In our meeting we discussed my article over the long term use of 1-to-1 Chromebooks in the classroom, as well as Paula's article over the use of AI to help in writing. Below the video I have provided a transcript of the meeting.
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Chistoper - Paula Meeting.mp4
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Thaddeus
OK, uh. Does anybody want to start with maybe their? Article they've written about and then maybe we can call it all time in on what this talk about.
Chris
Sure, I'll. I'll go ahead and start. First, you know my name is Chris Highberg. I teach biology and physics at Birdville High School in North Richland Hills, and my article that I was writing about was what are the the long term effects of students having? Chromebooks with them all day, this increased use of technology and really looking at from the the standpoint of. You know, is it hurting or helping their academic performance? You know, what is the mental health impact because? You know, a lot of the research that I did when looking at this topic is there was an increase in anxiety among children. With this increase, because and a lot of it has to do with, you know, outside of what's on the Chromebooks, but. With their their. Smartphones with social media and you know they're they're trapped in these fake worlds and you know, they see the stuff people have that they want. And then it makes them anxious about, you know. I'm not going to be able to have that.
Thaddeus
Yeah. Yeah. And I think you posted in the GroupMe about like the anxious generation, that book kind of thing, I'm sorry, kind of looking to read or that or listen to it on audio books, so.
Paula
It's a good read. I started that book last year. Coming into 7th grade, it that has been one of my concerns because you see it in the upper grade levels really all all this technology starts to affect the kid.
Chris
Yeah, like on my campus, we started a new like our electronic policy where they're not supposed to have their phones. They're when the bell rings to when the **** ****, they they have their phones during passing periods of lunch. But the issue is with my juniors and seniors, it's. Next to impossible to get them to put them away because they spent the last 2-3 years with no one telling them, put it away and then with my freshman most of them. Like, it's pretty easy to put, but a lot of them they'll hide their phones on their Chromebooks and make it look like they're doing work when it's and you know, I have go guardian running constantly.
Speaker
Well.
Chris
To try to, you know, monitor what they're doing, you know, tracking how long you know they're off task and on task and it's. Just it's it's. As the school year has gone on, now we're in. This. Last. Four weeks. It's gotten hard, especially now that they're done with their star test and by biology classes. They're like, why are we still here? What? What did we learn? Why can't I just have my phone out and watch TikTok all day?
Thaddeus
Yeah.
Paula
That's what I do with every day.
Chris
Yeah, I can only imagine at the middle school level.
Thaddeus
Yeah, yeah.
Paula
They can't even go to the bathroom without taking their phone. Like I mean it's it's a struggle all the time and they're constantly ours is they're their phones are supposed to be off and in their backpacks and at the beginning of the year it went well. But as the year wore on, they've been able to have it.
Chris
Yep.
Paula
Howl whenever Subs. And so we're back to just arguments anytime we ask them to put them away, they don't. Think they should? They they should have to do that.
Thaddeus
Yeah, I want to say actually kind of in the same vein, but it's just a little different topic. I guess I went to technology conference and they had a guest speaker or a keynote speaker. It talked about the. The schools or like how they're using the AI, you know, some schools are like, it's the just absence there. There's not. There's just blogging AI and you know the kids of course are going to find a way around it and use it anyway. And some kids, some schools are like, they show them appropriately how to use them. I think that's the key is like, they're going to have these things, you know, that's that's the way things are going. And so how to show them with cell phones or whatever they whatever digital tools you have to show them like, hey, this is how to properly use this and this is not appropriate time to have it. So in my classes we. They let's choose as a teacher. Like take them up or not, or kind of thing and I don't. Take them their. Cell phones we're like and I teach. In high school. So I'm like I'm getting. You ready for a? Job and and that job they will not take up your phones. They will not take your phones. But the caveat is if they see you on your phone.
Speaker
MHM.
Paula
Right.
Speaker
Right.
Thaddeus
One times warning, the second time you're fired. Yeah. And so it's kind of a, you know, there they just like, ohh, yeah, yeah, it was like and.
Chris
Yeah.
Thaddeus
They. They actually, uh, yeah, some kids come back and tell me, like, yeah, that was really helpful. So.
Paula
I tried to do that too like explain. To them like. We're preparing you for a totally different situation.
Speaker
Yeah.
