👋 A new AI community for school leaders

👋 New community: AI for Admins

It’s tough right now being a school leader, making responsible decisions about AI in the best interest of students.

You don’t have to do it alone.

I just created a new FREE community for school leaders who are helping their school or district navigate AI decisions.

It’s called AI for Admins … but it’s not just for administrators.

If you consider yourself a school leader and are participating in AI-related decisions, this place is for you.

That means: superintendents, curriculum directors, IT directors, principals, tech/instructional coaches, teachers, library/media specialists ... anyone who's involved in AI conversations for schools/districts.

If you join AI for Admins, here’s what you’ll get:

• An email newsletter where we’ll share ideas, tips, resources, and discussion. Topics could include school policies, AI integration into instruction, student considerations, AI tools, and more (when we have them).

• A community with resources and discussion boards where school leaders can learn, share, and collaborate on solutions.

Click here to join AI for Admins for FREE

PS: Want to share this with your principal, IT director, superintendent, etc?

You can forward them this email … or copy/paste the text below:

I found a group called AI for Admins. It’s free, and it’s for anyone helping their school/district to make decisions about artificial intelligence. It includes an email newsletter and a community with discussion boards and resources. If you want to join, you can here: http://ditch.link/aiforadmins

😆 Share that you’re going to Ditch Summit

The Ditch Summit starts in about three weeks.

(Three weeks … wow!)

It’s our free online conference for educators with ~100 sessions … interesting, relevant topics … and brilliant presenters. (Plus free certificates of completion for PD credit.)

The good news: You get access to the Ditch Summit with your subscription to this email newsletter. There’s nothing special you need to do.

However …

There’s something special you CAN do if you’d like!

You can share on social media that you’re participating in Ditch Summit!

Use this Google Slides template to create a custom image with your picture in it! (It’s easy to add your picture. There are instructions in the template!)

Download the image by going to File > Download as > PNG.

Then share it on social media! (Tag me, too: @jmattmiller on Twitter/X!)

Need some text to copy? Here, I’ve got you covered below …

I’m going to #DitchSummit, a FREE online conference for educators!

It has ~100 sessions on interesting, relevant topics with fantastic presenters!

I’m excited about (insert what you’re excited about … or delete this if you want).

You can join for FREE, too! Register at: http://DitchSummit.com

🗄 TEMPLATE: Be the Bot

Looking for a quick and easy activity during Thanksgiving week?

(By the time you get this, you might be on break already … so stick it in your pocket for the days leading up to winter break!)

The Be the Bot activity helps students summarize and predict — and it’s fun because it feels like a game!

Here’s how it works:

• Come up with a question to ask an AI assistant (ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Bard, etc.) related to your class content

• Give students their own copy of the Be the Bot template

• Students copy/type the question in the first text box of the Be the Bot template

• Students anticipate what they think the AI assistant will say about that question/topic

• When they’re done, you ask the AI assistant the question on your teacher device and display the results to students

• Students compare/contrast what the AI assistant said to their own response

Example prompts:

• I’m traveling to (insert place). What are the top places I should visit while I’m there?

• What are the most important happenings in the life of (person you’re studying)?

• What are the most important things one should consider when (activity you’re doing in class)?

Why this works:

• Prioritizing: The AI assistant won’t state everything there is to know about the given topic. Therefore, it has to prioritize the most important things. It’s a good exercise in assigning importance.

• Summarizing: Students have to recall and summarize what they’ve learned about that topic, which helps them consolidate memory and learning.

• Justifying: Before seeing the AI results (and even after!) students can say why they think certain items should be on the list.

Ready to use this template? Get the Be the Bot template here