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ASSIGNMENT
Write a forum post (150 words min) as a Reply to this post reflecting on your experience using Copilot and detail the classroom resource you created, including topic and class level. Also consider
- how AI can support teaching
- One benefit and one limitation
- How you will ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking
Then reply to at least one other participant. Your reply should help extend the discussion by offering encouragement, a practical suggestion or a reflective question.
Throughout, consider how M365 Copilot could be used in School Self-Evaluation (SSE) at your school.
Use of AI Tools: Our facilitators occasionally observe that course reflections may be generated with the assistance of AI tools. While AI can be a helpful support for drafting ideas or exploring different ways to express your thinking, it is essential that your forum posts reflect your own understanding and engagement with the course content. This is in line with the Department of Education and Youth’s Summer Course guidelines.
Before posting to the forum, we encourage you to take a moment to review your contributions and, if necessary, revise them to ensure they are appropriate and authentically your own. -
AI can support teaching by helping to personalise learning, save teacher time, and enhance feedback. For example, AI can generate differentiated resources, provide instant feedback on pupils’ work, and suggest lesson ideas or explanations for different ability levels. This allows us to focus more on interaction and deeper learning.
One benefit – AI can improve efficiency by reducing workload (e.g. planning, correcting, creating resources).
One limitation – AI can produce inaccurate or superficial information, so it needs careful checking and cant replace professional judgement.
I will ensure pupils remain the thinkers by – Using AI as a support tool, not a shortcut (e.g. for prompts, not final answers) – Designing tasks that require reasoning, discussion, and justification rather than just clumps of information – Encouraging pupils to critically evaluate AI stuff rather than accept it blindly – Setting clear expectations that learning comes from their own thinking and effort, not by relying on AI to do it all without any effort from them.
6th Class – History – World War II cloze test
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Hi Mark. I agree with your view of AI in education. I think saving teachers time is a major benefit and I also see the importance of checking AI-generated content before using it in class.
Your 6th Class History cloze test on World War II sounds like a useful resource that could be used for reinforcing key vocabulary and assessing pupils’ understanding. I also liked your point about ensuring pupils remain the ones doing the thinking. I feel encouraging them to question and evaluate AI-generated information is a very important skill that will help develop their critical thinking ability.
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I enjoyed reading your post and agree with your point that AI should be viewed as a support tool rather than a replacement for teaching or learning. Your emphasis on pupils remaining the ones doing the thinking is particularly important. While AI can generate resources and provide useful prompts, the real learning happens when pupils explain their reasoning, ask questions and work through problems themselves.
One practical way to reinforce this is by using AI to create open-ended tasks instead of activities with a single correct answer. This encourages discussion, collaboration and critical thinking while allowing pupils to justify their ideas and evaluate different viewpoints.
I also liked your point about teachers checking AI-generated content carefully. This highlights the importance of professional judgement, as AI is only as useful as the way it is used. Looking ahead, do you think pupils should also be taught how to identify the strengths and limitations of AI so that they become informed and responsible users of these technologies both in school and beyond?
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Hi Mark,
Welcome to the course, I couldn’t agree with you more GenAI has huge potential to support teaching by saving time and helping to create differentiated resources and learning activities. However, as you’ve mooted out, it’s important that teachers critically review AI-generated content, as accuracy and quality can vary instead of taking any output as verbatim. The ‘Human in the loop’ adage.
I particularly like your emphasis on keeping pupils as the thinkers in the learning process. Encouraging children to question, discuss and evaluate AI-generated content is central to responsible GenAI, criticality and digital literacy will only grow in importance as GenAI becomes more and more ubiquitous in our society.
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I thought using Copilot was a positive experience overall. I found it easy enough to use and it created the resource quickly. The first response it gave was good, but I needed to refine my prompts a bit and edit the content to make sure it matched the objectives and was suitable. I think this highlighted the importance of using AI as a support tool rather than relying on it to produce finished resources.
