"We hope you enjoy!"

 Today, I can totally accept 'Enjoy!' when it is used to end an informal message. But I admit when I saw the sentence "We hope you enjoy!", I still found it slightly odd. On second thought, though, if "Enjoy!" as an intransitive verb is universally acceptable today, why not 'We hope you enjoy!"!

I first learnt 'enjoy' as a transitive verb while in primary school, hence 'enjoy oneself', 'enjoy (doing) something', etc. In the next few decades, 'enjoy' continued to be used as a transitive verb. Then, starting about 20 (?) years ago, the intransitive usage started to surface, hence 'Enjoy!' at the end of an informal message.

A moment ago, my mind was caught by this question: "Exactly when did the intransitive usage of 'enjoy' begin?" So I went to Perplexity and asked the question, and was amazed at the answer. "Enjoy" actually started out as an intransitive verb in the 14th century (meaning 'Rejoice', 'Be happy', etc.)! It transitioned to transitive use by the mid-15th century. Then the intransitive usage revived in the late 20th century.

Language is changing and developing all the time. And that's one reason why it is so fascinating.

Created a video overview with NotebookLM using capped pictures: How to use Diffit to create a Reading lesson pack

 看了夏Sir解釋如何把cap圖利用NotebookLM 製成video overview,很想試試。https://youtu.be/Ekk0SHDT-WI?si=Q059Y7U8BvWRfllW

但打開幾個自己現成的PPT後, 發覺內裏的插圖不多；跟著想起自己近年喜歡用Workflowy 製作explainer page,供學員参考如何使用某些elearning app, 這些explainer page都會包含cap 圖。

於是我選了其中解釋如何用Diffit 去 create 一個供教reading 的lesson pack的題目(https://workflowy.com/.../how-to-use.../fPs3OkcA9Drg5UoE), 先把这explainer page儲成pdf,然後跟Ha Sir 的建議，用I love pdf把這pdf convert成由jpg合成的pdf (因這樣NotebookLM 才會看到upload 後pdf中的圖片)。

跟著的步驟就和一般用NotebookLM generate video overview一樣，而生成的video, 果然用了我要它用的圖片(否則生成的video會以文字作為畫面為主。)

當然如果要學用Diffit, 学員看我的Workflowy explainer page會比看生成的 Video 更直接；但經過這次練習，將來遇到圖片佔重要角色的解釋，便懂得如何製作了。

https://youtu.be/SQ4zFSGwBSc

Add pictures to Video Overview generated in NotebookLM

Ha Sir's explainer Video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYz2JgDyLcA

Ha Sir' Prompt: 

use the slide photos from the source "01 photo", simple english, female voice.

Used Murf.ai to create a dialogue for presenting adverbs of frequency

 Earlier on, I used Quillbot AI Dialogue Generator to create a dialogue that contains 4 adverbs of frequency (Open English I, Unit 1). The dialogue is for presenting/revisiting the adverbs of frequency. 

Then I went to Murf.ai to create an audio dialogue from the dialogue text generated with Quillbot. 

Below is the Output: 

https://murf.ai/share/mfrzo8la

Murf.ai is good for creating DIALOGUES. IT also has a few parameters for users to customise their intended artifact (eg, speed; tone)

However, the Free Plan only allows for 10 minutes of AI generation. 

Also, the free plan does not allow downloading the audio dialogue. 

Killing 3 birds with one stone: from PPT to Video Overview to Video Quiz to Adaptive Flashcard deck

 oogle NotebookLM 的Video Overview 真的很精彩，能夠把你的PPT 轉化成Video Overview, 而且畫面不是死板的照抄原本的PPT 的Slide, 經常會把內容消化後以另一個畫面設計顯示，而voiceover narration 很生動活潑。

我由於是Wayground (前Quizizz)的付費subscriber, 為了盡用它的功能，於是把NotebookLM 生成的Video download 後，再upload 到Wayground, 利用它的AI 功能生成Video Quiz。

一

跟著再在Wayground AI用我的PPT 生成一個有Adaptive flashcard review 功能的flashcard set。

換句話說，用PPT 授課，利用AI將它Generate 成Video; 和Interactive video quiz; 和adaptive learning 的flashcard set。即Killing three birds with one stone。

Created a Video Overview on Multisyllabic Words from a PPT using NotebookLM

STARTING MATERIAL

- A PPT of about 10 slides on multisyllabic words; the PPT was converted to PDF. 

