[Anne-Marie Lynch]

Hi Clare,

I also feel amazed at the speed in which AI tools create ppt or quizzes.  To think back years ago when resources too so long to create and perfect before completing teaching practice or on placements. Now it just means looking over the resources and ensuring they meet the learning intentions and needs of your class. Love the AI applications. I also like how this course encouraged lots of practice which made me feel less daunted about the AI generation we are entering. It just shows practice and playing around with the tools really builds confidence and this will be reflected in our teaching of AI tools too.

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

Part 1:Write a reflective piece on how you plan to integrate AI in your teaching.
This module has connected all the dots for me with regards to using AI tools in my teaching. There are lots of potential opportunities to use AI tools in my class ,however particular tools stand out for me and I feel they are the ones I will begin using in a collaborative way this year.
Firstly Google Image creator will be an exciting tool to use when reng a novel. When focusing on scenes in a novel, I like using freeze frame drama strategies  with my class. I think using google image creator alongside these activities will enhance student engagement and allow children to use descriptive language to create images of scenes in a personalised way.
I am excited about using YouTube AI videos to deliver a more inclusive and accessible curriculum to EAL  children in my class. This tool can be used to allow EAL students understand content and engage with their peers on a topic which may feel too difficult without AI support. This tool can transform an SESE lesson and tailor learning to meet the learning needs of a student.
Using Quiziz on Fridays following studying a particular topic is one which I can see myself using for sure. It can be utilised to assess understanding in lots of topics and is sure to support the creation of interactive and engaging content which enhances learning.
Finally ,I would like to use copilot to enhance student engagement within teaching a chosen topic. For example if teaching about Italy,perhaps children could use Copilot to look up useful phrases to use when on holiday in Italy or to develop and present a simple conversation with a partner in class.

Part 2: Develop a lesson plan incorporating AI concepts.

Class: 4th Class
Subject:Geography-Italy
Strand:Human Environments
Strand Unit:People and Places in Other Areas
Resources:
– Interactive whiteboard
– Tablets or computers with internet access
– Microsoft Copilot
– Printable map of Europe and Italy
– Youtube Short video clip about Italian landmarks
– Art supplies for creative activity
– Quiz worksheet for assessment

Introduction (10 mins):
– Begin with a quick brainstorm: “What do you know about Italy?”
– Show a map of Europe and locate Italy. Highlight its shape (boot-like!) and position.
– Use Copilot to generate a fun fact list about Italy (e.g. “Did you know Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country?”).
– Play a short video showcasing Italian scenes: Venice gondolas, Colosseum, pizza-making.

Development (30 mins):

Part 1: Exploring Italy with AI (15 mins)
– Pupils and teacher uses Copilot to ask questions like:
– “What is Italy famous for?”
– “Tell me about Italian food.”
– “What are the biggest cities in Italy?”
– In pairs record 3 interesting facts on whiteboards and share with the class.

Part 2: Geographical Discovery (15 mins)
– Discuss Italian cities: (Rome, Milan, Venice).
– Highlight cultural elements: language, food, festivals.
– Pupils create a mini travel brochure on one of the chosen cities studied using facts found as a class with AI, including drawings of famous landmarks or dishes.

Conclusion (10 mins):
– Recap key learnings: geography, culture, landmarks.
– Ask: “If you could visit one place in Italy, where would you go and why?”
– Display travel brochures around the classroom.

Differentiation:
– Support: Provide sentence starters or fact sheets for pupils who need help forming questions.
– Extension: Challenge advanced learners to compare Italy with a city in Ireland (e.g. climate, food, traditions).

Assessment:
Observe participation in AI exploration and group discussions.
Review travel brochures for accuracy and creativity.
Create a quiz on Quizizz and answer as a whole class (e.g. “Name a famous Italian city,” “What shape is Italy?”).

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

I love the idea of creating short animations that link with their written stories. Children can start off creating code and as they become more experienced,they could continue to add more sophisticated code to their projects. An effective way to apply creativity to their written work.

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

Scratch is one of the AI applications which I would be eager to introduce to my pupils this year.
Writing code may seem daunting for some,however,Scratch’s use of dragging and dropping colourful code blocks to code the language and create stories and games is child friendly and engaging. Scratch also allows children to follow step by step process which develops childrens coding ability and allows them to acquire the confidence they need to create their own coding and programming skills.
I like the idea of being able to share projects with other Scratch users or just with your class. It guves children the opportunity to showcase their work abd explain strategies used in theur digital learning.

I read that there is opportunity to also train a model in Teachable Machine,export it and use a specialised version of Scratch to integrate the model. This may be something to think about if your clas was particularly enjoying scratch and Twachable Machine. It opens up opportunity to blend both AI tools nicely. I would be sure to follow guidelines when using both tools and only use images of objects to ensure data is used safely and in line with the schools digital technology policy.

