Author

Lori Gracey

Lori Gracey currently serves as the executive director of the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) and is responsible for training technology directors, administrators, curriculum supervisors, librarians, and teachers across the country. Since 2009, she has led TCEA in membership and revenue growth, helped to pay off their building and purchase a new, larger building, and implemented new conferences, partnerships with other associations, and professional development opportunities for members and non-members. She serves more than 75,000 members and oversees a staff of 20. Lori has served on the board of the Texas Society of Association Executives and SXSWedu, and she has served as the Regional Program Chair for the ISTE 2017 and 2021 Convention in San Antonio. Lori has 28 years of experience in education, with 22 years as a curriculum and technology director.

Some Advice for New Educators

by Lori Gracey June 21, 2024

written by Lori Gracey

You’ve graduated from college with a degree in education, found a great job in a fabulous district, and are excited and ready to go. So now is the time to think through a few things before the start-of-school chaos begins. Here is some advice for new educators to make your first year even more successful.

Know What Works in Your Content Area/Grade Level

You can’t effectively teach others if you don’t know your subject area content. So spend some time this summer looking at what the latest research says is the best way to teach key topics. Use your favorite Artificial Intelligence chatbot and ask it to summarize the research. Be sure to provide it with the standard you are trying to address. The prompt might look like this: “What is the most effective way to teach fifth grade students mastery of this standard: generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information?” Once you’ve seen the answer, follow the prompt up with a second question: “What research is this based on?” to make sure that its answers are based on the latest information abut how students learn.

advice for new educators

Another way to find the best research on a specific instructional strategy is to use the free version of Elicit, an AI tool. Elicit is an assistant that summarizes more than 125 million research papers for you. It will provide a summary of the top four research papers, as well as links to those and others. It can save you a ton of time and make sure the strategies you are using are the most effective.

If you need additional help with instructional strategies, be sure to read the TCEA blog. We look at the research and share the best ways to teach key concepts in every grade level and subject area. You might also consider taking the online Brain-Based Learning course. Throughout the course, you will gain strategies to apply what you have learned to your own teaching practices.

Remember That You Are Not Alone

Your first year won’t be easy. So it’s important to remember that you are not alone as you begin this journey. All of us have been in your shoes and remember what it was like. Experienced educators in your building, along with your campus administrators and instructional coaches, want you to be successful and are there to help you. But in order to be there for you, you must be willing to open up to them and share when you need assistance.

Check to see if it would be possible for you to observe other teachers’ classrooms during your off period once a week. Your principal can help you decide who to watch and what key strategy you will be looking at. Afterwards, your instructional coach can discuss what you saw and help you apply it to your own teaching practice.

Finally, know that TCEA is here to help you. If you have a question, you can feel free to email it to me at lgracey@tcea.org any time. I may not know the answer, but I guarantee that I know other educators who do and who will be happy to share with you.

I know that you will be amazing this year and that you will make a tremendous difference in the lives of the students you teach!

June 21, 2024 0 comment

Help Save Coral Reefs by Joining the Calling in Our Corals Project

by Lori Gracey June 12, 2024

written by Lori Gracey

While there are lots of places on the earth that are too loud, the ocean isn’t one we normally think of. But a healthy coral reef is teeming with sound. “On the reef, you’ve got thousands of species of fish that are producing pops and chirps and croaks as they communicate with each other,” explains Steve Simpson, a professor at the University of Bristol.

However, in many parts of the world, the ocean is going silent. And that’s a problem because it means the coral reefs are dying. So scientists have created the Calling in Our Corals project, and you and your students can help.

Using AI to Listen

Marine biologists have dropped listening devices near coral reefs around the world and are recording the sounds there. But there are too many hours of audio for them to process. So they are asking for us to help by listening to short snippets, marking when we hear a sound. Then Artificial Intelligence in a tool called SurfPerch will analyze just those parts where sounds are heard.

coral reef

How You Can Help the Coral Reefs

Visit the website and go through a very brief tutorial on the sounds that you can expect to hear. It could be shrimp popping, whales singing, or fish “talking.” Once you’re trained, you can then select the area of the world you want to listen to and start contributing to the research.

This is a great project for students of all ages. Listening closely is a skill that we all need to practice. And being able to say that you’ve helped an important research study offers huge benefits in terms of self satisfaction and confidence.