OUTPUT

https://youtu.be/14eY5D4YGfo

Using Quillbot AI Dialogue Generator to create a Dialogue for presenting language items

 tools: Quillbot AI Dialogue Generator

https://quillbot.com/ai-writing-tools/ai-dialogue-generator

Target Language Items: Adverbs of Frequency: never, seldom, sometimes, often

MY INITIAL PROMPT: 

Two lower secondary students, both male, sharing their own after-school activities with each other. The dialogue is not more than 120 words in length, and should include these adverbs of frequency: never, seldom, sometimes, often. This dialogue is to be used in a lower-secondary ESL lesson for presenting the adverbs of frequency. 

GETTING A SECOND VERSION

The first output is a bit too short, and contrived as each utterance is too short. I asked the app to revise by lengthening it a bit, and extend some of the utterances. Below is the output: 

OUTPUT: 

Tom:

Hey, Jake! What do you usually do after school? I’m curious because I want to try some new activities.

Jake:

Hi, Tom! Well, I often play basketball with my friends. It’s a lot of fun and helps me stay active. Sometimes we play for hours if the weather is good. What about you? What do you like to do?

Tom:

I sometimes go to the library to read books or do my homework. I seldom watch TV on school days because I want to finish my tasks first. But on weekends, I often relax and watch shows.

Jake:

Interesting! I never go to the library because I find it a bit boring, but I know it’s useful. I prefer playing outside or riding my bike. It’s more exciting for me.

Tom:

That’s cool. Do you sometimes do your homework right after school, or do you wait until later?

Jake:

I often do my homework before dinner because then I can relax without worrying about it later. But sometimes, if I’m really tired, I wait until after dinner. What about you? How do you manage your homework?

Tom:

I sometimes do it right away, but I often take a short break first to rest. It helps me focus better. After that, I usually finish everything before dinner.

Jake:

Sounds good! It’s nice that we both have different ways to spend time after school, but we still get everything done. Maybe we can play basketball together sometime after homework?

Tom:

 That’s a great idea! I seldom play sports, so it would be fun to join you and learn. Let’s plan for it soon!

Created an Irregular Verbs Game using Canva AI

 (Actually, there are a few such apps on POE.)

MY PROMPT

I am an ESL teacher. Please create an interactive game for junior students to practise the past tense, and the past participle, for irregular verbs in English. When the game starts, a random irregular verb will appear. Below the irregular verb are two boxes for students to type in its past tense and past participle. Below that is a 'Check Answer' box for students to check their answer. Then there is a 'Next' box for students to try the next irregular verb. And so on.

For the students' answers, when there is a difference in spelling between British English and Amercian English (e.g., 'got' and 'gotten' for the past participle of 'get') accept both spellings.

OUTPUT:

https://paulsze.net/irregular-verbs-practice

Created another Reading lesson pack with Diffit: Healthy Eating

 MY PROMPT: 

Please create a reading text about Healthy Eating. The text is to be used in an ESL classroom. The length is about 300 words. The students' English level is about CEFR C2. 

https://app.diffit.me/p/c9bd9236-d653-439c-9ffa-24422b84141f

MY EXPLAINER PAGE: 

https://workflowy.com/s/how-to-use-diffit-to/fPs3OkcA9Drg5UoE

Created an interactive webpage using Gemini: Apps inside App

 太高興了，在Facebook見到一位台灣英語老師用Gemini製作的webpage, 才知道用canvas creator可以製作內含多個一組內容的interactive webpage。https://gemini.google.com/share/ec509dacbbfa

於是立即用Gemini試試，原來不難。因為首次嘗試，我用了很簡單的內容，只有兩個tab。以後可以利用canvas creator製作較複雜的interactive webpage了。

https://g.co/gemini/share/27b5d062a3ba

Used POE and GEMINI to create canvas app: comparison

 Starting File: A WORD file containing the lecture notes for S3 of my Phonology course. The key words are asterisked. 

In each of POE and Gemini, I uploaded my WORD file, and then asked: 

Create a web-based, interactive, blank-filling exercise, from the attached file. Turn each asterisked word into a blank. Provide a word bank which includes all the asterisked words. Students will be able to see their correct and wrong answers when they have finished the blank-filling exercise.

OUTPUT

POE: https://poe.com/preview/0dtxf4WiDj8AljiUgxge 

GEMINI: https://g.co/gemini/share/5eb9030bf8a2 

OBSERVATIONS

1. Both apps work.

2. Both apps have kept the original formatting of my WORD file to a large extent. POE performs better in this regard. 

3. The output URL from Gemini can also be opened in Chrome. 

4. Gemini has come up with an even better layout, with the Word Bank at the top of the page. 

Created a T/F quiz with Gemini's Canvas app

 The first time I used Gemini's Canvas app to create a T/F quiz. (in Opera browser.)

