Halfway done...
We’re just over halfway through 2023, and I’m reviewing my year, mostly because I have a bit of a break before fall classes for myself and a new school year at work. Reflecting is a great practice to center your mind and see what you’ve accomplished. If you’re like me, it’s often difficult to recognize all the work you have done, no matter how inconsequential you believe it to be.
Trust me, it’s all worth it, and none of it is inconsequential. Sometimes there's an intrinsic value in creating something for the sake of creating it.
Anyway, here are 10 things worth sharing this week:
A quick review of my year. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
Mississippi has blocked access to great services like Libby and Hoopla for anyone under 18 without direct parental consent. Here’s a quick reminder that banning things doesn’t help, and the quick workaround to this is for parents to just give their kids access to their library card information to log in. Yes, I’m a rebel, and yes, this is nonsense.
Here are 5 questions students should ask about AI-generated content.
If you have concerns about students using AI tools to cheat, don’t rely on detection tools. For one thing, they don’t work very well. And they are biased against non-native speakers. Also, maybe the better conversation to have is on how students are demonstrating learning.
Toby Ord’s “The Precipice” is essentially a discourse on how we avoid destroying the future of our planet by taking action now as a collective group. Here are my thoughts on how these topics intersect with the world of education and ensuring equity for every student.
I’m a card-carrying member of the Free Software Foundation and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Free and open-source software (FOSS) has been at the forefront of equity for decades. Here are some thoughts on the importance of avoiding digital colonialism and emphasizing the role of FOSS in promoting global digital justice.
Catlin Tucker explores the evolution of the flipped classroom model and discusses its potential beyond traditional homework assignments.
Stephen Downes has some thoughts on the potential applications of AI in the design of online learning.
Finally, in case you or someone you love needs them, here are the instructions for over 6,000 Lego sets, courtesy of the Internet Archive.
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