It should not come as a surprise that chat bots can be particularly useful to teach and learn foreign languages. While it may seem like AI-integration diminishes the all-important "human element" of effective pedagogy, these new technologies actually make it possible to adapt reading materials to students' backgrounds and starting points, scale 1:1 conversations, and generate myriad engaging activities in multiple languages--and in seconds. Here are a few examples to get you started.
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Generative artificial intelligence can superpower Youtube videos. While videos can be an effective and engaging way for students to access information, GenAI tools will allow you to create checks for understanding, host multiplayer comprehension games, and even allow your class to chat with the content, deepening their understanding and exploring further. Whether I was trying to plan the work I am doing with AI at International School of Panama or to conceptualize it in writings, trying to use the traditional SAMR model to frame the educational integration of AI technologies proved unsuccessful. As many times as I tried, something was always missing. Or rather, many things–and some of the most important ones. This was true from the start, and is proving more and more obvious as new AI tools and capabilities are being developed every day. This impasse prompted me to develop the CAFE model, which can be aligned with SAMR, but is more refined and better adapted to artificially intelligent educational technologies. UNESCO "AI Competency Frameworks for Teachers and Students": a Review and Proposed Alternative10/12/2023 During Digital Learning Week (4-7 September 2023), the UNESCO presented its draft AI Competency Frameworks for Teachers and Students for discussion, and later asked for feedback from educators. This article briefly outlines the criteria that can be used to evaluate such models, proceeds to review their strengths and weaknesses, and finally proposes alternatives with adjustments and modifications.
How to evaluate AI educational tools? Without clear, robust guidelines, there is a high risk that AI tools will be used in class, and therefore with children, and for educational purposes, without thorough prior evaluation. This simple scoring guide yields a score out of 40, 30 and a score of 3+ on each question being the minimum "passing" bar. Beyond this, the Guide can also be used to assess different uses of AI tools, and can even serve as a framework for AI use policies. Using such a Guide is not only best practice, but also models how to use AI responsibly with students. In cases of pre / post evaluations, learners can actually be involved in this review process.
One of the questions I am most frequently asked is: "Do you know any AI tool that would...". The truth is, nobody can keep track of the fast-growing and ever expanding field of AI tools... Except for AI itself. Here, I share three "aggregators" that can be used to find AI tools for any purpose. Conveniently, they come with ratings, reviews, and general information about age restrictions, price, and more. Visual thinking means accessing, processing, and expressing ideas through spatial representations such as diagrams, flowcharts, and mindmaps. These techniques have many pedagogical benefits: they support attention and engagement, clarify conceptual connections, ease working memory, and promote both understanding and the formation of enduring schemas. Best of all, AI technologies now make them easier to use and more accessible than ever. Here is a short list of options currently available. This article proposes a list of questions (and elements of answer) that can help guide schools’ responses to the disruptions (opportunities and threats) generated by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence. Largely derived from the UNESCO’S Guidance for generative AI in education and research , its goal is to allow schools to leverage the full power of these technologies, all while avoiding their many pitfalls. This list follows a logical order to outline a systematic plan of action. The truth is, however, that an appropriate response to such fast-changing developments can only be agile. A proper AI action plan can thus not be sequential, or even cyclical. Its various components must run in parallel,continuously, and interdependently, to ensure adaptive adaptations to an ongoing revolution. From the beginning to the end of their research project, AI can help students plan their work, brainstorm guiding questions, find, explore, and evaluate resources, as well as assist with the writing process. Properly used, these tools can help ensure that artificial intelligence enhances rather than replaces human intelligence. And when in doubt, AI can also help guarantee academic honesty by scaling automated viva voce! Here are some of the most powerful AI options currently available to scaffold research skills. |
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