June 12, 2024 0 comment

Artificial Intelligence Leadership

Where Is Your District on Implementing Artificial Intelligence?

by Lori Gracey June 3, 2024

written by Lori Gracey

As the 2023-2024 school year wraps up, it’s a good time to consider where your district is with the implementation of Artificial Intelligence. I think we all recognize by now that AI is not a trend and it’s not going away. And hopefully we also realize that it can provide tremendous value for all learners if it is implemented well. So where are you on the road to a planned, successful implementation to fully access its potential?

Do you feel like your district is behind? You’re only behind on AI if:

You haven’t done any work at all on it in your district.
Your educators and staff are still very afraid of or don’t understand what Artificial Intelligence is or what it can do for them.
You don’t have a plan or policies or how to move forward with AI.

If you aren’t behind, congratulations! Know that TCEA can still support you as you move forward. We offer customized onsite and virtual professional learning that is tailor to meet the specific needs of your staff and leadership. We also can help in other ways.

If you are behind, know that TCEA can help you. Here’s how:.

Let us provide initial three-hour customized, hands-on professional learning to Central Office and campus-based leaders on what Generative AI is, what it can do for them in their own work, and what its implementation means for staff and students.
Let us work with a committee of your educators to craft policies and procedures for the use of AI for learning. These recommendations would be put in place for the 2024-2025 school year, allowing you to move forward easily.
Let us provide initial learning for PreK-12 educators and support staff. We can do this through face-to-face training onsite or via our self-paced, online courses on Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT. This will provide them with a solid understanding of what AI is and isn’t, how they can use it both personally and professionally, and how it can help students better master important content. In addition, the training will provide each participant with a free lifetime membership in TCEA so that the learning can continue through our many recorded webinars, blog, and shared resources.
Enroll some of your staff who have started using AI in our AI for Educators Conference to be held July 25. This innovative learning experience will focus on authentic ways to best implement AI across grade levels and content areas. The conference is completely virtual and will be recorded so that attendees have access to all of the sessions and not just some of them.
Let us work with your public relations and IT staff to craft website chatbots to support greater communication with your community and custom GPTs for greater efficiency and productivity in staff.
Let us help your curriculum and instruction staff and instructional coaches to develop specific lessons to introduce the use of AI for learning to your students.

Whatever you need to ensure that your staff and students can effectively and safely harness the power of Artificial Intelligence for teaching and learning, TCEA can provide. Reach out to me today at lgracey@tcea.org and let’s start a conversation on how to move forward.

June 3, 2024 0 comment

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI Unveils ChatGPT-4o

by Lori Gracey May 28, 2024

written by Lori Gracey

There’s an upgraded AI tool in town, and it’s pretty sweet. On May 14, OpenAI announced the launch of GPT-4o (“o” stands for “omni”), their latest chatbot. It has a ton of new features and will be available to everyone at no cost, including those who have been using version 3.5 for free.

New Features

What makes ChatGPT-4o an “omni” tool is that it will accept any combination of text, audio, and image as input and then can create any combination of text, audio, and image as an output. Here are just a few of the amazing new abilities 4o has:

Performance: It’s faster, more than two times faster while performing at a higher level.
Voice: It has the ability to speak in a natural dialogue with real-time conversational speech recognition without any time delay (although so many people tried it out when it was announced that it overwhelmed the system). Natural dialogue means that it can listen and understand when you speak to it, eliminating the need for text input, and it can speak back to you. (Some users have said the voice GPT-4o speaks in reminds them of the AI character Samantha from the movie “Her.”) It can also recognize emotion from your voice.
Translation: It offers support in multiple languages with real-time translation. That means you can talk in one language and the other person can hear in their own language in real time. It can also translate text if you point your camera at it.
Visuals: It has the ability to detect emotions from facial expressions. If you show it a picture, graphic, chart, or diagram, it can recognize it and interact with you about it.

How to Access

Right now, free users of ChatGPT-3 will be able to access GPT-4 at no charge. This provides more processing power and greater capabilities such as:

Better understanding of natural language (making it easier for students to work with it)
The ability to recognize and work with images
Handling more complicated tasks such as multi-layered prompts
Being able to browse the internet
More logical output
Easily creating GPTs that run specific tasks for you without any programming knowledge

For Plus (paid) users, text mode in ChatGPT-4o is already available. When you log in, it will automatically ask if you want to use 4o. The new voice mode will be available in the coming weeks, offered first to Plus users with plans to expand availability to free users. A new desktop app for macOS will also be launched.

You can switch between the different versions of ChatGPT simply by clicking on the dropdown menu, as shown below.

