Ed Tech Insights and AI Updates

Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center

Great opportunity for 8th and 9th grade students!

TEACHERS!!! ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT!!! Not only are you certified to TEACH the course, but you can also easily become a licensed "Unmanned Aircraft Drone Pilot" after this 4 DAY COURSE! Great opportunity locally!

There are only 3 spots left, so act now to secure your place! DARTdrones is not typically in this area, making this a unique and rare opportunity.

This comprehensive 4-day training will cover essential topics and prepare you to pass the "Unmanned Aircraft General – Small (UAG) exam." Additionally, successful completion of the training certifies you to teach the course “DARTdrones/Introduction to Drones: Opportunities, Careers, and FAA Certification Readiness” for High School credit. This makes it a double training opportunity. Furthermore, the course fee is eligible for full reimbursement through Ohio TechCred upon passing the exam, ensuring this is an unparalleled investment.

Please find the flyer attached for more details on the training and the new course opportunity for your school. Don’t worry about the timing – this course is ready to go and can be easily integrated mid-year. All coursework is online and priced per student for economical integration.

Please message me with any questions or register directly from our website: https://forms.gle/LuapQ9ULjnNqhz1G9

We are honored to announce Dan Fitzpatrick, author of the best-selling book "The AI Classroom", will be our Keynote Speaker at the August 13 aiEDU and the Ohio Educational Service Center Association AI Summit! As you may know, aiEDU and the Ohio Educational Service Center Association are honored to co-host AI Summits across Ohio in 2024. All AI Summits are FREE to Ohio ESC employees, district leaders, building leaders, and K-12 teachers. Educators from across the state of Ohio will come together, be inspired, and share their expertise and ideas around AI Literacy and innovation.

Learn more about Dan Fitzpatrick - https://lnkd.in/ePccnfci

Register today for the Southeast AI Summit: https://bit.ly/3wUNN9a

Exciting News! The next Appalachian STEM Collaborative Meeting is quickly approaching, and I'm thrilled to be one of the speakers at the "AI & Emerging Tech Day"! Join me as well as several other AI Educators (like my amazing friend Wendy Fogle Hanasky) for a deep dive into the future of technology and AI innovation! Save the date and stay tuned for insights that could reshape your perspective on AI in education.
Date: February 22, 2024
Time: 8:30am-12:30pm
Venue: Pritchard Laughlin Civic Center, Cambridge, Ohio

; Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center

Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center

Happy Tech Tuesday!
I hope everyone had a great Monday and you are rested and ready to tackle the rest of the week. With just 56 days until spring, let's dive into today's Byte-Sized Tech tip – a gentle reminder to Get Back to the Basics!

Today’s Byte-Sized Tech tip is…Get Back to the Basics!!! Interesting statement coming from someone whose life has been consumed with artificial intelligence trainings, but why not combine the two concepts?!?

Now, you might find it intriguing that someone deeply immersed in artificial intelligence trainings is advocating for a return to fundamentals. Yet, combining these two concepts can yield valuable insights. At times, when faced with challenges or unmet expectations, breaking things down into their elemental parts and revisiting the basics can illuminate what we might be overlooking.

Given the somewhat gloomy atmosphere of January in Ohio, characterized by grey days and cold weather, taking a step back can be rejuvenating. Use this time in your classroom to infuse a bit of byte-sized technology, have some fun, and reflect on the progress we've made as students, educators, support staff, and administrators.

Here are a few ideas you might choose to implement today, all enriched with a dash of byte-sized technology to engage your classroom and ignite the students' imagination:

1. Efficient Organizing: Are You The 'Organizer' In Your World? Trying to collect money from your staff, your grade level team, or your players? People are busy, forgetful, and usually running from one task or event to another. Consider going back to the basics with a “basic email”. Improve your efficiency with GroupTogether- an easy way to collect money for a gift and create a beautiful group card all at one time.