Paula
And you have to still be responsible. For getting your stuff done. And and following the rules, you know, can't sit here on my phone if I am on my phone at work, I'm usually checking my emails because I can't get to my computer. Something like that. And showing, you know, I don't stay on my phone the whole time either. And that's like especially for star testing. We had that this week. That's why I'm like, super tired because it's a lot of policing students for that.
Chris
Always.
Paula
And you're, you're on every second cause they're sneaky. And we had potential, you know, cell phone violations. Not in my room because I put my phone up. I show them I take my stuff off like I can't touch mine. This is deadly serious. You cannot touch yours. And I think sometimes with a lot of students, when you kind of explain to them. It does help you know, but. Cell phones aren't even the problem. It's they'll be on a game in 2 seconds flat on their iPads because that's what and we have iPads, which I think make the issue even worse because what do you do on? IPads play games.
Speaker
Yeah.
Paula
A Chromebook, I think, has a different feel, but an iPad, I mean, they're handed those as children, as babies to play on. And so really trying to show them that this is a tool to help us in class as well. But I use the iPads for.
Chris
Yeah, and that's that's I think that's because one comment that darker Harrison gave me about my rough draft is that you know, I gave all this good. You know, evidence of what's going on, what's the effects. But I gave no solutions. Like what? What were some and I think a lot of it circles back to one of the one of the other articles in this group that was written about how, you know, train them early. On the proper use of it, and not just, you know, cause. We see, you know, in the high school level we see the kids that got their devices mainly having them with them all the time when they were in, you know. 5th grade or higher and they they weren't given any training. They're like, here's your device. Get to working. But if you could get them at an earlier age, training them on, what's the the the proper use and you know it's a, it's an academic tool. And you know, play can come later once you get your work done.
Thaddeus
Yeah, yeah.
Paula
Have you noticed that I know in like our school the last couple of years we haven't even had a computer class.
Speaker
Hmm.
Chris
We we do have, I mean we have computer classes, we just don't have. Uh, but they're they're an AP computer science class and like I know at the the elementary and the middle schools around me, like in my district and one of the neighboring districts, they got rid of the computer lab rooms. And they repurpose those rooms into other things, because now everyone has a device. What's what's the point of having desktops and giving them computer time if they just have them? On them all the time.
Paula
Yeah, ours did that too.
Thaddeus
Yeah, that's only gonna thing up point point. You brought up go guardian coming. And they just find it through too. And go gardens is actually it's designed to be used on Chromebook, right? So I'm in a computer lab and some of the things, the features and go Guardian will not work because I'm in a physical computer. And then. We're like, oh, you. Know it gives you this warm mess. And I'm like. Uh, well, anyway, so it's made to be on a Chromebook and that's what they have it it's online. Based filter.
Chris
Yeah, it's a, it's a Google Google extension because I I it lets me see what they're doing in Chrome, but if they if they go access any of their files and it's a kid that we found.
Thaddeus
Yeah, yeah.
Chris
And and how we had to change up how we do our tests and do it in a lockdown browser because they were they were, they figured out that they could open a file. On their Chromebook and have it up like a PDF that opened in a non Chrome in non Chrome viewing and we couldn't see it.
Paula
Oh my.
Thaddeus
Now, yeah, I just want to. Point out also like. A little bit like I said, like I talked about not teaching a high school technology listener coming. And so we have like, some classes they're not, they're like culinary or barbering or so that actually there's not a computer lab in that classroom. And so they're working on, like, creating a dish or some, like, a catering order kind of thing. So. They actually have a really strict policy, like if you're on your cell phone, then yeah, you're done for the day or some of that. So there's like this safety and security. And so they if they're. Yeah. Because like if you're. Yeah, on your phone and doing that in real life, it's it's not gonna go well.
Chris
Yeah. Well, it's it's when I was doing my own undergraduate work. So I have a I have a degree in biology and one of the classes I took was micro. And they their our lab professor would tell us that if you pull out your cell phone in lab, our only choice is to put it in the autoclave. And you know, that's that's gonna essentially steam it for 15 minutes and. You know, there goes your cell phone.
Thaddeus
Yeah, yeah.
Paula
That. There would be some kids that would have a complete meltdown. I mean putting, turning it off and putting it in their backpack is like a lot. So that would be that would be hilarious though.