For my first try, I simply used a topic as my prompt ('organs of speech')

The output quiz, though visually not appealing, works. 

The shared link can be used in Chrome: 

https://gemini.google.com/share/db75c127297f

A Classroom Activity Idea: From Chatbot Inquiry to Interactive Quiz

 An idea for one of my SCT sessions: 

• ACT 1a: Do a Chatbot inquiry:
  • Example prompt: What are some factors that may make Speaking difficult for ESL students?
• ACT 1b: Take part in an interactive quiz
• ==========================

WHAT I DID:

1. I did the chatbot inquiry myself (using Perplexity).

2. I copied the output, went to Quizziz, and generated a quiz.

3. I used the generated quiz for classroom task 1b.

Tried MagicSchool's Chatbot (Raina) vs Group Work Generator again for generating a Speaking classroom activity

 I used the same prompt, to see if the two methods would result in different outputs. 

It did.

This time, it is not that easy to see which method is better. The ideas are quite different. 

At this point, in terms of logistics, Group Work Generator allows you to input the parameters (eg., length of activity; grade level)

The output from Group Work Generator is slightly more elaborate. 

==========

MY PROMPT: 

I am an ESL teacher at a secondary school. Please create An oral discussion activity for ESL students to practise the following speaking skills.

1. Present information, ideas, and feelings clearly and coherently

2. convey ideas and information in conversations or discussions

There are 3 students in each group. The topic is 'effective time management for secondary schools students'.

The group discussion activity should last for about 20 minutes.

========

OUTPUT FROM RAINA

Here's a structured 20-minute oral discussion activity for your ESL students in groups of 3, focused on practicing clear presentation and conversational skills on the topic "Effective Time Management for Secondary School Students."

---

Group Oral Discussion Activity: Effective Time Management for Secondary School Students

Duration: 20 minutes
Group Size: 3 students per group
Skills Practiced:

• Presenting information, ideas, and feelings clearly and coherently
• Conveying ideas and information in conversations and discussions

---

Activity Outline

1. Warm-up (3 minutes)

• Each student briefly shares one way they currently manage their time or one challenge they face with time management.
• Encourage students to use clear, simple sentences and explain their feelings about it.

2. Group Discussion (15 minutes)

• Topic: Effective Time Management for Secondary School Students
• Roles (rotate if desired):
  • Student A: Shares ideas about planning and organizing daily tasks (e.g., use of planners, setting priorities).
  • Student B: Talks about dealing with distractions and staying focused (e.g., putting away phones, finding quiet study spaces).
  • Student C: Discusses balancing schoolwork with leisure and rest (e.g., scheduling breaks, hobbies, sleep).

Guidelines:

• Each student presents their part clearly, explaining their ideas and feelings about why these strategies are helpful.
• After each presentation, the other two students ask one or two questions to encourage conversation and clarify ideas.
• Encourage using phrases like:
  • "I think that..."
  • "In my opinion..."
  • "Can you explain more about...?"
  • "How do you feel about...?"
  • "I agree/disagree because..."

3. Wrap-up (2 minutes)

• Each group member summarizes one key point they learned from their peers.
• End with a positive statement about how they can use these ideas to improve their own time management.

---

If you want, I can also provide sentence starters or a brief vocabulary list to support your students during the activity! Would you like that?

===================================================================

OUTPUT FROM GROUP WORK GENERATOR

https://app.magicschool.ai/tools/group-work?share=e8cffd82-e46c-4143-836e-5d4d75a797a3 

Group Work Task: Oral Discussion on Effective Time Management

Grade Level: 8th Grade

Duration: 20 Minutes

Group Size: 3 Students

Objective:

Students will practice their speaking skills by presenting information, ideas, and feelings clearly and coherently while conveying ideas in a group discussion about effective time management for secondary school students.

---

Materials Needed:

• Whiteboard or paper for jotting down ideas
• Timer
• Optional: Notebooks and pens for taking notes

---

Task Structure:

1. Introduction (3 minutes):

   • Begin by explaining the importance of time management for secondary school students.
   • Provide a brief overview of the task and objectives.

2. Group Discussion Preparation (5 minutes):

   • Each student will take a moment to think of one personal experience or strategy related to time management.
   • Encourage them to jot down key points they want to share.

3. Group Discussion (10 minutes):

   • Students will take turns sharing their experiences and strategies for effective time management.
   • Each student should aim to speak for about 2-3 minutes.
   • After each presentation, the other two students should ask follow-up questions or provide feedback to encourage conversation.

