Week 4

 Activity 1:

When making accessibility changes to my blog, I chose to add an image with alt text, and I added headings to break up the 3 parts of my post. I added a picture of fractions with pizza to go along with the context of my post, and provided a hyperlink to the end to give readers easy access to the image. I also changed Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 from normal text to heading style text. This allows the reader to differentiate the 3 parts of the text. When I used the screen reader to read my blog, it took a little over 10 minutes. Seeing how long it took for the screen reader to read it aloud to me, I think I would need to shorten my blog. I am a wordy writer and now know how my online publication needs to be harder for some to read because of this. In the future, I will try to keep my writing more concise and straight to the point, so it is easier and less time-consuming for some to listen to. 

Activity 2:

Part 1:

  1. The quality of this lesson plan is higher than what is expected to be created with AI. When you are very specific about the criteria you want to incorporate in the lesson, it generates a well-thought-out lesson. I think all lessons created with AI can be edited by a teacher to become more rigorous for students. AI does not know all of the supports your students need, so when creating lessons with AI, the teacher should look over the lesson and edit as needed for their students' needs. The assessment of this lesson is writing a formal letter, and I believe that this is directly aligned with the standards I added as criteria. It will be directly taught within the course of the lessons, so it will be appropriate for the students to be assessed on. 

  2. A change I would make to this lesson is giving students a list of National Parks to choose from, so that I know, from past experience of teaching this lesson, I will write a letter back to the students. Students are excited to get a letter back, so ensuring they pick a park that will write a letter back gives students more motivation to complete this assignment. 

  3. I do believe that with the help of AI, rigorous lesson plans can be created. In my lesson, an extension activity was created for early finishers. This helps reach high-level students who will finish the research and letter portion of the lesson with ease. I do not believe lessons should be made only with AI. AI can be the starting point of creating a lesson, and should be tweaked by the teacher who knows their students' needs. 

  4. https://app.magicschool.ai/tools/lesson-plan-generator?share=b73f5237-b326-475e-b109-b3837a2cfcd8 

           (Link to AI-created lesson plan)
5. This lesson does reflect on the readings we have completed in class. Office of Educational Technology (2023) discusses the need for teachers to be involved with the practice of AI. Even though AI does a lot of the work, humans still need to be involved with the process because they have views on the content that AI does not. Like I mentioned before, AI can create an amazing lesson, but it does not know what your specific students need to reach their full potential. 


Part 2:

  1. The AI tool that I chose to use is the Writing Feedback. When created through a Student Room, students can copy and paste their writing to get feedback. As the teacher, you can give specific feedback on what you want your students to get feedback on (spelling, grammar, conventions, clarity, etc.) 

  2. This tool is extremely useful and can save teachers time in the classroom. In the past, I have left comments on my students' Google Docs to make edits to their spelling and grammar, but with the use of AI, it gives students a detailed list of changes they should make to their writing. 

  3. The appropriate use of AI needs to be explicitly taught to younger students. AI is not going away, and students are going to be using it more frequently as they get older, so it is important to teach them to use it the right way. When teaching students how to use AI, it is important to stress the importance of using AI to enhance ideas or projects and not letting AI create these ideas and projects for you. Brainstorming ideas is a great way to introduce AI to younger students and how they can build their own ideas off of what AI produced for them. So, yes, it can be used to deliver instruction with the appropriate modifications from a teacher. 

Part 3: 

  1. Since AI is only going to become more relevant in the future, especially in education, Magic School is a resource I would recommend to my students and colleagues. There are so many tools that teachers can use to save time and enhance their lessons that need to be taken advantage of. 

  2. Other than becoming familiar with Magic School and overcoming the typical technology challenges to any new platform, I don’t have any reasons why a teacher shouldn’t use AI in the classroom. The more AI is utilized, the easier it is to incorporate into the classroom effectively. 

  3. There are many benefits to using Magic School in the classroom. I use it to make rubrics for projects, assessments, review games, and more. Saving time is the number one benefit, and why is should be used. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when there are resources available like Magic School that can help. With that said, you shouldn’t let it do all the work for you. You still need to put your personal touch to what it generates, but it is always a great starting point.

  4. Keeping a touch of human in AI is how it needs to be taught to students. The Oklahoma State Department of Education (2024) mentions that in ELA classes, students use AI to evaluate source validity. Teaching students to be able to determine what is and isn’t a reliable source of information is key when trying to integrate it into the classroom. It also teaches students how to go on using it correctly throughout their time in education and beyond. 

  5. Magic School is the only AI tool I have used with my students in the classroom. I use ChatGPT for things inside and outside of the classroom. Magic School is very student-friendly and can be used in so many ways. I plan on looking into more AI tools for students to use appropriately in the classroom. 

References:

Office of Educational Technology. (2023). Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning. (Pages 1-43). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED631097.pdf 

Oklahoma State Department of Education. (2024, April 30). Guidance and considerations for artificial intelligence in Oklahoma schools. https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/osde/documents/services/standards-learning/educational-technology/Guidance-and-Considerations-for-Artificial-Intelligence-in-Oklahoma-Schools.pdf

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 24, 2025 at 7:51 PM

    Ed Arwine Response
    Magic School was a nice introduction, never having used it before. Like you I see the potential, but the context and nuance would really benefit from deeper questions.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Admin of LT Week 2

This week, I collaborated with a peer to develop their SMART goal. The content of this blog will be focused on the following SMART goal: By the end of the semester, my 5th-grade students will work in teams to design and document a STEAM project (such as a bridge design or coding activity) using a shared Google Slides presentation.  Each student will contribute at least two original elements (such as data charts, design sketches, written explanations, pictures/video, or reflections), and all students will provide constructive feedback on at least two teammates’ contributions. Success will be measured with a rubric assessing collaboration, accuracy of STEAM content, and effective use of technology tools. While working with my peer, we decided that an area of weakness involving technology is using it meaningfully when students are providing constructive feedback to each other. Students are probably familiar with using Google Slides individually, but they may have never used it in coll...
Read more

Week 1

     My name is Emma VanBuskirk, and I am an elementary general education teacher in a small rural town in Illinois. I spent my first year teaching in a 4th-grade classroom and will continue to teach 4th grade in the upcoming school year. I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree with hopes of becoming an instructional coach within my school district.       Knowledge Constructor indicator 3a asks students to plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits. Students in a 4th-grade English Language Arts class could address the ELA standard CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7 by conducting a short research project about a National Park of their interest to build their knowledge through investigation of the park. Students could use the National Park’s website to obtain accurate research to generate inquiries. Afterwards, students could apply their research on the National Park to crea...
Read more

Admin of LT Week 1

Image
The Triple E Framework was created by Dr. Liz Kolb in 2011. This model has helped guide teachers on how to effectively integrate technology into their classrooms for the purpose of learning. Kolb’s framework focuses on three areas teachers should consider when using technology to help students achieve learning targets: Engagement, Enhancement, and Extension. Engagements ensure that students are actively engaged while using the technology tool. Enhancement looks at how the technology tool is able to deepen students’ understandings in ways that couldn’t happen without the tool. Extension observes how students can take what they have learned and make connections, and apply these skills to real work experiences outside of the classroom. This framework guides teachers to choose meaningful technology tools for their students to use.  For more information about Kolb’s Triple E Framework, follow this link: https://www.tripleeframework.com/ The following describes the appropriateness of th...
Read more