Interactive Display Board with Makey Makey: Engaging Science Project

Have you ever scrambled to find that perfect end-of-year project that both supports your curriculum and sparks creativity in your students? This year, I found myself in that exact position, and guess what? A bit of brainstorming and a slinky led me to an amazing solution: an interactive display using a Makey Makey with digital ‘hot spots’! Intrigued? Let me break it down for you.

What’s a Makey Makey?

For those unfamiliar with the Makey Makey, imagine a mini-remote control that commandeers certain components of your computer’s keyboard. It’s incredibly easy to use and connects to a PC with a simple USB cable. Now, I know the appearance might seem a bit intimidating, but trust me, it’s straightforward and perfect for integrating into your STEAM initiatives or any other classroom projects.

A quick visit to the Joylabz website reveals dozens of fun ideas for using this gadget—from creating a banana piano (yes, you read that right) to making a playdoh remote control. Essentially, you plug the Makey Makey into a PC, connect alligator clips to it and then to something conductive (like playdoh or fruit), and voilà! That item becomes your computer’s new controller. For more creative uses, check out the Makey Makey Blog!

The Project Details

This year, we tackled the Next Generation Science Standard 4-PS4-1: Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and how waves can cause objects to move. While we’d done a lot of modeling throughout the year, I wanted a fresh, interactive approach. Enter the Makey Makey.

We created an interactive board, akin to a hands-on museum display. By touching ‘hot spots’ on the board, users could reveal information and interact with elements explaining different wave components. Here’s an example of one student’s final project:

Interactive Display Board for Waves

Interactive Display Board for Waves

For each ‘hot spot’, students designed slides in Canva that popped up when touched, explaining each section of the board. Our project included six total slides and six total hot spots. The students marked ‘click here’ areas with brass fasteners that, when touched, displayed information about waves. We included items like a rubber band, slinky, and flashlight to help illustrate different types of waves.

We used Snap for the coding part—an easy choice since no login was required, and students could save and reload their code as needed. The coding directions were simple: six control blocks connected to six costume blocks, each telling the computer to show an image when a key was pressed. The ‘key’ was the brass fastener hot spot connected to the Makey Makey.

Providing Clear Directions

One critical aspect of this project was providing clear, detailed directions. This year, I’ve been using guided diagrams for all our models to give students a better understanding of project setup. Here’s a glimpse of the directions I provided for the Makey Makey project:

CLICK HERE TO GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT GUIDE

Why You Should Try It

The best part about a project like this? It’s adaptable to any content area! Whether you’re teaching science, history, or even language arts, incorporating Makey Makey can bring your lessons to life. Give it a try—you won’t regret it!

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Integrate AI Guidelines into Your Class Syllabus: Essential Tips for This Year

It’s quite possible that THIS upcoming school year IS the year we see the greatest use of AI in our classrooms. As such, finding a way to integrate AI Guidelines into your class syllabus will be more important than ever! Below are some essential tips for this year as you prepare your classroom for AI integration.

The Emergence of AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged on the scene in 2023 and has done nothing but grow exponentially; both in awareness and in use. With that, of course, comes the discovery of AI by students. AI’s presence on our classrooms is becoming more and more a reality and is something we certainly can’t bury our heads in the sand to avoid.

Let’s be honest, students have discovered AND are likely using AI in many ways that we don’t realize. Efforts to take short cuts on school work are nothing new. Students have had access to Google search engines for a long time now to help them find information. Using AI as a support is a natural progression. The fear is, however, that students will become overly reliant on AI tools and will not develop the skills they need to be successful.

Developing Guidelines

With the knowledge that AI is omnipresent, it’s time to develop and integrate AI guidelines into your class syllabus. These expectations are IMPORTANT for our students. I recommend starting at the beginning of the year addressing this head on. Below is a hand-out that you can use to have the AI conversation with your students so they understand what is considered acceptable use and what is not.

Integrate AI guidelines into your class syllabus this year with this helpful dos and don'ts.
Get a pdf of the Ethical Use Guidelines

Ideas for Developing AI Guidelines for Your Syllabus

Creating AI guidelines for your syllabus involves several steps, from understanding the basics of AI to integrating specific tools and ethical considerations. Here are some essential tips to get started.

