Take 5 for Tech
District Tech Tools, OGs & More: AI Series #3 (1.31.24)
Hopefully you saw the last newsletter in this AI series. It was all about the oodles of cool AI tools in Canva. If not, you may want to circle back to check out all the AI integrations in Canva's Magic Studio. This 3rd newsletter in an AI series will cover how AI is reshaping our WCCC paid premium tech tools, as well as other tried and true tech tools. This also includes AI-forward tools. All of these apps have a strong FREE version so they're still worthwhile trying even without the premium version.
- Refer to Canva Smore-- AI Series #2
- AI Question Generator
- Autograde Feature
- Creates data to have a clearer picture of student performance in the student to teacher feedback loop
- Provides personalized and adaptive student experiences
I tried to pick the best of the best of AI tools. To help you digest the content, I REALLY TRIED to limit the number of apps in included in this newsletter and generally categorized how each was used. There is one AI app, Magic School (and it's even FREE!) that has valuable resources in each of the three usage categories listed below. Yah, I know, right?! Magic School is just that AMAZING!
Leveling Resources & Providing Tools to Support ALL Students--
MagicSchoo.ai: (completely free)
- There are WAY too many tools to list but here are some highlights...
- Accommodation Suggestion Generator
- Conceptual Understanding Generator
- Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Questions Generator
- Make Directions Clearer
- Assignment Scaffolder
- Common Misconception Generator
- Text Leveler Tool
Diffit: (free entry level; activities are extra cost after free trial ending mid-March)
- Adjust content to levels that are just right for your students.
- Get help creating instructional plans & depth of knowledge content
- Create activities that are ready for students & easily integrated into other tools like Google Classroom and Canvas
- High School Math Usage Example
Create Student Content & Engagement--
MagicSchoo.ai: (completely free)
- There are WAY too many tools to list but here are some highlights...
- Team Builder/ Ice Breaker
- Make It Relevant
- Choice Board Generator
- Social Story Generator
- Coach's Sports Practice Generator
- Science Lab Generator
- Colleague Song Generator
Curipod: (generous, free entry level)
- Teachers type a lesson topic and grade level for engaging lessons
- This of this as a "teaching assistant."
- The content generator has several different end goals- planning, informative tasks, independent practice, cooperative learning, gamification and questioning techniques.
- Helps create syllabi, accommodation checklists & emails
- Translates into 15 languages instantly
- Created to help teachers use ChatGPT.
- ChatGPT Teaching Guide
- Takes teachers through the entire assessment cycle.
- Takes teacher content & desired learning outcomes, creates questions and then after teacher approval, is able to be exported in a multitude of ways including Canvas and Google Classroom.
- Makes discussion prompts & other discussion activities
Make Paperwork-Type Tasks Easier--
MagicSchoo.ai: (completely free)
- There are WAY too many tools to list but here are some highlights...
- IEP Generator
- Behavior Plan Suggestion Generator
- Letter of Recommendation Generator
- Syllabus Generator
- Restorative Reflection Generator
- Email Family Tool for Better Communication
- Email Responder Tool
- Report Card Comments
PDF Gear: (completely free)
- Allows the reading & editing of PDF text.
- Facilitates the compressing, converting, merging, splitting and extracting of content
- Allows the annotation & signing of documents
- Give the ability to fill out PDF forms
- This is a tool that you have to download to the computer.
- Verified to be safe.
- Takes long YouTube videos from lectures & virtual meetings and makes a summary for it
The following are tried and true tech tools that have been around for years. In recent months, they've been taken and enhanced by new, cutting-edge AI components.
Kahoot! has ben a long beloved gaming & review tool. Now it's has added an AI question generator. This is only a feature in the Kahoot+ MAX and Kahoot! EDU plans only, but can be available to you if you request access prior to leaving school for the summer.
Padlet is a cool classroom tool that lets students give visual feedback and respond to questions or other prompts. Responses are generated by cameras, screen recordings, audio recorders, GIFs, Spotify, drawings and AI Generative Image prompts called "I can't Draw."
- How Padlet Generative Image Tool Works (1 Minute Video)
Slidesgo: has offered a wealth of attractive presentation templates for years. Recently it was been enhanced to incorporate an AI Presentation Maker feature.
Quizizz has recently incorporated AI top allow teachers to adjust depth of difficulty and redisign existing questions.