Speaker
Yes.
Chris
And and I and I do explain to my students, it's like I know it's hard and it's like I'm I'm old enough to be your parents, and I find myself on my phone when I'm at home, bored when I should probably be doing other things.
Speaker
Yeah.
Thaddeus
So it's a continual thing. It's not like, oh, we just learned it once. It's like you gotta be consistent throughout the year or like throughout multiple grades and stuff that, you know, it's very, very, it's ongoing.
Paula
And I I think that's that's part of the problem, because if you have LAX teachers or Subs that let them get away with it, they fall back into those habits so. Right, because they're literally addicted. We started warning kids that were picking up iPads in two weeks because, I mean, they go through a whole detox period after we pick them up. That is crazy to deal with. So we started preparing them like, hey, you've got two weeks and we go back to paper. And they don't know what to do at that point.
Speaker
That's fine.
Chris
That's one thing also is you you look at the the the writing ability of a lot of the kids because they've they've done everything either typing it on a virtual keyboard or typing it on typing it and they haven't been writing anything. And so like penmanship, when I give them papers, I was like, I I don't care if you spell it correctly. If you if you get enough of the letters there, I can figure out what you're trying to tell me, but. I still have. To be able to read the letters, yeah.
Paula
They can't even read their own writing. Many times. That kind of leads into mine. If you want me to go. Yes, because mine mine was really talking about how to incorporate my dogs playing with the toy.
Speaker
Yeah, go ahead.
Paula
How to incorporate AI? How do we use AI tools with the writing process? And so can you get them? I'm on a call. Thanks. So and really for kids, they need to still go through the writing process on paper, interact with their sources and things like that and. So showing them that way, when I first came to 7th. Paid I I struggled in middle school and struggled with writing and so started really doing formula like writing, giving them a map to use for brainstorming, giving them an outline to fill out things that are easy to remember and have them working it on paper. And then this year. There's really been a push to use AI and I was just like, well, how can we incorporate this and still get the kids where we need them to go? And so we we went through a lot of AI generators looking at different things. Things and kind of settled on using like Curie pod because it's a feedback generator. Now is an amazing thing for writing teachers because it gives 25 students immediate feedback. I cannot. It takes me weeks to do that. UM. By the time I read all their papers and everything, but the other thing that it allows them to do is correct that in that same setting and. That is very beneficial. I mean, so crazy that I even have my kids. They're like, no, I want to get it written on paper, and then we'll do. The AI, you know, like they really want to spend that time working it out because they want to get that good score that first time around.
Thaddeus
Yeah, yeah.
Paula
And when they make the corrections, they're super excited. When their score goes up. And so that's how we've been using it. And that's actually what I ended up doing my action research over also because I was curious as to what you know every. The. All the literature said about using it and kids actually getting that fundamental writing process on paper, interacting with that, going through the brainstorming and planning it is how you get there writing better and. I think there's a lot of focus on AI, but still we have standardized testing where they can't use that, so make sure they're successful with that. Whenever I first came to 7th grade, they were wanting us to use like notability and I jumped on that bandwagon and then I was like, wait.
Speaker
Working in the.
Paula
In it all, we can give them on test Day is a piece of paper I have to show them how to use that piece of paper and that's really driven a lot of my writing instruction these last three years. Now I'm going to science, so that should be fun, but that's what my paper is focused on is how can we show? Students how to use it and still have authentic writing.
Thaddeus
Yeah. Paul, I want to add like you talked about like on star test or just giving the paper right. So you use the online tools to kind of like help them actually go through the writing process kind of thing you know and develop their writing. But they had like. You know, and the tests are just they're just giving a piece of paper and like, they're doing the same. So I think the trick is to, like, develop the, you know, the the running silence of the increase, their running ability through the AI tools and stuff it. But then kind of like somehow, like, OK, now you see this, it's going to help you writing it. So let's go back to.
Speaker
Yep. Yep.
Thaddeus
But I think it's go back and forth between like running assistant with AI and then like traditional and then like going back and forth to actually. Getting like ohh I now I'm getting it this running process down or running in efficiency down.
