[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Aidan,

Thanks for your engagement throughout the course. The ‘line focus’ is a really nice feature for use within Immersive Reader. While the physical tinted rulers may do the same for children with dyslexia, it can often make them stand out as having difficulties. However, if all children are using devices, this is not the case. Indeed, it is very likely that this feature could prove helpful for a larger number of children, including those with no diagnosed literacy issues.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Carmel,

Thanks for your post. The Office 365 suite of resources very much lends itself to a whole-school approach that may be brought about through SSE. The suite of apps and resources can be used across a variety of means from teaching to learning to administration, meaning that any of the LAOS domains could be considered as a key focus. Whilst the breadth that Office 365 is a positive, it may be beneficial to focus on its one for one of the above purposes for the first year or two to allow everyone get accustomed to this as a way of working.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi April,

Thanks for your post and I’m delighted to hear that you are looking forward to giving Immersive Reader a try over the coming year. It is a really amazing assistive tool that allow a children engage with reading material they otherwise would not be able to. This allows children who may have a specific literacy difficulty to access content at a similar level to the rest of the class, as they may be quite adept at responding orally or in other ways.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Lisa,

You are absolutely right to identify the potential use of AI for the construction of SMART targets that can be placed in a child’s school support plan. I know myself that it is often very difficult to ‘word’ your targets to ensure they are SMART, despite often having a very good idea of what you want to achieve over the course of the plan. In putting a general target and asking for specific SMART targets would be a very good use of Chat GPT, Gemini, etc. I find the speech to text really useful and time-saving for constructing prompts like this and might be worth consideration.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Daniel,

Thank you for sharing how you wish to use the selected AI tools. What has been great about the contributions on this forum is the variety of tools selected, with the primary reason being the desire to meet the needs of individual children. It is fair to say that tools like AI Translation for YouTube will be far more suitable in your context than in an classroom with no EAL learners.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Maria,

Thank you for outlining so clearly some of the benefits and challenges around AI integration in our classrooms. The point you have brought up around cost as a potential barrier is particularly interesting. Whilst there are many free versions of different software available, we are beginning to see so much of this excellent content being put behind a paywall. It may be the case that even the free version of Chat GPT for example becomes so inferior to the paid version that we almost feel like the paid version will be essential. This is something I have noticed around the length of time that it takes to create an image lately, which is something to be cognisant of.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Lina,

Thank for your post. It is remarkable to see how many people on this forum are sharing similar experiences around the prevalence of subconscious gender stereotyping. It really is something that becomes rooted from a very early age through toy production, marketing, baby clothes, etc. The use of picturebooks is a highly effective strategy in tackling sensitive issues in a way that removes the people from the situation. I have often used them to explore issues of bullying, isolation, etc. where the children themselves are not involved and they can comment and discuss the content in a different context. This may also be useful for tackling gender issues.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Grace,

Welcome to the course and thank you for this post. As educators and parents, you are correct to point out that we often try to shield children from some of the horrific events occurring around the world. Whilst this undoubtedly comes from a good place, you are right to question if it is the right thing to do. Can we expect children to grow into adults who truly wish to prevent inequalities, both locally and globally, if they have no experience of what is happening in the world and how we are all connected as global citizens. The subsequent modules may provide some thought-provoking content on certain themes in this regard.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Melanie,

Thank you for this contribution. I think your post has highlighted the central benefits and limitations of AI in a classroom context very succinctly. AI does offer us the opportunities to create learning experiences that will challenge all children at their current level. However, I love how you have pointed out that it is not simply about sourcing content and letting them at it. To be able to include the child in the overall classroom learning in this context requires the skill of the teacher and the ability to marry their pedagogical knowledge, the needs of the children and the content that has been created.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Orlaith,

Thanks for your post and for raising the importance of overing this SDG with our children. You have alluded to the direct and indirect consequences of climate change and this could be a really interesting take to explore with the children in our classes. While we thankfully don’t suffer from devastation droughts or extreme events like the recent Russian earthquake, there are still many ways in which Irish people and their livelihoods are affected by this.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Niamh,

Thanks for your post here. I am sure by the end of the course you will have experienced a range of AT tools that you may find useful to mix with your pedagogical approaches in class. The SETT framework is a really useful tool to have in mind and can complement a child’s school support plan. Seeing a case study is often the catalyst we need to be able to apply it to our own classes and contexts.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Ciara,

Thanks for your post. I think this SDG might strike a chord for many. Poverty is a word that is generally considered to be referring to the plight of people living in third-world countries. However, poverty is a very real issue in all communities in Ireland. It is likely that the majority of classrooms will have children living in poverty in some instances. The surging prices of groceries, childcare, housing and rents has led many individuals to have to make decisions around what they can and cannot buy. Recent surveys around the ‘back to school’ costs have heightened this further and show that a huge financial burden on families can cause them to live some aspects of their lives in poverty. Exploring the wider definition of the word is something that may be very beneficial.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Kevin,

I think all children in our classes would have first hand experience of this SDG in relation to food waste. Some schools who are already signed up to the ‘hot lunches’ scheme have also noted that this is one of the major problems and concerns they have noted. Too often we can throw out perfectly edible food for the sake of convenience – the recent recall of various food products could also be something to explore in terms of production and consumption of processed foods which moves beyond this specific SDG, but could warrant exploration.

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Luke,

Thanks for your post and for sharing your thoughts on the SDG relating to climate change. The final module of this course will also explore this theme through the context of development education. The installation of solar panels offers an ideal opportunity to explore this aspect of renewable energy in schools – indeed, it is likely that many teachers will be unaware of the potential savings that can come from their use in school, and also in their own homes. Apps are available to track how much energy has been generated each day and this may be useful to explore as it would allow children to correlate the factors that present for greater energy generation (outside of the obvious factor of sunlight).

[Eoghan O’Neill]

Hi Anthony,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your post here. You have spoken so clearly about the specific benefits you can see in your classroom through the teacher’s use of AI to create resources and learning experiences that are more personalised to individual learner needs. International tests like PISA and TIMSS show Ireland have fewer learners scoring both notably low and notably high. Our traditional methods of teaching to the middle and attempting to provide scaffolds and support to build those struggling up has been effective in this regard. However, AI tools now offer us the opportunity to easily differentiate content and ideas to ensure all children, including those of high academic ability, are challenged appropriately.

[Author]

Posts