned nothing from biological writing except how to waste my time on a paper that I won’t even learn as the only thing that mattered was getting a good grade so I could get my degree. I am a teacher NOT A PROFESSOR therefore I wish AI had been a part of my toolbox as it would have saved me time without reducing my learning process.

I personally support and disagree with the concept of gamified learning, this is because I will always support modernization and technological advances of the classroom but students need to appreciate that learning is sometimes very tedious and a task that is so irritating you would almost rather do anything else. Gamified learning is amazing as it can increase classroom engagement, however if students are not understanding that this is a special situation that they should be grateful for, it can cause problems as students will become reliant on the need for a game to be engaged. Often skills and the acquisition of desired traits is a pursuit that requires extrinsic motivation as the journey is arduous, if students are having their intrinsic motivation constantly catered to they won’t learn how to manifest extrinsic motivation leaving them underprepared to engage in society. I think games should absolutely be included but boring tasks that require grit to complete cannot be taken out of our educational requirements

Covid’s online aspect was actually a feature I really appreciated as it gave students the ability to choose where and when they attend a lecture or an activity that did not require participation. I literally was attending lectures from the gym some days and with things being recorded, if there was a section I wanted to cover twice I was able to as much as I pleased. The hybrid format of online and in person I believe is best for student attendance as less frequent mandatory attendance sessions will be attended more consistently and having non mandatory periods online will allow for schedule flexibility. Having an open mind is likely the most important quality a teacher can have during a fast paced transition period as if we are not able to shift our teaching style or evaluation methods we will be sorely disappointed when we can’t bend the situation to go in line with our previous methods. If we were to switch once again to online I would lean more onto written responses than short answer or multiple choice for biology teaching. An observational nature experiment in which a student would monitor a tendency of their family pet and write on it would be an easy assignment that could allow for learning from home. Another is Gimkit a Microsoft learning tool that allows for online learning by creating a fun game like learning space that has a reward system built in to the concept of learning and has a leaderboard that is climbed through success in class content knowledge.

Attached is an Image I created through the use of CANVA

This image I created in captures the true spirit of thanksgiving for myself, overwhelming my mother with how disgusting I am when I devour food. The image is of the two of us at the Victoria wharf featuring myself eating a raw sablefish fillet while she peacefully chews on some smoked salmon. The Canva tool was very easy to manipulate and extremely accessible with its free content aspect. I was concerned I may encounter a paywall however the tool was very clear on which content required a “pro account” and which I could access with the free package. I could use this tool in a class room to generate engaging infographics in order to draw my students attention to certain subjects. Not to mention it is a great way to layer images for a lesson. If I was teaching mitosis in a classroom I could use Canva to generate an image to illustrate the multistep process. I look forward to applying Canva more in future as the simplicity of image creation was beyond user friendly!

This week Rich Mccue did a presentation in our classroom teaching us about the educational utility of videos as an educational tool and how including tools such as H5P can increase the interactive nature of the video and increase viewer focus and retention. H5P allows us to place interactive questionnaires and activities within our videos therefore allowing viewers to have a more tailored connection with the video. We as students were going to be tasked with generating H5P embedded videos in our weekly reflection however, this pursuit was cut short when the server was stunted by too many students trying in short time. Rich was very understanding of the technical issues and allowed us to reflect without the inclusion of the H5P attachments.

I will be able to use the H5P tool within my classrooms as in future my desired teachable subjects are biology, foods and french. This leaves a huge opportunity for a class assignment in which I could have students generate either a recipe video, biology video or french video and attach H5P interactive tools in the video. This would provide useful study tools for other students in the class as they could cover class subjects that would in future feature on a quiz or exam. It provides an avenue to enjoy a class assignment for its nuance and creative element while still having a profound learning value.