The classroom resource I created was a lesson on the water cycle for 4th Class. Copilot helped me generate a short reading passage, comprehension questions, a sequencing activity, and a simple reflection question to check understanding. I adapted the language slightly, added visual supports to differentiate to meet the needs of children in my class.
I believe AI can support teaching by saving time on lesson planning and creating differentiated materials. One significant benefit is the efficiency it offers. It will allow me to spend more time focusing on teaching and supporting pupils. However, one limitation I found is that AI can produce inaccurate or sometimes overly generic information, so its important to review and fact-check and adapt the content before using it in the classroom.
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I would use AI only to support my planning and resource creation, not to replace pupil learning. I would encourage pupils to ask questions, explain their reasoning and solve problems independently. The activities would be designed to promote discussion with AI acting as a tool to enhance learning rather than provide the answers.-
I agree Marguerite about having to refine the prompts in CoPilot. It is similar in teaching sometimes in that you have to be soooo specific about what exactly you need or alter your instructions a little to get exactly what you want. I spose that’s what teaching is too to a certain extent.
One problem I came across too which I haven’t solved yet is that I have CoPilot as a shortcut on my Microsoft Edge browser but don’t have it in my Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. I think it’s a subscription thing. I’m onto IT to try and solve it but it does work in the browser too.
I think doing my fortnightly plans, having coPilot available to fill in lesson objectives and differentiation would be invaluable. -
Hi Cormac
just a quick reply on your access to CoPilot in Word and Powerpoint in case you didn’t solve this already
you should check if you are using these as apps you have downloaded or if you are in Office365 – the CoPilot is only available on Office365 – I had the same problem originally and I was only using browser version. Once I solved this, the user interface of CoPilot was the same as the version described in the slides of module 1
I hope this makes sense – or maybe you have solved this already
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Hi Marguerite,
Welcome to the group and thanks for engaging with this module.
Your 4th Class water cycle lesson is a great example of using Copilot as a supportive launchpad rather than a finished product, relying on your own expertise to add visual supports and language adaptations. As GenAI becomes more prominent in society, this is a great approach.
I completely agree that while the efficiency of M365 Copilot is a massive benefit for reducing lesson prep time,. I agree that its tendency to produce generic or slightly inaccurate content is a major limitation.
Your strategy of prioritising pupil reasoning and discussion ensures that the cognitive load stays exactly where it belongs—with the children!
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I completely agree with your point. There is no doubt that AI is a great tool for supporting teachers with planning and creating resources but we need to ensure a balance of supporting learning opportunities without taking away from pupils opportunities to think for themselves. Encouraging children to explain their reasoning , ask questions and problem solve independently is what leads to meaningful learning.
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I suppose the main point is that Microsoft 365 Copilot to be a useful tool for supporting planning and resource creation. To explore a bit I used Copilot to create a summer holidays reading comprehension worksheet for my 2nd Class. It generated a short reading passage, comprehension questions, vocabulary activities and a drawing task. This saved time and gave me a solid starting point, which then needed editing to the ability of my students. In hindsight I should have asked it to edit it too and make differentiated passages.
One benefit of AI is that it can reduce the time spent on admin and prepping tasks, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching and supporting pupils. Sometimes only basic idea is needed or sometimes I revert back to my old ideas rather than trying something new which AI can provide.
A drawback, is that AI-generated content is not always accurate and requires reviewing. It’s like an enthusiastic child which needs the teacher (as the adult) to give proper direction!!
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, we need to get students to have questions and requests ready for Copilot so it can be used as an aid rather than as a source of answers. We don’t want to stifle kids problem solving and creative abilities by only using AI to answer all problems.
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Hi Cormac,
Welcome to the course and thanks for engaging with this module.
Your analogy that AI is like an “enthusiastic child” requiring adult direction is absolutely spot-on and a fantastic takeaway. It underscores the vital role of the teacher’s professional judgment in reviewing and editing AI content.
