🗑 Inside: Our new AI Teacher Toolkit (PDF)

Tools, prompts, lesson ideas and more!

Author

Matt Miller
October 03, 2024

💼 “Here’s how to get Matt’s stuff …”

Whenever I do a keynote speech at a school district event or a conference, I always give away something for free.

The freebie depends on the speech:

  • In my “Art and Science of Memorable Teaching” speech, I give away 101 Practical Ways to Ditch That Textbook 🗑

  • In my “Attention Switch” speech, I give away The Attention Switch Student Engagement Pack ⚡️

  • In my “Tomorrow Glasses” speech about AI, I have given away the Tomorrow Glasses Teacher Resource Pack 👓

I’ll put an image of the freebie on the screen and say …

“You must be thinking, ‘Wow, that’s some great stuff! I wonder where I can get Matt’s stuff?’”

Then I put a link on the screen: GetMattsStuff.com (laughter ensues 😹)

Here’s the problem, though …

I wanted a new freebie for the “Tomorrow Glasses” speech.

🤖 An AI Teacher Toolkit. 🛠

We’ve been working on it … and it’s finally complete!

Download the PDF here — or scroll below to read a few of the ideas inside it!

(PS: If you’d like me to present any of those keynote speeches to your school, district, or event … just email [email protected] for details. We respond fast!)

Inside:

  • Thanks for everything, Jamboard 💛 

  • 👀 DTT Digest: Halloween, Book Creator, Magic Words, kindness

  • 💡 The Big Idea: Our New AI Teacher Toolkit

  • 🎯 Quick Teaching Strategy / 🗄 Template / 💻 Tech Tip: xxxxxxxxx

  • 😄 Smile of the day: (turns iPad around) 💸

  • 👋 How we can help

Thanks for everything, Jamboard 💛 

As of this week, Jamboard is officially “view only,” meaning no more creating new Jams or editing the old ones. If you’re still looking for an alternative, consider FigJam.

Ready to make the switch? Here are some resources to help you along the way:

🚀 FigJam Frenzy to Classroom Hero! Join Lisa Highfill on October 10th at 6:30pm ET for an action-packed webinar where she’ll share her wild journey using FigJam at Pleasanton Virtual Academy. From basic tools to transformative teaching hacks, Lisa's story will leave you inspired to kickstart your own FigJam adventures. [Register here!]

✨ FigJam 101: The Ultimate Guide! Don’t miss this free PD webinar on October 8th at 4pm ET where Figma’s team of former educators will walk you through everything you need to know about making the move from Jamboard to FigJam. It’s your one-stop shop for learning the new tools, features, and workflows. [Register here!]

🎉 10 Days of Jam on Twitter! Follow the FigmaEDU team on Twitter as they drop one FigJam resource every day for the next 10 days. Whether you’re just starting or already knee-deep in sticky notes, these tips will make your FigJam feel a bit easier.

👀 DTT Digest

4 teaching resources worth checking out today

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

🛠 Our NEW AI Teacher Toolkit

It’s here! Our AI Teacher Toolkit is 25 pages long and includes:

  • 40 AI tools for teachers

  • AI prompt examples

  • “By the way” lessons

  • 5 ways parents can use AI at home

  • AI lesson plans and units

🛠 In the AI tools, we summarize 40 AI tools to support teaching and learning. An example:

Goblin Tools is a collection of small, simple, single-task tools designed to help neurodivergent people with tasks they find overwhelming or difficult. The tools include Magic ToDo, Formalizer, Judge, Estimator, and Compiler.

Goblin tools: http://goblin.tools 

✍️ In the AI prompts, we have copy/paste prompts you can plug into an AI assistant like ChatGPT. An example:

Create an activity for (grade level and subject) students that takes approximately (time) to complete. The activity should incorporate (tech tool or materials) and a problem-solving activity where students work in pairs to solve a real-world problem related to (specific topic). The engaging hook should incorporate my students' interest in (list student interests).

Copy text. Paste into AI assistant. Change parenthesis. Submit!

💡 In the “By the way” lessons, you’ll find quick wisdom about AI that you can impart on your students to help them learn how AI works. An example:

By the way, did you know that AI makes mistakes? They’re called “hallucinations.” Sometimes, if you tell an AI model it’s wrong, even if it is wrong, it says it’s right, so you have to be careful.

A “by the way” lesson about AI inaccuracies

👩‍👧‍👦 In the ways parents can use AI at home, we have several ideas to support learning at home — with copy-and-paste prompts. An example:

Build background knowledge with chatbots: Use chatbots like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and Google Gemini to help you understand concepts yourself. Sample prompt: “I am a parent helping my 6th grader study. Explain photosynthesis to me in a way that helps me understand and teach it to my child.”

Parent section includes a black-and-white printable to send home

💼 In the AI lessons and unit plans, you’ll find free ready-to-use lessons and units about AI. An example:

aiEDU Challenges: Influence how AI works, experiment with AI in your life, and share your findings with your community. Example challenges to share with students: Can you prove you’re smarter than ChatGPT? / Can you figure out how Instagram ranks your posts?

Ready to dive into these resources — and more? They’re all bonuses, gifts that we share with our newsletter readers like you. (Because, you know … we like you. And we want to make your life easier.) 😊

💻 TECH TIP 💻

🙋 Build your own LEGO minifig

If your students love LEGO (or if LEGO brings them happy nostalgia) this is for you!

This new Piece By Piece Generator is a fun feature to go along with a new LEGO-themed movie — “Piece By Piece” — that features Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake, and more.

🔉 FYI: It autoplays music when you start building!

Choose skin tone, expression, headpiece, and outfit … and you’re done!

Could be fun for students to create their own LEGO minifigs … or create one of the teacher … or of a friend … or of a character they’re reading or studying about!

PS: Here’s mine … decided to go classy with the tux!

😄 Smile of the day

(turns iPad around) “OK, now it’s just going to ask you a couple questions …”

h/t @WeAreTeachers via Instagram

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

  1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

  2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

  3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!

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