OpenAI on Thursday announced its first partnership with a higher education institution.
Starting in February, Arizona State University will have full access to ChatGPT Enterprise and plans to use it for coursework, tutoring, research, and more.
The partnership has been in the works for at least six months.
ASU plans to build a personalized AI tutor for students, allow students to create AI avatars for study help, and broaden the university’s prompt engineering course.
OpenAI announced a partnership with Arizona State University, giving the university full access to ChatGPT Enterprise in February 2024. The collaboration, in planning for six months, will integrate ChatGPT into ASU’s coursework, tutoring, and research. ChatGPT Enterprise offers unrestricted access to GPT-4, enhanced performance, and API credits. ASU aims to develop a personalized AI tutor and creative AI avatars for students. The partnership emphasizes student privacy and intellectual property protection, with OpenAI not using ASU data for training models. This initiative follows concerns about AI chatbots in education, particularly around cheating.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
In a profound exploration of the modern societal challenge, Harvard professor Robert Waldinger sheds light on the growing epidemic of loneliness in his recent YouTube lecture. He defines loneliness as a subjective experience where an individual feels less connected to others than desired. This feeling is distinct from isolation, as one can be isolated and content, surrounded by people, yet feel profoundly lonely.
The Rise of Loneliness
Loneliness has been on an upward trend since the 1950s. Factors contributing to this rise include increased societal mobility, the introduction and evolution of television, and the digital revolution. These changes have gradually eroded community engagement and personal interactions.
The Health Impacts
Research by Julianne Holt-Lunstad highlights the severe health implications of loneliness, equating its danger to smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day. Loneliness contributes to physical health deterioration and accelerates brain decline in later life.
The Power of Connections
Waldinger emphasizes the importance of investing in relationships for well-being. It’s not just close relationships that count; even casual interactions with community members, like a mail carrier or a grocery store cashier, can foster a sense of belonging.
400 Pages – 08/16/2022 (Publication Date) – W. W. Norton & Company (Publisher)
Schools’ Role in Building Inclusive Communities
Recognizing Loneliness in Students
Schools must first acknowledge that loneliness can be a significant issue among students. Young adults, in particular, are highly susceptible to loneliness. Educators can play a crucial role in identifying signs of loneliness and providing support.
Promoting Social Skills: Integrating social skill development into the curriculum can help students who feel lonely and are hesitant to reach out. Cognitive behavioral therapy techniques can be adapted for the classroom to help students revise their assumptions about social interactions.
Encouraging Community Engagement: Activities that foster community involvement can help students feel more connected. This might include group projects, community service initiatives, or school clubs that cater to diverse interests.
Building Casual Connections: Schools should create environments where casual, positive interactions are encouraged. This could be in the form of mentorship programs, buddy systems for new students, or structured social time during the school day.
Supporting Emotional Health: Schools can provide resources for emotional support, such as counseling services or workshops on managing feelings of loneliness and building healthy relationships.
Empowering Students
Empowering students to understand and combat loneliness is essential. This involves teaching them that seeking connection is normal and healthy and providing them with the tools and opportunities to build meaningful relationships.
Conclusion
Loneliness is a complex and growing challenge, but schools can play a pivotal role in addressing this epidemic by understanding its dynamics and implementing strategies to promote connection and belonging. It’s about creating a culture where every student feels, as Waldinger concludes, “You belong. You matter. You’re connected.”
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
In January 2022, a review of 17 research studies showed that young kids can learn from “guided play” as well as if they were being directly instructed by an adult or a teacher. More play in the classroom also addresses issues currently burning precarious holes in the education system. In an email survey conducted by Lego Education in September, 98 percent of 1,000 K-8 teachers indicated that play-based learning “reduces their feelings of burnout.” The same study also captured responses from 1,000 K-8 students, of whom 89 percent said play made them “more excited” to go to school. Lego has used its signature building-block toys as a basis for play-based activity guides for teachers.
Gamification in classrooms has both advocates and critics. Some discourage using external rewards for learning, but others argue that the benefits can be profound when games and rewards tap into a student’s intrinsic motivation to learn. Students can learn to value learning as its own reward and become active, engaged learners over time.
