The ELT Buzz News Digest
June 24th edition. All the "buzz" in education and English language teaching.
Dear Teachers,
Find out news digest below. So much of high interest!
My recommended reading this week? This fine article about the conflicting things Large Language Models have asked educators to confront and juggle. A sterling read on the topic and the issues involved. A must read. Also, see below the article on the same topic about the importance of “friction” to learning.
P.S. Want to use our Lesson Library for a month, free? Get the access code here.
Regards. David - ELT Buzzer-In-Chief
The Queen Of Limbo - Video Lesson
The Queen Of Limbo - One of our dozens of Great Big Story video lessons. Inspiring story of a Guinness World Record holder. For limbo. Full activities. Read full story
Why artificial intelligence needs sociology of knowledge: parts I and II - AI & SOCIETY
Recent developments in artificial intelligence based on neural nets—deep learning and large language models which together I refer to as NEWAI. Read full story
Chatbots and the Problems of Life
With increasing availability and sophistication of chatbots, we teachers are seeing a drastic decline in the cost of what in Great Britain is called … Read full story
Using generative AI to help students understand academia
If you’ve been reading my posts here, you know that I am an AI skeptic when it comes to it being a good tool for teaching and learning. While I am … Read full story
What’s the Big Idea? Part 3: Feedback, Error Correction, and Language Teaching
What is Feedback? Feedback is a central concept in language teaching. Language itself is built on feedback. All conversations and in fact all … Read full story
The lure of AI "time-saving" tools for teachers As generative AI tools continue to be pushed into education—most recently, with OpenAI partnering with …
Opinion: As AI is embraced, what happens to the artists whose work was stolen to build it?
Amid the hype surrounding Apple’s new deal with OpenAI, one issue has been largely papered over: The AI company’s foundational models are, and have always been, built atop the theft of creative professionals’ work. The arrangement with Apple isn’t the only... Read full story
PISA results: Preparing students for a changing world
1. Keep schools open longer for more students Across PISA-participating economies, at least half of students experienced COVID-related school closures … Read full story
Imposing bans on cellphones in classrooms, in isolation, in Canada’s provinces, is proving futile, and yet educational authorities still seem wedded … Read full story
Burn the Ships: Embracing Project-based Learning for a Revolutionary Classroom Transformation
Go ahead and burn the ships because there is no going back. I was listening to a song by For King & Country, and the words just hit me in the chest. … Read full story
AI Might Save Teachers Time. But What Is the Cost?
As an educator reading headline after headline about AI in education, it’s hard to not get lost in an existential tailspin to the tune of Billie … Read full story
Adorjan, Michael and Rosemary Ricciardelli. 2019. Youth responses to the surveillance school. Young, 27(5):451-467. Bayne, Sian., Peter Evans, Rory … Read full story
ChatGPT is bullshit - Ethics and Information Technology
Recently, there has been considerable interest in large language models: machine learning systems which produce human-like text and dialogue. … Read full story