Your approach to pupil autonomy is excellent. Having students prepare questions for Copilot so it acts as an aid rather than a “cheat sheet” is a great way to protect their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and also ensures the teacher maintains control of the AI tool
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Hi Cormac,
Welcome to the course and thanks for engaging with this module.
Your analogy that AI is like an “enthusiastic child” requiring adult direction is absolutely spot-on and a fantastic takeaway. It underscores the vital role of the teacher’s professional judgment in reviewing and editing AI content.
Your approach to pupil autonomy is excellent. Having students prepare questions for Copilot so it acts as an aid rather than a “cheat sheet” is a great way to protect their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and also ensures the teacher maintains control of the AI tool
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Cormac, I really like your point that AI can act as an “enthusiastic child” that still needs teacher guidance. Our experience as teachers shows how Copilot can provide a valuable starting point, while professional teacher judgement is needed to adapt materials for specific learners. One practical suggestion might be to ask Copilot to generate resources at three different levels of difficulty from the outset. This could support differentiation and reduce editing time further.
Your comment about pupils preparing questions for Copilot is also interesting. It raises a reflective question: how can we explicitly teach pupils to write effective prompts so that they use AI to deepen their thinking rather than simply seek answers? Developing these skills could help pupils become more independent, critical users of AI.
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I really like your point about AI being “like an enthusiastic child” that still needs teacher direction – that’s a great way of describing it. I had a similar experience where Copilot produced a very good first draft, but it still needed to be adapted for the needs and abilities of my class. Your point about asking it to differentiate the reading passage is a good reminder that the quality of the output often depends on the prompts we give it. I also agree that its greatest strength is saving time on planning and resource creation, giving us more time to focus on teaching. Like you, I think it’s important that AI supports learning rather than replacing pupils’ own thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills.
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I used AI to create some questions based on chapter 1 of Under The Hawthorn Tree. I differentiated the questions for a particular pupil in my class who has dyslexia and a visual impairment.
Using AI to create lower-order comprehension questions for Under the Hawthorn Tree was a positive experience. It quickly generated clear, age-appropriate questions that focused on key information from Chapter 1. This saved planning time and allowed me to spend more time considering how to adapt the resource for a pupil with a visual impairment and dyslexia. AI can support teaching by helping teachers create differentiated materials, generate questions at different levels of difficulty, and provide ideas for accessible learning activities.
One limitation is that AI does not know my pupils personally and may not always produce questions that perfectly match their individual needs or the exact focus of a lesson. Therefore, teacher judgement remains essential when reviewing and adapting AI-generated resources. I teach in a rural school and often find that some of my lessons have to be adapted to reflect this.
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I will use AI as a planning aid rather than a replacement for learning activities. Pupils will still be expected to read, discuss, analyse, and answer questions independently, with AI supporting my preparation rather than completing the learning process for them.
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This is a good example of where AI can save time, but the teacher still very much needs to be the one steering, David. Generating questions for Under the Hawthorn Tree is handy in itself, but the fact that you used ai to cater for a pupil with dyslexia and a visual impairment is the part that really matters. Your point about teaching in a rural school rings true too. Resources nearly always need a bit of tweaking to actually fit the children and their context, and AI won’t catch that unless we tell it to. The next step might be asking it to produce the same questions in a more accessible format, shorter sentences, extra spacing, or a version with fewer on the page. That could be handy for any pupil who needs less visual clutter to deal with.
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Using Microsoft Copilot for the first time has shown me how useful AI can be as a planning assistant rather than a replacement for professional judgement. Producing the first draft of a worksheet took only a few minutes and allowed me to spend more time adapting the material for the needs of my own class.I found that Copilot produced a solid starting point, but it still required careful editing. I simplified some vocabulary, adjusted the questions to suit the curriculum and checked all factual information before using it. This reminded me that teachers remain responsible for ensuring that all resources are accurate and appropriate.I also became more aware of the importance of responsible AI use. I did not use any pupil names or personal information and ensured that all outputs were reviewed before use.