Paula
Yeah, and I liked the like Curry pod because it's not all coming from me either. And now I think it's even more important to expose our kids to that. Because their essays are graded with AI. Yeah. So it gives them that experience, too. Well, what is the AI going to be looking for and how do I make sure I'm doing what I what I intend to do. And then again, the comments are not coming off for me. I mean I. I had a. The district curriculum people walk through like one of the days and they were like, Oh my gosh, the kids are so excited and because they wanted to make their first attempt better and they were really focused on that and. And so they've made this year we went, I don't, we haven't got our scores back but as a grade level our grade level last year in 6th grade they scored. Over half the grade level got a 0, so I mean we were working with students that were struggling to write and our last like major test before start we had got it down to like only 20% of the grade level had zeroes. And so you know it it works but. It it's a lot of work and I think they can take pride in it when they know what to do, cause a lot of times the students get a prompt and they really don't know, so they fall back to. Well, I'm just going to say what I know and that's literally what the literature when I was reading it for the other class was saying that because they don't know how to brainstorm, they don't know how to organize it. They'll just fall back into their old patterns of, OK, well, I'm just going to write a summary because. I can do that. And UM. So A's great. But teachers are better, yeah.
Thaddeus
I think that goes a little bit to like maybe Chris's point kind of thing. You have the digital tools, right? So you have to show them how appropriately use it. It's the same thing. With the testing thing, they're so in that case they don't have them at all, so they have to show them, like how it appropriately fits in there. So we can just generally like, oh, we can use it all the time. No, you have to be able to use it. And authentically generate it yourself. And so AI is a tool to help you kind of learn the process. Increase your running ability, which you then can actually. Get more confident in your own writing as you're writing.
Paula
Yeah. And that's somewhere I read that someone actually did that. They took and let their kids use the AI composition generators and then saw like, it's more work to actually load your prompt and have it more specific than it is to write the paper. To get a good paper.
Thaddeus
I'm just going to interrupt, literally have like a I don't know if you'll see it. Have like 9 minutes.
Chris
I see it.
Thaddeus
So we're going to actually, I'm going to e-mail you another link and just we all get on there. And so we have myself and. At least.
Paula
Yes, I think I had to drop off it looked like.
Thaddeus
Yeah. Yeah. So we'll just let her join in coming. So we'll just do it. I'll. Just let you know, OK? But yeah, so you can keep talking for a little bit and maybe just start with mine.
Paula
OK. So any questions online then?
Chris
Well, I like the cause I I gave my students a a project this week because now we're in, you know, filling time mode and they had to create an animal because we don't, we don't teach taxonomy in high school anymore. It's all been moved to middle school science.
Speaker
Oh.
Chris
So this was our time to teach them, especially with this, this incoming freshman group, they didn't get it at all. Like the main core of it. So we taught and then we gave them a create your own creature and a lot of them were struggling. And I said, OK, open. AI. Put you what you imagine your animal to be. E. Into your prompt. And then use what AI gives you as a framework to help you phrase how you want it to do, and then generate your image. And this is probably the most excited I've seen my students all year long is getting in there and using that. And then like they're coming up to me and it's like, well, it's this good. And I was like, you're doing great. Just keep it going. You want to see that creativity. Yeah. And it's that teaching them to use AI efficiently.
Thaddeus
Yeah.
Speaker
Yeah.
Thaddeus
Yeah, I think that AI is like just writing this. Doesn't that really helps them develop this creativity and this love. And I'm like, hey, this is really fun and they can. I think there's different AI generators like where they actually the students want one sentence. They're just writing a creative writing story. So they just write a sentence and then AI generates the next sentence. Like ohh I need to write now since kind of relating to that and so they can just go off on a tangent you know and a the writing about some different. And so the kids kind of like it. So I think that's a really good tool to help them get more excited about. Being.
Speaker
Yeah.
Paula
Our our 7th graders were. Doing that in science and then they were tracing their characters and stuff in science. So it I think there are ways that, you know, AI is going to be beneficial for us as teachers. We just have to be sure that we're showing our students and I I mean I accept. I assume it's going to be the problem like we still teachers that don't want to use technology at all. You know, like they're just like, no. And I'm like, OK, but you're not setting them up.
Speaker
Here.
