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I completely agree with your point about blending digital literacy and AI into subjects like history. It is a great way to make learning more meaningful and helps pupils see technology as something they can use creatively across the curriculum.
You made a really good point about the need to teach some digital skills on their own at first. If we start this in the junior classes, it gives pupils a strong foundation that can be built on as they move up through the school. Repetition and progression are key.
I also agree with you on the need for more CPD for teachers. The pace of change in digital tools can be overwhelming, and it is hard to stay up to date. The worries around safety and confidence are very real. Teachers want to use these tools but need support to feel secure doing it. Using the SSE process to plan a structured approach could really help schools manage this in a practical way.
Part 1
It is clear that AI is going to play in our students’ futures. It’s already part of their world, whether they realise it or not. From the games they play to how they search for things online. That’s why I want to introduce AI into my teaching in a way that feels fun, engaging and useful.
I plan to start small, using things like AI chatbots to help with storytelling or letting students use voice-to-text tools to support their writing. These are simple ways to get pupils familiar with AI while developing their creativity and digital skills. I also think AI can really help children with additional needs by offering more personalised support.
Going forward, I hope to work closely with colleagues so we can learn from each other and create a school-wide culture that embraces AI in a positive and ethical way. Where it can make our jobs easier, by reducing paper work and students learning more successful by creating more perosnalised learning.
Part 2
Class Level Fifth or Sixth Class
Subject English with links to SPHE and Digital Literacy
Time 60 minutes
Topic Let’s Create a Story with AILearning Goals
Learn what AI is and what a chatbot does
Use an AI tool to help create a short story
Think about what the AI got right or wrong
Talk about how to use AI in a fair and safe wayResources Needed
Tablets or laptops with internet access
A safe AI chatbot like ChatGPT or Twinkl’s Ari
Story starter worksheetLesson Steps
1. Introduction
Begin with a quick chat about where students have come across AI before. Mention things like Siri, YouTube suggestions or voice assistants. Keep it relaxed and ask for examples.2. Teacher demonstration
Show the class how a chatbot works by creating a funny short story live. Ask the class to give you a setting or character ideas to type in and see what the AI comes up with.3. Pair activity
Pupils work in pairs to come up with their own short stories using the AI tool and a story starter prompt. They can then edit the text to add their own ideas or make improvements.4. Sharing and reflection
Ask a few pairs to read out what they made. Discuss what parts the AI did well and what needed fixing. Was anything strange or surprising in the story?5. Conclusion
Finish by talking about how AI doesn’t always get everything right. Ask them to write one thing they learned about AI today and how it might help with learning.That sounds like a brilliant way to structure the week! I love how you’ve balanced direct teaching with the use of Khan Academy as a support tool rather than a replacement. I didn’t realise it had resources across so many subjects either. It sounds like a great way to keep things fresh and engaging. The Friday games idea is especially nice to keep motivation across the week.
One AI application I would introduce to my pupils is Teachable Machine by Google. It is very easy to use and a great way to help children understand how AI learns from information. I would start by chatting with the class about what they think AI is and where they have seen it before, like smart speakers, video suggestions or talking toys. Then I would show them how Teachable Machine lets us teach a computer using pictures, sounds or movements.
In pairs or small groups, pupils could train the machine to recognise different objects or actions, like waving or holding up a book. After trying it out, we would talk about how many examples it needed to learn, and why it sometimes gets things wrong. This would lead nicely into a discussion about fairness, mistakes in AI, and how people still need to guide and check what AI does. It is a fun way to show that AI is not magic, it just learns in a different way and needs clear and careful input to improve.
Really liked your thoughts on the CoPilot Image Creator. Such a fun way to get kids thinking about adjectives and character descriptions. Flipping it and getting them to write prompts from images is a great idea too. Totally agree that it makes writing feel a lot more modern and engaging.
Reading Coach sounds brilliant for one to one work, especially with SET. Shame about the Microsoft accounts, but the idea of it recording them reading is great for motivation and feedback.
Speaker Coach and its link with PowerPoint is a clever touch. Kids would definitely enjoy getting that kind of instant feedback. And yes, Twee and Gamma seem like handy tools for making class resources quicker and easier. All round, great tech ideas!
This module was so informative and gave a wide range of websites/applications to use within the classroom, all of which I am excited to use in the classroom.
