[Claudia Forde]

agree with Claire, any tool we can use to shorten our admin / planning time and also engage the children in their own learning is a win. I will definitely be incorporating some of the apps in my teaching going forward.

[Claudia Forde]

Module 5 Part 1
Write about how you plan to use AI tools in your teaching.
I plan to use AI tools with my Second Class learning support groups to make literacy and numeracy practice more engaging, personalised and effective. For literacy I am going to trial the of use Microsoft Reading Coach to provide pupils with tailored reading practice and immediate feedback on fluency and pronunciation, I also think this will be useful for comprehension work. Khan Academy looks like a super app that can be used in many ways however I am hoping to use it to support my struggling learners in both literacy and numeracy through interactive lessons that will allow the children to work at their own pace. I also feel I will get great use from Magic School AI as a teacher tool to help me create customised activities, questions and resources that target the specific needs of my groups.

Part 2 Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan – Phonics (Digraph sh)
Class Level: 2nd Class (Learning Support)
Focus: Literacy – Phonics (sh)
Duration: 25–30 minutes
Apps/Resources: Khan Academy Kids app, whiteboard/markers, word cards, UFLI phonics routine

1. Warm-Up / Phonemic Awareness (5 minutes)
• UFLI Link: Phoneme Awareness & Oral Practice Lesson 45
• Reinforce that sh is made by two letters working together to make one sound.
2. Explicit Instruction (5 minutes)
• UFLI Link: Phonics Concept Introduction lesson 45
• Write sh on the whiteboard.
• Model sound: “sh says /sh/ like when we tell someone to be quiet: shhh.”
• Show where it comes in words: beginning (ship), middle (fishing), end (brush).
3. Guided Practice – Word Building (5 minutes)
• Use magnetic letters or word cards.
• Build words together (ship, shop, dash, fish).
• Ask the child to blend the sounds and read the words aloud.
• Quick spelling dictation: you say “fish,” child builds or writes it.
4. Digital Practice – Khan Academy Kids (7–8 minutes)
• Open the Khan Academy Kids Reading > Phonics section.
• Select activities focused on consonant digraph sh
• Child completes a phonics game and/or read-along story that includes sh words.
• Encourage the child to say the sh words aloud when they appear.
5. Application – Reading in Context (5 minutes)
• Short passage decodable text lesson 45 – The Ship
• Child reads aloud, underlining sh words.
• Teacher checks for fluency and decoding accuracy.
6. Closing / Review (2 minutes)
• Ask: “What sound do the letters sh make?”
• Quick challenge: child gives 2 new sh words not used in lesson.
• Praise effort and explain next time we will practice using sh in longer reading.

[Claudia Forde]

I haven’t used scratch before but have used Lego spike with various classes which includes block based coding. From my limited understanding of Scratch I think Lego Spike built on scratch like principles .

[Claudia Forde]

Consider one of the AI application examples highlighted and explain how you would introduce this to your pupils.

The app which I feel listed in Module 4 that I would probably get the most use out of is Khan Academy Kids. This coming year I will be working with children in 2nd class as their SET. From exploring the Khan website it seems that Khan Academy is suitable for infants up to 2nd class . I think the app would be beneficial for the emergent readers in 2nd class and also for numeracy. I like that the app is free and also interactive and will guide children through phonics, reading, number skills, and problem solving in a playful and encouraging way. I would like to use it with my learning support groups because it provides a fun, adaptive and motivating way for children to practice core skills at their own level while helping to build confidence and enjoyment in reading and maths. I definitely think it would be beneficial to a small cohort of my students who are having significant difficulties in literacy and numeracy as it will engage them because of its interactive features. I think when introducing this app to the children I would probably do some whole class modelling first using the interactive whiteboard. Once they have become familiar with opening and navigating the app I would move to working with two children at a time and then once they become confident we would move towards independent learning.

[Claudia Forde]

I agree, I really enjoyed this module in particular the information about Microsoft Reading Coach and Magic School as I felt out of all the AI apps listed both of these appealed to me and I feel that these are the two which I would get the most use out of. Before this module I wasn’t aware that Microsoft had AI apps included in its software . It was a practical and interesting module.