   Guiding Questions:

   • What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively?
   • How do you prioritize your tasks?
   • Can you share a time when poor time management affected your schoolwork?

4. Wrap-Up and Reflection (2 minutes):

   • Conclude the discussion by asking each student to share one new idea or strategy they learned from their peers.
   • Encourage them to think about how they might implement these strategies in their own lives.

---

Roles:

• Presenter: Shares their experience or strategy during their turn.
• Questioner: Asks follow-up questions and engages with the presenter.
• Note-taker: Jots down key points and insights shared during the discussion.

Assessment:

• Monitor the discussion for clarity of expression and engagement.
• Provide feedback on their speaking skills and ability to convey ideas clearly.

---

Reflection:

After the activity, have a brief discussion as a class about the importance of time management and how it can impact their academic success. Encourage students to think about their own time management skills and areas for improvement.

---

This structured group task will help ESL students develop their speaking skills in a supportive environment while engaging in meaningful discussions about a relevant topic.

==========

OUTPUT FROM RAINA

MagicSchool's chatbot did a better job than the group work generator

Then, I turned to Magic School's Chatbot (Raina) to see if it would do a better job than the group work generator function. 

Indeed, it did a MUCH better job. 

MY PROMPT: 

I am an ESL teacher at a secondary school. Please create An oral group activity for ESL students to practise the following speaking skills. 

- Present information, ideas, and feelings clearly and coherently

- convey ideas and information in conversations or discussions

There are 3 students in each group. The topic is 'ideas for effective time management for secondary schools students'. 

The group discussion activity should last for about 20 minutes. 

OUTPUT: 

 Certainly! Here's a clear and engaging 20-minute oral group activity for your ESL secondary students to practice presenting and conveying ideas on effective time management.

---

Group Oral Activity: Effective Time Management for Secondary School Students

Group Size: 3 students per group
Duration: 20 minutes
Topic: Ideas for effective time management for secondary school students

---

Objectives:

• Present information, ideas, and feelings clearly and coherently
• Convey ideas and information effectively in conversations or discussions

---

Activity Structure:

1. Warm-up (3 minutes)

• Each student briefly shares one way they currently manage their time (e.g., using a planner, setting alarms, or making to-do lists).
• Encourage clear and simple sentences.

2. Group Discussion (12 minutes)

• Topic: "Ideas for effective time management for secondary school students"
• Each student takes turns to share one idea for managing time effectively, explaining why it is helpful.
• Other group members ask one question or add one comment after each idea to practice conversational skills.
• Encourage students to speak clearly and listen actively.

3. Group Summary (5 minutes)

• Together, the group decides on the three best ideas they discussed.
• One student volunteers to present the group’s summary clearly and coherently to the class or the teacher.
• If time allows, other students can add their thoughts or feelings about the ideas shared.

---

Teacher Tips:

• Model an example idea and question before starting (e.g., "Using a planner helps me remember my homework. What about you?").
• Encourage students to use simple connectors like "because," "and," or "so" to explain their ideas.
• Monitor groups to support vocabulary and clarify meaning as needed.
• Praise clear communication and respectful listening.

---

Would you like me to provide a simple vocabulary list or sentence starters for your students to help them during the discussion?

Padlet's Class Activity Ideas - Too brief and not useful

 After trying out MagicSchool for generating a Speaking group activity, I turned to Padlet TA's 'Classroom Activity Idea'. 

MY PROMPT

OUTPUT

OBSERVATIONS

- 3 ideas at 3 effort levels.

- Ideas: too brief and not closely related to the topic. 

MagicSchool's Prompt Assistant is useful but the group work generator is ... meh

 MagicSchool has one function that I find useful: Prompt Assistant.

Example:

- I was using the Groupwork Generator to create a group speaking activity

- My original prompt (after specifying the target grade level, and time available): 

A speaking activity for ESL students to practise the following Speaking skills: Present information, ideas, and feelings clearly and coherently - convey ideas and information in conversations or discussions - use words and expressions appropriate to the context - use appropriate discourse markers

- I then clicked on 'Prompt Assistant', which gave me: 

Design a speaking activity for ESL students aimed at enhancing their ability to: 

1. Present information, ideas, and feelings clearly and coherently. 

2. Engage in conversations or discussions by effectively conveying ideas and information. 

3. Utilize context-appropriate vocabulary and expressions. 

4. Apply appropriate discourse markers to facilitate smooth communication. 

Please specify the topic or theme for this activity.