What This Means for Education

For students who use the current free version of ChatGPT, this update to ChatGPT-4 at no cost will provide a stronger and more powerful tool with additional features, helping to level the digital divide. For educators, the ways to use ChatGPT-4o are almost infinite. Besides its use in developing curriculum resources such as lesson plans, rubrics, assessments, text passages, and more, the simple fact that it is so much faster will save even more time. And when the voice feature is implemented, being able to tell it what you need instead of having to type it in will also be a time saver, something critical for overworked teachers and administrators.

If you’d like to learn more about how to integrate ChatGPT into your professional life and with your students, check out the TCEA online course ChatGPT for Educators. For just $39, you can master this amazing chatbot, earn 12 CPE hours, and receive a digital certificate and badge.

May 28, 2024 0 comment

Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT Prompts for Instructional Coaches

by Lori Gracey October 4, 2023

written by Lori Gracey

By now, I hope that all educators are using the free tool ChatGPT (or a similar product) to save time, brainstorm ideas, and get help when you’re stuck. These AI chatbots are really amazing and get better every day. And whether you’re using Bard, Bing, Claude 2, the AI resources in Google Workspace, or any other chatbot tool, they all work in about the same way. That means once you have the basic tips and tricks of ChatGPT prompts down, you can be a master of all of them!

Things to Remember about ChatGPT and Chatbots

But to make sure that you are getting the results you want from your chatbot prompts, keep these important ideas in mind:

AI is a little like a mirror: it will reflect exactly what you put into it. If you put in bland or boring or unclear prompts, you’ll get bland or boring or unclear responses. More thought is required to make the prompt give you what you really need. (GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out)
Chatbots can occasionally generate incorrect or biased information.
If the chatbot doesn’t understand what you want, it will ask questions.
If it doesn’t provide what you want, tweak the prompt to ask again in a different way.
Two users entering the same prompt will not necessarily receive the same response.

Tips and things to keep in mind when prompt writing.

Tips for Effective ChatGPT Prompts

Keeping those ideas in mind will ensure that the chatbot responses you get back are what you asked for. But there are some additional tricks for creating effective prompts for chatbots. These require that, like any technology tool, you’ve thought through what you really want, how you want it (format), the tone you want the response to have, and more.

Check out these tips for effective chatbot prompts:

Use tone modifiers (see this tone modifiers chart).
If you don’t like the results of your prompt, you can use the “Improve” command. “I am going to give you an instruction. After receiving your response, I can write “improve” or “approved.” If I say “improve,” you should try to enhance the quality of your response by referring to the best examples from professionals you know in the field. Let me know who you are trying to mimic. My original instruction is as follows: [prompt].
Remember that you can use ChatGPT itself to create the best prompts. “Act as a prompt generator for ChatGPT. I will state what I want, and you will engineer a prompt that will yield the best and most desirable response from ChatGPT. Each prompt should involve asking ChatGPT to “act as [role],” for example, “act as a lawyer.” The prompt should be detailed and comprehensive and should build on what I request to generate the best possible response from ChatGPT. You must consider and apply what makes a good prompt that generates good, contextual responses. Don’t just repeat what I request, improve and build upon my request so that the final prompt will yield the best, most useful and favorable response. Place any variables in square brackets. Here is the prompt I want: [Desired prompt] – A prompt that will … Ex: A prompt that will generate a marketing copy that will increase conversions.”
Finally, you can use an AI prompt generator like PromptBot. This is a free tool that simplifies the process of creating detailed, powerful prompts for GPT-based bots.

PromptBot's home page explaining it's role to generate ChatGPT and chatbot prompts. — Screenshot by Emily Horn: **PromptBot** Home Page

Useful ChatGPT Prompts for Instructional Coaches

To help you get started, here are some prompts written especially for instructional coaches. Modify them as you need to.

