August #Edu resources - part 1??

Welcome to the first?#Edu ?instalment of August I still can't quite believe how quickly the summer is passing, but I hope many of you reading my updates are enjoying some quality time with friends and family. As I always try and encourage > ?#Wellbeing ?first!

As usual, my newsletter is a mixture of tech topics, particularly #Ai , and #Edtech as well as lots of supporting reading, listening, #Wellbeing , #SEMH , #Leadership and frankly just news from #Education . Many of my readers to date have been very kind and supportive, so I would ask, if you find this interesting or dare I even say it, helpful, please do give it a reshare to your PLN, every little helps.

Ok then let's dive in ;)

#Ai

Serial sharer Tony Parkin shared the US Dept of Education report on "Artificial Intelligence and the future of Teaching and Learning" It's a link to a PDF but is worth a read if this is a topic of interest, especially the focus on the need to share knowledge and develop clear policies. A topic that is familiar in almost every country right now. View the report here (PDF).

I couldn't really have an #Ai section without mentioning top man Dan Fitzpatrick - he has a brilliant newsletter you really should subscribe too, last week he shared a really handy article "?? 7 Steps for the New Academic Year" featuring as the title suggests, 7 strategic steps any educational organisation can begin to implement in the new academic year, you can check it out here .

If you are a #ChatGPT teacher ( or any other equivalent) then the brilliant Monica Burns, Ed.D shared a great resource last week, "20 Chat GPT prompts for ELA Teachers" (English Language Arts), you can read her article here.

The brilliant team at Educate Ventures Research with Rose Luckin have a new newsletter called "The Skinny on Ai in Education". I'm always happy to share and encourage readers to head off to other resources, and I have huge respect for Rose, so naturally, I would encourage you to "Get the Skinny". You can find episode 1 here covering a range of #Ai topics.

One of my favourite and most enthusiastic #Edtech friends is the fab Emma Darcy , she shared a really interesting article about the increasing appetite for AI prompt engineers - people who can write the most purposeful prompts to maximise the output from #ChatGPT et Al. The article is by Sam Shead for Linkedin news and shares a number of articles on this subject recently. It's an interesting read which you can find here .

Fine-tuning the prompts, or as I like to call it, effective questioning, is a skill we all resonate with, and this feeds into the heart of what we teach in our schools. Dan Fitzpatrick shared a good example of this with his advice for using #MidJourney and the DETA prompt "Description, Expression, Technical Detail, Aspect Ratio". Dan being Dan he even created a video to talk you through it, which you can watch here .

#Metaverse

I was fortunate enough to chair a panel on this topic at the GESS Dubai conference last year, we tend to focus on the word rather than the bigger picture under that umbrella especially within the context of #STEM . But many of our children already play in an #XR world with many of the apps they use. This article by Louise Walsh at 英国剑桥大学 poses the question "An interconnected world of extended reality is coming that will reshape how we work, play and communicate. It will transform education, healthcare and industry – and expose us to new levels of risk. What is the metaverse? Will we be safe? How do we make the most of it?" Have a read here .

With my weekly?#AertsAlerts ?feature courtesy of the serial sharer?Carla Aerts ?once again I could have picked from loads, but she shared a really interesting article,?from the US highlighting how "The Number of Students in Special Education Has Doubled in the Past 45 Years". We are seeing this challenge all around the globe so this one from Education Week really resonated. Have a read and see what you think . As always a big thanks to Carla!

#MentalHealth

Matthew Savage shared a really interesting read on the form and function of power in the context of mental health. The article is entitled "Mental Health Diagnoses Are Capitalist Constructs - your experience is real. But the way we label it is influenced by systems of power." written by Micha F.

Certainly changes the dynamic significantly when we don't assign intelligence to Literacy. Nic Ponsford FRSA FIESE ?? my no.1 trusted voice in this area commented "Understanding that intelligence doesn’t have to link with literacy blows our current education system apart. And this is where the power of assistive technology comes in - supporting accessible communication for all.".

You can read the full article here .

I shared an article with #SecEd Magazine, about #MentalHealth visibility and our willingness to talk about it. We all have a role to play in this conversation, so please take a look here and let me know your thoughts.

#EdTech

I am always platform agnostic, but Microsoft Education resources crop up fairly regularly in my newsletter, especially from the goto man Mike Tholfsen . A few days ago he shared a great summary ( Youtube) on some of the latest features in Microsoft Teams Premium. The new "Intelligent Recap" feature really piqued my interest. Take a look here . ?????