Overall, I see Copilot becoming part of my everyday planning as it reduces workload while still allowing me to maintain high-quality teaching
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Welcome to the course, Colin. I’d certainly agree that Copilot can be a great help when you’re up against it and just need to get a first draft down on the page. The bit about editing it afterwards is so crucial. It’ll give you something to work from, sure, but you’re still the one who knows what your class can handle, spots anything that isn’t quite right, alters the language where it needs it, and makes sure it fits the lesson you actually had in mind. I know a good few teachers are dipping into it for the day-to-day stuff like worksheets, questions, and the odd lesson idea, etc. Handled with a bit of sense, it saves you time and still leaves all the real decisions where they belong, with the teacher.
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I found Microsoft Copilot to be a useful tool for supporting lesson preparation rather than replacing it. To explore its potential, I asked Copilot to help me create a 4th Class resource on fractions, focusing on equivalent fractions and comparing fractions. It generated a differentiated worksheet, discussion questions and a short real-life problem-solving activity. I adapted the material to match the needs of my class and the Primary Mathematics Curriculum.
One of the greatest benefits of AI is the time it can save teachers. It can quickly generate idea as, draft worksheets, suggest differentiated activities and provide multiple examples of questions. This allows teachers to spend more time planning meaningful learning experiences and responding to pupils’ individual needs.
A limitation is that AI- generated content is not always accurate or age-appropriate. It sometimes uses terminology that is too advanced or include examples that do not align with the Irish curriculum. For that reason, teachers must carefully review and adapt all materials before using them in class.
It is important that pupils remain the ones doing the thinking. I see Copilot as a planning assistant for teachers, not as a replacement for pupils’ learning. I would use AI to create engaging tasks, but pupils would still be expected to explain their reasoning, solve problems collaboratively, justify their answers and reflect on their learning. Activities that promote discussion, questioning and critical thinking ensure that learning remains active and meaningful.
I can also see considerable potential for Microsoft 365 Copilot in School Self-Evaluation (SSE). It could assist staff in summarising survey responses, identifying patterns in assessment data, drafting improvement plans, preparing meeting notes and creating reports aligned with school priorities. By reducing the administrative workload, Copilot could allow teachers and school leaders to focus more on analysing evidence and implementing improvements that positively impact teaching and learning.
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I think this is a really sensible way to use Copilot Pol. It sounds like it gave you a good starting point for the fractions lesson, but you still did the important part yourself by checking it against your class needs and the Maths Curriculum. I agree with you about needing to check the content carefully though. AI can sound very confident, even when the language is too difficult or the activity doesn’t quite match what we want the children to learn. I liked your point about pupils still doing the thinking. Its important to remember that. Copilot can be so useful for planning, but the children still need to explore, discuss, and work through the maths themselves.
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Use of Copilot could support my teaching by helping me create differentiated lesson plans, quizzes, rubrics and accessible resources. One clear benefit is time saved: I can adapt materials for different reading levels, learning needs or languages, leaving more time for direct pupil support. A key limitation is that AI can produce inaccurate, biased or unsuitable content, so I must review everything and follow school data-protection policies.
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I would use Copilot for scaffolding rather than providing finished answers. Pupils could critique an AI response, identify errors, compare it with reliable sources and explain their own reasoning. In School Self-Evaluation, Copilot could help summarise survey feedback, identify themes and draft improvement actions, while staff retain responsibility for interpretation and decisions.
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Hi Lisa, welcome to the course and thank you for engaging in Module 1.
I really enjoyed this reflection on using Copilot to streamline scaffolding and resource creation. Your point about using AI outputs as critique exercises for pupils is an exceptional way to ensure they remain the ones doing the critical thinking.
You have rightly acknowledged the key limitations like potential bias and data protection, demonstrating the strong professional oversight needed when bringing these tools into the classroom.Your practical vision for SSE and leveraging AI, while keeping final decision making firmly in staff hands shows great clarity.