I want to get better at [insert skill]. I am a beginner and have no prior experience. Create a 30-day plan for me to learn [insert skill] from scratch.
Create a beginner’s guide to using [ChatGPT] for [elementary teachers]. Topics should include [?, ?, and ?]. Include examples where necessary. The guide should be no longer than 500 words.
Write an email reminding teachers about our upcoming literacy team meeting on [insert date]. [include other details]
Your role is that of a problem solver. Give me a step-by-step guide to solving [insert your problem].
Summarize the text below into 500 words or less. Create sections for each important point with a brief summary of that point.” [insert text]
Write a lesson plan for ninth grade students struggling with reading Romeo and Juliet. Include the use of [Chromebooks] through accessing at least two age-appropriate, relevant websites. Include questions for students to answer from those two websites about the play.
List [five literacy station] ideas for [first grade students struggling with main idea]. Align it to this standard [TEKS ???].
What are some fun icebreaker activities for high school teachers that are short [less than five minutes long] and [do not require extra equipment or materials]. Make sure these have a [fall] theme.
I need some tips on developing an effective and inexpensive cybersecurity training strategy that will address the needs of my [school district or organization].
What promotes [student engagement]? Identify articles from trusted sources over the past three years that deal with this subject.
I’m an [instructional coach at a high school]. Create a comprehensive list of effective prompts tailored to amplify productivity and time management abilities for professionals in my industry, empowering them to achieve greater task efficiency and drive results.
You are an [instructional coach] specializing in [digital teacher and learning]. Your task is to create a [worksheet for college professors] that includes [exercises for practicing with ChatGPT], [tips for the best prompts for ChatGPT], and [reflection questions].
Celebrate a co-worker with this prompt. “Compose a congratulatory message to [co-worker name] for their recent [work anniversary or accomplishment], providing a sincere acknowledgment of their contributions and expressing appreciation for their hard work. [additional details you’d like to mention]
Design a 30-minute professional development session for middle school math teachers on using [MathWhiteboard]. Base it on these standards [TEKS for middle school math]. Include a hook to get them engaged, at least one collaborative activity, and a reflection.
Write a funny software tool description in a conversational tone that clearly explains key features and benefits of using [product URL or description] with [kindergarten students]. This description should get [kindergarten teachers] interested in using the tool.
I am looking to increase open rates for my [monthly instructional technology enewsletter for campus principals]. Give me a list of 10 persuasive email subject lines on current hot topics that will increase the open rate.
Create social media content for seven days that is focused on [topic] and that will engage [target audience]. Instructions: Create social media content that is appropriate for the chosen topic and target audience. Content should be varied. Content should also include calls to action that encourage users to engage with the content, such as likes, shares, and comments.
You are an [instructional coach] preparing for [a hands-on workshop on Canva for elementary librarians]. Your task is to create a [template] that includes [icebreaker activities], [goal-setting exercises], and [action planning].
Help me create a personalized plan for [teacher’s name] to achieve their goal of improving [using Chromebooks for writing for fourth grade students], including key milestones such as [learning to use Google Docs for research, using Google Docs to create an outline, and using Google Docs for editing].
Create the slides for a [one-hour virtual, self-paced training course] on how to use [ChatGPT and other AI tools] as a [12^th grade English teacher]. Include tips on what to emphasize on each slide.
Convert Excel files into visual charts by uploading your Excel file into ChatGPT and turning on Code Interpreter mode. Then use the following prompt: Analyze the spreadsheet I’ve uploaded and generate charts to visualize the data. (Note that this prompt requires a paid ChatGPT subscription.)
Combine spreadsheets. Enable Code Interpreter Mode in ChatGPT. Upload a spreadsheet. Then use the following prompt: Combine the data from the two spreadsheets and generate one spreadsheet with all of the data. (Note that this prompt requires a paid ChatGPT subscription.)

While you don’t have to be a “prompt engineer” to be successful with ChatGPT and other chatbots, you do have to follow a few simple rules and think out what you really want to get back. If you are looking for prompts for classroom teachers, be sure to check out C hatGPT Prompts for Busy Educators and Prompts for Lesson Planning with ChatGPT. Happy prompting!

October 4, 2023 0 comment

Math Mathematics

Math Teachers Will Love This Free Collaborative Math Whiteboard

by Lori Gracey August 25, 2023

written by Lori Gracey

I have to be honest. As a former (recovering?) ELAR teacher, the study of math usually leaves me confused and with a headache. But, even I was able to enjoy the study of mathematics when I discovered a new collaborative math tool: Math Whiteboard.

What Is Math Whiteboard and Why Should I Care?

This website, Math Whiteboard, was designed by math educators to provide a collaborative way to experience mathematics principles. They looked at research on the best ways to learn math and applied them in creating their math tool. And did I mention that it’s completely free for teachers, tutors, and students, always and forever?

How Do You Use Math Whiteboard?

Math Whiteboard is web-based and runs on any browser. So there is no software to install. It has a keyboard interface for entering math notations on your computer keyboard or via the virtual keyboard, or you can use a touch screen.

The tool has these features:

Math handwriting recognition
Erase with a scribble
Graph equations with ease
Create a slider for different inputs into problems
Drag and drop PDF files onto the board
Computer algebra system for solving simple to complex equations

An image displaying Math Whiteboard's graphing feature.

An image displaying Math Whiteboard's sliders feature.

An image displaying Math Whiteboard's handwriting recognition feature.