Additionally, a program focused on the social-emotional learning aspects of gaming has shown positive results in student behavior and confidence. Many participants who may not have excelled in traditional classroom settings have become leaders of their gaming teams, showing that games can provide a platform for students to feel successful and express themselves.
Teachers like Philip Baselice and Jonathan Nardolilli use games to teach subjects like history and math, making lessons more engaging. This method, supported by research, helps in enhancing learning and memory. However, teachers face challenges in integrating games with curriculum goals, often leading them to create custom games for effectiveness.
While games increase student engagement and aid long-term learning, they must be thoughtfully incorporated into educational strategies. This innovative approach signifies a shift in traditional teaching methods, embracing interactive and enjoyable learning experiences.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
Some schools have partnered with companies to implement the use of pouches that students are required to put their phones into at the beginning of the day and that don’t unlock until the final bell rings, while others are threatening punishments including suspension if a student is caught with their phone, even at lunch time.
Yes, because even during lunch, we must ensure students have no control over their personal time. Good grief.
Renesha Parks, chief wellness officer at Richmond Public Schools in Virginia, told The Hill of a pilot policy being implemented in six schools at the beginning of 2024 to stop cellphone usage, partnering with Yondr, which creates magnetic pouches for cellphones. The measure will impact around 4,200 students and cost approximately $75,000. (emphasis mine)
Here’s an idea: shift the educational focus from boring content without connection to the real world to moreauthenticlearning experiences. I bet cell phones only come out when they are needed to accomplish a task.
Also, educators, how many of you put your phone away during a training session? A staff meeting?
Just sayin’…
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
The Australian Federal Government released the Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools on November 30, 2023, as a guide following the introduction of ChatGPT. While acknowledging AI’s potential in education, the Framework emphasizes human wellbeing, privacy, and safety. However, concerns are raised about its relevance and adequacy due to the rapidly evolving nature of generative AI. Critics argue that the Framework, with its six core principles, underestimates AI’s inherent biases and reliability issues, placing unrealistic expectations on educators.
At the 2023 Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) conference, Jane Kenway encouraged participants to develop radical research imaginations. The extraordinary impacts of generative AI require a radical policy imagination, rather than timid or bland statements balancing opportunities and threats. It is increasingly clear that the threats cannot readily be dealt with by schools.
Lucinda McKnight and Leon Furze
The article suggests improvements to the Framework, such as redefining generative AI, acknowledging its limitations, addressing the digital divide, and emphasizing evidence-based policies. It also calls for policies that are inclusive and consider diverse perspectives, stressing the need for teacher-led policy development in AI education. The authors advocate for a radical policy approach that accounts for the far-reaching impacts of AI and ensures that schools play a pivotal role in shaping a just future with AI.
For a comprehensive understanding of these issues, the full article can be read on EduResearch Matters.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
House’s focus on technology and AI aligns with the district’s commitment to preparing students for a technologically advanced future. The partnership with the AI Education Project, as part of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s broader economic initiative, aims to provide cutting-edge education to students, teachers, staff, and school leaders. The district has also prioritized AI literacy and training, empowering nearly 1,500 educators to confidently use and innovate with AI tools. Addressing challenges such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and ethical use, Prince George’s County Public Schools is dedicated to shaping a future where their community thrives in the age of AI.
AI is no longer a futuristic concept; it is a tangible reality with the potential to enhance and individualize the educational experience for a student population with diverse needs and teachers in our district. So far during the course of this school year, we have trained nearly 1,500 educators. It was amazing to watch the excitement on the staff’s faces when they got to engage with AI tools to support their work and help their students understand the power of AI.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
“To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, Donald Trump does not appeal to “the better angels of our nature.”” (Michael V. Hayden, The Assault on Intelligence)
Musical Interlude
Philip Glass has a new album releasing in January 2024, recorded at his home during the pandemic.
This is my piano, the instrument on which most of the music was written. It’s also the same room where I have worked for decades in the middle of the energy which New York City itself has brought to me. The listener may hear the quiet hum of New York in the background or feel the influence of time and memory that this space affords. To the degree possible, I made this record to invite the listener in.
