Blog - Page 11 of 49 - Spencer Education

Mar 13 2023

Dr. Alec Couros on Redefining Information Literacy In An Era of AI

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Podcast No Comments

With the emergence of generative AI, we now have newer concerns around deep fakes and misinformation. Older, more traditional approaches simply won't work given the new media landscape. In this podcast episode, I interview an educational technology expert and professor Alec Couros. He offers some…

Mar 07 2023

What Does Personalized Learning Look Like in an Age of Smart Machines? #ChatGPT

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Future of Learning, Podcast, Technology and Media Literacy 3 Comments

Eight students stood in line whispering to one another and fidgeting in excitement. A few of them had peeked into the windows to see what was new. One girl had a tiny notebook with a list. Most of the students had pulled out their phones…

Feb 20 2023

The Future of Writing in a World of Artificial Intelligence #ChatGPT

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Creativity 25 Comments

Back in December, I showed ChatGPT to a friend of mine who is also a professor. "I'm not worried about AI in my humanities courses," she said. "Not at all?" She shook her head. "I know of colleagues who are going back to the blue…

Feb 04 2023

We Can’t Predict How A.I. Will Change Learning #ChatGPT

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Podcast, Technology and Media Literacy 12 Comments

"What do you think all of this means for the future?" a friend asks. We'd been talking about ChatGPT for nearly an hour but suddenly it starts to hit closer to home. "I don't know," I answer. "I mean, our kids are about to go…

Jan 23 2023

Donalyn Miller Shares How to Empower Readers with Voice and Choice

By John Spencer Empowered Readers, Podcast No Comments

In my latest podcast episode, I interview Donalyn Miller on what it means to take a student-centered approach in English Language Arts. Donalyn is one of my education heroes, so I totally nerded out in getting to interview her on my podcast. Listen to the…

Jan 13 2023

What Our Adopted Greyhound Taught Me About Life, Learning, and Creativity

By John Spencer Creativity, Podcast 2 Comments

Four years ago, we adopted Jasmine, a retired racing greyhound. We knew we wanted a dog that was lower energy, more introverted, and less likely to bark. We had done our research ahead of time and we knew she would be a good choice for…

Jan 10 2023

In a World of AI, Our Students Need Project-Based Learning

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Project-Based Learning, Technology and Media Literacy 7 Comments

The Artificial Intelligence revolution is here. That might sound like hyperbole. After all, the world looks the same. The revolution didn’t arrive with Skynet and robots or with Blade Running cyborgs. It’s been subtle. Auto-correct here. Grammarly suggestion there. An auto-fill option in G-mail and…

Jan 02 2023

Launching Into the New Year

By John Spencer Creativity, Mindsets, Podcast, Teacher Life One Comment

Each year, I choose a single word to focus on as my “one word.” I realize this might sound cheesy but I find it helpful. Having a single word helps me stay focused on a general theme for the year. I typically create visual reminders.…

Dec 12 2022

No, Artificial Intelligence Won’t Destroy High School English (Or Any Other Subject)

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, Future of Learning 6 Comments

If you're not familiar with ChatGPT, it is an Artificial Intelligence chat bot that answers questions. If you're thinking it's like Siri or Alexa or even Clippy (let's be real, Clippy was the coolest of all the digital assistants), it's so much more than that.…

Dec 09 2022

Human Skills in a World of Artificial Intelligence

By John Spencer Artificial Intelligence, Podcast, Technology and Media Literacy, Vintage Innovation 13 Comments

Three years ago, I stood in a high-tech lab at a technical university and stared at the giant flat screen monitor. The professor asked me, "Can you tell me which of these samples was generated via Artificial Intelligence?" At the top, a student had asked…