In the final episode of season 2, Allan and Chad take a deep dive into Ohio's new cell phone legislation. While many are referring to this as a "cell phone ban", the new laws actually gives schools quite a bit of latitude on how they will deal with distractions in the classroom from student cell phone use. In addition to looking at the actual language in the bill, there is discussion about current school cell phone policies and the advantages and disadvantages of further tightening on student use of personal technology. While this law is aims to reduce distractions in the learning process, it will definitely be interesting to see where things go next as schools seek to reduce distraction from personal devices.

As we approach spring break, many teachers are just trying to survive and catch a well-deserved break. In this episode, Allan and Chad explore three different areas in which teachers can save time and up their productivity. Topics for optimizing teacher workload include Google Calendar, integrating tasks between Gmail and Calendar events, and utilizing Google Keep. Additionally, they share some AI tools that speed up the process of creating learning activities and resources.

In this installment of Tech You Can Try, Chad digs into the possibilities of creating quizzes with Conker, an AI tool from the creators of Mote. While other AI-related tools often have a range of uses, Conker focuses on quiz creation and includes different options to make checking for understanding more effective. If you are looking to add to your repertoire in the area of assessment, give Conker.ai a try today!

Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Continuing with the theme of AI tools, Chad introduces a new resource called Snorkl. This tool combines students diagraming their work on an interactive whiteboard while they record an explanation of their response. As they create their response, Snorkl's AI analyzes their explanation and provides feedback on areas of strength and improvement. In addition, teachers can view all student responses from a dashboard, along with an option where students can view each other's work and provide feedback to each other. While this platform is still in the early stages, the ability to give students timely feedback as they explain their work is certainly promising for teachers.

Chad heads to Columbus, Ohio for OETC, a three-day event filled with great ideas. Educators from all over the state share ways to leverage technology to improve student learning. The discussion includes a preview of promising strategies that will be presented to improve learning outcomes. Topics include career exploration through social media, using AI for universal design, and leaning into AI to provide feedback during the writing process.

Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

In this episode, Chad breaks down some promising new tools included in Magic School AI. From generating academic content to developing data tables, Magic School allows for the creation of content with the input of just a few words. While AI will never replace the human connection of teaching and learning, Magic School has over 60 tools that are designed to make teaching less time-consuming and more efficient for educators. Many of these tools look promising!

Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

In this episode of Teaching "n Tech, Jessica Friesner and Debbie Varga share their expertise in teaching language skills. Both fluent in English and Spanish, they discuss experiences of teaching English and Spanish speakers together in their Spanish classes, As bilingual educators, their perspective provides insight and strategies that can be helpful to any teacher who is working with students who speak different languages.

Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Anyone who has taught writing will tell you that the amount of time between the student writing and teacher feedback being provided is a major hurdle. Class Companion is an AI Tool for teachers that creates assignments with prompts for short answers, essays, and outlines. As the students write, AI-generated responses are provided in real-time, so that they can refine their writing as they work without waiting for the teacher's response. Since the AI feedback may vary, teachers can always override feedback. Students can also dispute and give a rationale for AI feedback they may not agree with. While Class Companion is in the early stages, the ability for students to receive instant feedback while drafting their writing is promising.

Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com