This framework includes eight thematic competencies: ethical and legal; technology; information literacy; digital scholarship; communication and collaboration; creation and curation; digital well-being; and community-based learning. Through a scenario involving an educator, Professor Emily, and a student, Alex, the article demonstrates the integration of these competencies into the educational journey, emphasizing that digital literacy is crucial for academic, professional, and personal success in a digitally-driven world
The Digital Literacy Framework is a part of the overall B.C. Digital Learning Strategy developed by the Digital Learning Advisory Committee, a collaboration between the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills and the post-secondary system. The Digital Literacy Framework has been developed to enhance digital literacy knowledge, skills, and abilities across post-secondary communities. The framework includes eight thematic competencies within digital literacy: ethical and legal; technology; information literacy; digital scholarship; communication and collaboration; creation and curation; digital well-being; and community-based learning.
I love tools that let us learn more about our universe, especially when they are available online.
Astronomers have created the Siena Galaxy Atlas, freely available online. The SGA catalogs 383,620 galaxies, a small fraction of the estimated 200 billion to two trillion galaxies in the observable universe. This atlas stands out for its extensive coverage and advanced data collection, encompassing 7,637 downloadable pages with detailed information on each galaxy’s size, morphology, and images in optical and infrared wavelengths.
The data is drawn from three Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Legacy Surveys, making it one of the largest surveys ever conducted. The SGA is noted for being the first cosmic atlas to feature light profiles of galaxies, providing a unique insight into their brightness changes from center to edge. It’s a valuable resource for scientists studying galaxy evolution, dark matter distribution, and gravitational waves, as well as for enhancing the public’s understanding of the universe.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
“All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Change is good. At least, that’s what I’ve heard from any number of well-meaning people. Change often means growth and fresh ideas, but it also means the death and destruction of old ideas. And, change often means returning to another time or to other practices that worked.
Or maybe they didn’t. Perhaps we just long for a return to comfort and normalcy.
Regardless, every institution can and does experience change, whether people on the inside of the organization deliberately create change or outside forces create “jolts” in the system and force change (cite p. 330).
Kentucky public education has had two considerable jolts that I’m aware of (and I’m showing my age for one of them): the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. KERA was a jolt that began as the work of change agents, but that whole COVID thing… we’re still not sure who the change agents were (it was totally the bats), but it was still one heck of a jolt.
I was in high school when KERA became a thing. Along with it came these things called “portfolios” that were going to revolutionize Kentucky schools. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. That failure has more to do with the implementation of change than the idea of change.
What many public schools in Kentucky have been able to do since the days of KERA is to continue pushing for creative solutions to difficult problems. They’ve also continued to make space for change agents in various positions across the state and in local schools. Of course, without effective leaders ready to change the constructed reality within a school, any change efforts will likely fail, and the same cycle of “all this has happened before,” continues as it has so many times in education.
“What’s past is prologue.”
– Shakespeare, The Tempest
After the COVID-19 pandemic (has it ended yet?), I’ve seen more concerted efforts to maintain institutional change here in Kentucky. With many districts instituting graduate profiles, the structures needed to support and maintain change are moving into place.
With the environment ripe for change after the COVID-19 upheaval, small changes in institutional processes are making their way across the state and have the potential to sustain change for the future.
References:
Marion, R., & Gonzales, L. D. (2014). Leadership in education: Organizational theory for the practitioner (Second). Waveland Press.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
“I am convinced that people are much better off when their whole city is flourishing than when certain citizens prosper, but the community has gone off course. When a man is doing well for himself, but his country is falling to pieces, he goes to pieces along with it, but a struggling individual has much better hopes if his country is thriving.”
Is that a line from the newest radical left-wing idealist politician?
Stewart Riddle emphasizes the importance of public institutions in caring, democratic societies, where markets and market relations are subordinate to the public good and the production of a thick democracy. He suggests that economic systems that foster individual wealth accumulation and rampant greed must be replaced with economic systems that foster sustainability and reindustrialization. Investment into people’s livelihoods within their local communities is emphasized, and people should be allowed to engage in meaningful, collaborative work.
Of course, for me, this sounds similar to the work of instituting a graduate profile in schools rather than relying on the tired, outdated, and ineffective measures of standardized testing. Connecting students with authentic learning opportunities, encouraging them to work on hard problems that don’t have simple answers, and contributing to their communities for the benefit of the many and not the few are key to shifting away from the late-stage capitalist disaster we live in now.
