Why you don't want to use ChatGPT for Math problems. Some cool new tools for starting the school year and some things I'm doing in my classroom with AI. A reminder of the 40/40/40 rule as you start school and more news this week.

Alert: "Zoom has changed its terms to allow training AI on user content with no opt-out, meaning all student data - audio, facial recognition, private conversations - is now under the platform’s control.” via Ben Gusovsky on X.com. But then, two days ago, after the backlash caused by many, Zoom now says it will not use Customer Content to train AI systems. It may be too late, but I wanted you to have the facts since this is being talked about.

AI Knowledge: ChatGPT has become worse at math since March.

In today's top story, Chat GPT is worse at math now than back in March. Yes. It is getting “dumber,” for lack of a better word.

Yet another reason that we humans must use our intelligence as we use tools with AI built-in and why every AI tool must have a way for us to provide feedback and tell it when it is wrong. And yes, it can be wrong, but if we don’t speak up, it assumes it is right and learns from itself in a way that makes it “dumber.” AI can drift.

This has significant implications for math -- Chat GPT-4 from March outperformed the June version. It also worsened at code generation, answering medical exam questions, and answering opinion surveys. All of which is attributed to drift.

As I've shared before, the way to go is to use GPT-4 with the Wolfram Alpha plugin. (Read Wolfram Alpha + ChatGPt Plus = Amazing Math Teacher Help.) But remember, in December, it was announced that AI is discovering patterns in pure mathematics that have never been seen before. And drug companies are using AI experiments to generate new medicines, something the medical field just can't seem to get their arms around. So, AI ethics are being talked about in every field.
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As 85 million jobs go away to AI, 93 million new jobs will be created by humans using ai. We must learn to supervise AI, and knowing it can drift is part of that. See AI stats.

Back to School Resources

• ​Back to School Quizziz resources from Kyle Neimis. He says the one on how to email your teacher is being borrowed by other teachers the most.
• EVERFI (sponsor of this newsletter) has free resources for teaching personal finance and early literacy.
• ​Galactic Polymath takes research from current scientists and STEM experts and turns them into free lessons for grades 5+. Send this site to your STEM teachers as you help kids see how current research works.
• Make Friends. One Gallup survey found that people who have a "best friend" at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their jobs. Similarly, a LinkedIn study revealed that 46 percent of professionals worldwide believe that work friends are important to their overall happiness. (Hat Tip: Friday Forward email from Robert Glaser #392)
• ​7 Ways to Teach with Sticky Notes. I have the super sticky notes and love them. If I'm not in Nearpod, I'm using these.
• ​Comprehension questions rolled out this week in Reading Progress Coach, the fantastic tool built into Microsoft Teams. There's nothing like what they're doing now with Reading Coach and Reading Progress coach. Amazing free tools for educators teaching reading. Hat tip Mike Tolfsen.​
• Deep Fake Photo teaching resources - As I am teaching deep fake and AI using tools like thesecatsdonotexist and this person does not exist. Then we move into whichfaceisreal to see if we can learn to detect the difference. When we're done, this incredible project using Adobe Firefly will be our cornerstone for this week’s lessons as we prepare to have our truth or fiction competition as we learn the discernment required to not be gullible in an age where deception is the norm and savvy people are needed to make the world a better place and stop the madness. You don’t have to make a video to follow the two techniques shared in this video and make a picture. You don't need a green screen anymore!

Early Smart Phone Use is Harming Mental Health of GenZ

If there's one article I wish every parent (and educator would read), it is "Early-Life Smartphone Use Tied to Poorer Mental Health in GenZ." Some key stats:

• "A 2020 Pew Research Center report found that more than a third of the 1,600 parents interviewed said their child began using a smartphone before the age of 5, and a quarter said their child’s smartphone engagement began between ages 5 and 8."
• "A 2019 survey by Common Sense Media found that over half of U.S. kids have their own smartphone by the time they’re 11."
• Percentages of females with mental health challenges decreased from 74% for those who received their first smartphone at age 6 to 46% who received it at age 18. (This is still a high number.) IN males, it dropped from 42% to 36% respectively.
• "“For females, other dimensions such as mood and outlook and adaptability and resilience also improved steeply” in those who got their first smartphone at older ages. Notably, problems with suicidal thoughts, feelings of aggression toward others, a sense of being detached from reality, and hallucinations “declined most steeply and significantly” with older age of first smartphone ownership for females, and for males as well, but to a lesser degree."

