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Thanks for sharing your thoughts on climate change, Ciara. It’s clear that the local effects of climate change in your locality of Cork have really impacted local communities there, and you are making great efforts to connect those real-world issues with your own teaching. I like your ideas for engaging pupils because they make the issue relevant and personal. Having your class interview an older person to compare weather patterns over time is a great way to show the pupils that climate change isn’t just a distant concept but that it’s something that’s already part of their local history. Studying local flooding and its impact on the locality is also a powerful way to make this topic more relevant to the children in your class.
Welcome to the course, and thanks for sharing your thoughts. You have given a great reflection on the role of assistive technologies and how they can benefit our teaching. You rightly point out that they’re all about equity. By leveling the playing field, these tools give every student a fair shot at learning. That’s a key goal for all of us as teachers. You’re also right that these technologies can make it easier for us to spot a student’s strengths and areas where they might be struggling. I also like your point about the “low tech” tools we use every day without even thinking about them. Mini whiteboards and visual timetables are perfect examples of simple, effective tools that can make a huge difference in the classroom. I have made great use of these myself over the years as an SEN teacher.
Thanks for your post, Laura, and welcome to the course. It’s clear that you have a great understanding of how digital tools can transform a classroom.
You’ve outlined the key benefits really well, e.g., making lessons more interactive and personal, which is so important for keeping pupils engaged. I agree that using tools like Google Workspace for Education for things like collaborative documents and presentations is a fantastic way to foster active engagement and involvement from your class. The real-time feedback is also great, as it helps children learn from each other and from their teacher in a much more meaningful and immediate way.
Hi Laura
Thanks for your contributions to the course so far and for sharing some thoughts and ideas on how you might use AI tools with your 6th class. I agree that Magic School AI is a fantastic selection of tools that can simplify a lot of teacher tasks and give teachers more time to focus on the important part of teaching, such as planning and delivering meaningful learning experiences. Your idea to use the social stories generator is an excellent one. The transition from primary to secondary school can be a big step for any student, but for those with ASD, it can be particularly challenging. Creating personalized social stories to help them prepare is a fantastic, proactive way to ease their worries and give them a clearer picture of what to expect
Hi Petrer
As a former SET I can vouch for Immersive Reader. The Immersive Reader tool can make content so much more inclusive for pupils with visual impairments, specific learning difficulties, and for users who find concentration and focus difficult. I have found that the Read Aloud function is also great for proofreading, as it will read aloud exactly what the child has typed, allowing them to audibly spot grammar and spelling mistakes. It’s a must-use tool for all teachers and is a fantastic example of how digital technologies can be used to enhance learning.
Brisk looks like a fantastic tool for automating some key classroom tasks. There is a handy free Chrome extension that makes it easy to use. I love that it has over 20 built-in AI prompts to automate key tasks like creating lesson plans, quiz questions, and presentations
Hi Rebecca
You have outlined some very practical ways that you can use Khan Academy Kids as a teaching and learning resource in your class. Khan is a very individualised programme where the child can work at their own level to further understand a concept or catch up on missed topics. It can also be used to challenge the early finishers!
Hi Ronan
Welcome to the course. You make some very good points in relation to AI and education. As you say, despite the many concerns around AI, these tools do give us great means to personalise and individulaise learning for all pupils regardless of abilities. If used judiciously, then it has the potential to be a brilliant resource for teachers and learners alike. I hope you learn a lot from the various modules that you can embed into your future classroom practice.
Your SETT plan seems very appropriate, Ciara, for your dyslexic student. Assessing the child’s specific strengths and weaknesses is so important before jumping in with various approaches and resources. In this case you selected appropriate and beneficial tools to target your students’ issues with decoding and spelling.
Magic School sounds like a great tool to use with your class. It seems to be very popular in schools at the moment. I particularly like your idea of having children working in pairs first. That collaborative approach not only helps students learn from each other but also takes some of the pressure off the weaker student.
The Croi na Scoile program is an excellent idea, Niamh. The celebration of events and cultural traditions from different parts of the world plays a crucial role in Global Education. The program enables children to discover that the world is a diverse place while revealing the fundamental connections that also exist between all people.
Your analysis of Immersive Reader matches exactly what I have found from using this brilliant resource. The tool, which is part of MS Teams and the Edge browser, is a powerful resource that makes reading accessible for all children. The key features of text-to-speech reading, word syllable breakdown, and spacing adjustment create huge improvements in learning accessibility for children who might struggle otherwise.
Your analysis of Immersive Reader matches exactly what I have found from using this brilliant resource. The tool, which is part of MS Teams and the Edge browser, is a powerful resource that makes reading accessible for all children. The key features of text-to-speech reading, word syllable breakdown, and spacing adjustment create huge improvements in learning accessibility for children who might struggle otherwise.
The point about teachers being lifelong learners, especially in a SET position, is very true, Nieves. This is an important part of using digital technologies in the classroom. The pace of change in technology is incredible, and what works today might be outdated tomorrow. It is always important to stay current, keep up with the latest approaches, and make sure that your students have access to the best possible tools and technologies.
