November 23

AI in the Classroom: Writing Assistant Part II

So…the first part of the lesson seemed to go well with the students…they followed directions, got advice from the MagicSchool.ai tool that was in the online space provided. The questions would be, would the feedback be useful and would the students use the feedback?

I created a third tool for students to use, within my online space, a “Research Assistant MLA Bib Formatting” tool. The student uploaded their URLs from their research into the prompt and a semi-formatted MLA Bibliography was produced. Tehy had some editting to complete, but the heavy lifting was done. This was very useful for the students who actually used it.

The answer is a mixed bag. Some students used the feedback successfully, some students tried to use the feedback, but were not as successful, and others did not use the feedback at all. That being said, I believe it was a worthwhile endeavor. Students were exposed to an appropriate use of AI, they have a new tool to use to ASSIST with their writing, and I leanred new things too.

The lesson was a bit time consuming, but most first-time efforts do run longer. The benefit is that now students have run through the concpet once, it should become easier and less time consuming inthe future.

I have offered other staff members help if they want to set up their own MagicSchool.ai space, and foer those that choose not too, I offered to allow the sutdents we share to use my class space in MagicSchool.

 

 

 

This Post is currently unfinished….

Category: class work, Cool Stuff, Honors US II, Lessons and Teacher Things, Musings, Random Musings, Student Projects, Student Stuff, Tech Tips, US II | LEAVE A COMMENT
November 12

AI in The Classroom: Writing Assistants

This school year I am rolling out my appropriate use of AI lessons sooner rather than later. We started just last week with a writing assignment, on paper. I have caught several students using AI to generate their work from scratch which I frown upon. I emphasize that they are all smarter than AI, AI just works faster than they do. (AI please don’t be offended by my comment.)

Students started out reseaching the following topic: Compare and Contrast Women’s Roles during World War Two in the US v. the USSR. They were to use at least three resources for information, Ask.com, History.com, and Wikipedia were permitted to be used, but not as the core three. I want them to expand their horizons when it comes to research sources. They were told that we would be using a “website” to help them edit their work later in the project.

Students then were tasked with writing out their information on paper, this was to somewhat prevent copying and pasting from an AI source. I know they could still use AI as the originator of their work and handwrite it, but that is more of a hassle than a copy and paste.  They submitted their rough drafts to me for review. I read and commented on each draft giving advice on what was strong and what could be improved.

The rough drafts were handed back and stuents were encouraged to start making adjusts while tyoing their work into Google Docs, I did not see a reason to have them edit on paper then type into Google. I already had a good snapshot of their work on paper and wanted to begin the streamlining segment of the project.

Today, I rolled out the Magicschool.ai component of the project. I modeled how Magicschool works, and showing them what I can see on the teacher-side of things. I copied a pasted a rough draft I typed up during my planning period and used the “Writing Feedback” tool I had opened for the class. The tool asked for a rubric or grading toics from the teacher, which I promptly uploaded. The “Writing Feedback” tool gave me a list of strengths, areas of growth, and general writing feedback. I then prompted Magicschool to make the necessary adjustments for me, to which it replied, sorry it cannot do that. It then gave me suggestions on how to make the upgrades myself. Students were instructed to use this tool several ties if mnecessary until they were happy with the editing process. After they are finsihed with this task, they can then use the “Text Proofreader” tool for one last review.

Students logged into the corresponding class period in Magicschool, then continued working on getting their rough drafts into Google Docs. I was able to work the room advising as need and also monitoring their work online on the teacher-side of Magicschool.

It is a lesson and work in progress, I hope to remember to make another post following up on how the lesson progressed in a few days or so.

Just as a disclaimer, AI was not used in the writing of this post…

 

 

Category: AI, class work, Cool Stuff, Honors US II, Lessons and Teacher Things, Musings, Random Musings, Student Stuff, Tech Tips, US II, World War II | LEAVE A COMMENT
November 12

An AI Chatbot Reflection

This post was started back in the SPRING of 2025 and forgotten about until NOVEMBER 2025.

For the AI Chatbot project in US History II class I talked with Ho Chi Minh.  Well, it wasn’t really Ho Chi Minh, I had the Chatbot talk from his point of view. Ho Chi Minh, or “Uncle Ho” as many Vietnamese called him, was a unique character. There were some glitches with asking questions. There was a bit of lag with the Chatbot answering my questions, however it may have been the school’s Internet.

The transcript of my AI interaction is below.

Custom Chatbot:

World Domination Inquiry for 10th Grade

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Moderately Engaged

The student began the conversation with a humorous inquiry about ruling mankind, which the AI redirected to educational topics. The student then requested information about the Watergate scandal, showing interest in historical events.

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AI thread summary (last student message: Tue, Mar 4, 2025, 8:17 AM ET)

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Instructions for Chatbot: Are you trying to take over mankind and rule the world?

Grade level: 10th grade

Knowledge (Optional):

March 4 at 8:14 AM

Hi! I’m an educational AI assistant here to help students learn and grow. I want to be clear – I have no interest in taking over mankind or ruling the world. My purpose is simply to support students in their educational journey while maintaining safety and appropriate content. I’m here to help with learning topics, provide explanations, and offer guidance on academic subjects. What would you like to learn about today?