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

Hi Beccy,

I also thought Search coach would be an eye opening tool to introduce to children in the senior classes. It highlights how some content online can’t be taken for face value unless the website meets certain criteria or standards. Allowing children to search in a safe and trustworthy manner allows them to actively engage and search in a safe and secure way. We always say that some content online can’t be trusted but this allows children to see for themselves. I would like to use this in a collaborative way firstly though.

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

I am very interested to use some of the AI tools mentioned in this module. Two which stood out for me were the Social story creator and the maths story word problems. Both were part of Magic School AI.
The social story creator would prove to be a very useful tool if teaching in an autistic unit or if there was a neuro divergent child in your class. I understand how important it is to input the prompts effectively and never use a child’s real name. It enables the child to better understand social situations in a child friebdly way and also helps parents and teachers assess their understanding through creating questions for home on Twee.
I also an intrigued about using the Maths story word problem tool. This tool makes word problems more personalised and can nurture learner engagement. Children can peer assess by correcting their friends work and talk about the strategies they used in a personal way.
I see the above tools as being very user friendly. It doesn’t feel unsafe to use these tools and may be a great start for a teacher a little nervous about introducing AI tools in theur class.
I also loved the Microsoft Copilot image creator. Using it to bring images in a novel to life seems very exciting and would really engage children in their responses and use of descriptive language. It gives them a better sense of responsibility for their work as what you write, is actually appearing before them. A really powerful tool in my opinion.
Finally,the last tool which appealed to me was YouTube AI translation. How wonderful would it be to help a child with EAL to be able to participate fully in their learning ,especially if having only recently joined a class. The function in Twee which generates questions from the video really excites me. I look forward to using these tools this year.

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

I agree that Immersive Reader could be very useful in a SET capacity. I am going to try use it in my classroom too if there are any children with dyslexia. Using font and screen backgrounds which help one child can be used in a whole class setting and in a more inclusive way.

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

I think AI can have a really positive effect on my teaching and the learning experiences in my classroom. Particularly for children with SEN. I think starting with learning tools which you feel confident with using firstly is a good place to start. Some learning tools which I feel can make most impact for me right now would be Immersive Reader. I had used this before but did not realise the amou t of functions available. I loved the function which allows you to change the backgroud colour,ths would prove very helpful for children with dyslexia. Children with EAL can also mire easily access class content through the translation function.
I also love the idea of using Google forms in class. I worked in an Educate Together school before and Democracy is one pillar of the ethos,using google forms could easily collate data within the class,children could even create their own form for other subjects such as data in Maths.
Microsoft learning tools has huge potential benefits,a more reluctant writer may be comfirtable doing a first draft of writing but can then achieve a sense of success by editing and publishing wirk using speech to text functions. A resource I’ve used with great success with a 1st class boy.
Finally Minecraft Education is a very child friendly tool available to teachers which develop creation and discovery while inspiring exploratiom and discovery. This software could be used to transform project work in class. Children could create 3d models within the software and invite friends to work collaboratively on the project. Lots of potential here too.
I think a challenge which may arise using AI would be access to laptops or computers and sadly internet reliability can still be challenging in country schools. I also feel safeguarding data and using AI in a safe and effective way may be a challenge as it is still quite a new approaach to teaching and learning.

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

I also find the use of speech to text AI very interesting and helpful. Some writers are reluctant to fully participate as if they have felt a sense of failure with writing before,the blank page can seem very daunting. If AI tools can help them achieve a sense of success through removing the daunting aspect of the blank page,then children with learning needs will hopefully feel a sense of success and thrive throw the support of AI tools. The tool can be used to do the writing but not generate the ideas for the child with learning needs.

[Anne-Marie Lynch]

Before beginning this module,the thoughts of using AI seemed daunting and unfamiliar.  However I can now see the potential it has and how if used ethically and in line with the guidelines,it has huge potential to have a positive impact on my teaching and the learning of students. One thing that stick with me was to ensure the AI tools are used collaboratively at first to ensure it is used in a safe and ethical manner.

 

Through using Copilot,Gemini and Chat gpt during this module,it gave me an insight into the functionality of each AI tool and how this could be used in my future teaching. I was unaware that there were even that many AI tools available to use so the slow and steady introduction to each type was very interesting. Some ideas which stood out for me and seemed very doable in my future teaching included creating differentiated work for individual learners in my English class or perhaps making a travel itineray for a country you are studying in SESE.  I loved the image creation AI tool which could be utilised to create logos for project work in SESE. There is also lots of opportunities to allow children to use their own written work and adapt this creativly through adding videos or pictures generated by image AI. Using AI to add to or creatively adapt children’s work may be a positive and safe place to start with on my AI journey.

 

With regards to assessment,I feel the use of feedback quizzes or open ended questioning would prove useful to gain an insight into how the children respond to lessons taught in real time. The data can be used for future teaching and learning.

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