Just to keep balance, another serial sharer, Dean Stokes from the team at Google for Education shared a great resource for free #Ai training with Google. Apologies this was a Uk only link, it may be available in other regions but do check it out here . You can see details of the course "Boost your productivity with Ai" from here .

As I like to do each week, I've been boosting my productivity (sort of) with my adventures through #Ai . This week I was back out in the Savannah, but it's a dangerous place to be, as you can see ;)

This is a bit of a crossover, it's an #App and #Ai but Pictory was shared last week as a really handy resource. I should remember but I think Matt Jessop was the first to bring it to my attention, and naturally, I had to investigate. It's really good.

What I really liked was you could just paste in the link to a resource or article and it would capture the salient points and create a video template using stock footage that you can then refine and save. Or you can just paste text in. It's simple and a really effective way of creating media resources quickly.

I made a quick video here based on a recent article about #MentalHealth awareness. I did my best but let me know what you think.

#Education

Anyone who knows me will know the word #Skills is not far away in any conversation, and the more we can support the acquisition of life skills for our children the better in my book. The brilliant team at Persona Education shared a great interview by EdTechReview Media Pvt Ltd with Dr. Jannat Fatima Farooqui and Rohit Gupta where they outline the advantages and challenges of imparting life skills – transferable abilities that empower young adults to navigate through a range of life contexts – using in-school and out-of-school approaches.

The article featuring the interview is entitled "Mapping Life Skills Education in Indian Schools: Instruction and Assessment" and you can read it here .

It must be #Skills week ( yay) because Chris Mayer shared a great article from Forbes , the article is titled "When times are hard, it's the soft skills that will save us" - Chris, rightly pointed out that ?“soft is a bad moniker because it makes these skills seem easy or dispensable. The truth is, there’s nothing easy about them.” You can check out the article written by Ann Kowal Smith from this link .

That man from earlier, Tony Parkin was at it again sharing a really interesting read from the 英国伯明翰大学 linked to a UNESCO Global Education report identifying a global trend towards schools banning smartphones. The report reviews this and poses the question of if we need more evidence. You can read the report here and I would love to hear your thoughts.

It's a broader topic and very much linked to #Inclusion and #Equity so Caroline Keep shared a post by Hélène Virolan FRSA - Social Entrepreneur I Co-Founder on a report highlighting the importance of work experience, and in particular the struggle for girls to get meaningful access to work experience in the Tech sector. You can read the article by Hélène Virolan FRSA - Social Entrepreneur I Co-Founder from this link here . Another topic we could all make an effort to support.

#Blogs

I know what you are thinking, we have your's Al, why would we need any more blogs and newsletters? Well I agree, but just in case your appetite has been peaked from this read, the lovely chap Jonathan C. from #Headteacherchat has shared a blog full of, well more blogs, that are recommended for you to read. There must be a 100+ in his list, albeit he hasn't included mine - you can read his full list of recommendations here .

#Vlogs

I'm always keen to support and promote #OnlineSafety so this conversation between Mark Anderson FCCT and Caroline Allams from Natterhub had to go on my list, it's worth grabbing the popcorn, kicking back and listening to Caroline talk about the importance of open and honest conversations with young people about their use of technology, teaching them media literacy skills and educating them about how social media platforms work.

On the topic of #OnlineSafety , a very personal recommendation, for a complete #onlinesafety & #monitoring solution for your school, college or district, then do check out classroom.cloud, you can read more and try for free from here .

#Podcasts ??

Spotted a new (to me) Podcast called the "AI in Education Podcast" from Dan Bowen ?? Beth Worrall and Lee Hickin . Their latest episode to kick off series 6 is entitled "What Just Happened?" very much in the context of the landing on #GenerativeAI and #ChatGPT into society.?They look at how it might change assessments, courses and more. They have covered some great topics and you can take a listen here .??? And thanks to Ray Fleming for sharing on Linkedin where I spotted it.

One of my favourite podcasts Tiny Voice Talks by Toria Bono is back after a short break, there is something for everyone. Series 7 kicks off with a discussion with Hywel Roberts on "Botherdness" and the care teachers have for their children. It links to Hywel's new book and is definitely worth a listen here .

Do reach out if you would like me to join you on a podcast, you may have guessed, but I'm always up for a natter :)

Most importantly of all, continue to enjoy the summer break, take time to recharge, put yourself first every now and again and as always, see you next time!

Al Kingsley

1. 2023 EduFuturist of the Year
2. 2023 Outstanding Achievement winner - Educational Resources Awards (ERA) Awards
3. 2023 Inspiring Leader winner - British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) Awards