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I found using Microsoft Copilot to be a positive experience. I asked it to help me create a social story and a simple transition plan for pupils returning to learning following a hospital admission. It gave me a good starting point, but I still needed to adapt the language and activities to suit the individual needs of each pupil. In a hospital school, where pupils’ needs can change quickly, that flexibility is really important.
One of the biggest benefits of AI is the time it can save in creating first drafts of resources and suggesting differentiated activities. A limitation is that it doesn’t know the context of the individual child, so everything still needs to be reviewed carefully using professional judgement.
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I see AI as a planning tool for teachers rather than something pupils rely on for answers. The learning still comes from discussion, questioning and reflection. I can also see potential for Copilot in School Self-Evaluation by helping to summarise feedback, draft action plans and reduce some of the administrative workload, leaving more time to focus on teaching and supporting pupils.
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Hi Avril, welcome to the course and thank you for your engagement in Module 1.
I love your example of using Copilot to support a pupil returning after a hospital stay. Developing a social story and transition plan shows how AI provides a flexible foundation for sensitive and individualised support. Your emphasis on pupil context is vital, as professional judgement remains indispensable when tailoring material to a child’s specific needs.
Recognising AI as a backend planning tool ensures that active questioning and reflection stay firmly at the heart of learning.
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I used Microsoft Copilot to create a reading comprehension activity for a First Class literacy lesson. I asked it to generate a short reading passage with a range of comprehension questions and picture prompts to support pupils who benefit from visual cues. As a SET teacher, I adapted the resource by simplifying some of the language and keeping in mind the needs of the children I work with.
I found Copilot to be a useful starting point. It created a suitable resource in a matter of seconds, giving me more time to focus on adapting it rather than creating everything from scratch. One of the biggest benefits is the time it saves, particularly when preparing differentiated resources. A limitation is that the content still needs to be checked carefully for accuracy and suitability, so professional judgement remains essential.
AI should support teaching, not replace it. I would use it to prepare resources, while ensuring that pupils are still the ones asking questions, discussing ideas and developing their own understanding.
As a Deputy Princiapl I can also see Copilot being useful for School Self-Evaluation. It could help analyse survey responses, draft action plans and assist with reviewing school policies. This would help reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks and allow school leaders to spend more time on supporting teaching and learning.
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I agree Sinead that Copilot will be useful with policy making, planning and SSE. I look forward to it evolving more over the coming months to facilitate the Irish Curriculum and the new primary framework. When I did my first draft of a lesson it was looking at the 1999 curriculum so needed to be prompted to find the new curriculum. Again this is a great tool but needs monitoring befor use in the classroom but a great first edit to give ideas and a start with the plans.
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Hi Sinead, welcome to the course and thank you for engaging with the content of Module 1.
Your reflection as both an SET and a Deputy Principal, highlights the practical benefits from two perspectives.
Creating a differentiated reading comprehension for 1st Class with those visual cues shows how AI can save precious time when adapting resources for diverse needs.Your observation regarding SSE and leveraging AI to analyse data and draft action plans can significantly lighten administrative load. Crucially, linking how we engage with AI and school data should be guided by the DEYs Guidance on AI for Schools.
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I am a teacher in a hospital school and ai has emerged as an amazing tool to assist me in covering topics/assessing students in subjects I am not trained in. I made an assessment on the Renaissance for a 2nd year student and specifically asked copilot to use the Irish history curriculum and exam guidelines to keep the continuity in education the student would have with their ‘home school’. I liked that it provided me with the exact learning objective. I could use a resource like this alongside materials the students have with them and are used to using. I’d like to explore creating resources in a streamline style as some of the content it creates is quite clinical/serious looking.
In terms of school self evaluation I think ai can help balance our approach to wellbeing and academic work across the week, building data on how much time we’re spending on topics and allowing for downtime/reflection.
In a hospital school sometimes we are waiting for secondary school teachers to give feedback on work sent by our students to review. This tool allows us to support the student where we can in their exam prep while in hospital.
