Latest news with #lessonplans
ABC News
7 days ago
- ABC News
BTN Newsbreak 12/08/2025
AI CLASSROOMS A new report has found that schools should be using more AI in their classrooms to ease the work load on teachers. Yep, according to a new report by the Productivity Commission, AI could help free teachers from admin work and give them more time with their students. They're recommending that teachers use AI to create lesson plans, mark homework and give real-time feedback on assessments. The idea is to help lighten their workload, boost student outcomes and reduce the gap between new and experienced teachers. Right now, each state and territory has a different approach when it comes to AI, some outright banning it in schools, while others have already begun developing AI tools for teachers to use. The report also wants the federal government to create a national platform of materials for teachers and support them in learning how to use AI tools effectively. WASHINGTON POLICE US President Donald Trump has announced his government is taking control of the local police force in Washington DC. He's expected to deploy at least 800 National Guard troops to the US capital, saying it's a necessary move to stop crime and move homeless people out of the city. But while it's in the president's power to do this for 30 days, if he believes there's an emergency, the announcement has sparked protests by people who believe this is an unnecessary overuse of power, pointing to the fact that crime rates in Washington DC are actually the lowest they've been in 30 years. MUSIC KIDS Now to central Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, where students have been making music to preserve local language through song. What you're listening to is Lok Lok Mah Burarr. It's a Dreamtime story about why goannas have patterns on their backs and lizards don't. It's one of many songs that have come out of the Bulman School in central Arnhem Land, where students have been recording songs using the two languages of the area, Dalabon and Rembarrnga. Many of the songs are creation stories about animals, like Malnganarra, which tells of how bats take shelter inside the rainbow serpent, or Strongbala Wei, which is about the responsibility of caring for country. And at his years National Indigenous Media Awards, the school added another trophy to it collection after nabbing the Community Clip of the Year for their song Crocodile Style CAPTAIN AUSTRALIA First up, to a man dressed up as a superhero who's running a big lap around Australia. Captain Australia is raising money for children's cancer research, and has so far raised more than a hundred thousand bucks. EIFFEL TOWER MAN Now to France, where this grandpa is building a replica of the Eiffel tower in his yard. Its taken him and his grandson 8 years to get to this point. And later this month, a big crane will help them lift the final pieces into place. The replica is one tenth the size of the original, and will stand at about 30 meters tall. BEE SNIFFING DOG And finally, to a sniffer dog in the US. Maple is her name, and she used to work for the local police force, but now she's being trained to detect certain honey bee diseases. But they don't make bee suits for dogs, so she had to get one specially made for her.
The Guardian
11-08-2025
- The Guardian
Helping Australian teachers share lesson plans could improve stagnating student results, Productivity Commission says
A national online database of lesson plans would help teachers cut hours from their weekly workloads and help reverse years of stagnating student results, the Productivity Commission says. The commission's fourth interim report on how to lift Australia's flagging productivity focused on building a skilled and adaptable workforce. Naplan test results show one in three school students don't meet minimum literacy or numeracy standards, and Catherine de Fontenay, one of two commissioners leading the inquiry, said 'anything that improves our foundational skills in schools is going to have the biggest impact on productivity'. The commission said it 'repeatedly' heard during consultations that the tools and resources available to teachers varied between jurisdictions and sectors, while not all states and territories had developed lesson planning materials to share through a database. Sign up: AU Breaking News email The commonwealth should invest and promote a single online platform containing the materials, the report said, with the understanding plans would be adapted for local contexts and for the wide range of students' abilities. The commission also said the federal government should take the lead in devising a national approach to education technology in schools, including tools using artificial intelligence. 'Effective implementation of both reforms requires collaboration and buy-in from state and territory governments, school sectors, school leaders and teachers,' the report said. De Fontenay said the inquiry had revealed a lack of coordination around how to use AI in the classroom. 'What we found is that all the states are on a journey. A lot of them are at the (stage) of trying to ban the use of GenAI, with various levels of success,' she said. While some state school directorates are focused on the risks, others are developing their own GenAI tools, including Educhat in NSW. 'Teachers are in a very difficult situation right now,' de Fontenay said. 'All continue to experiment and try out different technologies, but in the midst of the fear there is lots of potential as well. 'For a kid who is struggling, AI can tailor the next question based on how they are doing on earlier questions, and then give them work that targets their weaknesses. 'There's a lot of potential, but there are always risks. This has to be a collective agreement in terms of how to proceed.' A week out from treasurer Jim Chalmers' economic reform roundtable, the commission also recommended easing regulatory restrictions around the jobs Australians are able to perform, which it said were exacerbating skills shortages. 'They should start by considering occupations – including motor vehicle repairers, painters and decorators, and hairdressers – where OERs [occupational entry regulations] apply in only some jurisdictions and are not demonstrably improving outcomes.' De Fontenay said it was not a question of doing away with minimum requirements, but pushing back against creeping 'credentialism'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'It's more a question of proportionality. Audits are a good example. Right now the level of auditor requirements are the same as if you are auditing BHP or a small enterprise. We think there should be a lower tier risk of licence with simpler requirements,' she said. In aged care, the demands and expense of educational requirements could be a barrier to somebody with a natural aptitude, de Fontenay said. 'We don't want to see people who are really suited to this type of work prevented by excessive entry requirements. 'And in particular, we'd like to see in remote communities that it's easier for people to receive culturally safe care from people in their communities.' The interim report also proposed initiatives to boost the skills of those already in the workforce. The commission recommended providing financial incentives, potentially in the form of a tax credit, to small and medium-sized businesses who invest in training their staff. The report also backed better recognition of prior education and making it easier for students to claim credit for other study. 'AI is very much on everyone's minds, but occupational change has been a big feature of labour markets here and overseas,' de Fontenay said. 'We need to prepare people to change occupations when their preferences change, or when their professions shrink or evolve.
