iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

6th graders using @microbit.org to track acceleration of their bottle rockets 🚀 super engaging #stem project for the last week of school #edtech

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

Super important for secondary teachers to reflect and think about what they can offer that AI cannot.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

Give teachers a classroom monitoring software like Lightspeed or Go Guardian.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

I like that this lesson is solution-focused! So much more powerful than a PSA about why we should conserve water.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

We had a training yesterday with K-5 teachers. LOTS of hands on learning with @kaiseducation.bsky.social ! Teachers were stoked to see all the ways these can be embedded into math classes to make learning relevant and engaging #edtech #stem

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Gemini to be a thought partner so they don’t have to scour the internet to find resources.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

100% agree with your thoughts on completion vs learning. In my last few years in the classroom, I stopped grading my students’ writing & instead graded their screencast reflections on their writing choices & moves. WAY better data for me!

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

That tools takes engagement 🚀 🚀 🚀

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Google Vids is awesome! Our students find it super easy to create in.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

I love how it can turn your content into an AI podcast 🔥

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Less essays as the default high school assessment would be a great start 🤗

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

My safe choice is Google MyMaps b/c maps are great and it hits on geography. My pie in the sky choice is Adobe Podcast b/c it’s such a great way to get high school kids talking (not easy) and there are so many SS topics we’re discussing and debating.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

I just sent it today. I will let you know if I hear anything.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

The PhET + Quizizz mashup is awesome! I just shared it with every secondary science teacher in our district.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

The guidelines in your policy for acceptable student usage all begin by saying the teacher should have this conversation with their class, which is how it should be IMO. I feel like people sometimes want a blanket punitive policy to cover all things AI, but really so much is up to the teacher.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Last night, 4th graders showcased games they coded on Scratch for the PTO. Parents played the games & then asked Ss about their code & challenges they faced. A number of Ss had worked on their game outside of class b/c they knew people were going to be playing them #EdTech #STEM #AuthenticAudience

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Want your students to reflect deeply on their work? Give them some reflective Qs and let them record a screencast with their work on the screen. In my experience, a lot of Ss will reflect WAY more verbally vs through writing. #EdTech #Screencast #Metacognition

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Just a public educator here looking for ways to engage our students. If you are aware of any video creation platforms that my students can use on their computers that don’t fund fascism while protecting student data, I’m all ears.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

For use with students, I prefer Illuminate because its podcast outputs are about 5 minutes. I love Notebook LM, but its podcast outputs tend to be 8+ minutes which is a bit too long for classroom activities like stations.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Our kids get it from their Google Drives under “New”. I don’t think we have any special access.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

I cannot recommend Google Vids enough for video making projects! So easy for our 6th graders to add narration, music & add beautiful clips & images. AND, teachers can put a blank template into Google Classroom for Ss, & Ss can easily export their finished videos to their drives 🤌 #GoogleEDU #EdTech

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

AI literacy is definitely important. But so is social media literacy. There is definitely a need for curriculum that teaches kids how to evaluate the videos they see on YouTube, TikTok, etc. #EdTech #DigitalCitizenship

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Fourth graders were stoked to create their own game controllers using Makey Makey pencils. These two hacked into two player mode pinball #EdTech #STEM #MakeSchoolFun

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Both Canva and Adobe for Education allow students to generate AI images and remove the background from images for free, yet #GoogleEDU only offers these features in Google Slides to their premium workspace customers. Why is this the case? #EdTech

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

For the generate audio feature, I actually like Google’s Illuminate better because the AI podcasts are only 5 minutes. I can’t create one in Notebook LM under 8 minutes, which feels a bit long for students going through station rotations.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

I think we start by being really intentional in our lesson design, and look for ways that AI could enhance the learning (or detract from it) and adjust accordingly.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Fifth graders coded @microbit.org to log temp data for the soil in our district Grow Dome so they can make recommendations for seeds to plant during the winter #STEM #EdTech #SolvingRealWorldProblems

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

8th grade science students coded @microbit.org to track acceleration for an experiment in which they are trying to reduce peak force. The teacher showed them how to set up the formula in Google Sheets, too love 😎 #EdTech #STEM #EduSky

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Shout out to all the STEM teachers out there doing 3D print jobs for their students’ Tinkercad designs 😅 #STEM #EdTech

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

It’s nice to know there are other rational Dawgs fans out there 🤝

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

I keep trying to tell my friends this on the text chain as they are melting down 🤣

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

That NotebookLM feature is 🤯. It’s an engaging lecture alternative for HS teachers. It can also be a great station rotation.

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Reposted by Matt Smith

Christopher J. Nesi 🎙 @mrnesi.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

🎙️ It’s time for the 11th Annual #EdTech Smackdown! 💥 Episode 257 is packed with: ✨ Top tech tips & tools for 2024 👩‍🏫 Contributions from amazing educators 💡 Ideas to elevate your teaching game! Tune in now: chrisnesi.com/257 #EdTech #EduSky #houseofedtech

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

I used with a high school teacher so her outer circle could engage in the discussion digitally while the inner circle had a Socratic Seminar 🤌

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

I’d rather have the students reflect on their process (maybe through a screencast).

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

A4: I would encourage them to pick an LLM and play around with it. I often find that the teachers with the greatest fears around AI are the ones who have interacted with it the least.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

A3: the potential for students to create more impressive products with the help of AI (that potentially solve real problems).

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

A2: My biggest fear is that it steals the thinking that the students need to be doing. We have to teach students how to use it effectively.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

A1: Cautiously optimistic. I’ve cotaught in a number of classrooms over the past year where AI was used intentionally to personalize the learning.

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Matt Smith. Instructional Tech coach in Durango, CO 👋

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

In a middle school weightlifting class today: their final assignment was to create an engaging podcast discussing what they learned, their favorite lifts, how those lifts applied to sports or activities they did & how they might apply to their future. These Ss reflections were 🤯🤯🤯 #EdTech #EduSky

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Our teachers and admin found AI For Education’s prompt library SUPER helpful: www.aiforeducation.io/prompt-library

aiforeducation.io

Prompt Library — AI for Education

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

How long is the PD? Is the focus more on teacher use of AI, student use of AI or a mixture?

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

This was just their first draft. The teacher and I were still circulating the room and conferencing with Ss and talking about their writing. I’m not advocating for removing the teacher from the loop. I just think being able to give 150 kids immediate feedback on their first draft is pretty amazing.

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Reposted by Matt Smith

Mike Rutherford @mikerford.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

I only heard "What the Sigma?" and "Skibidi" once in my class today. I think this is a win! #edusky

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Matt Smith @msmitty34.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

When I am working with Ss who are getting feedback on their writing from AI, I’ve found that it’s super important to tell Ss that AI wants more than anything to be helpful, so it’s ALWAYS going to give feedback. Front loading this seems to reduce student frustration #AIinEducation #EdTech #EduSky

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