Do you organize the baby shower and birthday gifts at the office? Maybe you’re the Room Parent and organize teacher gifts from the whole class? You need to try GroupTogether! It’s the easiest way to collect money for a gift and create a gorgeous group card all-in-one. How does it work? Just share a link and everyone can chip in and sign the card online. Then choose from 150+ eGift Cards or give the “AnyCard” and let the recipient choose. It’s free and easy! Here is the direct link – grouptogether
For a tutorial, check out this video: Grouptogether Video Tutorial

2. Revive Creativity in Writing Class: Has creativity stalled in your creative writing or composition classroom? Go back “to the basics” and try one of these ideas…
a. Create a group comic strip about a familiar face in the classroom, building, or district. Create a few groups in your classroom, and task them with creating a six box comic. A beginning frame, three middle frames, and an ending frame. Group brainstorm the idea together as a class, then give each group their box, and let the creativity and fun begin. Don’t forget to use things like transition phrases like “one hour later”; “suddenly”, “the next day”, etc. Try these tech tools to create the final product:
i. Canva – (My favorite free tech tool for education) Just search for a comic strip template from the home page. Without any filtering, there were 315 options to choose from. I liked to the search results here.
ii. Make Beliefs Comix
iii. Pixton

b. What about an adjectives lesson? Try this idea that I saw on an Edutopia article: Tiny But True Stories
i. Get them talking and engaging with each other by having them brainstorm the smallest, most boring, most flat ideas possible. Examples were: (Leaf falls from a tree. / Child drinks from a water bottle. / Child sits on a chair.) Challenge your students to make these boring sentences come to life with their word choices. Then for a bit of “Byte-sized Technology”, have them create a TikTok or use Flipgrid for them to act them out! Share their creations with the class! I mean, who doesn’t love a great video!

3. Group activity to review story elements: Why not leverage the power of AI in your classroom to craft a captivating 'Fictional Short Story Dialogue'? Courtesy of our partners at Promptpal, this activity encourages engaging discussions and collaborative story creation within your class.

Prompt: As [Your Role: Specify your role, e.g., Fiction Writer, Storyteller], you are working on a fictional short story and need an engaging dialogue for a specific scene. The scene involves [Setting: Describe the setting, e.g., a café, a park, a spaceship] with [Character Details: Provide brief descriptions of the characters involved, including their personalities or roles]. To craft a compelling dialogue, consider including specific details in these areas: Setting: [Specify the details of the setting where the scene unfolds] Characters: [Introduce the characters participating in the dialogue, along with brief descriptions] Context: [Provide background information on the situation leading to the dialogue] Emotional Tone: [Indicate the emotional tone of the dialogue, e.g., intense, lighthearted, suspenseful] Key Points: [Outline the main points or topics that the characters will discuss in the dialogue] Character Interaction: [Describe how the characters interact, including any gestures or expressions] Task Requirements: Create an engaging dialogue for the specified scene in the fictional short story. Ensure that the dialogue aligns with the tone and context of the overall story. Develop characters' voices that reflect their personalities and emotions. Include relevant details about the setting to enhance the atmosphere. Craft a dialogue that advances the plot or reveals key aspects of the characters. Best Practices Checklist: Maintain consistency in character voices and expressions. Consider the pacing and flow of the dialogue for a natural conversation feel. Inject elements of suspense, humor, or drama as needed for the scene. Test the dialogue within the context of the short story to ensure coherence. Deliverable: Provide an engaging dialogue for the specified scene in the fictional short story, incorporating details about the setting, characters, and emotional tone. The dialogue should contribute to the overall narrative and captivate readers. Format the content in markdown.

Display this on your whiteboard, and collectively brainstorm the details to incorporate. Once the initial draft is crafted, distribute it among student groups for collaborative editing and revision. To enhance the storytelling experience, consider incorporating an additional AI layer. Direct your students to visit an AI Image generator such as Bing Image Creator or Adobe Firefly to create compelling illustrations that bring the story to life. This approach not only stimulates creativity but also integrates technology seamlessly into the storytelling process by embracing the AI with student creativity to inspire your students in crafting imaginative narratives. Happy storytelling!

4. Career Planning for Students: If you're a school counselor working on career planning, consider adapting this ChatGPT example shared with MVESC Business Advisory Council. Swap out the details to quickly gain valuable information to assist students in your district.
Prompt: You are an experienced career coach. I have a student named [John Doe} who is passionate about helping others. He was raised in a 2 parent, caring home with a father who battled colon cancer and recovered as a result of a supportive family, and access to good healthcare. This student has a grade point average of 4.0 while taking all advanced Science courses in high school. John is interested in the medical field but is not sure if he can afford college and medical school and feels that he may not want to devote that many years to prepare for the workforce. Deliverables: Prepare a formal report for John and include the following sections with at least 3 bullet points or suggestions in each of the sections:
• Assess John Doe’s interests and how they link to professional ambitions of helping others.
• Provide a list of careers that correlate with John Doe’s interests and ambitions.
• Design an action plan with at least 5 steps that will help John support his career goals
• Provide 3 example short term goals to help John create his own personal goals, and 3 example long term goals to consider,
• Provide a list of area resources, agencies, and businesses that can assist, mentor, and help John succeed with a link to their website and or contact information.
Create this in professional language but with a tone that is appropriate and relatable for a 17-year-old high school student.
Screenshots of the conversation below.