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A hospital school is such a unique setting, Eileen, for using AI. I can see how it would be a huge help when you’re supporting students across subjects and levels that may not be your own area. I liked that you asked Copilot to link the Renaissance assessment back to the Irish curriculum and exam guidelines. That’s really important in your setting, because the student still needs that connection with their home school and their ongoing coursework. I know what you mean about the resources sometimes looking a bit clinical. It might be worth asking CoPilot to make the layout more student-friendly or visually simple, especially for a young person who may already be tired or under pressure in hospital. Your SSE point around balancing academic work and well-being is very relevant. In a hospital school, that balance must be so important. AI could be useful for helping track what has been covered but also for making sure there is space for rest, reflection, and emotional support.
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I found using Microsoft Copilot to be a positive experience when creating a worksheet and lesson resource on the 1916 Easter Rising for a 5th Class history lesson. It provided a useful starting point by generating age-appropriate content, comprehension questions and vocabulary activities that aligned with the topic. However, I still needed to review and edit the material to ensure it matched the needs, abilities and interests of the children in my class.
One of the biggest benefits of AI is the time it can save when planning lessons and creating resources. It can quickly generate first drafts, offer new ideas for activities and make planning more efficient, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching and supporting pupils. Another advantage is that AI can help with inclusivity by suggesting differentiated tasks and providing alternative ways to present information so that a wider range of learners can access the curriculum.
A limitation of AI is the potential impact on teacher agency if its suggestions are accepted without careful consideration. Professional judgement remains essential, and all AI-generated content should be reviewed, adapted and edited to ensure it is accurate, curriculum-appropriate and suitable for the specific children in the class.
To ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I would use AI as a planning and resource-development tool rather than as a source of answers for pupils. In my lesson on the 1916 Easter Rising, pupils would engage with historical information, discuss key events, answer questions and form their own understanding of the significance of the Rising. AI would support my preparation, but the learning, critical thinking and historical enquiry would remain firmly pupil-led.
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Hi Susan, welcome to the course and thank you for your engagement with the first Module.
Generating a 5th Class resource on the 1916 Easter Rising while maintaining critical oversight demonstrates the specific professional judgement needed when integrating AI.
Your point regarding teacher agency is spot on, AI output should serve as a starting draft/point rather than a finished product. Copilot as a medium to streamline resource creation and differentiation allows you as the teacher to focus on facilitating deep historical enquiry!
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I was a little confused at the beginning – I have the MS apps on my desktop – so I wasn’t using the 365office – I eventually got sorted and started playing around with CoPilot. I found it easy enough to create worksheets and resources, but my prompts needed a lot of refining with specifics.
I teach an autism class so I wanted very specific and simple worksheets with scaffolds and with practice examples. Initially I tried creating maths worksheets, but I found my language of instructions was not detailed or specific enough.
I did manage to create 3 differentiated worksheets with cloze activities on the topic of a day at the beach – I found I needed to be very specific with layout, and I needed to check the output carefully for errors. I can also see the value now of saving detailed and successful prompts to use again in the future. This will enable focused and productive use of co-pilot and definitely save time.
I differentiated the cloze prompt to include 3 levels – here is the more difficult level to include an extra challenge…..
lifeguard • shoreline • umbrella • driftwood • rock pools • sunscreen • waves • adventure • ocean • seabirds • beachcombing • footprints
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Complete the passage using the words from the word bank.
My day at the beach was a wonderful __________. As soon as we arrived, I spread my towel under a large __________ to stay cool.
Before exploring, I carefully applied __________ to protect my skin.
I walked along the __________, watching the __________ roll in and out. The vast __________ sparkled in the sunshine.
As I wandered along the sand, I noticed interesting pieces of __________ and many __________ left behind by other visitors.
I spent some time __________ and discovered several fascinating treasures.
Near the water, I explored small __________ and observed tiny creatures living there.
Above me, groups of __________ circled through the sky.
The __________ watched the swimmers carefully to make sure everyone stayed safe.
Extension Activity
Write three sentences about a day you would like to spend at the beach.