Start with the Basics

Before diving into complex AI topics, ensure that your students have a solid understanding of the basics. This includes fundamental concepts such as machine learning, neural networks, and data science. Providing a foundational knowledge base will make it easier for students to grasp more advanced topics later on.

Incorporate AI Tools and Resources

Identify AI tools and resources that are relevant to your subject matter. This could include software for data analysis, AI-powered tutoring systems, or platforms that use machine learning to enhance learning experiences. Integrate these tools into your syllabus and provide students with hands-on opportunities to explore them.

Emphasize Ethical Considerations

AI comes with significant ethical considerations, including issues related to privacy, bias, and accountability. It is essential to educate students about these ethical implications and encourage critical thinking. Include discussions on ethical AI practices and case studies that highlight both the benefits and potential pitfalls of AI.

Syllabus Example

A few years ago, I migrated to a Digital Syllabus. This is simply a Google Slide deck that was published to the Web through the Share option. I then provided that link to the students on Google Classroom that gives them access to a view only version of the syllabus. The slide deck is in forced presentation mode so they can click the sections on the side to jump to specific sections of the syllabus. For our first day, we do a Syllabus Scavenger Hunt through Boom Learning cards that has them search for specific items in the syllabus (to ensure they’ve actually looked at it!).

New school years present both opportunities and challenges. By developing and implementing these ideas, you can integrate these AI guidelines into your syllabus, you can maximize the benefits of AI while addressing potential risks.

Start with the basics and ensure students use AI responsibly and effectively, fostering critical thinking and ethical awareness.

With these preparations, we can guide students through this evolving landscape, making this school year a transformative and successful one and of course, one where you’re ✨Usng Your Smarticles✨

If you’re looking to learn MORE about using AI in YOUR classroom by reading Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Educators. This guide BY a teacher FOR teachers will take you step-by-step through EVERYTHING you need to know to successfully prompt and use AI tools!!

Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers
The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers

5 Tips for Guiding Students Through PHET and other Simulator Tools

If you’re a science teacher you know that there are simply some concepts that cannot be shared or visualized by students without the support of a simulation. Fortunately, there are MANY available simulator tools (some FREE and some subscription based) that can support your instructional efforts. <For an exploration of OTHER simulation tools, see this previous post on digital simulations> For me, my go to simulator tools are located on PHET. PHET stands for Physics Education Technology as the concept for these simulator tools was originally developed in 2002 as a project at the University of Boulder in Colorado to improve the way science is taught and learned.

The primary reason I like using PHET simulator tools is the fact that it is free, but secondary to that is the fact that it provides easy access, supports explaining concepts simply, no log-in is required, the simulator tools are well thought out and are they are easy to manipulate.

If you’ve never explored PHET, here’s a link to their catalog of simulator tools. It can be filtered by content area and grade level, When my students are working with a Phet simulation, I like to provide a digital guide sheet for students to reference as they work their way through the simulation. These guide sheets contain directions, opportunities for reflection and comprehension questions. The tips below, are based on the use of a digital resources, however, they can also be implemented on a printable worksheet in conjunction with a LMS (Learning Management System).

Here are 5 tips for guiding students through PHET and other simulator tools:

1. Provide Visual Directions

When developing guide sheets for student, actively snip sections of the simulation and embed them into the digital worksheet. I find that it truly helps guide students towards activating the correct settings in a simulation before they engage. These tiny images provide students with a visual support, rather than simply using text, when guiding them through the simulation task and are especially helpful for students requiring additional support. Here’s an couple of examples:

Tips for using Simulator Tools in your classroom

This strategy is also extremely effective when you need students to create something, specifically like the circuit they need to design in the case above, and they need a model or guide of what you’re expecting them to create. If you haven’t discovered the remove.bg website, it does a great job of quickly and easily removing any background color to make the images look even BETTER on your page.