[Claudia Forde]

Part 1
Give two examples of how you can use some of the tools identified in this module to improve your own teaching, learning and assessment.
The first tool which was identified in module 3 which I would find beneficial to use within the classroom is Microsoft Reading Coach. It can improve both my teaching and the learning of my students by providing a more personalised reading instruction approach. After watching the video about Microsoft Reading Coach I think it is something I will definitely use in the my SEN classroom as it is not only time saving for me as a teacher as it automates assessment data and gives personalised feedback in terms of target words but for the child it builds confidence as the can practice reading in their own environment as well as school , its interactive therefore encouraging engagement , reading is also personalised to the child’s level/ ability and it encourages independent learning . Another app which I feel will be useful in the classroom to improve my teaching, learning and assessment is Magic School AI as it can help generate lesson plans and activities tailored to particular lessons, it can differentiate lessons and activities to suit all levels and suggest activities that are interactive to accompany lessons as a result it would be of huge benefit in regard to time saving .

Part 2
Reflect on the potential classroom use of these examples and the other AI tools covered in Module 3 and how this can impact on future teaching, learning and assessment.
AI tools like Gamma, Magic School, and Reading Coach could really improve teaching and learning in my classroom. Gamma can help me create presentations and resources quickly which saves me time and makes lessons more visual for the children. Magic School can support lesson planning and generate creative ideas or activities that I can adapt for 2nd class whether doing in class support or small group withdrawal, reducing my workload. Microsoft Reading Coach is especially useful for literacy and I think will work really well in learning support or a SEN classroom as it gives children the opportunity to engage in personalised reading practice with instant feedback helping them to build confidence at their own pace. The main challenges would be ensuring I have enough training and devices available to use these tools effectively and making sure all children have fair access. Overall, these AI tools could make lessons more engaging, assessments more targeted and learning more fun for the children.

[Claudia Forde]

I agree with David , the potential for AI within the school environment outweighs the negatives. AI will allow the teacher the opportunity to cater for a more personalised learning approach for the child . I am looking forward to exploring Immersive Reader with some of my SEN students this year.

[Claudia Forde]

Based on what you have learned in this module, how do you think AI can transform the teaching and learning experience in your classroom? Provide specific examples and potential benefits and discuss any challenges you might face in implementing AI tools.

AI can transform teaching and learning by reducing the teacher’s workload and making learning more interactive while aligning it with the technology children encounter outside the classroom as a result of this it increases student engagement in their own learning. Using AI tools such Dream Space, Teachable Machine, Microsoft Azure, and Minecraft Education can transform the classroom by making learning interactive, personalised and fun. I had never considered using Minecraft in the classroom and didn’t know an education version was available. I can see many instances in how this AI app could be incorporated into my teaching and learning for example in SESE children could be learning about sustainability and then use Minecraft to design a sustainable village or if studying various countries using Microsoft Dream Space maybe create famous landmarks in conjunction with project work on a particular country. The benefits of using AI in the classroom are that you are appealing to the child’s world, they live in a technological society and by including AI we are enhancing their engagement, creativity and hands on learning in the classroom. There will however be challenges ensuring that each child has access to an ipad or laptop, ensuring proper guidance and also the requirement of extra staff until children become familiar with the programmes they are using.

[Claudia Forde]

I would have previously spent a long time preparing differentiated worksheets for different learning groups or individual students within the groups or searching google or twinkl to find a resource that suited my cohort however over the last year I have begun to use AI to create more personalised worksheets such as decodable texts that focus on the sounds we have learned or are learning and that include the children’s names and some interests and they love reading them. I then can also use these resources for comprehension activities .

[Claudia Forde]

Reflect on the potential classroom use of AI tools and how this can impact on future teaching, learning and assessment.

I am of the opinion that AI can have both a positive and negative impact on the future of teaching and learning. In the short term the benefits outweigh the negatives however there are many implications for the the long term which need to be considered and monitored.

In the short term AI is extremely beneficial to the teacher as it can make the day to day teaching more efficient and effective by creating tasks which previously would have been time consuming. Examples of these are worksheet generators, quizzes, drafting lesson plans and supporting a more personalised learning approach by suggesting learning targets for support plans . However in the long term AI could bring some challenges the most obvious being the over reliance on technology and students losing the ability to research or to think for themselves. There is also the worry for the future of the teacher in society, will teachers begin to lose there autonomy and in turn there will be loss of human connection , problem solving skills and important social relationships between the student and the teacher .

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