1. ________________________________________
2. ________________________________________
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After downloading (and subscribing to 365 Personal since my laptop did not have co pilot in Word) I copied a history lesson of mine from last year for 1st and 2nd classes. I asked co pilot to regenerate the lesson and align to curriculum for Senior Infants and 1st Classes. I also asked co pilot to modernise the activities where appropriate and provide a clearer assessment method to the one I had used previously. This was my first time using co pilot and I was very impressed with how it reworked a lesson I already had and adapted it to the new age profile of the students. I think this is a hugely beneficial tool for teachers, particularly those who have spent precious time creating plans and resources at various class levels. Being able to rework content already created allows for more time to be spent on ensuring the lesson and resources are pitched correctly and tweaked according to the needs of a particular class.
One of the benefits of using AI that I’m most keen on is the ability to truly differentiate lesson content and resources. We are supposed to be delivering a child-centred education based on each individual child’s needs and AI enables teachers to make accommodations in a very time efficient way while maintaining focus on the lesson objective for all students.
A limitation of AI is that it can provide incorrect information. As outlined in Module 1, the teacher must oversee and proof all content in any lesson as it is their responsibility to ensure such content is safe, accurate and achieves its objective.
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Hi Martina,
<p style=”text-align: left;”>I agree with you that it is very important to check the information on AI.</p>
It’s very easy to accept what AI has developed as being one hundred per cent accurate but that’s not always the case.It is a very useful tool for generating differentiated worksheets.
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Hi Mark, I enjoyed reading your post and found that many of your points reflected my own experience using Copilot. For this activity, I created a Jolly Phonics worksheet for Junior Infants focusing on the initial sound “s.” The worksheet included letter tracing, identifying words that begin with the s sound, colouring activities, and handwriting practice. It was designed to support early phonics development and letter recognition in an engaging way.
Like you, I found that AI can support teaching by helping to personalise learning, save teacher time, and generate useful resources. In my case, Copilot quickly created a phonics worksheet that I could adapt to suit the needs of my class. This was particularly valuable for infant teaching, where creating phonics resources can be time-consuming and often requires multiple activities to reinforce learning.
I agree that one major benefit is the efficiency AI offers. It can significantly reduce the time spent creating worksheets and lesson materials, allowing teachers to focus more on pupil engagement and learning.
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I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Copilot and found it to be a highly effective tool for creating classroom resources quickly and efficiently. As part of this activity, I used Copilot to design a Jolly Phonics worksheet for Junior Infants focusing on the initial sound “s.” The worksheet included a variety of activities such as tracing the letter, identifying words beginning with the s sound, colouring the letter, and practising early handwriting skills. These activities were designed to support phonological awareness and early literacy development.
Through this experience, I recognised the many ways AI can support teaching and learning. It can assist in generating lesson ideas, creating differentiated resources, and significantly reducing preparation time. Rather than starting from a blank page, teachers can use AI-generated content as a foundation and then adapt it to meet the specific needs and interests of their pupils.
One of the greatest advantages of using Copilot was the time saved in resource creation. Within seconds, it generated a worksheet that provided a useful starting point for lesson planning. However, I also found that AI-generated resources require careful review and refinement. In this case, aspects such as the layout, font sizes, and lack of visual elements meant that the resource needed further editing to ensure it was suitable, engaging, and tailored to the needs of the class.
I would view AI primarily as a planning and resource-development tool rather than a teaching tool in itself. During the lesson, pupils would actively engage with the worksheet by identifying sounds, discussing words that begin with s, practising letter formation, and making connections between sounds and objects in their environment. The learning would stem from pupils’ active participation, exploration, discussion, and problem-solving, rather than from AI providing answers. In this way, AI serves to enhance teaching practice while maintaining a strong focus on meaningful, pupil-centred learning.
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Hi everyone,
As a Special Education Teacher (SET) working with a 3rd Class literacy support group, my experience with M365 Copilot has been a real eye-opener.For my classroom resource, I used Copilot to create a set of differentiated reading passages and graphic organisers centered on the topic of Local Irish Wildlife & Habitats.