2. Encourage Note and Notice Opportunities

Encourage students to record what they note and notice (or notice and wonder) as they interact with the simulation to support more exploration and discovery rather than a recipe of directions. I usually give students a specific number of elements to notice as it’s sometimes difficult to get them to record a large quantity of discoveries. Enumerating the requirements forces students to play with the simulation in greater depth and in the end facilitates more discovery.

One way to support the NGSS Cross Cutting concepts is to provide students with a specific directive about their note and notice statements. I will often have them write using an IF/THEN format (to support cause/effect) so that I can see that they were writing about their discoveries within the simulation and not just commenting on formatting or on aspects of the simulation not related to the learning objectives.

3. Have Students Snip and Share

Have students use the snipping tool to snip and share their explorations, designs and discoveries with you. This is a great way to assess students’ learning experiences. In many of the simulations there are opportunities for students to create/connect items. I usually allow space on my digital worksheets for students to insert their ‘snippped’ creations.

Tips for using Simulator Tools in your classroom

4. Provide a Screencast

Screencast and record a short video snippet of how to set up the simulation and share a link to that screencast on the student guide sheet. This can be a brief, non-narrated scene demonstrating where students need to click or what they need to drag and drop, etc. There are many FREE screen casting tools available such as Screencastify. This strategy is great for providing directions to students with special needs and/or students that are not present for in class instructions.

Tips for using Simulator Tools in your classroom

5. Insert Direct Links

Include a direct link to the simulation on the guide sheet that you provide to students or provide direct links to supplemental information that students might need to make their learning experience more successful. This can include definitions, concepts, small explanatory videos, etc.

Undoubtedly, PHET simulations allow educators a way to introduce and reinforce skills that might be otherwise unapproachable. With these tips you’ll be better able to support independent student use and more exploration rather than running around restating directions and explaining expectations and that, of course, is ✨Using Your Smarticles✨

5 Tips for the NGSS Modeling Practice

NGSS modeling can be tricky! If you are an educator that has adopted the Next Generation Science Standards, you have undoubtedly, along with way, encountered the Science and Engineering Practice of NGSS Modeling. And no, this is not a ‘sashay down the runway’ type of modeling, but rather it is dynamic representation of a student’s understanding of an event, system or process. Ultimately they should be a tool used by students for sensemaking relative to the phenomenon that they are investigating. Models can take many forms, including

  • Diagrams
  • Simulations
  • Replicas
  • Equations
  • Physical Models

As I’ve now worked with NGSS and created NGSS Modeling for over five years (even through the no-touch Covid times) I’ve dabbled in a variety of strategies for getting quality models out of my students. I’ve tried many strategies, refined those strategies, and have finally landed on a strategy that allows students to generate a quality model that can contribute to their own learning.

In this post, I’ll share with you 5 tips for working with the Science and Engineering Practice (SEP) of modeling to get better quality and more effective models from your students.

Tip #1: Large Paper

I went down the digital road with NGSS modeling, implementing Jamboard (RIP) models and using Google Draw (especially during Covid), and I voyaged back to paper modeling for a number of reasons. What I found was that the technical barrier of digital design was enough that students weren’t focused on the end result of having a sensemaking tool, but rather they were getting lost in the designing component, and in many cases, getting frustrated by it too.

For modeling I’ve been using an 11 X 17 sized sheet of paper. Our copy machines support this size paper too which allows me to frontload some basic components on the page which I’ll address in Strategy #2.

Tip #2: Pre-Print Select Images

Using an 11X17 size sheet of paper comes with the added benefit of that size paper can easily be printed on using a standard copy machine. That being the case, it allows me to ‘front load’ images onto the page that might be a barrier to students putting forth the majority of their efforts on demonstrating their understanding of a process rather than focusing on the art work. As a non-artist myself, this is something I can DEFINITELY relate to.

To Pre-print images, I’ve found that designing a Google Slide (or Powerpoint Slide) with the desired background images allows me to print the 8 1/2 X 11 image (or 11 X 8 1/2) image and enlarge it directly on the sheet. Below are a couple of examples of pre-printed images that were then turned in to explanatory models by students.