- Of course, I can edit the 'Improved Prompt' if I want to. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In the above case, I accepted the Improved Prompt, and got the following idea which, though detailed, I don't quite like: 

Group Work Task: ESL Speaking Activity

Topic: Environmental Conservation

Objective:

Students will enhance their speaking skills by presenting information about environmental conservation, engaging in discussions, and using appropriate vocabulary and discourse markers.

Group Structure:

• Group Size: 3 Students
• Roles:
  • Researcher: Gathers information and prepares the presentation.
  • Presenter: Delivers the oral presentation to the class.
  • Discussion Facilitator: Leads the conversation and engages classmates after the presentation.

Task Duration: 20 Minutes

Task Breakdown:

1. Preparation (10 minutes)

   • Researcher:
     • Find at least three key points about environmental conservation (e.g., reducing plastic use, recycling, protecting wildlife).
     • Write down important vocabulary and expressions related to the topic.
   • Presenter:
     • Organize the key points into a clear and coherent presentation format.
     • Prepare to present ideas clearly, using appropriate discourse markers (e.g., "First," "Additionally," "In conclusion").
   • Discussion Facilitator:
     • Prepare questions to engage classmates in conversation after the presentation, such as:
       • "What are some ways we can reduce plastic use in our daily lives?"
       • "Why is recycling important for our environment?"

2. Presentation (5 minutes)

   • The Presenter shares the key points with the class, clearly articulating information and using the prepared vocabulary and expressions.

3. Discussion (5 minutes)

   • The Discussion Facilitator engages the classmates by asking prepared questions and encouraging them to share their thoughts and experiences related to environmental conservation.

Expected Outcomes:

• Each student will improve their speaking skills by presenting and engaging in discussion.
• Students will practice using context-appropriate vocabulary and effective discourse markers.
• The group will collaboratively enhance their understanding of environmental conservation while developing their communication skills.

Materials Needed:

• Paper and pens for notes
• Access to digital devices for research (if available)

Post-Activity Reflection:

After the activity, each student should reflect on their role and contributions, discussing what they learned and how they can improve in future speaking activities.

Obtained "Gemini Certified Educator" qualification

 

Completed Google AI for K12 Educators

 

Used Canva AI to create a Galaxy Typing Challenge: 10 minimal pairs.

 In the following video, Ha Sir demonstrated how to create a Galaxy Typing Game using words from Integrated Science: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lX8w3ot9Co

The essence of this game is that there will stars falling from above, and students have to type out the target word before the star reaches the bottom. 

I followed his idea, and created the following Galaxy Typing Challenge using Canva AI. I used the same 10 minimal pairs I used recently. 

=======

FIRST PROMPT: 

reate a typing challenge game, where 20 stars will fall from the sky very slowly one after another. The 20 stars represent the 20 words below. When each star falls from the sky in the order of the words below, it will be accompanied by its British English pronunciation two times. students, who are studying in primary school, listen and they are required to type the word in a box at the bottom of the page, to remove or explode the falling star. Please create a galaxy style background for the game. Show the scores on the screen at the end of each round, as well as the incorrect words typed. The 20 words: sit, seat, cod, cord, bet,

bat, pull, pool, men, man, cut, cart, live, leave, pin, pan, bull, ball, heart, hot

================

 I went thru 3 to 4 revisions before I made do with the following output:

https://paulsze.net/galaxy-typing-minimal-pairs

==================

OBSERVATIONS

- Getting the desired accent (in my case, BrE) could be a problem. Even though I specified BrE., the pronunciations did not always match my expectation.

Tried using Gamma to create a Website

 Gamma has one AI function which is to generate a website. Actually, it's a webpage, as it is just one single page. 

This time, I tried copying and pasting in part of an outline from one of my lectures. The outline is in bullet points. 

The output is one single webpage consisting of a number of cards (the number of which I could specify when I started) from top to bottom. As such, the webpage still looks like a series of slides strung together.

The webpage can be shared with others immediately.  

Gamma does not present the contents of my outline slavishly. It does quite a good job in assmilating my points and re-presenting them in the 'cards'. 

The webpage has quite appealing visual effect. 