Copilot allowed me to take one core text and rapidly adapt it into three distinct reading levels, complete with targeted vocabulary lists suited to my pupils’ individual targets.
AI can significantly support teaching by taking over the labour -intensive administrative side of differentiation.
A major benefit I’ve found is the sheer speed with which it generates tailored scaffolds and visual prompts for learning support.
However, a notable limitation is that Copilot occasionally uses phrasing that isn’t native to our curriculum context or oversimplifies key concepts, so thorough teacher editing remains essential.
To ensure my pupils remain the ones doing the thinking, I avoid using AI to generate simple fill-in-the-blank worksheets. Instead, I ask Copilot to generate “think-aloud” guiding questions and graphic organisers.
The AI provides the framework, but the pupils must still extract evidence from the text, make inferences, and explain their reasoning.
Looking at our broader school needs, M365 Copilot could be a game-changer for School Self-Evaluation (SSE). It can synthesize qualitative data—such as pupil voice surveys on reading confidence or teacher observations—and identify emerging trends to help us refine our SEN targets and inclusive practices.
Looking forward to reading your thoughts!
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- how AI can support teaching
AI can be very useful for experienced teachers, through AI experienced teachers can create pieces of differentiated work while using their professional oversight to identify any discrepancies or inaccuracies which can and do still occur with AI
Policy work or planning etc can also be streamlined and completed far more efficiently through AI also. Helping to allow teachers to have more time to focus on ttheir teaching rather than typing endless plans.
- One benefit and one limitation
one clear benefit of AI is its ability to gather appropriate resources and research quickly. Saving hours of time trawling through google.
A limitation of Ai however is that for as human it seems at times it is not. It can become very obsessed with trivial things and references to education acts etc. it can take the human/ common sense out of things.
- How you will ensure pupils remain the ones doing the thinking
By being familiar with not only the abilities of AI but also the pupils in your class, you should be able to identify when AI is being used. But also by being teaching them about AI and helping the children to prioritise their own learning.
I used copilot to help me to write and design a couple of Differentiated reading comprehension activities on Ancient Rome. I will get the children to complete these when we return to school.
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Hi Lorna,
I think using AI with and ASD group could be incredibly helpful. You can create specific work based around the topics which may be of massive interest to the child. You can then also have it pitched to their level which is excellent. Sometimes it can be hard to get resources which are both of interest and appropriately pitched when dealing with children with ASD
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AI has immense possibility in how it can support teachers with both planning and lesson resource preparation. I have become interested in the use of AI over the past year. I find it fascinating and incredibly useful. Ultimately, the teacher has to know what they are looking for when using an AI tool. As it states in the Guidance for Preparation for Teaching and Learning, it is imperative that the teacher has an extensive knowledge of both curriculum and pedagogy. In order for a teacher to get the best results from AI, they must first have the requisite knowledge. Curricular/Pedagogical knowledge (underpinned by their own knowledge of assessment) ensures that the teacher can ascertain and determine if the resource adheres to curricular and pedagogical principles. The teacher manages the AI resource, and requests changes based on their expert pedagogical knowledge. I think that any limitation with AI is related to a move away from critical thinking. The teacher or student has to always be aware that they are managing information, ascertaining if it is correct, useful, and can it ultimately further learning.
Lesson: Anchor text for a 4th Class English lesson.
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Hi Jacinta,
Absolutely, teacher expertise or literacy when it comes to using AI is really important. The value of GenAI tools comes not just from generating resources, but from the teacher’s ability to evaluate, adapt and use them in ways that support effective teaching, learning and assessment. On the broader literacy piece for both teachers and students as you’ve outlined I agree developing and encouraging critical thinking, when engaging with AI-generated content is also key and never taking at outputs face value.
Staying with this, a useful next step could be to explore ways of explicitly teaching pupils how to question and verify AI-generated information, helping them develop the critical literacy skills needed to use these tools responsibly.
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