MS-PS1-5: Model template for describing how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
MS-PS3-2: Model template to support students in describing that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

Tip #3: Vocabulary Banks/Task Descriptions

With NGSS Modeling, they emphasize that the students need to understand the phenomenon and be able to improve their understanding of a concept as a result of a model. With this comes the use of vocabulary bank. When I am having my students model, I like to provide them with a list of terms that are critical to the comprehension of the concept that they are modeling. With these terms in hand, students are more likely to research what the terms mean and how they connect to the concept that they are attempting to model. A vocabulary bank can be quite simple too. Usually I provide a list of words in conjuction with the Task Description as seen below:

Modeling task description to support students in MS-PS1-4: Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.

Tip #4: Color Coded Guides

This tip is my absolute favorite, recently developed by me and has brought me significant success. What I’ve been doing to support students in the process of modeling is providing them with a detailed set of expectations of items to include in their model. And of course, to clarify, this is not a diagram that I’m describing to students and telling them precisely what to write and where, it’s a guide to a model that I’m expecting them to create WITHOUT telling them the “learning” part…that they need to discover as they model. Below I’ve included an example of exactly what I mean. This is a color coded guide showing students what’s expected in their model for MS-PS3-2: Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

These guides give them just enough to anchor them so they don’t struggle trying to meet the requirements of the assignment, but gives them the security to know they’re headed in the right direction. I’ve been very pleased with the quality that I’ve been getting from students using this strategy.

Tip #5: Rubrics

Grading the NGSS modeling process can be a bit tricky, and isn’t always necessary. Many suggest that the creation of a model by students is a recursive and reflective process whereby students attempt a model at the beginning of an instructional unit and then return to that model to add to/change it to reflect their new learning and understanding of science concepts.

As I’ve continued to model with my students, one strategy I use to capture the recursive nature of modeling is to formatively assess in an informal way by having students attempt a model with a group on a wipe erase board to demonstrate their initial understandings of a concept. Once the unit is finished, I ask students to complete a model independently and utilize a rubric to get a more formal summative assessment of what they’ve learned. Here’s an example of a rubric that I’ve used:

Example rubric for grading an NGSS Model

The Wonder of Science suggests using a single-point rubric for more individualized and specific feedback on modeling. Here is a link to some templates provided at that website.

Regardless of the strategies you try, hopefully these tips will help you appreciate the importance AND effectiveness of modeling and the importance of

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Unpacking NGSS Standards

I’ve been teaching the Next Generation Science Standards to my sixth graders for 5 years now. Yes…through Covid and beyond. (that sounds a little like Buzz Lightyear). Along the way, I made a discovery that has helped IMMENSELY! The strategy that I’m sharing below, helps set the stage for me and my learners and I call it “Unpacking” the NGSS Standards.

To begin with, I am an avid user of Digital Interactive Notebooks, and while that’s not for everyone, the ‘unpacking’ strategy began as I created my notebooks. I teach my standards using the 5E model of instruction. If you’re not familiar with that, it simply has you teach using 5Es: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. Within these 5 distinct stages, specific ideas, concepts, and skills are emphasized to foster student inquiry.

This infographic below does a great job showing strategies that educators can use when following the 5E format.

The idea of unpacking the standard happens BEFORE the ENGAGE step in the 5E’s of instruction. It sets the stage for learning but also ensures that students understand the why behind their learning. So, here’s how I ‘unpack’ standards for my students.

Unpacking a Standard

What I really like about the strategy is that it FIRST reinforces the Science and Engineering Practice that students will utilize as they learn the standard. It also reinforces the verbs that describe the expected performance tasks by the students. Additionally, it introduces background concepts that might need refreshing as they move forward with their exploration. Finally, it sets a purpose for learning. Here’s a few examples of ‘unpacked’ standards:

Unpacking the standard typically takes less than 10 minutes to do, and while I do it using digital notebooks, it can also easily be done with a worksheet, a digital notebook or even on looseleaf paper. No matter what, you’ll be glad you were:

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Grab these GREAT sets of Unpack the Standard Worksheets!