What will it take for us to understand that this “Guinea pig” generation needs human connection from face-to-face interactions and developmentally can’t handle the always-on pressure of social media which is designed to tell us all that we’re not good enough and need to buy (insert advertiser here) so we can be a better human and live this somehow called best life thing everyone talks about and no one is doing? Take away the phones. Limit their use. In the end, they will thank us. Share this research and let me know what you think. This generation needs a lot of things but a mobile device is likely not one of them if the research is to be believed. I can see in hindsight that one of the biggest mistakes I made as a parent was giving my children smartphones at too young of an age and not putting a filter on them. I recommend Covenant Eyes for every child in school on all devices. (While this app markets to help with preventing porn as a problem, it provides accountability in every area of life and it has helped many parents and our family as well in accountability in internet use, so I speak from experience.)

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On the Blog and Podcast

• Pat Yongpradit from TeachAI and Code.org "Harnessing the Future of AI without Losing our Way"
• Mary Howard on AI and the Future of Classroom Efficiency​
• This week you'll hear from AR/VR Expert Rachelle dene Poth. The show will drop tomorrow.

In Other News...

• ​Google Gemini - Google Gemini is being discussed. Now, while I"m not over eager to theorize on what we don't know, I do know one thing. This model will do "multi-modal" summarization, which means it will not only summarize written text but words, videos, and pictures. The line between all media types is getting ready to blur with AI. You can watch this video but know that until we see it, we may not want to believe it.
• ChatGPT "overlays" are gaining popularity. We saw them at ISTE, the tools that write prompts and let you fill in the blanks. A teacher came to me this week and said, "I've not really cared for AI, but I'm using magicschool.ai to help me write my syllabus." Before you snub these tools, remember that not everyone likes the chatGPT interface and writes a lot or types quickly. I used it to help me with a syllabus, and it was like ChatGPT but with formatting built in. I think many teachers might find it helpful.

My Productivity Journey

Ending Some Duties to Do Better in What Matters. So much is going on with the start of school. I'm excited to teach AP Computer Science Principals, 9th Grade Digital Technology, 8th Grade Computer Apps, and the high school digital film program and work with teachers on their instructional technology needs. My amazing headmaster has worked to take IT duties off -- computer fixing, student computer support and network maintenance, and such. While I've enjoyed doing these things for 21 years, sometimes things have to change, and my passion is teaching with technology, effectively and wisely using AI in the classroom and helping teachers do the same.

Henry Cloud says, "In your business and perhaps your life, the tomorrow that you desire and envision may never come to pass if you do not end some things you are doing today." (Necessary Endings - a fantastic book.)

So, I'm still teaching as much as ever, I'm just now able to refocus on you. Sharing via the podcast, newsletter, and the books I have drafted that need to get out into the world. It is exciting. Do What Matters is not only a book I have written but a lifestyle.

Building Your Second Brain. Creating a consistent organizing system for notes, tasks, files, and work is a game changer as I read Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential.

While Tiago advocates the PARA method, I tweaked it for me, and it is the PATH method (Projects, Areas of Work, Topics of Interest, and History) — Tiaho’s system is similar with Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives. Whatever your system, I agree with his statement that organizing by how you will use something is truly an incredible method for creatives. I've used it on my newsletter today and it has shortened the time considerably.

My Evernote (yes, I am still using it… gasp.. even with the steep price increase they just announced.) has these categories, as does Todoist, and my file folder system on my computer. The AI built into Notion is far better and at some point I may go back to it, but for now I'm seeing if Evernote will handle my needs.

As I combine it with my Elgato Streamdeck XL and wow. It is amazing.

OK, off to teach class. I hope you. have an amazing week, educators. I'm still debating which day of the week I'll put the newsletter out now and am debating towards the end of the week but would love to hear your opinions so just reply to this email and let me know your thoughts.

Joyfully in your service,

Vicki