Welcome to the Jungle? (Or Playground?)

 

 As I read through the vast array of educational apps available to teachers, I am in awe that yes, in fact there is an app for that! While the technological advances around apps and tools used in education are amazing, the warp speed and sheer number of apps being created helps to remind us that we also need to curate (try new things & weed!) our collection- of books AND apps- so we can have fun in our tech playground instead of getting lost in the jungle.

Organize & Curate: Library Admin Use

• Airtable - use with IT to create app evaluation tool using grid/form for teacher and student input
• EdShelf - create categories of collections and resources to get my arms around district-wide apps 
• Bubbl.us - this could help me collaborate with departments on research projects (i.e., civics project and identifying how I can best prep lessons based on needs)
• Quizlet - This seems a widely-used app that could help me evaluate what students are taking away from my lessons

Create & Assess: Classroom Use

• PiktoChart (HS students use to visualize data and utilize video editing)
• Garageband (HS students create podcasts and showcase understanding of material)
• Flipgrid (HS students can create reader advisory content/book recommendations that can be shared widely to build a reading culture via a "video discussion")
• Quizlet - This seems a widely-used app that could help me evaluate what students are taking away from my lessons

Crossover: 

• Evernote/NoodleTool - I researched differences between the two, but either one I think would be incredibly helpful in my own work to know and use along with students I am seeing from classrooms who come to the media center for research projects

I was also fiddling with ChatGPT for the first time (I have read a lot about it but haven't used it until this week) and have lots of conflicting thoughts but I was definitely floored when within seconds of typing a question about how best to evaluate apps used in schools, I got this response: 

To evaluate school apps, consider the following factors:

1. Functionality: Does the app achieve its intended purpose? Does it provide the features and tools needed to support learning and improve education?

2. User experience: Is the app easy to navigate and use? Does it have a clean, visually appealing interface?

3. Security and privacy: Does the app protect sensitive information, such as student data, in a secure manner? Does it comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR and FERPA?

4. Integration: Can the app integrate with other tools and systems used by the school, such as learning management systems or student information systems?

5. Accessibility: Is the app accessible to students with disabilities, including visual, auditory, and motor impairments?

6. Cost: Is the app affordable for the school and does it offer value for money?

7. Reviews and ratings: What do other educators and students think of the app? Check online reviews and ratings from trusted sources.

I have been working with our IT dept. to develop criteria with a peer cohort for months and what this helped do was centralize categories quickly while we instead spent a lot of time researching articles and best practices to pull what we wanted from hundreds of different kinds of tools we could find from schools. I think the takeaway, however, for me is that it is still really important to do the legwork and identify criteria the "old fashioned" way as well and then perhaps compare to what ChatGPT is saying...

I would like to see after reading about ChatGPT on its homepage what it means by, "The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow up questions, admit it mistakes, challenge incorrect premises and reject inappropriate requests" because holy smokes that is a lot of high-level analysis on its part! I also want to fiddle with its InstructGPT.