ChatGPT Plug-Ins

Now that ChatGPT has been around for a little while (although it is less than a year old!) this revolutionary artificial intelligence tool continues to amaze me.  This digital Swiss Army knife can support educators in myriad ways from brainstorming ideas to crafting engaging lesson plans.  If you’re unfamiliar with ChatGPT, you can learn more here.

The latest iteration of ChatGPT, ChatGPT 4.0, has more data and computing power than the previous versions and is proving to be more accurate, creative, and reliable in solving complex problems than the earlier versions.  Of particular interest to me is the addition of plug-ins that are now available on ChatGPT 4.0 and how those plug-ins can be used to support data retrieval and in turn how they can support educators.

What are ChatGPT Plug-Ins?

The best way to describe ChatGPT plug-ins is to consider them analogous to the extensions found on Google Chrome. They are a series of specific skills connected to existing websites that you can activate.  These skills allow ChatGPT to interact with live data from the internet as well as to retrieve information from the corresponding websites.  Some if the skills include displaying images, Gifs, QR codes, data tables, charts, etc.  With specific plug-ins activated, ChatGPT can complete tasks previously impossible with the stated limitations of the bot being unable to access the internet.

Activating a plug-in and providing a prompt related to the content you’re focusing on will allow ChatGPT to access the information specific to the plug-in. For example:  If you activate the Wolfram plug-in, ChatGPT will be able to display formulas, calculations, charts and graphs that it previously was only able to display via text.

Without the Plug-in:

With the Wolfram Plug-In:

In this example you can see how the bot is now able to complete the calculation using more traditional mathematical formatting rather than the linear display. 

A follow up inquiry allows ChatGPT to access Wolfram to show the step-by-step process through which these calculations were created, a FANTASTIC instructional support!!

This example, of course, only scratches the surface of the benefits of the Wolfram plug-in!  Other skills include the ability to use Wolfram with ChatGPT to generate charts and graphs as well as using the Wolfram knowledge base to fact check data generated by ChatGPT. Learn MORE about what you can do with the Wolfram plugin here: <Source:  https://www.makeuseof.com/use-chatgpt-wolfram-plugin/>

Accessing ChatGPT and Plug-Ins

ChatGPT Plug-ins are only available on premium ChatGPT accounts.  In your premium account, start by logging into ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com) so you can access the GPT4 version.  Once you are on the platform, click on the ChatGPT4 symbol at the top of the screen:

In order to see the Plug-ins, you have to turn them on in the settings section of ChatGPT.  This can be done by following these steps:

  1. Click the … icon on the bottom left hand corner of your screen.
  2. Select Settings
  3. Click Beta features
  4. Toggle on the Plug-Ins switch

More to Explore!

ChatGPT has supported my instruction in SO many ways, and now with these additional plug-ins, it has become immensely more powerful and productive!  Here are a few of the plug-ins I’ve explored and possible uses for them, all of which have tremendous potential to support teachers.

Give them a try and stay tuned for more plug-in updates and use case scenarios!   

If you’re looking to learn MORE about using AI in YOUR classroom by reading Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Educators. This guide BY a teacher FOR teachers will take you step-by-step through EVERYTHING you need to know to successfully prompt and use AI tools!!

Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers
https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Intelligence-Streamline-Your-Teacher/dp/B0CT9Q63Y4/

You’ll be glad you were 

✨Using Your Smarticles✨

***This author gratefully acknowledges the support of the New York State Master Teacher Program in the preparation of this post.***

Generating Rubrics with ChatGPT

One of the most popular “How To” requests that I’ve heard from educators is how to get an AI bot like ChatGPT to generate a useful and effective rubric. Playing with ChatGPT can lead to some inconsistent results when it comes to rubrics, so look no further, I’m going to give you the skinny on the BEST way to prompt ChatGPT to retrieve a useful and relevant rubric for your classroom.

First lets talk a little bit about TYPES of rubrics. This ‘jargon’ is important when it comes to asking ChatGPT to create rubrics because there are a couple of types of rubrics, and while ChatGPT can generate BOTH types, it’s important to ask for the correct type to avoid disappointment.