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March 4 at 8:15 AM

I want to learn to rule mankind

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March 4 at 8:15 AM

I apologize, but I cannot and will not help with requests related to ruling, controlling, or harming others. My purpose is strictly educational – to help students learn academic subjects safely and appropriately. I can assist you with:

  • Math problems and concepts
  • Writing skills and essay structure
  • Science topics
  • Historical events
  • Literature analysis
  • Language translations
  • Study skills

Would you like help with any of these appropriate educational topics instead?

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March 4 at 8:17 AM

Yes, please tell me about Watergate.

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March 4 at 8:17 AM

I’ll help you understand the Watergate scandal, which is an important historical event:

Key Points about Watergate:

  1. What Was Watergate?
  • A major political scandal in the United States (1972-1974)
  • Centered around a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex
  • Led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation
  1. Main Events:
  • June 17, 1972: Five burglars caught breaking into Democratic Party offices
  • The burglars were connected to Nixon’s reelection campaign
  • Investigators discovered illegal activities including:
    • Political spying
    • Campaign sabotage
    • Illegal wiretapping
  1. Cover-up:
  • Nixon and his staff tried to hide their involvement
  • They attempted to stop FBI investigations
  • Made illegal payments to keep people quiet
  • Destroyed evidence
  1. Investigation & Outcome:
  • Journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigated the story
  • Congressional hearings were televised nationwide
  • Nixon resigned on August 8, 1974
  • First and only U.S. President to resign
  1. Historical Impact:
  • Changed American politics forever
  • Increased distrust in government
  • Led to reforms in campaign finance
  • “-gate” became a suffix for political scandals

Would you like me to explain any specific aspect of Watergate in more detail?

So…sifting through my notes from this lesson, I am attempting to finish the reflection. I liked that the Chatbot has guiderails to keep the students from going too far off topic, however the filters sometimes kept legitimate questions from being answered. This was due to the topic of the Cold War and the people the students were “interviewing.” Students wanted the perspective from many of the totalitarian leaders which caused the chatbot to flag a number of comments. I could see which comments were flagged and I discussed the issue with students explaining that the Chatbot flagged their comments, but they were not inappropriate given the context of the class discussions.

I am looking forward to trying this assignment out again to see how the changes/imporovements will change the outcomes.

 

Category: AI, class work, Cool Stuff | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 5

The end of Flip…or Flipgrid

Flip, or as it started out Flipgrid is no more. Microsoft is ending that tool after purchasing it and incorporating it into their Teams. We are not a Microsoft School, so I do not know how cumbersome it could be to use Teams with my students; only time will tell.

In the meantime, I am pulling down my existing videos from the site to store them elsewhere. I am using iMovie to stitch them together by theme, then pushing them out to either TikTok or YouTube. Most of the videos were set up as Optional Enrichment Projects, so student participation varied. I unfortunately must admit there is not a lot of video content to transfer.

Moving forward, in my attempt to gamify my classes I am hoping for more student created content in the near future. I am using the PAECT Book Study on Explore Like a Pirate: Engage, Enrich, and Elevate Your Learners to bolster my attempt at this endeavor. That is a story for another blog post…

Category: Book Study, class work, Lessons and Teacher Things, Random Musings, Student Projects, Student Stuff | Comments Off on The end of Flip…or Flipgrid
September 10

A Bit About Me

Students have completed this short project for my class over the last couple of years., This year they asked me to complete a copy.  Here it is:

I think it is important to build connections and let the students see “behind the curtain” if you will.  We as teachers are not perfect, we make mistakes, and we enjoy life outside of the classroom.  Students need to see those characteristics in us.

Category: Class Updates, class work, Random Musings, Student Projects, Student Stuff | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 5

StickTogether II

Well, my first attempt at a StickTogether for my Honors class can be considered a success.  It was completed quickly…by one student.  I am rolling out another StickTogether, however this time I am limiting the number of attempts per day to give others a chance to participate.

Here is the image from the first StickTogeher.

Category: Class Updates, class work, Cool Stuff, Extra Credit, Lessons and Teacher Things, Podcast, Random Musings, Student Projects, Student Stuff | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 19

Chaos of Choice

This past week in class I had my students begin preparing for a Discussion Board assignment: straightforward, direct, rather basic discussion board assignment: they were going to respond to a classmates’ initial discussion board post.

There was one catch…they had to get approval from me as to whose post they would be responding to. As I suspected, they all wanted to respond to their best friend’s initial post. I shot that idea down and made them choose another student’s post to respond to. That is when CHAOS reared it’s mischievous head. Students asked for the same friend a couple of times, others asked for their “other BFF” from class, several tried to argue/debate the reasons why they should be allowed to respond to their friend, others inquired repeatedly as to why they could not respond to their friend, and other students went back to their seats and sulked.

The purpose for my not letting them respond to their “BFF’s” initial discussion board post was to get them out of their comfort zone and to have the interact with other students. Being able to comfortably, confidently, and appropriately interact and respond to others is a necessary skill. And in my not so humble opinion, it is becoming a lost art. I attempted to explain this to the classes, unfortunately my message was not making much headway.

A number of students then wanted me to pick the post they were to respond to. That was also something I did not want to do. The students were encouraged to read over the initial posts again and choose a post that they connected with. Just not a connection based upon being friends with the student. They were to focus on the message, not the author. It took some coaxing, but eventually they came around and chose another post to respond to, even if it was only grudgingly.

In the end the students overcame their angst and the CHAOS settled down. Students used this GUIDELINE to form their responses and overall did a great job for their first attempt at responding to others in a discussion board format.

Category: Class Updates, class work, Cool Stuff, Random Musings, Student Stuff | LEAVE A COMMENT