Magic School- AI in the Classroom (Week 4)

 PART ONE

The lesson plan created by MagicSchool AI aligns well with both the Oklahoma Academic Standard 7.3.5 and the ISTE Standard 1.3.b. by helping students study how European colonization affected Aboriginal people in Australia, especially how the actions of humans led to cultural changes. Students learn about assimilation and how it has influenced Aboriginal communities. This lesson supports ISTE Standard 1.3.b by having students collaborate through a digital document where they can each add and share their information. This helps the students build research, communication, and teamwork skills while using technology. This lesson is definitely rigorous and would take at least one full class period for my 7^th grade students. The goal is for students to explain how European colonization affected Aboriginal people and describe assimilation. The written reflection checks this by asking students to discuss those impacts, so therefore it does align with the learning objection and the content of the lesson.

One improvement I would suggest is using an Exit Ticket instead of a Closing Discussion. I like the "one-word response" where students answer the question, “What is one word you would use to describe how they felt about the changes they experienced?” I would also remove the homework section, as I don’t assign homework in my class.

 

MagicSchool AI is very useful for the creation of rigorous lesson plan! This is my first time using MagicSchool AI and I really like it. I appreciate how it can include standards from different areas, like state academic standards and ISTE. It creates enough content to cover a full class period as well as includes extra activities for early finishers to stay engaged while others are still working.

 

The lesson created by MagicSchool AI reflects the reading we have had in class because it includes the use of technology tools, students co-creating summaries in a digital format, both of which align with ISTE standards and the information by Gura on Journaling and Portfolio tools (Gura, 2016, p. 196).

 

MagicSchool Lesson Plan

References:

https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/osde/documents/services/standards-learning/social-studies/Oklahoma-Academic-Standards-for-Social-Studies.pdf

Gura, M. (2016). Make, learn, succeed: Building a culture of creativity in your school. Eugene, OR: ISTE.

 

PART TWO

I used Brisk AI, which can create lesson plans, quizzes, and syllabi as well as translate documents or assignments. Brisk AI can also change the reading level of a Google Doc or Word Doc for students whose reading level is not on pace with their grade level.

            I believe Brisk AI is useful in many ways, but especially for its ability to translate lessons and assignments for ESL students. This helps with language barriers as well as making sure all students have equal access to the lesson’s material. It makes lesson content understandable in the student’s native language, which helps with inclusion and the student not feeling isolated. This tool can help the student feel more confident in what they are learning because they now have in their native language instead of trying to translate, comprehend and retain all at the same time.

            Brisk AI would be a good tool to use to generate quizzes to evaluate student’s understanding during and after lessons. It can create questions related to the material taught, either lesson by lesson or in a cumulative manner after an entire lesson. This allows the teacher to evaluate student comprehension and points out students that may need more help.

            I would like to use this tool to translate lessons, information and tests for ESL learners. It would be incredibly helpful for both me and the students- saving me time trying to use Google Translate and making it easier for the student because the lesson and test would now be in their native language and easier to understand.

PART THREE

MagicSchool AI is a tool I could see myself using to come up with different activities or lessons for my students, especially the extension lessons for those who finish their work quickly. I liked what I explored while writing this blog and I would share it with my colleagues. I think it would be especially helpful for first-year teachers who are building their lesson plans; it gives great ideas that align with academic standards. From the time I spend on MagicSchool AI, the only concern I had was when I clicked the refresh button, my whole lesson plan was gone. I had to go through Google history to get back to it (possibly could be new-user error!).

            Like stated previously, the benefits of MagicSchool AI are that it can create new assignments or learning strategies for lessons, and can tweak them based on information input to the chat. If students need an assignment that is more challenging that leaves not free time, say in the instance of having a substitute, MagicSchool can create that while still sticking with grade level academic standards.

            AI use in the classroom, as the guidance states, is nearly inevitable. “AI allows educators to personalize learning experiences to fit the needs of individual students. Adaptive learning systems can analyze student performance, preferences, and learning styles. They then adjust content, pacing, and difficulty levels accordingly. Personalized learning fosters engagement and better improves retention of learned knowledge.” (OSDE, 2024, p. 5). Websites like Brisk AI and MagicSchool allow endless ways to personalize learning for students as well as add creativity to lessons and assignments that will keep students engaged in a digital-focused world. During a professional development class led by OSDE, teachers were informed that AI is for students 13+; most of my students do not meet that age requirement so I do not integrate students using AI into my lesson plans. However, I had a student tell me she took a picture of my study guide, uploaded it to ChatGPT and told it to create quizzes for her to study. What an incredible way to utilize AI!

            My experience with using AI in the classroom is Google Translate. I had three students this year that do not speak English. One speaks Spanish, but more of a South American/Portuguese influenced Spanish, and the other two speak Taiwanese. Two of them had moved to the US mid school year and were brand new to the English language. The only way I was able to communicate with them was through Google Translate. I eventually started using Google Translate to change their assignments from English to their native language. They were shocked when I gave them assignments in their language but were both grateful as they felt isolated from sitting there doing nothing while others worked.

References

OSDE. (2024). Guidance and Considerations for Using Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma K-12 Schools.