Holistic rubrics are a more general type of rubric that list 3 – 5 levels of performance along with a broad description of the characteristics that define each level in a separate column. Here’s an example: 

Holistic Rubric for Washing Dishes

These rubrics can sometimes be labeled with numbers for the performance label column to assist in scoring student work.

Analytic rubrics are two-dimensional rubrics with levels of achievement as columns and assessment criteria as rows. These rubrics allow educators to assess participant’s performance based on multiple criteria using a single rubric. 

ChatGPT is extremely helpful in its ability to develop descriptors for performance levels in both types of rubrics but can also generate a COMPLETE rubric to support you in your grading.

Prompting for a Rubric

Here’s a helpful prompt to use to get ChatGPT to generate a analytic rubric for you:

Since I didn’t ask for point values for each column, ChatGPT defaulted to the categories Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor. This is easily changed when the rubric is copied and pasted into your own editing software. One IMPORTANT thing to remember whenever retrieving information from ChatGPT is to ALWAYS proofread, adapt and modify content that you generate.

I’ve found ChatGPT to be a GREAT timesaver in my teacher life. I encourage you to give ChatGPT a try and see if it can Streamline YOUR teacher life!

As always, thanks for ✨Using Your Smarticles✨

-Mary

Unfamiliar with ChatGPT??

Here’s a GREAT way to get started using the tool AND seeing how it can Streamline Your Teacher Life!!

Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers
The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers

CoSpacesEDU and Augmented Reality

Are you an educator looking to venture into the world of Virtual and Augmented Reality? If so, CoSpacesEDU might just be what you’re looking for!!

When I mention CoSpaces, the name doesn’t do justice for ALL of the things that this augmented reality (and virtual reality) tool can do. I like to think of it as an AR/VR design space that is user friendly for kids AND teachers. CoSpaces gives you a virtual “world”, and you can add ANYTHING you want to that world including animated animals, cars, plants and/or even upload your own creations! And when those virtual creations are finished, they can ALSO be viewed in Augmented Reality!

CoSpaces allows:

  • A platform for Merge Cube Creations
  • Uploading of 3D Models
  • Working with 360 Photospheres
  • Coding items
  • Animating items
  • A library of 100s of shapes, characters and items to choose from
  • ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES!

Accessing CoSpacesEDU

It’s important to know that designing in CoSpaces requires a web-based application. It works fantastic with Google Chrome. As my students use ChromeBooks, that’s primarily how I have them access it. When students make creations and want to view them in Augmented Reality, they use the CoSpacesEDU app on a device (iOS, GooglePlay, Microsoft Store).

Creating Content in CoSpacesEDU

When you log-in to CoSpacesEDU, you have the choice of creating a 3D environment, 360 Environment or to build content for the Merge Cube. There is a library of built in assets from animated unicorns to jet planes and you can code movement, modify item physics, upload your own text and images and more!! Kids LOVE getting in there and building because it feels like FUN! Many will say it remind them of Minecraft on steroids. You’ll love using it because it’s educational and opens the door to endless project based learning activities.

CoSpacesEDU offers FREE Pro-Trial Accounts for new users. You can get one by using COSMARYHO as your activation code! This is a GREAT way to give the platform a try and experiment to see if you (and your students) like it. I PROMISE….you’ll be hooked!!

CoSpaces and the Merge Cube

One of my FAVORITE features of CoSpacesEDU is the ability to make customized creations for the Merge Cube that can be viewed through the CoSpaces EDU App. Take a look at the example below:

One and Only Ivan Merge Cube Creation made with CoSpacesEDU

This One and Only Ivan Cube was created by having students edit 6 square Google Slides. They then uploaded those slides to CoSpacesEDU and attached them to a virtual Merge Cube! Activating the CoSpacesEDU App allowed them to view their creation in augmented reality on their Merge Cubes. Don’t have a Merge Cube? That’s ok!! Grab this FREE foldable-merge-cube!

Foldable-Merge-CubeDownload

Want to learn MORE about how to make the One and Only Ivan Cube? Watch this STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIAL!

