​Bard, bard.google.com/, is a new AI from Google that is capable of doing a wide range of tasks. It can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way. Bard is still under development, but it has learned to perform many kinds of tasks, including:

• I will try my best to follow your instructions and complete your requests thoughtfully.
• I will use my knowledge to answer your questions in a comprehensive and informative way, even if they are open ended, challenging, or strange.
• I will generate different creative text formats of text content, like poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc. I will try my best to fulfill all your requirements.

Bard is powered by LaMDA, Google's latest large language model. LaMDA is trained on a massive dataset of text and code, which allows it to generate text that is both informative and creative. Bard is still under development, but it has the potential to be a powerful tool for a variety of tasks.
Here are some examples of how Bard can be used:

• Education: Bard can be used to help students learn new things. It can generate text that explains complex concepts in a clear and concise way. Bard can also be used to create interactive learning experiences.
• Business: Bard can be used to help businesses with a variety of tasks, such as generating marketing materials, writing customer service responses, and translating documents.
• Creativity: Bard can be used to help people with their creative projects. It can generate text, code, scripts, musical pieces, and more. Bard can also be used to help people brainstorm ideas and solve problems.

Bard is a powerful new tool that has the potential to change the way we interact with computers. It is still under development, but it has already learned to perform many kinds of tasks. As Bard continues to develop, it will become even more powerful and useful.

(This post was written by Bard! I just asked it to write a blog post introducting itself.)

Repost from https://mrsraysclassroom.com/blog/2023/05/10/poetry-nature-and-students/

Students typically have writers block. Most students, that is, based on my experience as a teacher. I think we don't give them enough opportunity to get comfortable with themselves as writers, but I know a sure-fire fix. Nature. Bring your students outside to a school garden or tree, or even just a patch of grass if that is all there is. In one square foot of "nature," observant students can make myriads of discoveries that naturally stir the imagination, which is the mother of all creative endeavors such as drawing and writing. But here's the rub. If you do it as a shot-in-the-arm one-time activity, it won't work. Make it a habit.
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My most successful year with second grade writers happened when students adopted a plot--a special spot within the boundaries of our gathering place. Some adopted a spot with a tree. Some adopted a spot with just grass. Some adopted a spot with dirt and decaying leaves. I took them outside once a week, weather permitting, and armed with their journals and pencils (colored or not), they were only required to sit and notice. If they were moved to draw, so be it. If they were moved to write, so be it.

Nature provided the magic, and eventually, all students started writing. At first, they wrote simple discriptions of what they saw, but eventually, their spot took on a life of its own, and their writing matched their imaginations in depth and breadth. My favorite essayist adopted an old tree with thick pieces of bark. He made up family names for the insects that lived on and visited the tree, and from there, he began telling their life stories, complete with all the drama one might expect in an overly large family of ants.

To make this happen, you--the educator--must be so invested in the idea that you are consistent with it. Further, you must also adopt a spot and model the behavior you want. And of course once you are all back inside, allowing time for students to sit in an author's chair and share is a must. If they have drawings too, make sure they can share them on a document camera. Make writing a culture, and let nature be the leader.
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Reaching, by Leigh Ray

Start at the bottom
in the damp, dark soil,
near the talking fungi,
the mycorrhizal network.
Listen.

It's a long way up,
but the rewards,
the sweet honeydew,
motivate you.
Taste.

Sticky feet defy gravity
so no fear, ant.
Arolia, arolia.
Up you go.
Feel.

Weave among the cracks;
navigate the phellem.
What's in that hole?
Rotted wood for a home?
Smell.

Do you seek the crown?
If you want the sun
and the raw wind,
reach high.
Look.

Educators must stay a step ahead of their students, and this is especially true now that AI is here to stay. Learn how to help students become AI literate by understanding it yourself. A good starting place is with the AI4K12 website, which has created understandings and standards based on 5 big ideas surrounding AI.

The five big ideas are perception, representation and reasoning, learning, natural interaction, and societal impact. To be AI literate, each must be considered and understood.

Another starting place to develop your understanding is reading articles. For example, if you are an EdWeek subscriber (or if you have not used up your "free articles" feature for this month), further advance your basic understanding by reading AI Literacy, Explained (May 10, 2023) here.  This article tackles these important concepts and offers ideas for developing them:

1. Why it's vital to have a basic understanding of how AI works
2. Give students hands-on opportunities to understand how the technology works
3. Discuss and analyze ethical questions about the technology
4. How to interact effectively with AI
5. Let students know that AI skills are not just for computer science experts

In fact, the last point is so important. As cited in the EdWeek article, MIT's Cynthia Breazeal said, "AI will work best when it is designed by people who are part of the community that the tool is aimed at serving." That would be everybody, because AI is already infiltrating every industry, being used by students to write papers, and helping presenters write speeches. It crosses racial, socioeconomic, age,  gender, and profession boundaries, too, so it is important to reject the mindset that knowing about AI is for somebody else. It is everyone's responsbility. Start learning today.

Finally, visit Wink Research to access a cheat sheet for teachers on AI, which synthesizes the data and offers best practices and other tips. ​winkresearch.org/by-topic.html
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