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#29. Harnessing Text-to-Speech Technology in the EFL/ESL Classroom

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Harnessing Text-to-Speech Technology  in the EFL/ESL Classroom In today’s tech-savvy educational landscape, finding innovative tools to enhance learning is crucial, especially in the EFL/ESL classroom. One such tool that has gained popularity among teachers is the Natural Reader (NR) app. This powerful text-to-speech application allows teachers to create engaging reading and listening passages by converting text into speech. Let’s explore creative uses of the NR app in EFL/ESL lessons and compare it to the built-in text-to-speech features on MacOS and iPad. Teachers can use the NR app to prepare reading passages , which the app reads aloud. Students follow along, improving their pronunciation, intonation, and fluency. This method provides a natural flow of English, helping students grasp the rhythm and nuances of the language. Students can also listen to passages read by NR and answer comprehension questions tailored to current lesson themes, vocabulary, or grammar points, making it a
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#28.Creating an AI Tutor: 3 Key Items

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AI has revolutionised the way we can learn generally but also specifically , such as when we prepare for any given exam. The concept of the AI 'tutor' is now familiar to many educators, but how do you quickly make a good AI tutor which can produce relevant and useful practice exam resources for your students? In this blog post we look at answering that question with a focus on how to make an AI tutor as efficient and as easy to use as possible for the users, whether that is the teachers or the students. Firstly, if you watch the short video here you can see 5 simple steps for how to actually make a GPT in OpenAI.  Now we have seen how to make a GPT, we need to further consider the 3 key items that go into creating a very useful and efficient AI tutor. These are: 1. Define the Configuration Prompt: A well-structured configuration prompt is crucial. It ensures that the AI understands the scope and requirements of its tutoring capabilities. By specifying the types of questions an
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#27. Synergy with Tech Tools

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As an educator, I'm always on the lookout for innovative tools to enhance my teaching arsenal. In today's blog post we take a look at combining two  tech platforms to quickly create superb learning resources for our students. We combine the power of  ChatGPT with ElevenLabs ' text-to-speech technology and see the power of combos. ______________ Example: Create proper mock listening tests for exams within minutes You can see the simple synergy between ChatGPT and ElevenLabs in the quick video below, which showcases an example through the creation of an Eiken listening test:  In the example, ChatGPT was used to craft a series of well-structured listening test questions in text format only. This is something it can do very well, if it has been trained properly on example data (in this case some real Eiken Pre-Grade 2 sample listening questions...it only needs a handful). The questions it produced ranged from simple dialogues to more complex talks, perfectly pitched for the E
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#26. Students use AI to create their own homework activities

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From Homework to Tomework As the educational landscape continually transforms, AI tools like the business-professional  Tome AI presentation platform are carving out an unexpected niche as go-to tools for creative educators.  In this blogpost we look at an example of using the Tome app to engage students in both class and homework reading activities in a fun, interactive way.   More specifically, the video at the end of this post outlines an activity designed to be used with Key Stage 2 EFL/ESL students who are of mixed ability when it comes to their English language skills. But first, a little background on Tome. ________________________________ Tome AI's presentation platform permits learners to dabble in story creation. Students make prompts and Tome will make the story - with good pictures . This feature of the AI tool not only fosters creativity but also allows for the practice of sentence structure and vocabulary in context. For language learners, this is valuable. It also a
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#25.ChatGPT & Images: Ideas for Educators

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  This blogpost may be interesting for educators who want to get some quick ideas on using images within ChatGPT for lesson activity creation.  Educators are constantly seeking innovative tools to enhance teaching methodologies. Enter ChatGPT, OpenAI's conversational AI that has primarily been recognized for its text-based prowess - which is very, very useful! However, teachers can now integrate ChatGPT with images to create visually engaging lesson activities. Let’s explore five case uses...generated by ChatGPT itself, and then let's look at it in action. ____________________ 1. Image Descriptions & Vocabulary Enhancement: Activity: Present students with a series of images without any captions. Ask them to describe the image to ChatGPT in as much detail as possible. ChatGPT can then provide a more comprehensive description, incorporating diverse vocabulary and expressions. Objective: Enhance students' descriptive abilities and vocabulary. 2. Historical Image Analysis:
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#24.From Jamboard to FigJam: Navigating the Shift

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This blogpost may be of interest to Google Jamboard users looking for the most efficient way to migrate and re-invent boards from Jamboard into Figjam. Over the last few years Google Jamboard has been a staple tool for educators, allowing for collaborative and interactive learning activities. However, the announced discontinuation in Autumn 2024 leaves many of us Jamboard heavy-users in search of a comparable alternative. The consensus amongst educators seems to be that Figma’s FigJam emerges as the best solution. So if, like me, you are looking to migrate from Jamboard to Figma's Figjam, this blogpost and video show one possible process to speed things up. The Challenge: For educators extensively utilizing Google Jamboard, the transition poses practical concerns. The transfer of numerous interactive boards, each a repository of valuable instructional material, is not merely a technical task but a preservation of educational assets. Why does everyone recommend FigJam? FigJam provid
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#23. New to interacting with ChatGPT? Need prompting?

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 Using ChatGPT can drastically cut down on the amount of time an educator needs to spend when creating new lesson plans. Particularly useful when embarking on creating lesson materials for subjects or topics you are new to teaching. OpenAI has a page with a few useful detailed prompts for teachers covering these topics: A. Come up with lesson plans B. Create effective explanations, examples, analogies C. Help students learn by teaching D. Create an AI tutor You can find all the prompts on this page  HERE In the video below we take the first prompt 'Come up with lesson plans' and interact with it to create a number of lesson plans which can serve as a starting point for thinking about how to go about teaching new or unfamiliar content, topics or themes. The idea is not to take the lesson plans ChatGPT spits out and unthinkingly follow them. But they can, most definitely, be used as useful guides. 3 key points to remember when interacting with ChatGPT: 1. Stop it and explain whe
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