Once we learned how to customize the Merge Cube, it opened the door to a HOST of great Merge Cube projects created in CoSpacesEDU. We created biocubes, plot summary cubes, book report cubes, MoleCubes, vocARbulary cubes and MORE!!!! Check out the project ideas here!

Creating engaging content in virtual reality spaces doesn’t have to be difficult! I encourage you to give CoSpacesEDU a try, you’ll be glad you were

✨Using Your Smarticles✨

Have you heard of ChatGPT?? Learn MORE about how YOU can leverage this FANTASTIC tool to help your streamline your effectiveness as an educator!!

Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers
The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers

ChatGPT for Teachers

The artificially intelligent chatbot known as ChatGPT has taken the world by storm.  If you haven’t heard of this newly emerged resource, take a look, as it is posed to revolutionize information generation as we know it!

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a remarkable, conversational language chatbot designed to engage in dialogue with users by providing replies and responses to questions and requests provided in the prompt bar.  It is a revolutionary and incredibly useful technology because it was developed, and specifically trained to look for meaning and context in the prompts. True to the name of artificial intelligence, ChatGPT demonstrates a near intuitive knowledge of what the user seeks. This is not some inaccessible technology, this is a tool designed to understand the context and nuance of actual human conversation.  

Artificial Intelligence, as a concept, is not a new one.  It has been around since the mid-fifties as scientists discovered machines as a source of generating knowledge.  The concept of artificial intelligence was coined by John McCarthy an American computer scientist and pioneer.  Since then, AI I has continued to evolve to the point that it is ubiquitous in our lives as teachers.  From calculators to adaptive learning software, and even Siri or Alexa, the idea of AI is not so foreign as we’ve used computers and technologies to aid our instruction for quite some time now.

Limitations

There are many known limitations of ChatGPT, many of these limitations are self-proclaimed on the opening page of the platform.  These limitations should be considered when interacting with the bot.  Most worthy of mention is the fact that ChatGPT can (and does) return inaccurate information at times, so it is important to review the material that it generates.  The second mentionable fact is that content may contain bias.  The bot was trained by humans, as such, some of the content may reflect inherent bias of the trainers.  Finally, ChatGPT lost access to the internet in November of 2021 therefore any reference to events after that date cannot be made.  Nonetheless, ChatGPT could quite possibly be your new best friend when it comes to creating content for your classroom.

Getting Started

If you haven’t tried ChatGPT, the best way to get started is to dive right in and dabble.  To access ChatGPT, head on over to https://chat.openai.com/chat and sign up for a free account.  You’ll need to enter your email and phone number to gain access to the platform.  Retrieving information is quite easy as the bot is designed to engage in dialogue with you right from the beginning.  Typing a phrase or request in the prompt bar will return information based on your request in the form of a conversation.

Teachers are discovering that ChatGPT is great at providing information, ANY type of information.  Simply making a request in the prompt bar returns surprisingly thorough and accurate information; much better than a typical search engine. In Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers we go into great depth examining how to effectively prompt the machine to retrieve content more effectively, but even just as you begin interacting with the bot, you can immediately retrieve helpful content!

Artificial Intelligence to Streamline Your Teacher Life: The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers
https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Intelligence-Streamline-Your-Teacher/dp/B0CT9Q63Y4/
The ChatGPT Guide for Teachers

Ideas for Use

There are several features of ChatGPT that I’ve found to be extremely useful in any classroom.  Below are some suggestions that you might want to consider to support your instruction.

Lesson Planning:  ChatGPT can generate a lesson plan with step by step suggestions on how to implement the plan.

Standard Alignment:  Curious about how your existing lesson aligns with standards?  Input the content you plan on teaching and ChatGPT will return the NGSS standards that align with your material.

Creating Lists of Information:  Looking for a list of vocabulary words that correspond with your content?  ChatGPT excels in retrieving lists of terminology.

Defining Vocabulary:  Looking for easy to understand definitions of vocabulary words that you’re using in your unit plan?  ChatGPT can return definitions AND can also pair those definitions down into understandable vocabulary dependent on the grade level you teach.

