Blog Journal #5

    So far, blogging has been both entertaining and a good writing exercise.  I like the platform it provides to speak about my current assignments in this class and education in general. There have been many opportunities for me to display my opinion on here.  Additionally, it creates a space for me to demonstrate to others the kind of professional I aspire to be, which is useful for the future.  The only thing I dislike about blogging is the exposure.  It contradicts what I was saying earlier about creating a brand for myself, and barely nobody is reading this blog, yet I still prefer keeping things more private.  So far, I have learned how to use Blogger and all of its features to add external links to my blog, create an aesthetically-pleasing design for it, and many more functions. 

    On AI and Education:

This is a touchy subject for both teachers and students, as it holds a negative connotation regarding academic integrity.  My initial thoughts about AI is that it has a place in the classroom, but not so much for the students; especially the youngest ones.  Elementary students are too young to use AI tools, even if we instruct them how to use them. Their course load and its difficulty does not require they use any Generative AI tool, in fact, it hinders their learning. Elementary (and also Middle School) students are learning how to read, write, and comprehend text, which are only developed when the student fully involved in their learning.  In the same way, high school students who are learning how to analyze a text's complex themes, or write an argumentative essay, will not benefit from using AI. It is too easy for them to fall into the trap of claiming AI-produced content as their own.

    On Using Generative AI in this Class:

We recently created a Lesson Plan and an education "meme" picture on Google Gemini.  It was interesting to see how the different prompts would yield different images.  In regard to the lesson plan, it was amazing to see how a simple prompt with some specific details about materials, or instructional methods, could generate an entire plan with detailed instructions on how to impart the lesson and allocate time for diverse in-class activities.  It was useful to give specific instructions and background information to the AI tool about how you would like to conduct your lesson.  In the future, I would ask it to include some ideas into my lesson plan, so that I could get inspired and maybe try something new.  In addition, I would use it to expand my lesson plan and create a guideline for homework assignments that could support consolidation of learning for students. 

    On my Future Plans for AI Use:

As a future K-12 educator I plan to advocate for little to no use of Generative AI in the classroom.  I know that its presence will only increase, but when student learning is at stake, educators must protect what matters the most.  Yes, it does present some benefits: creating study outlines, summarizing content to make it more accessible.  But when completing assignments, this tool is not helpful in promoting learning.  Students will probably use it outside of the classroom for tasks like these, but they will not in my classroom.  When it comes to homework assignments, detection of AI-generated text will result in point reductions, and if they used it to create a simple outline to guide their thinking, they will be encouraged to show their outline and prove their writing is original.  At the end of the day, I rather they do a poor job themselves so that I can identify what gaps they need to fill and do my job as a teacher: to teach.