The teacher can create a collaborative whiteboard by selecting “Create a Whiteboard Now” and then share it with students by clicking “Copy Link.” You can then paste the link into an email, online document, website, LMS, etc.

Math Whiteboard Video Tutorial

If you want to learn more, the wonderful Eric Curts has one one-hour video tutorial on Math Whiteboard that will show you everything you need to know. I hope you enjoy trying out this new math tool. Let us know what you think in the comments!

August 25, 2023 0 comment

An image of the Claude 2 homescreen on the right with question "Does ChatGPT have some new competition?" on the left.

AI/VR Artificial Intelligence

Introducing Claude 2: Your New Best Chatbot

by Lori Gracey August 21, 2023

written by Lori Gracey

The world of artificial intelligence is changing so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up. Every day, another new tool or chatbot is unveiled that has the potential to save users time and make life easier. And this is also true for those of us in the education field, where staying current is important and saving time is critical. With that in mind, I would like to introduce you to Claude, a new AI tool that is definitely worth a look.

What is Claude?

Released in April 2022 by Anthropic, Claude 2 is another of the many new chatbots available (like ChatGPT, Bard, Bing, Perplexity, and Jasper). It assists with content summarization, general research, creative and collaborative writing, Q&A, and coding. A user enters a question (called a prompt) and the tool answers. Claude 2 is currently free.

How is Claude 2 different from ChatGPT 3.5?

Most of you are probably more familiar with the chatbot ChatGPT, especially its free form, version 3.5. But there are some significant differences between ChatGPT and Claude 2 in their underlying architecture. These differences are worth noting, as you can see in the table below.

Claude 2	ChatGPT 3.5
Trickery and deception avoided through its modular architecture	Better at creative writing tasks and generating imaginative content
Can handle and recall larger amounts of information	More of a personality
Only available in the United States and the United Kingdom at this time; supports only English	Available in 163 countries and with support for multiple languages
Does not accept image inputs	Can recognize what is displayed in an image, although not always accurately
Includes current data	Trained on data up to September 2021 only
Can accept up to five files, up to 10MB each, including PDFs, TXT, and CSV files that can be added using the paperclip icon before a prompt is entered.
Better at text summarization
Faster processor time

Comparing Chatbots: Claude 2 and ChatGPT

Since I find that it’s best to use the same prompts when comparing different chatbots, I tested Claude with my standard prompt: “What is the most effective instructional strategy to use with fifth grade ESL students?”

Here’s how ChatGPT 3.5 replied:

An example ChatGPT chatbot generated response.

And here’s the response I got from Claude:

An example of a Claude 2 chatbot generated response.

When I asked ChatGPT 3.5 for a Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards-aligned lesson plan for fifth grade ESL students on the life cycle, I got this response. It did pull from the TEKS but gave me the ELAR standards and not the science ones. Several of the activities also seemed weaker to me and not as engaging or on level, especially the enrichment. And it did not really include anything related to ESL students.

Objective:

Students will be able to describe and understand the life cycle of a butterfly using appropriate vocabulary and language structures.

TEKS Standards: English Language Arts and Reading

5.2.A: Identify the meaning of common prefixes and suffixes.

5.4.B: Describe the plot’s sequence of events.

5.14.A: Listen actively to interpret a message.

Duration:

Approximately 60 minutes

Materials:

Chart paper or whiteboard

Markers

Visuals of a butterfly’s life cycle (pictures or diagrams)

Butterfly life cycle worksheets

Colored pencils or crayons

Butterfly life cycle video (optional)

Hook (10 minutes):

Begin the lesson by activating students’ prior knowledge. Show pictures or diagrams of different animal life cycles, such as a frog, chicken, or butterfly. Ask students to discuss in pairs or small groups what they know about life cycles and what similarities and differences they notice between the different animals’ life cycles. Encourage them to use vocabulary related to life cycles and discuss their ideas as a class.

Activities:

Vocabulary Introduction (10 minutes):

Introduce key vocabulary related to the butterfly’s life cycle, such as egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Write these words on the chart paper or whiteboard and provide simple definitions or visual representations for each term. Discuss the pronunciation and ask students to repeat the words.

Butterfly Life Cycle Presentation (15 minutes):

Show visuals or a short video depicting the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle. Narrate or explain the process step-by-step, using simple language and reinforcing the vocabulary introduced earlier. Pause at each stage to check for understanding and encourage students to ask questions or share observations.