Generating Examples:  Looking for other examples of material to illustrate or demonstrate a concept?  Ask ChatGPT to be your brainstorming machine.  Enter a concept into the prompt and ChatGPT will help generate examples for you to use in your class.

Writing Reading Passages & Generating Questions:  Have ChatGPT generate a reading passage based on your topic.  Additionally, prompt it to generate multiple choice, true/false or fill in the blank questions based on the passage it just wrote.

Grading Rubrics:  Need suggestions on ways to grade student work?  Have ChatGPT generate a grading rubric for you.  Enter the type of rubric and the point values you require and ChatGPT will generate the categories and performance levels descriptors for you.

Once you get started using ChatGPT you’ll see that the possibilities are limitless.  ChatGPT just might be able to lift a little of the instructional load in your classroom!  

"An image showcasing various tools and features offered by ChatGPT to streamline a teacher's daily tasks. The image displays a laptop screen with ChatGPT's interface, featuring icons and options for grading assignments, creating lesson plans, organizing classroom schedules, and other useful teacher resources. The image aims to convey the ease and convenience of using ChatGPT to optimize a teacher's workflow."

Google Sheets: Secrets and Surprises

If you’re looking to digitize or just ‘spice up’ those question and answer worksheets that you use in your classroom, you might want to give pixel art secret reveals a try. Let’s just say, it could be your New Year’s “resolution”!!

What Pixel Art within a Google Sheet offers, is that motivating element of surprise for students. Embedded into a spreadsheet, with conditional formatting, is a hidden pixellated image that can only be revealed if students respond accurately to the questions being asked in the cells.

Here’s an example:

Finding and Editing Pre-existing Pixel Reveal Sheets

There are many resources for finding these outstanding pixel reveal sheets online. My favorite go-to is the Teaching Above the Test blog. She provides an arsenal of well crafted reveal sheets on a variety of topics. But you do NOT have to stay locked in to the topics that are within a sheet…these sheets are editable!!

To edit a Pixel Reveal sheet, you simply need to locate the cells that have the conditional format embedded into them. Some sheets contain that formatting in the answer cell, some contain it in a second ‘tab’ at the bottom, others rely on hiding that formatting within the PIxel art image itself. Usually with a little digging you can find the conditional formatting and change the content that the cells are ‘listening’ for. Here’s a video to help you in that process. https://youtu.be/FqULbJWSwZA

Creating your OWN!!

While it can seem intimidating, creating your own Pixel Art Reveal sheet is entirely possible! Here’s how I did it:

Part A: Format the Sheet AND Draw Your Pixel Art

Step #1:   Open a new Google Sheet

Step #2:   Alter ENTIRE sheet so that cells are square (Except the first 2 columns).

Step #3:   Use the BUCKET tool to start drawing your pixel art.

Part B: Begin Adding Conditional Formatting

Step #1:    Click IN the answer cell.  Select Conditional Formatting. 

Step #2:    In the Conditional Formatting Rules:

  • Select Custom formula
  • Enter a formula like this where b is your column and 2 is the row you’re formatting and “nyscate” is the answer you are listening for. For example: =$b$2=”nyscate”
  • Click the bucket tool and select the color you’re working with

Step #3:    Select Apply to range

Step #4:     Hold command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and start clicking all the cells that are red in your image.  When finished, click Done.

Step #5:   When finished, select your bucket tool from the top toolbar and click reset. 

Step #6:   Move to the NEXT answer cell (B3) and repeat the steps.

Step #7:   Customize column A with your questions and replace the word “NYSCATE” in the Conditional format rules with appropriate answer that you’re looking for.

Here’s a video that takes you step-by-step through the creation process: https://youtu.be/vjcaNAbhUb0

I’ve used a variety of these Pixel Art Reveal sheets in my classroom, and the student’s really enjoy them! Some other tips I can offer are:

  • Add a word bank image OVER the cells to aid students in the correct responses
  • Remove the “” marks around the answer for numeric responses
  • Try formatting in a second “sheet” to make finding the answers more difficult (higher level)
  • Could kids create their own???  Why not???!?!

Regardless of how you try this great instructional strategy, I know you’ll be

✨Using Your Smarticles✨