One encouraging thing is that the URL in my original outline becomes a clickable embedded link in the generated webpage. https://master-the-tonic-syllabl-hl8cxsr.gamma.site/ 

Tried Gamma to create a presentation slidedeck

 MY PROMPT:

A topic: Teaching ESL Listening to secondary school ESL learners

OUTPUT: 

Default: a 10-slide slidedeck

https://gamma.app/docs/Teaching-ESL-Listening-to-High-School-Learners-Strategies-Resourc-al65dceen07umjl

==============================================

MY OBSERVATIONS

- Like other AI tools for creating presentations, to me, the output is: 

(1) too texty

(2) too general in content; not contextualised enough for my own use; OK for general introduction

Used POE canvas app to create a checklist of learning outcomes

 MY PROMPT: 

please convert the following list of learning outcomes for a lecture into an interactive checklist. At the end of the lecture, students will check those learning outcomes that they think they have achieved.

The learning outcomes:

• Explain the difference between Phonetics and Phonology.
• Give some example issues of Phonetics.
• Give some example issues of Phonology.
• Explain the relationship between Phonetics and Phonology on the one hand, and Pronunciation on the other, in the context of L2 teaching and learning.
• Explain the role of Transcription in the study of Phonetics, Phonology, and Pronunciation.
• Have a clearer understanding of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
• Have a clearer understanding of the transcription system normally used in dictionaries for ESL learners.
• Explain the purpose of Phonics in an English Language curriculum.

OUTPUT

https://poe.com/preview/gesqvvAGnDFEx5DPcGm7

Tried using Google Gemini to create an interactive Listening game

 For this attempt, I used the same story text and prompt for creating the 10-sentence listen-and-match game. When in Google Gemini, among the 4 options inside  the prompt box, I chose 'canvas'. 

OUTPUT: 

https://g.co/gemini/share/a15aae917247

HOW IT COMPARES WITH POE AND CANVA AI

1. It works. 

2. The resulting task can be shared via the share link. 

3. There is no 'publish' vs 'preview' distinction. 

4. The resulting task works in Opera immediately. But in Chrome, users need to log in to their Google account first. 

5. The audio for each sentence takes a bit of time to follow. In this regard, it is not as good as POE and Canva AI. 

Created with Canva AI: A listen-and-match game for KS1 - Colin's story

 MY PROMPT: 

Please create an interactive Listen-and-Match game for lower primary ESL students to practise Listening. On the left of the page are 10 play buttons, numbered from 1 to ten. On the right of the page are the 10 sentences in random order. Students will click on the first button, listen to the sentence, which is said in British English accent, and match it to the correct sentence on the right. Then they click on the second button, listen to the sentence, and match it to the right sentence on the right. And so on until they finish trying the 10 sentences. Then show students the number of correct answers they have got. 

Below are the 10 sentences to use in creating this game: 

One morning, Colin, a six-year-old boy, went to the park.

He wanted to play on the swing.

But the swing went too high, and his hat flew off!

Colin ran after the hat, but it landed on a dog.

The dog barked and ran around with the hat.

Colin laughed and chased the dog.

Then he tripped and fell on the soft grass.

When he got up, he saw a butterfly on his nose!

The dog finally dropped the hat.

Colin went home smiling, with his hat and a funny story.

====================

OUTPUT: 

https://paulsze.net/listening-game-colin-story

Created with Canva AI: A Listening Game for Phonics/Phonetics practice - Vowels

MY PROMPT: 

Create a Listening game. This game consists of 10 questions that correspond to the following 10 pairs of words. When each question is shown, the two words in each pair will be shown to students. One of the two words will be pronounced two times. Students listen to the pronounced word, and click the one which is being pronounced. Then the next question will show up, and so so. 

The 10 pairs of words to be used: 

sit, seat

cod, cord

bet, bat

pull, pool

men, man

cut, cart

live, leave

pin, pan

bull, ball

heart, hot

====================

OUTPUT: 

https://paulsze.net/listen-and-choose-vowels

Trying Lingotask as a student

I. GETTING A PROBLEM ESSAY READY

1.1    I copied the following Writing Task from the Teacher's dashboard: 

"You are the host of 'Teen Chat', a YouTube channel that explores a wide range of topics from a teenage perspective. Write an article for Teen Magazine about why you started this channel and what you have learned in the process."

1.2   I went to POE Assistant, and asked it to generate a problem in response to the Writing Task. 

My first prompt: "You're an ESL teacher in a secondary school. You're to create a response to the following Writing task topic. However, your response should be a problem essay which contains several spelling errors, grammar errors, choice-of-word errors, and illogical sentences. You will use the problem essay for providing your students with practice in improving an essay. Please provide a 150-word problem essay.

Below is the Writing topic. Please create a 150-word problem essay in response to the Writing topic. ...

