271: Magic Student AI Tools This episode covers the Magic Student AI tools  from Magic School, following last week’s episode ( (Episode 270 – Magic School AI)) on the teacher tools. Magic School Features to Explore New Google Chrome extension to easily access the tools New YouTube channel explaining how the different products work Can  create a classroom to control which tools students have access to Magic Student AI Tools Discussed Chatbot for students called Raina (not found very helpful) Writing feedback tool (fantastic for getting feedback on student writing at different grad ..read more

270: Magic School AI In  this episode we explore a new resource called Magic School AI, which can be used by homeschoolers to help their children retain and understand concepts, and provide engaging ideas for lessons. In this episode we look at the tools for teachers (ie would be used by the homeschool parent). Next week we will look at the tools for students Here are the Magic School AI tools mentioned Text Rewriter: Rewrites text in different styles (humorous, matter-of-fact, ironic, etc.) Question Generators: Creates questions based on YouTube videos or text input Rubric Generator: G ..read more

269: Teen Podcasters Share Their Journey   ..read more

268 : Importance of critical thinking skills in navigating social media Guest Stephanie Simoes  from Critikid.com talks about the Importance of Critical Thinking Skills in Navigating Social Media and how to teach our children these skills. Key Points: Critical thinking involves the ability to distinguish between logical and flawed reasoning, understanding logical fallacies, cognitive biases, symbolic logic, science literacy, and the limits of intuition. Kids need these skills to have productive conversations on social media, identify pseudoscience and misinformation, and interpret the o ..read more

267:  Comparing AI Assistants In this episode you will find me comparing AI Assistants – depending on your needs your favorites may be different to mine, so I suggest you try them all out too!. Just as you probably have a favorite supermarket, you will likely have a favorite AI assistant after you try some of the popular ones out. I am using the free version of the 5 I compare ChatGPT This is the “original” one that introduced the world to AI Assistants. It is still my go-to but does not have access  to current data and nor does it have the capabilities of some of the others. It is ..read more

266:Teaching students to use Tinkercad     Robert Walsh from Excalibur Solutions Stem Academy explains the why and the how behind teaching students to use Tinkercad. What is STEM? Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Why does my child need STEM education even if they aren’t interested in a STEM career? Children do not know what they will want to do after high school, so prepare them in case they do want to pursue a STEM career There are so many benefits of learning STEM subjects that spill over into all areas of life. See Episode 144– Non-Tech Skills Students ..read more

265: 10 Ways I am using AI in 2024   I use AI like I would a personal assistant. I give clear instructions and check the results. I use it for tasks that free me up to be creative in other areas, or to help me get started on a task. Here are 10 ways I am using AI this year so far. Podcast show notes  – I use Descript to create a transcript from the audio and then ask Claude to turn it into show notes Gift ideas – give the interests and age and also what the person already owns Recommendation letters – I use “voice to text” to get down my ideas on Google docs. Then I take the output ..read more

264: The Anton App: Interactive Lessons for Kids The Anton App offers bite-sized interactive learning opportunities for K – 8th grade. It is free and some of its features include: Works on all devices No ads Earn coins for games Covers a wide range of subjects Can customize avatars to look like oneself Games are offered as a reward for learning Groups allow you to add students,  assign specific lessons to the group, see how students are doing by utilizing reports —————————————————————————————————————- Take a look at show sponsor, FundaFunda Academy to see what they offer for online cla ..read more

263: Gamified Science Apps for Neurodiverse Brains In today’s episode, host Meryl Van Der Merwe interviews homeschooling mom And Clark about two gamified science apps she uses with her neurodiverse kids — Brilliant  and TytoOnline. These gamified science apps make science interactive and engaging for both neurodiverse and neurotypical students. Brilliant offers supplemental math and science courses while Tyto is a 3D video game focused on middle and high school science. Brilliant Offers math, science, computer science courses and puzzles Pay monthly or annually Has free preview availab ..read more

  262: Equipping your children for careers in an AI world   With the AI revolution upon us and facing a future we can only guess at, how do we  homeschoolers equip our children for careers in an AI world? Key Topics Covered: How rapidly AI is changing and transforming the job landscape 3 scenarios for how AI could impact jobs and careers Importance of discussing AI and its impact with kids Teaching kids to be computer & tech literate to keep skills up-to-date Encouraging creativity since AI handles routine tasks Developing critical thinking and problem solving Dangers of k ..read more