Generative AI and the tools spawning from the new technology are changing many aspects of society as these become ubiquitous.

As we look forward to the new year, one might wish to take a bit of time to read up on the concepts and the potential of AI in education as well as within society as a whole.

1. One of the most prominent titles available is Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick, who publishes the AI focused blog One Useful Thing. He is a distinguished faculty scholar at Wharton, where he also is co-director of the generative AI labs. His text is an easy read and I think is a fairly balanced approach to the possibilities and concerns raised by the use of generative AI in society and education.
2. Another general book about AI in education is Salman Khan’s Brave New Words: How AI will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing)*. Khan’s book is a more rose-colored view of an AI-rich future, if that wasn’t evident from the book’s title. However, the creator of Khan Academy and author of The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined, presents his views for a future educational environment much richer due to the influence of AI. If you haven’t read One World Schoolhouse, it is an excellent volume on the potential of education in a digitally connected and knowledge rich world. Khan has also recently chatted with Tech & Learning about how he uses AI to teach.
3. To focus specifically on the classroom aspects of AI, Daniel Fitzpatrick’s The AI Classroom: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education is a well-recommended choice. He writes with co-authors Amanda Fox and Brad Weinstein, and it includes a summary of the AI landscape but then dives into how educators can use AI within their individual classroom environments. Approximately a third of the book is a repository of potential tools for educators to use. It includes some templates for AI policy development as well. It is more of a resource and less narrative than Khan’s or Mollick’s texts.
4. A slighter volume is AI for Educators: Learning Strategies, Teacher Efficiencies, and a Vision for an Artificial Intelligence Future, by Matt Miller, founder of Ditch that Textbook. Miller shares a lot of resources and ideas like his website does in general. At only slightly over 100 pages, you could get through this book while baking cookies for Santa! However, it will most likely become a resource for you to regularly return.
5. For those who are more focused on learning about bias, ethics, and equity issues surrounding AI in education, The Promises and Perils of AI in Education: Ethics and Equity have entered the Chat. by Ken Shelton and Dee Lanier, may be the title to try.
6. Madhumita Murgia, a British-Indian author, provides a great look under the hood of the generative AI engines through the view of those who are impacted by its biases. She shares a less positive outlook through her examples in Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI.
7. A more general read about how AI fits into the geo-political scene is Paul Scharre’s Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Scharre’s text brings great insights into the AI issues beyond many of the issues that are being discussed in the news. He shares how AI is involved in global security, national interests, and the future of freedom. A thicker read, well-sourced, and engaging.
8. For someone looking for a more scholarly approach to the impact on AI in education, check out Erionia Cela’s et al. collection of Teachers' Roles and Perspectives on AI Integration in Schools. It includes academic essays on the impact of AI and how to harness it for blended education, curriculum design, community development, and professional development among other topics.
9. Finally, Tech & Learning advisor Alana Winnick’s The Generative Age: Artificial Intelligence and The Future of Education explores both the opportunities and implications of AI in education as well as the ethical considerations for its effective integration.

Moving forward, generative AI will continue to become an integral part of our society. The tools and technologies emerging from AI are transforming various aspects of our lives, including education. With some background reading, we can better understand its potential impacts and harness its capabilities. The books mentioned each provide valuable insights into the possibilities and challenges of AI.

• Designing AI-Enhanced Assignments for Deeper Learning
• 4 Tips for Designing AI-Resistant Assessments

Summer is quickly coming to an end, and preparations for the upcoming school year are within close reach. With the impending return to in-person learning for many, continued online learning for others, and even dual audience learning for some, now is the perfect time to re-imagine, re-envision, and re-think how we leverage edtech for teaching and learning in our new educational landscapes. 

Dozens of interesting edtech books offer useful content that we can all leverage in some capacity. However, sifting through all of that would take months! 

To support your professional learning journey, start with this list of fantastic edtech books that every new and seasoned K-12 teacher, from all academic subject areas and grade levels, should read. 

1. Closing the Gap: Digital Equity Strategies for the K-12 Classroom 

Edtech and digital environments will be a more prominent, and likely a permanent, aspect of teaching and learning moving forward. We must also ensure that there is digital equity so that all students can have equitable access to digital content and experiences. In Closing the Gap: Digital Equity Strategies for the K-12 Classroom, authors Sarah Thomas, Nicol R. Howard, and Regina Schaffer identify issues of digital equity through the lens of a problem of practice and provide ways that teachers and tech coaches can respond to these challenges. One of the most practical elements of this book comes from the research-based vignettes by teachers who have encountered and conquered some of the challenges highlighted. Key issues that are discussed include access, connectivity, limited resources, digital divide, and the homework gap. Strategies for connecting the ISTE Educator and Student Standards are also provided. This book is a tremendous resource for teachers who want practical strategies, examples, and recommendations for addressing the challenges that come with teaching in the digital age. 

