​  I recently stumbled upon this quote above, and I could not agree more with the way it sums up the purpose of education these days- creating a culture of learning where independent critical thinking is encouraged, where skills and competences are valued over memorising data that is so easily available, where we appreciate the process over the product, where we invent ways to adapt/learn, relearn and adjust to the ever-changing world.  How is this possible in the world of AI at our service, where the product- idea, solution, essay is ready for us in seconds?   The danger is that we might soon be operating in a world where teachers prepare an assignment using an ai-tool, students complete it with the use of ai as well, and then educators grade it with the use of an ai grading tool… If that isn’t a vicious paradox, an educational education game, I don’t know what is… So, how to avoid getting stuck in such a pointless pursuit? There is only one way- make AI a thinking partner in the clas

​ Today post will be just a brief but enthusiastic and heartfelt recommendation of a wonderful resource, namely YearCompass  that you will find here. This is a free, downloadable pdf that provides lots of creative and reflective ideas on how to let go of 2023 and embrace the year ahead, individually or at a group meeting, as well as an English B lesson:)  According to the authors: YearCompass is a booklet designed to help individuals reflect on the past year and plan for the year ahead. It contains carefully selected questions and exercises to guide you through the process of reviewing, learning from, and celebrating the year you're leaving behind, as well as dreaming, planning, and preparing for the new year (Page 2). By going through the exercises in YearCompass, you can gain insights into your past year, including your accomplishments, challenges, and the lessons you've learned. This reflection can help you set meaningful goals and intentions for the year ahead, across vario

​ AI in education is a big thing and we might feel overwhelmed by the amount of research and resources. You might find the following links useful: There is an AI for that!  Top AI tools These two are wonderful hubs that will serve as a handy browser of the AI tools you might need for different purposes.  Also, there are more and more resources (ebooks, presentations etc) that will be helpful when you want to prepare for example PD on use of AI in schools. One of them is TeachAI teachAI There is also a wonderful canva presentation by  The Power of the Prompt Obviously, there are ready prompt libraries for teachers- the one I recommend is  AI prompt library  Happy prompting! 

​ If you you are looking for some engaging and enjoyable short stories with audio to use in your classroom, you might want to check out the website  https://xpressenglish.com/short-stories-a-z/.  This website offers a collection of over 200 short stories for English learners, organized by level and genre. You can find stories from different authors, cultures, and historical periods, ranging from classics to contemporary works. Each story comes with a summary, a vocabulary list, comprehension questions, and a downloadable PDF file. You can also listen to the audio version of the story, or read the transcript online:)  Sure, here are 10 practical activities that you can use with the stories from the website: - **Predict the story**: Before reading the story, show the students the title, the summary, and the vocabulary list. Ask them to predict what the story is about, who are the main characters, and what will happen in the end. Then, have them read the story and compare their predictio

Most of us have heard of and/or played Trimino, but are you familiar with Tarsia puzzles? Educational trimino of sorts, they offer a more exciting twist on traditional jigsaw puzzles. Here are some helpful Tarsia puzzle insights: Tarsia puzzles are educational tools designed to help students grasp interconnected concepts. They consist of individual pieces with unique shapes and patterns that, when combined, form a larger shape or pattern. These puzzles often feature equations, diagrams, or vocabulary-related activities, and they serve as a fun and interactive way to reinforce comprehension and foster problem-solving skills. Exploring Vocabulary with Tarsia Puzzles This resource serves as an enjoyable and engaging alternative to typical vocabulary worksheets. Distribute a copy to each student, and watch them enhance their vocabulary skills. The students need to cut out the polygon pieces, which are mixed up. They must then assemble the puzzle by matching corresponding pieces, for exampl

​ Today I have used hexagons to create a timeline for English B set book- ‘Machines like me’ by Ian McEwan (a highly recommended read by the way!) It was a really successful lesson experience, with lots of discussion, individual and group work-one that every student participated in and benefitted from. More importantly, this procedure seems universal enough to be applied to any set reading, especially for plot summary. The steps are as follows: 1. A warm-up discussion on the idea of timeline- what it is for? how to pick events for the timeline? how to present them in an effective and consistent way?  2. Once the model of timeline is agreed on, students are given a part of the book to work with- in my case each of 10 students got a chapter, and that covered the whole book, but it can be pairs doing a 3-chapter part etc, whatever works for you. 3. Students are supposed to spend 15-20 minutes on their respective parts and produce 5-10 hexagons with sentences written on them representing e

​ My relationship with AI in education has been a stormy one- I started off with lots of suspicion towards ChatGPT (I wrote about it here), then I got enthusiastic about it thanks to Twee (more in this post), now it is time to deal with its academic integrity repercussions, as I was informed of a student using ChatGPT to write a whole essay for them.   Luckily for them, it was not part of internal or external assessment, just homework. Yet, it definitely was a breach of both school and IBO Academic Integrity Policy(to be found  here ), as well as  policy on using AI (linked  Here ), and as such, required urgent attention and action.   As this was the first case of such misconduct, DP1, and not coursework, the student was not reported to the IB, only penalized according to our school rules, which is an F, a letter to the parents, and lowered grade for behaviour.  What also had to happen was a talk to the whole cohort during homeroom where this issue was addressed. I decided to refrain f