[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Anne Marie,

Thank you for sharing this reflection with us here. I think many people would be in a similar boat with regards to their use of AI being confined largely to Chat GPT. Whilst you can get so much from this already, the additional tools you mentioned offer so much to teachers in terms of transferring the content generated by a LLM into digestible formats for use with children in our classroom. AI is often sold as having the potential to reduce our workload – these apps and websites often go the extra mile and further help us to have personalised lessons ready for children, whilst also looking after some of the presentation of this.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Keara,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on how so many of the Workspace tools could be integrated into the science task. The tabs feature is a really useful feature of both Google and Office 365, but is somewhat of a hidden gem that we don’t often think of using. The creation of an effective administration system when naming files and saving them to folders is also so important – indeed, enlisting the help of Geminin could be beneficial for suggestions in how to do this.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Joann,

Thank you for sharing this with us her. I think we all could benefit from enlisting the assistance of your AI-generated ‘classroom helper’. However, this is a perfect example of how children can see and learn how AI works and the development involved in training such a model. At the senior end, children could look at ways in which the model could be tricked or fooled, which would be a perfect example of the need for a critical eye when analysing AI generated content and how we can’t just immediately believe everyone we see or read.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Joann,

Thank you for sharing this with us her. I think we all could benefit from enlisting the assistance of your AI-generated ‘classroom helper’. However, this is a perfect example of how children can see and learn how AI works and the development involved in training such a model. At the senior end, children could look at ways in which the model could be tricked or fooled, which would be a perfect example of the need for a critical eye when analysing AI generated content and how we can’t just immediately believe everyone we see or read.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Monita,

Thank you for your post here and your engagement throughout the course. So many of these websites and apps have such potential for assisting children with literacy difficulties. It’s great that you have been able to list so many resources that you will be able to use from September, as well as the ways you plan to use them. Providing children with alternative means of accessing curriculum content and progressing at their own pace is such an important part of our role, and you have identified so many ways in which this could be achieved.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Colm,

Thanks for this post and welcome to the course. You are correct to point out the links between local and global issues, and development education is a great cross-curricular tool which can be a vehicle for developing these skills in our children. I really like how you have highlighted such a variety of subject areas in which you would integrate development education themes. This is key to its success – it is not something that is necessarily a ‘standalone lesson’, but rather something that permeates so much of what we do and builds in a gradual and incremental fashion.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Aine,

Thanks for sharing these thoughts with us here. I think what people often don’t realise is the impact that global actions can have locally, with the same working vice versa. The reference to the ESD to 2030 is interesting – would it be possible to share some more about Priority Action Area 5, or the link to the document, for those on the forum who may like to learn more on this?

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I agree that a template deck can be a really god starting point and teaching tool. Whilst allowing children free reign to design and create their own presentation may be useful, it can often be overwhelming for some who may struggle to get started, or others who become overly focused on the aesthetics over content. Your suggestion would also make assessment of the piece of work much more manageable. Having a space where a selected image would go/a small text box for a certain theme can allow you to ascertain at a glance whether the children have achieved the learning goals of the lesson/unit and allow you to plan next steps accordingly.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Sinead,

Your post has really hit on a wider point that many children (and adults alike) are guilty of. Checking the validity and reliability of information is essential. We can all too often believe things that we see or read all too quickly. Indeed, social media algorithms can often lead us down this path. Rumours often begin to circulate and are forwarded/shared and become recognised as truth. Teaching children from an early age about the importance of checking information, analysing whether it seems plausible and identifying ways in which to corroborate information is so important for learners to become ethical and responsible users of AI and other technologies.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Margaret,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the course. It’s great to hear that you have had such a positive experience of using AI to assist you in your work over the last year. I would often say that AI tools (like Chat GPT) will give many good ideas and suggestions, but also provide a number of unworkable and non-developmentally appropriate suggestions, The role of the teacher is to use our knowledge of the subject area, pedagogical approaches and the children in our class/caseload to select the most appropriate ones for our context – in some cases small tweaks may also help. Other AI tools which you will see during this course may be beneficial for creating more aesthetically pleasing classroom resources to go with the language outputs.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for your contribution here. I was listening to a researcher arguing around ‘important’ things for young learners to know in 2026 and how the dial has shifted so much in recent times. Skills like spelling and arithmetic, whilst undoubtedly still important, probably don’t carry the same weight they may have years ago. Advances in technology mean full mastery of these skills is not fully essential for functioning in work/education. However, discernible skills such as ethical use of AI, critically analysing sources for credibility and data literacy are areas we really need to master to function in the workplaces and education centres of the future. What’s so important, and you have alluded to it in your post, is that this is done in an age and developmentally appropriate manner.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Shane,

Thank you for providing this overview. What strikes me is how you have managed to use a collection of AI tools to create learning experiences on the same theme across different curricular areas. In doing so, you have also been able to account for different needs in your class through the creation of comprehension pieces, which can be differentiated to suit the children you tech. Being able to create this so seamlessly through a couple of carefully constructed prompts really shows the power of AI and the potential it has for assisting teacher workload and improving learner experiences.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Claudia,

Thank you for your post. What strikes me around the benefits of AI tools that you have identified is how well they link with the principles of UDL. By creating engaging visual presentations, you are adding a layer of both representation and engagement, very much in keeping with Tom Tobin’s ‘plus one’ approach. Of course, the access to devices is essential for children to engage with these tools, but you have shown how one teacher device and account can be used to create a more engaging and accessible learning environment.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Orla,

Thank you for your comments and for sharing your Forms quiz with us. This is a perfect example of a quick and easy to complete assessment. If this assessment was distributed through Google Classroom, the grades would automatically import and you could get an insight into individual performances and compare this to class averages, etc. For classes without Google accounts, question 1 could be a drop down menu where they select their own name to enable you to keep track of how each child is doing.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for this overview. It is clear that you have started with a specific child and need in mind and used your knowledge of digital and assistive tools to create a plan to assist them. The literacy support is particularly effective as the assistive tools chosen allow them to participate in both reading and writing lessons, while working on oral language development in the process.

[Author]

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