AI Making Teaching Easier.
Enough of all the different AI Tools - here are the ones worth using.
Well, that was some hiatus. I have been out presenting, training, and job seeking so my time has been squeezed down to nothing, and it has impacted my ability to get these newsletters out. I am back in action now and have a whole new suite of offerings I think you are going to enjoy!
AI Bot of the Week!
I don’t know about you, but this time of year I tend to get distracted easily, and I struggle to be as productive. Recent trainings showed me the Productivity Planner from Google Gemini. This is one powerful little bot! The coolest thing is asking it to create a work brief - it looks at my calendar and gives me a brief on what I am doing that day. This Gem allows me to schedule it so that it arrives at the same time each day which I am finding really helps me get focused and on task much quicker. Give it a try!
AI Instruction & Teaching
Ready to speed up your feedback to students? Say goodbye to your grading pile, and hello to Batch Feedback! *NOTE: This is a paid feature but it is WORTH IT!
Upload a folder of student work – essays, PDFs, even math photos – and return personalized, teacher-reviewed feedback to your whole class while learning is still fresh.
What I LOVE about this is that it gives consistent, rubric-driven feedback. I then get to take on the role of the ‘Human-in-the-Loop’. Where I read the assignments and the feedback, and edit them before returning the assignments to the students. I am finding that not only am I getting feedback to students quicker, but I now have more time to work one-on-one with the students, which is what I feel is most important.
With Batch Feedback, you can:
Upload a set of student submissions (including math and science images!) and review them all at once.
Quickly give personalized feedback across the whole class.
Stay in control! Review and approve before sharing with students.
AI Trick
Earlier in this post, I mentioned I am out searching for a new job. Not because I have to, but because I feel ready for a change. I’ve heard of people asking about their horoscopes and getting some interesting stuff bac,k so I wrote into Gemini (remember it has privacy covered) my birthdate and that I was considering changing jobs. What I got back was encouraging and gave me some focus. It’s a fun trick. Ask if you should consider a new car, a major purchase, or even a new house. You will be surprised by the response.
AI Technology Tool
lluminate is an interesting AI Tool that was quietly released and is being tested by Google. As the AP Research teacher, I am also writing a paper with the class. However, some of the research is quite boring. I tried this little app and was amazed at how well it works. Simply drop in a research paper or idea and get it to generate a short podcast about the idea/paper. It hits the most pertinent ideas and provides insight into the direction of the research. Give Illuminate a try and see if you learn something new.
AI Literacy or Digital Citizenship
The EU is fast becoming a leader in the world of privacy and digital citizenship. They recently launched their ‘European Year of Digital Citizenship 2025’ program. They are providing resources, ideas, and methods of proactively controlling what is seen online and managing your privacy. There are too many resources to put here, including a really cool video to watch (45 sec). Check out what the EU is doing to help with Digital Citizenship
AI Research I’m Reading
This study by Ghimire and Edwards (2024) examines educators’ acceptance of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Bard through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), using survey data from 116 faculty at Utah State University. Findings show that perceived usefulness (r = 0.734, p < .001) is the strongest predictor of adoption, with perceived ease of use having a moderate but significant effect (r = 0.542, p < .001). Regression results confirm that usefulness (β = 0.678, p < 7.2×10⁻¹³) outweighs ease of use (β = 0.227, p = .026) in influencing acceptance.
The study highlights wide variation in educator familiarity with AI across disciplines, suggesting tailored strategies for innovators versus laggards. While the authors note limitations such as a single-institution sample, lack of survey validation, and rapidly shifting AI policies, the findings are significant: teacher adoption depends on reducing cognitive demands and demonstrating tangible instructional benefits. I am working on a paper on the teachers’ cognitive load in the fast paced technology (and AI specifically) adoption. This study provides strong empirical evidence that adoption frameworks must account for both usability and workload factors.
Ghimire, Aashish, and John Edwards. Generative AI Adoption in Classroom in Context of Technology Acceptance
Model (TAM) and the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT). Utah State University, 2024
Book Review
Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz
The French Riviera, a hipster spy, a murder, this can only be James Bond. Anthony Horowitz, who authored the Alex Rider Series and then wrote books under the name Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes writer and now under the name Ian Flemming, who writes James Bond. This does not disappoint. Why is Bond 007? What did he do to get into the Service? This is action from the start ,and we get to meet M and find out about who he is and what the role entails. This is an ‘origin story’ for James Bond, and some of the material came from original writings of Ian Flemming’s the original author of James Bond. He is on the hunt for another criminal. Get ready!
This is amazing! There is so much information packed into this newsletter! I am astounded by the depth and variety, especially the Ian Fleming book! Wonderfully done - once again you amaze me.