Group Activity: Life Cycle Diagram (15 minutes):

Divide the class into small groups and provide each group with a large sheet of paper and colored pencils or crayons. Instruct them to draw and label a diagram of the butterfly’s life cycle, using the vocabulary they learned earlier. Encourage collaboration and discussion within each group. After they finish, have each group present their diagram to the class.

Formative Assessment (5 minutes):

As a formative assessment, ask individual students to explain one stage of the butterfly’s life cycle using the appropriate vocabulary. Observe their responses and provide feedback accordingly.

Enrichment (10 minutes):

For students who show a deeper understanding, provide additional information about the importance of butterflies in the ecosystem and their role in pollination. Show pictures or videos of different butterfly species and discuss their diversity.

Individual Practice (5 minutes):

Distribute butterfly life cycle worksheets to each student. The worksheet should have labeled spaces for them to draw and describe each stage of the life cycle using the vocabulary words they learned. Collect the worksheets for assessment and to provide feedback on their understanding.

Closure (5 minutes):

Summarize the main points of the lesson, emphasizing the key vocabulary and the stages of the butterfly’s life cycle. Encourage students to share what they enjoyed or found interesting during the lesson.

Claude 2 gave me the following response. It did pull from the science TEKS and included an activity to activate prior knowledge. In addition, this lesson plan includes the use of graphic organizers and anchor charts, both useful for ESL student learning.

Topic: Life Cycles

TEKS Addressed:

5.2C: Students will identify stages and sequence in the life cycles of different plants and animals.

5.8F: Students will organize and present data in a variety of ways including detailed illustrations, flow charts, posters, and graphs.

Hook: Show images of life cycles (butterfly, frog, plant). Have students discuss what they see and what they already know about life cycles.

Activating Prior Knowledge: In partners, students complete a graphic organizer listing the stages of a familiar life cycle (human, pumpkin, butterfly) and draw quick sketches. Share out.

New Material: Teacher explains stages of life cycles using an anchor chart. Show video clip on general life cycle patterns. Have students take notes on stages.

Guided Practice: In groups, students are given cards depicting the life cycle of a specific organism out of sequence. They work to put the cards in order and identify the stages. Share out.

Formative Assessment: Have students draw the life cycle of an assigned organism on paper, labeling the stages. Teacher evaluates sketches and labels for accuracy.

Differentiated Instruction:

– Advanced students add details on duration and key processes in each stage.

– Struggling students are given cards with stage names to sequence.

Individual Practice: Students choose an organism and create an illustrated life cycle poster labeling the sequence of stages.

Enrichment: Students research an unusual life cycle (frog, butterfly, etc.) and present key learnings to the class.

Closure: Students share out key learnings about life cycles. Teacher reviews structure and purpose of life cycle stages.

Claude’s Chatbot Brother: ClaudeScholar

ClaudeScholar is a research assistant for science that can synthesize data, extract insights, and automate scientific workflows. Users can search through any document with natural language, uncover insights across multiple research papers, and even task the AI assistant with complicated workflows like generating new compounds and modeling protein interactions using state-of-the-art research. While this is not likely to be a tool most of us will use, it is interesting to see the direction that chatbots are going.

Trying Out Claude 2

If you’d like to sign up for free to try Claude2, visit Anthropic’s website and click “Talk to Claude.” You’ll then be prompted to sign up with your email address or enter an existing address to access the bot.

In the near future, it is likely that we will regularly use a variety of chatbot tools, depending on what we need to accomplish, just as we may choose to use Canva for one type of design project and Adobe Photoshop for another. So now’s a good time to begin to learn what each tool is especially good at. I encourage you to try Claude 2 and let me know what you think!

More AI Articles:

August 21, 2023 0 comment

Infographic of the employee development cycle outlined in the article

Leadership

How an Engaged Leader Fosters Employee Development

by Lori Gracey July 13, 2023

written by Lori Gracey

One of the key roles of any leader is to foster growth in the people we work with. Recognizing where they are and what they need in order to further develop their skills is critical. As I discussed in a recent blog, a default leader typically provides the same growth opportunities to all employees while an engaged leader differentiates the support provided to staff based on where the individual is in the development cycle. Today, let’s look at the employee development cycle and define what each level requires from an engaged leader.

How People Typically Develop

Dr. Stevie Dawn defines the employee development cycle as having four distinct levels, each of which requires different interactions from the leader in order for growth to happen.

An graphic of Dr. Stevie Dawn's employee development cycle

Level 1: Low Skill/High Commitment

Typically, these are new hires to the organization or those new to their position. They are your first-year teachers or those experienced staff who have moved into a different job responsibility. They are excited about new opportunities and really want to be successful. They want to make a great impression on their boss as well as their peers. But they may lack the procedural skills and the group social norms to be completely successful.