1.3  I settled for one problem essay generated after asking POE Assistant for a few revisions (to include more errors): 

 "I started the YouTube channel "Teen Chat" because I wanted to talk about issues teens face, like school stress and friendships. At first, I thought it be easy to just record my thoughts. However, I quickly seen that making videos is actually very hard.

One big problem is that I didn’t knew how to reach my audience. Many teens don’t likes to watch long videos, so I tried to make them shorter, but then I lost some important informations. Also, I’ve learn that not everyone agree with my opinions, which sometimes lead to mean comments and hurted feelings.

Editing the videos are also a struggle for me, which take a lots of time. I often forget to add musics or graphics, and it makes the video boring. Sometimes, I feel like giving up, but I know I can’t. In conclusion, while starting "Teen Chat" was a good idea, it also come with many challenges that I didn’t expect at first. I hope to keep improving and make it more better for all teen."

2. Trying out the problem essay from Student's Lingotask app (mobile phone or tablet; not sure if laptops also work). 

2.1    I logged into the Student's Lingotask app using a dummy student account.

2.2    I located the original Writing Task, and started to respond. From the Student's dashboard, there are 3 ways to respond: (a) type out an essay, (b) take a picture of a written essay, and (c) upload an essay file from the Student's app. 

    In my case, I chose (b). The Student app then started to import the photo taken into a digital text. But I am not whether it would still work if I had handwritten the essay. 

3. Working through the feedback from the platform: Error Correction

3.1  The first response I got from the platform was my submitted highlighted with grammar errors. This page was interactive and I was asked to correct those errors. After each attempt, the platform would show me how my attempted correction compared with the platform's AI suggestion. I could choose the AI suggested correction, or stick to my own. After making a decision, I could work on the next error correction, and so on. 

Next error

4. First attempt to check out the remaining 3 types of feedback

After trying out a couple of error corrections, I wanted to check out what the other 3 types of feedback were like. But when I clicked on them, they all said that I first had to finish 50% of the error correction first. 

So I returned to the error correction and completed the remaining corrections. 

5. Checking out the other 3 types of feedback again

Below are extracts from each type of feedback: 

5.1  Refining the Writing

After reading the given comment, I could click 'Helpful' or 'Not helpful'. Then I would be taken to the next comment. 

And so on ....

5.2  AI FEEDBACK

This part provides higher-level feedback (ie, not just how to refine individual sentences). It is divided into (a) Content, (b) Language, and (c) Organisation. 

Below are extracts from the 3 areas of feedback: 

5.2.1  Content

5.2.2  Language

5.2.3  Organisation

3.2.4  Overall Comments

5.3  'Model Essay'

The third type of feedback is a 'model essay': 

======================================================

OVERALL OBSERVATIONS

- Overall, the platform does provide detailed and useful feedback to support students' writing development. 

- The next consideration is how teachers may guide students to make use of the feedback. 

***

Chatbots can create problem essays on demand!

 I never thought of asking a chatbot to create a problem essay. But as I was about to test-drive an AI platform which claimed to be able to give feedback on students' essays, I asked POE assistant to give me a problem essay containing some spelling errors, grammar errors, lexical errors, and illogical sentences. 

POE assistant did a 'GOOD' job: 

My Favorite Hobby

My favorite hobby is playing footballe. I like play it with my friend in the park. Football is very excite and it make me happy. We usually play on Saturday morning, but sometimes we plays on Sunday too.

I enjoy run and kick the ball. My friends is very good players, but I am not as good like them. Sometime I feel sad when I miss a goal, but I keep trying.

I also love to watch football games on TV. My favorite team is Man United because they has many trophy. I want to be like my favorite player one day.

Football is not only fun, it help me to stay healthy. I think everyone should try to played football because it is very fun and good for your health. I hope to become a great player in future!

==========

OBSERVATIONS:

This function can be employed to create passages for proofreading practice!

Created a story text with MagicSchool and turning it into a picture storybook with Gemini Storybook

 Getting the Story text: 

1. I went to MagicSchool. Asked Raina, the chatbot, to give me a story that contained some adjectives and their corresponding adverbs. The story was to be within 120 words, and read by lower primary ESL students. 

2. Got the story which was immediately usable. 

Turning it into a blank-filling exercise 

by leaving out the adjectives and adverbs, and providing a Word Bank containing those words. 

Turning it into an interactive blank-filling exercise

I asked Raina if she could provide an interactive version. She gave me an HTML file, which I copied into POE's 'app creator'. This succeeded in creating an interactive version of the blank filling task. 

https://poe.com/preview/Rufa5C6bbu11s19l89sV

Creating a picture storybook containing the story text using Gemini Storybook

Once upon a time, a little rabbit lived in a green forest.