One of the first tools that stood out to me was Copilot Image creator, which can be used for descriptive writing, encouraging the students to give the more detail.
I also was very impressed with the Gamma and its ability to create presentations on any topic. This will save so much admin time but also enable teachers to made more engaging lessons and give them the ability to cater more to each class as their interests can be taken into effect and new presentations made instantly.
Finally , Diffit. What a wonderful resource to makes worksheets, this will help cut down time but also make more interesting and engaging work for students that will be both tailored to their interests and abilty.
I agree that chat bots are a great resource with the potential to save us so much admin time, as long as they are used correctly. This is where our experience and professionalism is essential.
I too was taken back by the Chinese video, this seems an extreme side of AI in education and I don’t think this amount of pressure can be good for children, I would be worried about the social and emotional implications of such implementations of technology.
Through this module I have learned of many different AI applications that I had before and I am excited to try them out.
Immersive reader:
I have worked as a SET teacher for the past three years and therefore have loads of experience working with students with Dyslexia. Immersive reader seems like an incredible resource that could help my students immensely. The challenge would be that not all students have access to a computer, in my experience only students in the bottom percentiles of Dyslexia get access to a Assistive technology. Our school does have a set of laptops and Ipads but these are shared over the whole school.
Microsoft Dreamspace TV – I am on the STEM team in school and I would love to introduce Dreamspace into our school. We have morning meetings every morning across the school, I think the weekly challenge could be integrated in this time. It would also be an amazing resource for STEM week.
CoPilot – Seeing how effective Co Pilot can be for lesson planning excites me. The ‘blank page’ problem is a thing of the past. This can save teachers so much admin time, which is always a positive in my opinion.
In the beginning I has a similar outlook as James, I was worried how students would use AI to cheat. However, if used correctly we can teach students how to use it to help them self assess their work and further their progress. The time we save using AI while planning we can use to think of more innovative ways to assess students, where they cant use AI chat bots to cheat but as a tool to deepen their learning and research.
I have always been interested in new technology both in my personal and work life. I have worked abroad for years, where Ipads were used daily in our classrooms. I was introduced to Google Classroom, Google sites , Google Docs and used them as tools to help students learn. I was amazed with how much they could achieve in such a short period of time.
Over the past year, I have been amazed at how much AI has helped me in my personal life and have always wondered how it could help in my classroom. I was so excited to see this course come up and even after module one I have heard of sites I have not before. I knew of chat bots and how they could help with lesson plans but I did not know of image sites like Midjourney and image FX or AI Audio like vidnoz and Pictory. The talking image of Einstein had me hooked and I know this could be great to use in the classroom to hook students attention, maybe using images of their favourite sports stars or celebrities.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night
Artwork
- Adam Elsheimer, The Flight into Egypt
- Joseph Wright of Derby, Vesuvius in Eruption
- J. M. W. Turner, Fishermen at Sea
Songs
- “Blue Ridge Mountain Sky” by The Marshall Tucker Band
- “Airplanes” by B.o.B
- “Look Up at the Stars” by Shawn Mendes
- “Watching the Night Sky” by Blaze Bayley
- “Clear Night Sky” by La Luz
Thanks for giving such a varied examples of how to inspire the night sky. I had even forgotten that Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is one of the first rhymes young children learn and brings reflecting on the night sky into their lives from the very beginning!
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
We have been very lucky that we have moved schools this year, we are now located near a local pond and stream. We have been able to create a green house and have started a vegetable patch. All of these give great opportunities to explore biodiversity with my learners.
- First, I would ask students to map our school grounds, adding in the different plants.
- Next, time we would go out and explore the wild life we see, through a bug walk and we would use the umbrella trick for shrubs and trees. We would add these to our plant map.
- Finally, we would go out again, but now focus on light pollution. Can we map the light pollution. Can we build shields to protect biodiversity. We could discuss with the caretaker about ensuring lights are off when not needed.
- I would then take the learning outside the school grounds. During the next two lessons we would go to the local pond and follow out the same steps, first mapping the plants and then the animals. We are very lucky to have swans and ducks at our pond.
- We would take note of the light pollution. Can we do something about it? Contact the local council to ask for light shields? Make a petition to ask for lights to be switched off when not needed, could sensors be applied for example?