An engaged leader helps a Level 1 staff member with a direct approach. Explicit instructions and step-by-step procedures will help them be most successful. This is not the staff member to approach with unclear expectations. Additional tasks outside their new position should be carefully considered before they are assigned as they can become overwhelmed quickly in Level 1 of employee development.

Level 2: Some Skill/Low Commitment

About 90 days into the new position, a Level 1 staff member may become a Level 2 in the employee development cycle. This person has lost some of their excitement about the job and is now much more familiar with the roadblocks and drawbacks of the position. The shine has worn off and they are feeling like they may have made a mistake in taking this role. The road ahead seems dark, and they lack a positive outlook. In addition, they may have lost faith and trust in the organization.

This is a time for the engaged leader to act. Use a coaching approach to remind them of the goal and where the team is headed. Emphasize the importance that they play on the team in reaching that goal. Focus on the mission and provide lots of encouragement.

It’s a good idea to go ahead and schedule some time with these folks before they reach their 90 days so that you can prevent them from getting completely lost. Take note of what they are doing well and how their skills have grown and share that with them and with their peers. Recognize them for how hard they are working and their desire to improve.

Level 3: Variable Skill and Commitment

About 90% of the workforce falls into this category of the employee development cycle most of the time. As a group, they have a mixed bag of skills, having fine-tuned some but ignoring others that are needed. They like some of the tasks that they have to do in their role but dislike others. There are good days for them and bad days, but overall, they are consistent and competent.

A supportive approach is needed for them from the engaged leader. More autonomy in their job should be provided as they have now proven themselves. But encouragement is definitely still needed. Remind them of all that they have accomplished and of the goals still waiting to be met. Ask them for feedback and clarification about their tasks and how you can better help them. Provide them with new opportunities to learn and shine, but continue emphasizing skill development where they are lacking.

Level 4: High Skill/High Commitment

These high-achieving staff members have gained tremendous knowledge and potential and are now looking for a new challenge. They want to move up in the organization. If this desire to advance is stifled, they may face burnout and the development of a negative outlook.

With them, the engaged leader should use a delegation approach. Have them serve as mentors or senior leaders; give them leadership roles in committees or projects. Or move them into a completely new position, thus putting them back at Level 1 with new opportunities and challenges. Challenge them, but also be sure to provide the professional learning they will need to be successful.

How well the engaged leader individualizes their approach to employee development can determine whether the organization reaches its goal or not. So, think about each of your team members and where they are in the cycle. Then schedule a time to meet with each one and follow the approach recommended.

July 13, 2023 0 comment

Leadership

Developing Engaged Leadership Skills

by Lori Gracey June 19, 2023

written by Lori Gracey

The school year has ended, and district and campus administrators are trying to catch their breath and get ready for the next year. In the midst of all this though, it’s a good time to reflect on our own individual leadership skills and on how to be a better leader this year.

Default Leadership Mode

Most of the time, we are in “default leader” mode, our typical or habitual leadership style. This involves a certain amount of “autopilot” behavior, carrying out day-to-day tasks, and reacting to events as they come up. It is characterized by reliance on existing routines, procedures, and policies, without proactively seeking to innovate or drive change.

To be honest, it’s very easy to slip into default leader mode during the frantic year. There is just so much to do as we face crisis after crisis. So, we slip into doing things as we’ve always done them, spending the least amount of time necessary to solve the current problem. Interactions with staff are primarily on the basic, emergency level.

default leadership quote from the article

But while default leadership gets us through the fires, it doesn’t help our staff to grow, and it also doesn’t set us up for success in the future. Instead, we need to remind ourselves to move into “engaged leader” mode.

The Engaged Leader

An engaged leader is one who is practicing a more active, proactive, and intentional leadership style. In this mode, we are strategically more focused on actively leading and influencing the school district or campus, consciously seeking out new opportunities for improvement, purposefully communicating and engaging with staff, students, and parents, and making more deliberate efforts to drive changes and achieve the strategic objectives.

engaged leadership quote from the article

Being an engaged leader is a mindset; it’s a conscious decision we make every moment. It requires the ability to recognize when we slip back into default leadership mode and pull from tools to help move us back into engaged thinking.

