On Wednesday 12 August, I had the pleasure of facilitating a hybrid professional learning workshop at the wonderful Frankston East Primary School for approximately 30 teachers from nine schools across Victoria and South Australia.
The workshop was part of The Connection, an initiative working in partnership with The Smith Family to improve student outcomes in communities experiencing disadvantage. The program brings educators and school leaders together to exchange ideas, share effective practices and build strong professional relationships across schools.
With some participants joining us in Frankston and others connecting online, the hybrid format reflected the collaborative spirit of the program. Although the teachers represented different schools, communities and contexts, they shared a commitment to improving learning opportunities for their students.
Moving beyond the AI hype
Our focus was the safe, ethical and inclusive use of artificial intelligence to enhance creativity and engagement in the classroom.
Generative AI can help students brainstorm, receive feedback, explore different perspectives and express their ideas in new ways. However, its value depends greatly on how the technology is introduced, supported and embedded within learning.
The goal should never be to use AI simply because it is available. It should be used deliberately, transparently and only when it offers a genuine benefit for teachers and learners.
We used Gemini Notebook to allow AI to create a podcast but then took it to the next creative level by building our own podcasts using Adobe Podcast. Some of the education advantage of working with podcasts include:
- A podcast lets you share ideas with potentially a wider audience than just your classroom.
- Planning and recording a podcast teaches you to organise your thoughts, speak confidently, and get your message across.
- Choose your topic, write a script, add music and sound effects — podcasting lets your creativity run wild!
- Listeners can tune in whenever suits them — on the bus, at home, or during lunch. It fits around their lives.
- Recording, editing, and publishing a podcast builds real-world tech skills that are valued in today’s world.
- Podcasting is brilliant for teamwork. Research together, interview each other, and produce something you’re proud of.
Then we used the animation & video editing features within Adobe Express to build an animated introduction for our podcasts.
The feedback
The feedback from the participants was outstanding with:
- 100% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the session content was useful, engaging and would inform their work as a leader
- 100% agreed or strongly agreed that they acquired new knowledge and skills
I would like to thank Nick Johns and Luci McFarlane from The Connection & The Smith Family for organising this event as well Warren Bull, the Principal of Frankston East Primary for hosting.
Most importantly, thank you to the participating teachers for their openness, curiosity and commitment to using technology in ways that keep learning, creativity, inclusion and human relationships at the centre.
If you would like to book me for similar events at your school or network, click here.