Let’s make the most out of this Byte-Sized Tech Tuesday! Remember, my goal “Learn today, use tomorrow!” Embrace technology and the power it has to make your work efficient, however, never be afraid to go “back to the basics” to reset and ignite the creativity in your classroom!

Other weblinks worth noting/referencing:
• The Assist
• Promptpal.net
• Edutopia

Byte-sized Tech Talk
Need inspiration or an example to help with lesson planning? Try this prompt! Make it a great day!

As [Your Role: Specify your role, e.g., Teacher, Educational Content Developer], you are creating a lesson plan on the topic of [Lesson Topic: Specify the topic of the lesson, e.g., Photosynthesis, The French Revolution]. This lesson plan should provide a comprehensive guide for teaching this topic, ensuring that students understand and engage with the material effectively.
To develop an effective lesson plan on [Lesson Topic], consider including specific details in these areas:
Lesson Objective: [Clearly state what the students should be able to understand or do by the end of the lesson]
Target Audience: [Specify the grade level or age group of the students]
Materials Needed: [List all materials and resources required for the lesson, including any technological tools]
Lesson Introduction: [Describe how you will introduce the topic to capture the students’ interest]
Content Delivery: [Outline the key content and concepts to be taught, and how you will present them]
Activities and Engagement: [Plan interactive activities, discussions, or group work to reinforce learning]
Assessment and Evaluation: [Detail how student understanding will be assessed, such as quizzes, assignments, or class participation]
Differentiation Strategies: [Describe any methods to accommodate diverse learning styles or abilities within the class]
Conclusion and Summary: [Explain how the lesson will be concluded and the key points summarized]
Follow-up and Homework: [Specify any follow-up activities or homework assignments]
Task Requirements:
Start with a clear objective that aligns with the overall curriculum goals.
Tailor the content and approach to suit the target audience’s learning level.
Gather all necessary materials and resources in advance.
Introduce the topic in an engaging way to pique students' interest.
Deliver the lesson content using a variety of teaching methods.
Incorporate activities and interactions to enhance understanding and engagement.
Plan for assessments to gauge students' grasp of the topic.
Implement strategies to support all learners in the classroom.
Conclude the lesson with a summary that reinforces key concepts.
Assign relevant follow-up activities or homework.
Best Practices Checklist:
Ensure the lesson structure is logical, clear, and paced appropriately.
Use a mix of teaching methods to cater to different learning styles.
Engage students actively in the learning process.
Provide clear instructions and feedback during activities and assessments.
Adapt the lesson plan based on student feedback and learning outcomes.
Deliverable:
Develop a comprehensive and engaging lesson plan on [Lesson Topic]. The plan should cover all necessary components, from the introduction of the topic to the conclusion, ensuring effective delivery and understanding of the material. Format the content in markdown.

https://www.promptpal.net/prompts/MbivqlSNCS

https://phonesites.com/

PromptPal: Your AI Prompt Superpower Unleash your creativity with PromptPal – the ultimate platform for discovering and sharing the best AI prompts. Generate new ideas, and boost productivity

As we gear up for the new year, I am reminding you to check your professional development dates and let me know if you would like A.I Educational Training for your Admin Teams, Teacher Teams, or Support Staff.

My calendar is filling up, and I wanted to extend a warm invitation to schedule your district's technology professional development.

The gift of AI literacy is the perfect way to kickstart 2024 and ensure your educators stay ahead of the educational trends.

If you don’t know what you need with regards to AI – I have you covered! I am happy to create something that will impact your staff on the very next school day.

My mission is Acquire2Aspire! Learn something today that can be used tomorrow! Below are a few topics, but the possibilities are endless!
1. Unlock the Future of Education with AI
2. AI Adventures in Early Education
3. AI Horizons in English Education
4. AI Unleashed: Navigating Image & Voice Generation in Education
5. The Impact of AI in School Admin Teams
6. AI Excellence: Streamline, Simplify, Succeed

Don't see something that fits, I am happy to schedule a session that aligns with your school mission and professional development calendar, ensuring a seamless transition into the new year.

Looking forward to contributing to your district's continued success in 2024!
Merry Christmas and happy planning!