Marcus Aurelius said, “What harms the bee, harms the hive,” emphasizing that if we are harming anyone in society, the whole society suffers. This was never more apparent than during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as some cried that their individual freedoms were more important than the good of everyone, essentially placing themselves above everyone else.
Connecting students with opportunities to enact real change within the structures of education can only improve our society. Will we still have people who think they are more important than anyone else? Of course.
But maybe we can raise up a generation of action-takers who want what is best for everyone.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
As the new school year begins, it’s essential for teachers to equip themselves with the right tools to navigate the challenges ahead. Among these tools, books can be a great source of inspiration, guidance, and self-care. Here are ten books that every teacher should consider reading as they embark on a new academic year.
The Happy Teacher Habits: 11 Habits of the Happiest, Most Effective Teachers on Earth by Michael Linsin
This book provides practical strategies for teachers to maintain positivity and effectiveness in the classroom. Linsin emphasizes the importance of habits in shaping our lives and offers insights on how to develop habits that lead to happiness and success in teaching.
Quote: “Happiness isn’t something that just happens to you. It’s a choice. It’s a decision you make every morning, that you’re going to have a good day.”
Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56 by Rafe Esquith
Esquith shares his innovative teaching methods and the extraordinary results they have yielded in his classroom. His passion for teaching and advocating for his students is infectious.
Quote: “Real success is when a teacher is able to work under the hardest conditions and still turn out to be a great person. That’s real success.”
The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter–One Month at a Time by Jennifer Ashton, M.D.
This book is a must-read for teachers who want to prioritize their health and well-being. Dr. Ashton provides a month-by-month guide to self-care that includes diet, exercise, and mental health strategies.
Quote: “Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
The Power of a Positive Team: Proven Principles and Practices that Make Great Teams Great by Jon Gordon
Gordon’s book is a guide to maintaining positivity and unity within a team, making it a great read for teachers who want to foster a positive learning environment.
Quote: “A positive team is not just about being connected to each other. It’s about being committed to each other.”
Educated by Design: Designing the Space to Experiment, Explore, and Extract Your Creative Potential by Michael Cohen
This book encourages teachers to advocate for creativity in the classroom. Cohen provides a roadmap for designing a creative space that encourages students to explore their potential.
Quote: “Creativity is not just about making ‘stuff’, it’s more importantly about developing a creative thinking mindset.”
The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life by Parker J. Palmer
Palmer’s book delves into the heart of the teaching profession, exploring the inner lives of educators. It’s a powerful read for teachers seeking to reconnect with their passion for the profession.
Quote: “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.”
Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness In and Out of the Classroom by Meena Srinivasan
Srinivasan offers insights into how mindfulness can help teachers manage stress and foster a peaceful classroom. It’s a practical guide for teachers seeking to achieve work-life balance.
Quote: “When we cultivate our own mindfulness, we’re actually benefiting our students indirectly because we’re modeling what it looks like to be present.”
The Burnout Cure: Learning to Love Teaching Again by Chase Mielke
Mielke’s book is a lifeline for teachers feeling the strain of burnout. It provides strategies for maintaining enthusiasm for teaching and advocating for the profession.
Quote: “We can’t control the kids or the content or the new initiatives or the old initiatives, but we can control how we think and feel about them.”
The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller
Miller’s book is a testament to the power of reading and the impact a passionate teacher can have on their students. It’s a must-read for teachers who want to inspire a love of reading in their students.
Quote: “There is no program, no method, no teacher who can create readers. What we can do is provide the conditions that allow reading to happen.”
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
Brown’s book explores the concept of vulnerability and how it can lead to greater connection and a more fulfilling life. It’s a powerful read for teachers who want to foster deeper connections with their students and colleagues.
Quote: “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome.”
Each of these books offers unique insights into the teaching profession, self-care, and maintaining a positive attitude. As you prepare for the new school year, consider adding these books to your reading list. They may provide just the inspiration you need to make this year your best yet.
The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for all who are passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!
![by Donalyn Millerand - The Book Whisperer: Awakening The Inner Reader in Every Child (Paperback) Jossey-Bass; 1 Edition (March 16, 2009) - [Bargain Books]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/518G+WAd9-L._SL160_.jpg)