Paula
For what they need next, and that's I I make, I have a digital I use Google Classroom. Everything is turned in online. Even if we working on paper because I'm trying to teach you to turn it in on. And prepare you for later on. That way you're not like, huh? But and you know? But then the teacher next door, we only use iPads for testing. That's it. And I think there has to be a balance.
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
Paula
You know that as teachers we we should be responsible for teaching them that balance, because where else are they going to learn it?
Chris
Oh yeah.
Thaddeus
Yeah, I agree with that. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker
OK.
Thaddeus
So is there anything else?
Paula
I don't know. Do I have any other?
Thaddeus
I know, I think it's pretty straightforward. So this. The running. I think this something that's really going to be. Yeah, that's going to help the students actually learn and get more career, more excited about the writing process.
Paula
Yeah, I just. I was. I didn't take the other two classes because I dropped out and so I was like, OK, well, I'm just gonna go with what I know. And I mean, I've been testing this out for three years seeing how do I get my students to write? Better and incorporate all these tools. And everything and still have authentic writing. And we actually in class because it came from a Bill MacDonald thing that we use like I heart C and the kids after star were like I used I heart CI used I heart I used. Yeah. I wrote an essay you'd be proud of. And I was like OK. You know, like they were excited to write and stuff. And I'm like, who are these kids so? They I think if teachers embrace it and show them how to use it, we're going to go a long way. With these students.
Chris
Yeah.
Thaddeus
Yeah, that's good. Yeah. Yeah. So what I'm going to do now, definitely. I'm going to actually, we'll stop the recording because it's almost finishing my. So I'll stop it and then I'll kind of e-mail you another link in a second. OK. OK. You in a second.
Chris
All right, all right.
Thaddeus
OK. UM.
Speaker
Hmm.
Audio file
Audio file
OK, uh. Does anybody want to start with maybe their?
Article they've written about and then maybe we can call it all time in on what this talk about.
Sure, I'll. I'll go ahead and start.
I'm not going to be able to have that.
It's a good read. I started that book last year.
As the school year has gone on, now we're in.
What? What did we learn? Why can't I just have my phone out and watch TikTok all day?
That's what I do with every day.
Yeah, I can only imagine at the middle school level.
They they should have to do that.
They let's choose as a teacher.
Like take them up or not, or kind of thing and I don't.
Cell phones we're like and I teach.
In high school. So I'm like I'm getting.
They actually, uh, yeah, some kids come back and tell me, like, yeah, that was really helpful. So.
I tried to do that too like explain.
We're preparing you for a totally different situation.
And you have to still be responsible.
On the proper use of it, and not just, you know, cause.
And you know, play can come later once you get your work done.
We we do have, I mean we have computer classes, we just don't have.
Know it gives you this warm mess.
Uh, well, anyway, so it's made to be on a Chromebook and that's what they have it it's online.
Yeah, on your phone and doing that in real life, it's it's not gonna go well.
You know, there goes your cell phone.
And they don't know what to do at that point.
If you if you get enough of the letters there, I can figure out what you're trying to tell me, but.
To be able to read the letters, yeah.
They can't even read their own writing.
That kind of leads into mine. If you want me to go.
Yes, because mine mine was really talking about how to incorporate my dogs playing with the toy.
How to incorporate AI? How do we use AI tools with the writing process?
So showing them that way, when I first came to 7th.
Students how to use it and still have authentic writing.
Getting like ohh I now I'm getting it this running process down or running in efficiency down.
But teachers are better, yeah.
No, you have to be able to use it.
Get more confident in your own writing as you're writing.
I'm just going to interrupt, literally have like a I don't know if you'll see it.
Yes, I think I had to drop off it looked like.
Yeah. Yeah. So we'll just let her join in coming. So we'll just do it. I'll.
But yeah, so you can keep talking for a little bit and maybe just start with mine.
OK. So any questions online then?
Put you what you imagine your animal to be.
You want to see that creativity. Yeah. And it's that teaching them to use AI efficiently.
And prepare you for later on. That way you're not like, huh?
Yeah, I agree with that. Yeah, definitely.
I don't know. Do I have any other?
I know, I think it's pretty straightforward. So this.
The running. I think this something that's really going to be.
Better and incorporate all these tools.
You know, like they were excited to write and stuff. And I'm like, who are these kids so?
They I think if teachers embrace it and show them how to use it, we're going to go a long way.
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