2. Tech Like A Pirate: Using Classroom Technology to Create an Experience and Make Learning Memorable 

Who said learning and fun cannot co-exist? The opposite is actually true! To make learning relevant and interesting for students, they must enjoy the educational experience. In Tech Like A Pirate: Using Classroom Technology to Create an Experience and Make Learning Memorable, author Matt Miller approaches using classroom technology in exciting, fun, and meaningful ways. Game-based learning, global expeditions, and communication, along with social media and video apps, are discussed. In addition to the strategies and ideas, downloadable templates for class, a companion website, and pirate engagement hooks are all provided. 

3. Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning  

Student-centered learning should be at the core of every classroom. While technology has the potential to support this, there must be intentional ways to strengthen and augment traditional teaching and learning practices. In Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning, author Bethany Petty provides  a myriad of tips, tricks, and strategies to enhance learning and increase student engagement with technology. One of the major themes of the book, which is a useful reminder for all teachers when using edtech, is to not focus on specific tools but on the ways in which we use tools to enhance learning. This book has featured ideas for communicating with families, increasing collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, and empowering both teachers and students to reflect on and share learning. 

4. Teach Boldly: Using Edtech for Social Good 

Teaching and learning must go beyond the class environment. Today’s students have experienced learning at home, online, and in the classroom, and have seen many issues that impact society. In Teach Boldly: Using Edtech for Social Good, author Jennifer Williams provides pathways to using edtech tools and resources, for the larger good of humanity. The book details how to use edtech tools to amplify student voices and provide them a space in which to be creative and think critically about addressing the needs of people around the world. The book provides teachers with simple ideas for transforming learning and classroom culture through space while using edtech as a catalyst for change. Tips for taking action now along with integrative activities are included. 

5. Increasing Engagement in Online Learning 

This final book recommendation is in the format of a quick reference guide. If you do not have time to read through an entire book, myself and co-author Laura McLaughlin provide in Increasing Engagement in Online Learning a wealth of information on increasing engagement in online and hybrid learning environments. In addition to strategies, examples, and edtech tools to support collaboration, participation, and formative assessment strategies, topics for effectively navigating dual audience engagement, and home-to-school engagement ideas are covered. Some of the topics addressed are engaging students in breakout rooms, avoiding zoom fatigue, and planning for both asynchronous and synchronous learning. 

• Summer Reading Recommendations
• Best Tools for Teachers

Follett today announced its one-year-old book fair business is expanding for the 2018-19 school year to offer fairs focused for early childhood (PreK-1) and middle school (grades 6-8). Follett Book Fairs launched a year ago on a regional basis with fairs designed especially for K-6 and K-8 schools.

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Because of its existing partnerships with thousands of publishers, Follett Book Fairs are able to offer a large selection of books for early education, elementary, and middle school students. The company encourages participating schools to be closely involved with product selection, allowing for customization for their unique needs and demographics.

School librarians interested in hosting a Follett Book Fair during the 2018-19 school year should visit FollettBookFairs.com

The London Book Fair this year runs from the 10th to the 12th of April, at Olympia. So why am I telling you, an ed techie, about it? Three reasons:

Read more.

Terry Freedman is an independent ed tech consultant and freelance writer based in London, England. He publishes the ICT & Computing in Education website.

In my many visits to schools I have rarely seen a book library which has been built up and maintained by the teachers resposible for ICT, or educational technology as it is known in the USA.

There are several compelling reasons for starting such an enterprise. Indeed, not to do so is to implicitly agree with the utilitarian view of ICT being nothing more than a set of skills. Whenever you read an educationalist 's blog or a committee report espousing the view that ICT should be taught across the curriculum and has no place in the school timetable in its own right, you are ingesting the views of people who have little or no concept of the intellectual underpinnings of the subject, or of the importance of theories of learning in relation to it.

Read more.

cross-posted at www.ictineducation.org

Terry Freedman is an independent educational ICT consultant with over 35 years of experience in education. He publishes the ICT in Education website and the newsletter “Digital Education."

• Little Bird Tales– Include images, audio narrative, and drawings to animate written stories.
• Storybird– Create digital books with a selection of characters and backgrounds created by professional artists.
• Toon Doo– Create books online with a selection of cartoon characters and backgrounds.
• My Storybook– Simple way to visualize a story with drawings, images, characters, and more.
• Storyjumper– Choose characters and backgrounds to visualize a written story. Not able to embed.
• BoomWriter– Create collaborative class storybooks. Features include peer editing and a voting process.
• Book Creator– iOS and Android app to create digital books and include images, audio, video, and more.
• Buncee– Web tool and iOS app to create digital storybooks with animations, stickers, images, and clipart.
• UTellStory– Create a digital story with photos, video, voice, music and words.
• StoryKit (iOS)– Children can draw, upload images, record their voice, and lay out the elements of the story (text boxes, images, paint, and sound clips). The application includes four public domain children’s books to rewrite and rearrange into a new story.
• StoryBots– create books on the iPad starring the child!

cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com

Shelly Terrell is an education consultant, technology trainer, and author. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.