Associated Press
29-07-2025
- Associated Press
Providing Educators With Tools To Inspire Student Engagement
Verizon Foreign Language Academy in Kansas City builds student confidence through adaptable, tech-forward lesson plans. Verizon Innovative Learning Schools Coach Abigail Thompson collaborates with colleagues at Foreign Language Academy, teaching them how to implement Verizon Innovative Learning HQ lesson plans in their classrooms using available technology. Photo credit: Nicole Bissey When Abigail Thompson joined Foreign Language Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, as the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools Coach, she made it her personal mission to inspire teachers and students with technology and share ways that classroom tech could reshape learning. 'I had already been a teacher in Kansas City Public Schools, and I was really interested in technology and how it's best used in the classroom,' Thompson says. 'I like that I still get to work with kids in some capacity, but I love that I get to help other teachers be great.' In her role, Thompson has helped teachers successfully implement lesson plans from Verizon Innovative Learning HQ, which offers free to all educators more than 450 tech-based lessons, created by partners like McGraw Hill, Discovery Education and Arizona State University. The lesson plans cover subjects from game design to biology and beyond. Occasionally, Thompson finds an appealing lesson plan that suggests using a tool or app that the school doesn't have. 'The reality is maybe we don't always have that exact resource,' she says. But because the lesson plans on Verizon Innovative Learning HQ lay out exactly what is needed for each course of study, Thompson says she easily finds smart substitutions. 'Exploring what tools we have and can utilize instead has been big for us,' she says. One of the most popular Verizon Innovative Learning HQ resources at Thompson's school, for example, is the Stop-Motion Animation lesson, which gives students a fun, hands-on way to be creative while learning core STEM principles. The lesson plan recommends using the Stop Motion Studio app, but Thompson found a substitute app already available on school tablets with the same capabilities. Students find the technology both easy-to-use and engaging. 'After I take all the pictures, I go to the app where you can edit and add effects,' says fifth grader Gabriela. 'I feel like I'm learning when I use it. You're expanding your brain to learn about editing photography and video together.' The lesson also teaches physics (understanding motion and gravity), engineering (designing sets and props) and math (measuring time and frame rates). Thompson said another lesson plan that's a favorite across all grades levels is Emoji Design, which recommends using a graphic design software program that the school doesn't own. Thompson identified five alternate applications that worked with the material, however, giving students several options for creating their designs. The resulting emojis are as different as the students are. Kevin, a sixth grader, made a sports-themed emoji to symbolize his love of soccer and basketball; eighth grader Maria Jose taught herself how to create a gradient background to use in her design. The flexibility of the lesson plans on Verizon Innovative Learning HQ brings creative energy to the classroom, giving students the freedom to explore and innovate during lessons, which in turn builds their confidence. For some lesson plans, the students can choose which tools they will use to complete their work, and students will make selections based on their own interests and comfort level. 'One of the kids got so excited about [a popular music production app],' says Thompson. 'He said, 'I'm really good at keeping beats, so I'm working in percussion.' I just love that.' Having agency and authorship of their learning experience gives the students the confidence to develop new skills. 'Using technology for creation rather than consumption in the classroom is so important,' Thompson says. 'It helps students see technology as a tool and gives them so many options to show who they are and what they know. Creating choice has given voice to the students. It helps them gain both knowledge and confidence, so I just think that's awesome.' The students think it's awesome, too. 'We integrate our own ideas into our work,' says Gabriel, a seventh grader. Leo, also in seventh grade, puts it more simply: 'The lessons are more fun.' Tim Nash, a STEM and robotics teacher, says that his students are repurposing skills they learned in the Verizon Innovative Learning HQ lessons and bringing them to other subjects. 'We have a journalism class that does weekly video announcements using [readily available video production apps],' Nash says. 'It's something new that we're doing, because the kids now know how to use the tools in ways that can be implemented outside of the classroom.' Those video announcements are shared school-wide. And, as Nash points out, it's 'pretty cool' that middle-school students are stepping into these kinds of roles, inspired to branch out and apply what they've learned in real-life scenarios. For her colleagues, meanwhile, Thompson fosters ongoing creative usage of Verizon Innovative Learning HQ lessons at the school by sharing resources, lesson examples and project ideas with teachers, partly through a monthly newsletter and partly through one-to-one calls with her co-workers. And just like their students, the teachers are taking the ball and running with it, with creative and engaging results. 'The teachers see the resources and take them and they make them their own,' she says. Verizon Innovative Learning is a key part of the company's responsible business plan to help move the world forward for all. As part of the plan, Verizon has an ambitious goal of providing 10 million youth with digital skills training by 2030. Educators can access free lessons, professional development, and immersive learning experiences to help bring new ways of learning into the classroom by visiting Verizon Innovative Learning HQ. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Verizon
