Tales with Mrs. T

 For our group AI-assisted newsletter, Kelli created a prompt for Chat-GPT since she was not able to get an appropriate response using Canva AI. The prompt Kelli used was: " create a newsletter for an elementary school library, make it fun and upbeat, add upcoming events and contact information, make it for the fall season ". Chat GPT was able to provide ample information including thematic lessons, events, activities, and reminders for families and students. After approving the information provided, Chat-GPT then asked what format she would like it in, a tri-fold, flyer, or email, and then further altered the information to fit tri-fold sections. Once the content was laid out, Kelli was able to ask Chat-GPT to create a PDF of the information. Unfortunately Chat-GPT will limit some of the access depending on how much you use it during a single day. Kelli went ahead and used Canva and input the information from Chat-GPT into a template from Canva. Here is the link to the news...

Virtual schools are becoming more and more popular as families are looking for alternative ways to school their children without them being in the classroom all day. Texas Virtual Schools (TXVS) currently services kindergarten through 12th grade public school students and offers various outlets for them throughout the day. The following is an environmental scan that I have completed based on the information I have gathered from the school, but more specifically from eSchool Prep Academy (the K-8 campus). Since eSchool Prep is a virtual school, we do rely heavily on technology. All teachers, staff, and students conduct their learning at home, which means that they are all relying on personal internet access. At this moment, TXVS does not offer wifi or internet services to students or employees. All employees have access to their own personal internet and sometimes will utilize public internet services at libraries, cafes, or hotels when traveling. Students can rely on personal internet ...

As a teacher in the 21st century, it's no surprise to me that technology is now at the forefront of education. While I was growing up, technology was a useful resource, but it was never promoted as something that would one day take over our lives. As I teach my students, I have to consider that their view of technology is definitely very different from mine. They have never known a world without an iPhone, a laptop, and some of them a tablet. While I remember the days of transitioning from an overhead projector in my classroom to a SmartBoard, my students can already figure out how to create a Google Slides presentation and share with everyone in the class. My students are more technologically literate than I was at their age, and can tend to trouble-shoot issues on the computer better than I can sometimes. There are of course a few negatives that tend to stem from them having open access to technology, like access to media that may not be appropriate for them, or even the fact tha...