The rabbit was very quick and happy. E

very morning, it hopped quickly through the trees and smelled the sweet flowers.

One day, the rabbit saw a small bird singing loudly on a branch. T

he bird had a beautiful voice.

The rabbit wanted to sing too, so it practiced carefully every day.

Soon, the rabbit sang beautifully and made all the animals happy.

They clapped their paws and wings happily.

From that day on, the rabbit and the bird sang together loudly and joyfully in the green forest.

I pasted in the above sentences, and specifically asked the app  not to add in other sentences. It succeeded in creating the storybook I needed for contextualising the first presentation of Adjectives vs Adverbs. 

https://g.co/gemini/share/2840d26f41b3

Using MagicSchool to generate a story that incorporates a target grammar item

STEP 1: 

 MY PROMPT for Raina: 

the story should contain some adjectives and their corresponding adverbs. This story is to be read by junior primary ESL students. Keep the story within 120 words.

OUTPUT: 

Once upon a time, a little rabbit lived in a green forest. The rabbit was very quick and happy. Every morning, it hopped quickly through the trees and smelled the sweet flowers. One day, the rabbit saw a small bird singing loudly on a branch. The bird had a beautiful voice.

The rabbit wanted to sing too, so it practiced carefully every day. Soon, the rabbit sang beautifully and made all the animals happy. They clapped their paws and wings happily.

From that day on, the rabbit and the bird sang together loudly and joyfully in the green forest.

---------------------------

STEP 2: 

Then I asked Raina to turn the story into a blank-filling exercise by changing the highlighted words to blanks. 

OUTPUT

Certainly! Here’s the story turned into a blank-filling exercise with the adjectives and adverbs as blanks for students to fill in:

---

Once upon a time, a little rabbit lived in a ____ forest. The rabbit was very ____ and ____. Every morning, it hopped ____ through the trees and smelled the ____ flowers. One day, the rabbit saw a ____ bird singing ____ on a branch. The bird had a ____ voice.

The rabbit wanted to sing too, so it practiced ____ every day. Soon, the rabbit sang ____ and made all the animals ____. They clapped their paws and wings ____.

From that day on, the rabbit and the bird sang together ____ and ____ in the green forest.

---

STEP 3: It offered to provide an Answer Key: 

OUTPUT: 

1. green
2. quick
3. happy
4. quickly
5. sweet
6. small
7. loudly
8. beautiful
9. carefully
10. beautifully
11. happy
12. happily
13. loudly
14. joyfully

It offered to provide a WORD BANK TOO. 

==========================

 STEP 4: 

I asked Raina whether it could convert the above blank filling exercise to a web-based, interactive, version. It couldn't do that directly, but it generated an HTML file. I copied the file, went to POE's Canvas App, chose 'Build Manually', and pasted in the HTML FILE. 

It WORKED:

https://poe.com/preview/SFg27ZFs3w6tJu6OAGi5

================

STEP 5: 

Still in POE'S App Creator, I asked: 

    Please put the answers in a word bank. Students can then drag each word in the word bank into the correct blank in the passage.

OUTPUT: 

Bravo: 

https://poe.com/preview/Rufa5C6bbu11s19l89sV

Settled for POE for creating an interactive tasksheet for recapping the main points of a lecture

 My WORD file format: 

POE'S output format:

In other words, POE is able to keep the section formatting, and word-bolding. This is not the case with Canva.AI. 

Creating interactive blank-filling tasks from lecture notes: POE vs CANVA.AI

In my last few attempts, I started with an existing worksheet. What if I start with original lecture notes?  

I put some lecture notes in a WORD file. I then italicised the target words for blank-filling. I did this because the prompt box in POE does not allow for italised words. I then uploaded the file to: 

POE (GPT-5-mini). 

I asked the app to turn the italicised words into blanks. But POE did a poor job in recognising my target words. 

When I tried again by putting the target words in asterisks, it worked. 

=========

Then I went to Canva.AI

Like POE, it does not accept italisised words in the prompt box. And unlike POE, it does not accept uploaded WORD file. 

So I copied the version with asterisked words into it. It worked. It also gave me a WORD BANK, which POE doesn't. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

POSTSCRIPT

1. I tried again, attaching just ONE asterisk to each target word. It worked with both POE and Canva.AI. 

2. PROS AND CONS

- POE accepts uploded files. Canva.Ai does not. 

- Canva.AI has a more appealing interface. 

- Since POE can accept uploaded files, it can keep the original section/paragraph formatting in the output. This could be an asset.