21st Century Learning Skills

AI as a Co-Author: The Making of ‘Uplift Your Teaching’ with ChatGPT

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Exciting news for educators! I’m thrilled to share my latest project, Uplift Your Teaching: Empowering Educators – Insights and Inspirations to Transform Your Teaching, a book I co-authored with the help of ChatGPT 4.0. As a director of instructional innovation, I understand that teaching is more than just imparting knowledge; it’s about continuous learning, profound insights, and shaping future generations.

This book is packed with daily inspirations, thoughts, and motivational insights, all designed to support educators at every level – from K-16 teachers in various settings to those in 2-year and 4-year institutions. It’s the result of blending my experiences in higher education with the advanced capabilities of ChatGPT 4.0, aiming to address the unique challenges and triumphs in teaching.

“Uplift Your Teaching” is more than just a read; it’s a journey and a testament to our dedication to education and personal growth. It’s about making a difference not just academically, but in the lives of our students. Enriched by the collaborative intelligence of ChatGPT 4.0, this book is a source of support and encouragement, reminding us of the invaluable nature of our work.

How to dive in? The book is designed for daily use, starting any day of the year. Each entry comes with a reflective question to prompt your thoughts. There’s no better time to begin this journey than now.

Download your copy today and join me in transforming the way we teach and learn!

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 

Equity Leaders & Guides at STCC and Beyond

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Late last year I was awarded a $75,000 Massachusetts Higher Education Innovation Fund grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.  The initial grant  concept was to train 20 faculty.  However, between January and June I was able to train 21 faculty and 9 staff members on the Springfield Technical Community College Campus.

I am so proud of how hard these leaders have worked to hone their equity skills. Work continues until September 21, 2023 and I am already working on a consortium grant proposal that will expand these leadership concepts to the regional level.

iNACOL Virtual School Symposium 2012

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I am so excited.  Later this month I will be heading to the Virtual School Symposium being held in New Orleans by iNACOL the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.

This symposium will bring together over 2,000 representatives from national, state, district, private, and other virtual school programs to attend the premier K-12 online and blended learning conference. Experts in K-12 virtual education will have robust networking opportunities; learn about the latest trends, challenges and opportunities in e-learning; interact in session presentations; and gain access to the latest research and best practices reports.

I am especially excited because I will be able to get my hands on the book Lessons Learned in Teacher Mentoring: Supporting Educators in K-12 Online Learning Environments–with the chapter I co-wrote.  This coupled with the fact I’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans raises the excitement.

Just this week at the CELT Conference, I heard speakers mentioning personalized learning and much discussion revolving around common core, particularly in the Math/Science subjects.  So, I am looking forward to connecting with others, gathering in New Orleans, who are wrestling with these same issues.

One presentation I am looking forward to is: New Learning Models: Making Learning Personal which promises to discuss the lines of distinction between online, mobile, blended, and computer-based learning which are fading. What does this mean for education?  What will school look like when students can literally carry their learning with them on a cell phone – and when their “campus” is wherever they choose to work? Polices around competency-based learning are also on the rise. Learning is becoming less linear, more discovery and interest-based, and ever more personal. This session is being presented by Florida Virtual School’s Jill Dickinson, Director of Curriculum Management.

Then there is another session, Professional Development Needs for Blended Learning. This session will explore, via a panel, the challenges faced when a school implements blended learning, what professional development do teachers, administrators and other staff need to insure a successful implementation?

There are so many sessions that look so great.  I also plan to get myself down to the French Quarters, have some great food and hear some fabulous jazz. Stay tuned for more.

TED-Ed | Lessons Worth Sharing

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TED-Ed has launched a new open platform for using video in education.  The word is that TED-Ed  allows any teacher to take a video of their choice (yes, any video on YouTube, not just theirs) and make it the heart of a “lesson” that can easily be assigned in class or as homework, complete with context, follow-up questions and further resources.  The site is in beta. But TED-Ed thinks there’s enough there to show why they’re so excited about this.  This whole process is explained really well in this video created by the TED-Ed team.

What I love about this process, is that ultimately it allows the viewer to Dig Deeper and Think about what they are viewing…..in other words to critically think about the video, not just consume it.  AND,  you can FLIP the video and make it your own lesson.  BRILLIANT!

Caine’s Arcade

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A 9 year old boy who built an elaborate cardboard arcade in his dad’s used auto parts store is about to have the best day of his life. You have got to take 10 minutes and watch this sweet video about imagination, loving what you do, being an entrepreneur and the power of social media. This is a video that teachers should share with their students, no matter their age.  I love how proud Caine is when he is showing us his work.  After you watch the video, head over to Caine’s website. I know you’ll get chills, goosebumps and might even cry….but it’ll make your day.

36 UIs In 30 Locations

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When to know enough is just enough. Ericsson had too much information and needed a message to communicate how a multi-purpose, multi-technology network node enables operators to meet their three priorities in relation to data traffic explosion: differentiation, control and monetization.

The above video is work that makes you jealous, inspires and does both simultaneously.  The beauty of this video is that it is a great example of the changing nature of how instruction can communicate an idea [not just a product].  It shows how Ericsson moves data around, and why it matters.

The House of Radon did the creative work and really hit the nail on making sense out of a concept. The video’s message “appeals to the senses.” Data, nodes, operators, differentiation–all of these ideas in Ericsson’s brief are just so much insubstantial vapor. House of Radon’s video translates them into snappy factoids, which helps. But the idea of embedding them into physically appealing touchscreen interfaces–and then embedding those into a series of viscerally evocative first-person live-action scenelets, where just a hint of sound effects and out-of-focus background action instantly tells your five senses everything they need to know about what’s happening outside the edges of the frame–that’s what makes Ericsson’s brief make sense.

House of Radon’s relentless cutting from new interface/location to new interface/location, three dozen times, is an essential part of getting the message across. As more and more innovative companies find themselves “selling” invisible-but-essential ideas, this kind of advertising-as-sensemaking becomes more valuable than any glib “Got Milk?”-style product campaign ever could be. Does every spot need to cram in 30-odd interfaces and locations to make its point? Of course not. But the designers behind this House of Radon spot know that, sometimes, “too much” is just enough.