[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

David, like you I have never used Diffit before. I think it is a fantastic resource and look forward to trying it out in the coming year.

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

Hi James, I haven’t used Scratch before with my pupils. I am looking forward to introducing it. It looks so easy to use.

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

Subject: Geography
Class: 6th
Topic: Exploring the Geography, Culture, and Landmarks of Greece
Duration: 60 minutes
Learning Objectives: Students will be enabled to:
• Locate Greece on a map and describe its physical geography.
• Identify key features such as mountains, islands, and major cities.
• Understand elements of Greek culture, landmarks, and history.
• Use AI tools to research, summarise, and present information creatively.

Introduction (10 mins): “Where in the world?”
• Use Google Earth or an interactive map to zoom into Greece.
• Quick quiz using Kahoot or Quizziz to check prior knowledge about European countries.
• Think,Pair,Share: “What do you already know about Greece?”

Exploring Physical Geography
• Use AI-generated visuals (e.g. Bing Image Creator) to show key features: mountains, beaches, islands, and the Acropolis.
• Brief teacher-led talk on key geographical features (with map).
• Short vitual tour of some famous Greek landmarks (youtube )

Main Activity (25 mins): AI-Powered Research Projects
Students work in small groups to create a short digital presentation or poster on one aspect of Greece, using AI tools:
• Microsoft Copilot / ChatGPT / Gemini to summarise information about Greek food, traditions, tourist spots, or geography.
• Canva (with Magic Write) to help structure their presentations creatively.
• Use an AI image tool to generate visuals (e.g., “an ancient Greek temple on a sunny day” or “typical Greek street food market”).

Present and Reflect
• Groups present their work to the class.

 

I plan to use AI tools in my teaching to make lessons more engaging, accessible, and personalised. In this geography lesson, tools like Diffit would allow me to differentiate materials for students of varying reading abilities, while Twee would help generate vocabulary and comprehension questions .Tools like Canva AI and CO Pilot make student work more creative and presentable.

 

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

I completely agree with you! I’ve also relied on Kahoot for years, but this course has really opened my eyes to so many new and exciting tools. I’m especially looking forward to trying out Quizz and bringing more AI into my lessons-it’s definitely going to freshen things up for both me and the students.

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

I think Scratch is a great tool for teaching coding concepts in a fun and engaging way. There is great potential to use it across the curriculum in maths, science and Literacy. It promotes creativity, develops logic and problem solving skills and its fun. Pupils are learning without even realising it. I played around with it during this module and found it so easy to use. I would introduce to the pupils in my classroom by allowing them to explore the Scratch interface. I would model my screen on the IWB and guide them through the main parts. I would encourage the pupils to explore and create and play games. There are so many games to play from platform games to mazes and puzzles, so there is something for everyone. There are lesson plans readily available that can guide pupils to create their own games. I look forward to trying Scratch out with future classes.

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

Part 1
I think that Diffit is a wonderful tool for differentiated teaching. It ensures that every pupil receives content that is suited to their own ability. It has vocabulary lists, summaries and questions that can be adjusted to the different abilities within a class. I’m looking forward to trying this out in the coming school year.
Another useful tool is speaker coach, I love that it gives immediate personalised feedback. It would help pupils become more confident public speakers and help reduce anxiety around it.
Twee is another very useful tool to generate questions from vocabulary lists, text or videos.
Part 2
I look forward to using Diffit for studying a class novel. Each chapter can be adapted to suit different reading levels and then activities can be created based on it. Multiple choice questions or open ended questions can be generated to suit all the learners in your class. Differentiated vocabulary lists can be easily generated. It would also be very useful to use for differentiating reading passages for SESE topics also. Every child will be able to access the material and learning is personalised.
I really like the Magic School maths story tool. I think it would really help engagement with problem solving tasks. It‘s so easy to use and would save so much time.

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

Kate I agree with your comment that AI when used correctly will be great for freeing up valuable time. It will allow teachers to give more specific and constructive feedback that will really benefit the pupils.

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

Roisin, I agree that MS forms would be very useful for assessment in the senior classes. It would be so easy to create quizzes , multiple choice questions and get the answers instantly from the pupils which allows the teacher to monitor learning and understanding.

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

I was unfamiliar with MS Word Immersive reader – this is a great tool that will personalise the learning of students and particularly with struggling readers. Some of the features that are of particular benefit is the text read aloud, word translator, liner separator and ability to change background colour and breaking up words into syllables. I look forward to using it in the classroom in the coming year.
Another tool that I think is beneficial is Minecraft in Education. It makes learning fun and engaging, allowing students to build, explore and create in a digital world. It would help to build teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Pupils would be learning without even realising it.
One of the challenges I would face in my classroom is connectivity. When multiple devices are being used at the same time connectivity is slow and this can be very frustrating for both the teachers and the pupils. Also teachers would need more training so that they can confidently use the tools available and teach the pupils to use them too.

[Anne Marie Swarbrigg]

AI has so many benefits for teaching, learning and assessment. Prior to doing this course, I was only familiar with Chat gpt and I didn’t realise the different AI tools available to teachers. I think that using AI can help teachers save so much time when creating resources that are engaging and effective. Gamma AI would be so useful for creating documents and Powerpoints and would be such a timesaver. I think one of the greatest uses AI could have in the classroom would be in terms of differentiation and assessment. AI tools like Diffit can make differentiation more manageable and personal. Twee is fantastic for creating questions based on a text or a video. Rubrics, checklists and quizzes can be made so easily, which lightens the workload for teachers and helps prevent teacher burnout.
I think that more CPD courses in AI need to be available for teachers, as AI is going to have a huge impact on future teaching, learning and assessment and we need to be up to date with all the tools available to us.

 

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