This AI Chatbot from Codebreaker Edu is really good! I learned about it after listening to Terry Kearnes talking with Jeff Utecht on a recent Shifting Schools podcast. I reached out on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Terry shared the Byte AI Chatbot that he uses with his elementary students so I ran it …
Tag: Education
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2023/11/19/great-chatbot-for-kids-under-13-codebreakeredus-byte/
Jul 10
Summer Learning – Dominated by AI
It’s safe to say that I’ve been obsessed with AI this summer. Going into my fifth week of summer break when I’m not out hiking or eating with my wife or hanging out with our daughter and her boyfriend I’ve been reading and taking online courses. While not all my summer learning has been AI …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2023/07/10/summer-learning-dominated-by-ai/
Jun 26
The End of a 24 Year Grant Streak
I received my first grant for $500 in 1992, my second year teaching, to connect my South Central Los Angeles 5th graders from Main Street Elementary to the Internet and to use my AOL account to share and exchange video footage of my students with a school in Vassalboro, Maine. I received a $3,000 grant …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2023/06/26/the-end-of-a-24-year-grant-streak/
Jun 24
Using AI Like We Use Computers – Star Trek Inspired
As a kid I was a huge fan of science fiction. I remember going to the theater to watch Star Wars A New Hope when it first came out and at home I watched Star Trek The Original Series (TOS) and Battlestar Galactica (1978 version) and thoroughly enjoyed envisioning what the future could be. Of …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2023/06/24/using-ai-like-we-use-computers-star-trek-inspired/
Dec 04
Senate Committee Session on Gamification
Thursday, December 1, I had the honor of being invited to present at one of our state’s Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee meetings! Thanks to my WEA workshop partner, Tammie Schrader, who introduced me to the Senate Committee chair, Senator Lisa Wellman, and recommended me to speak and share I got to speak …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2022/12/04/senate-committee-session-on-gamification/
Oct 30
Seriously, Facebook, Er, Meta?!?
At the end of December 2020 I was planning to purchase four Oculus Quest 2’s for students to use in my Science class and for esports. When I finally got the four quests in the spring of 2021 I ran into an obstacle that I thought would be easy to overcome – to make school …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2021/10/30/seriously-facebook-er-meta/
Aug 27
Looking for the Silver Bullet? Keep Looking!
They tell us there is no one silver bullet that will make our job as teachers easier. No one thing that will engage all our students so much that classroom management will no longer be necessary and every kid in our classroom will either pass all their tests or make one to two years of …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2021/08/27/looking-for-the-silver-bullet-keep-looking/
Dec 29
Flooding Event
I’ve been taking 6th graders to our little stretch of Chimacum Creek to gather water quality data since 2001! In all those years we’ve seen our stream flow go from pretty low to really low. In all those years, we did have one year where after some major rain the water level went from ankle …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2020/12/29/flooding-event/
Dec 28
Outdoor Education During a Pandemic
The first week of school I sent home all my Ocean Guardian School project information, permission slips, and photo release forms. Once I got all the permission slips, which I had to have them all because I could not send kids anywhere while the rest of us left the room, I was able to start …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2020/12/28/outdoor-education-during-a-pandemic/
Feb 20
Game-Based Learning Planning #gbl
In my last post, I reflected on my course gamification efforts so far this year. In this post, I will share my game-based learning (GBL) plans. Ever Since I started gamifying my classes I knew that the real power of engagement wasn’t in making my normal course more game-like only, but in having kids play …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2020/02/20/game-based-learning-planning-gbl/