Strategies for Being an Engaged Leader

So how do we ensure that we are functioning as an engaged leader? Here are some strategies to help:

Active Listening: One of the most effective ways to become more engaged is through active listening. This involves not just hearing what others are saying, but also processing and understanding it, asking questions for clarity, and using that information to inform our actions and decisions. The rule of asking three questions before giving an answer to a staff member is a good one to follow here. Remember that they should be doing more talking than us.
Visible Presence: Be present in the hallways, classrooms, and at school events. This not only increases your awareness of what’s happening on your campus but also shows your commitment and engagement to both staff and students. Admittedly, it’s sometimes impossible to get out of our offices. But presence is a critical component of engaged leadership. So go ahead now and block out time in your calendar for the next year to be out and about. And hold that time sacred even when other tasks come up.
Regular Communication: Regularly communicate with all stakeholders: students, teachers, staff, parents, and community partners. This could involve sharing updates, recognizing achievements, seeking input, and discussing challenges and opportunities. Remember that they can’t read our minds and they don’t know what we’re doing unless we tell them.
Empower Others: Engage teachers, staff, students, and parents in leadership roles and decision-making processes. This can foster a sense of ownership, engagement, and motivation throughout the school community. We don’t have to be, and shouldn’t be, alone in this work. What groups can you create and empower to bring you fresh ideas?
Continuous Learning: Seek out opportunities for personal and professional development. This could involve reading the latest research, attending conferences and workshops, pursuing further education, and learning from other successful leaders. Things are changing constantly in the world of education, and it is critical that we stay current.
Positive School Culture: Foster a positive, inclusive, and supportive school culture. Recognize and celebrate success, address issues in a constructive and timely manner, and make it clear that all members of the school community are valued and respected. Letting culture problems grow and fester is guaranteed to move you back into default leader mode.
Innovation: Don’t be afraid to innovate and try new things. This could involve implementing new teaching methods, adopting new technologies, rethinking school policies and procedures, or launching new programs and initiatives. Change for the sake of change is bad, but holding fast to old practices that are no longer as effective can be equally damaging and leave us in default leader mode.

Engaged leadership doesn’t happen accidentally; it’s something that we have to strive for every single day. I am a big believer in adding time to be that leader into my calendar regularly and religiously. What will you do to be an engaged leader this year?

June 19, 2023 0 comment

AI/VR

Try It On: An AI Tool for Stunning Headshots

by Lori Gracey June 5, 2023

written by Lori Gracey

I’ve had a few headshots taken in my career. Most of the time, they look serious, professional, and, to be honest, a little stuffy. But those days are gone! I just tried a new artificial intelligence tool that lets you upload photos of yourself, and it creates amazing headshots for you from them. TCEA President Mindi Vandagriff shared Try It On with the board recently, and I just had to give it a try. I normally hate having my picture taken, so this seemed less painful than sitting in front of a camera. And it really was.

How does Try It On work?

You enter the “studio” for your “photo shoot” and begin uploading 10 to 20 photos of yourself. They have specific requirements about the size of the photo, not including anyone else, not including your hands (we know the problem that AI has with hands), and such. But they accepted almost all of my photos with no problem. Also, you can easily crop them inside the program. Once you’ve uploaded all of your photos, your work is done and the AI takes over. You’ll get an email saying the photoshoot was a success and you can see your shots. The platform says it takes 24 hours to generate the images, but I got mine back in just two hours.

How much does Try It On cost?

For $17, you get a minimum of 100 photos (I got 112, for some reason; yay, me!). You can view all of the photos that have been generated for you and download them. For customers who want an extra human touch on their portraits, they offer human editing at $10 a portrait.

Image of three steps to get headshots through Try It On, an AI tool for generating headshots. — Visit **Try It On** to learn more.

My Try It On Results

Ready to see some of my headshots?

Five headshots of Lori Gracey, TCEA's executive director, that were generated by Try It On.

Yes, the site did make me look a little bit younger than I normally look. And it added more makeup than I normally wear. But I do think that the photos work, and I could use some of them as my professional headshot. What do you think?

Potential Drawbacks

Some potential drawbacks of this site include that I am not sure who else can see these photos. But their privacy policy does say “Once we generate your headshots, you will have the ability to permanently delete them from our servers in order to maintain your privacy.” So, I can download them for myself and then delete them. Also, some of the images that were created of me (and that I didn’t share with you) are a little risqué. Nothing too offensive, but they were not images I would use professionally.

I had a lot of fun using this AI tool for generating headshots. I realized that I don’t have a lot of photos of me (not surprising, since I, like most of you, am usually the one taking the photo). And my husband really enjoyed the results. Let me know if you try this and how it turns out for you!

June 5, 2023 4 comments

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