I have been a user of the open source html 5 packaging tools  https://h5p.org/ for some time.

These tools can create interesting online interactive learning tools.
Question types e.g true false, multi-choice, drag word into sentence, blank fill etc.
Interactive videos and interactive books are my most used ways of setting the context for these interactions.

Then I was informed about the AI supported Smart Import

https://help.h5p.com/hc/en-us/articles/8229514747805-Smart-Import-Introduction-and-Video-Tutorial

and negotiated a two week 30 imports free trial.

First experiment was to use this DNA replication you tube video.

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

and use Smart Import to create an interactive book. Took 4 minutes and this is the result.

https://h5p.org/node/1483724

A transcript, glossary, 15 simple Flash cards, 28 question quiz, drag the 10 words into a sentence, 9 more advanced concept flash cards, summary and then a completion page.

Then I tried out the text import with booklets I had written for the IB Biology syllabus that has last exams this year. You can see some of the results here.
https://abceducation.ch/pressbooks/topic1/ and https://abceducation.ch/pressbooks/topic7/

each section has Practice exercises at the end (created by h5p Smart Import with only a little editing).

In the imports I was allowed, the texts I had written created 30 interactive books with all of the interactions I outlined in the first experiment. So a total of more than 1000 questions of different types and 1000 Flash cards.
This all took less than an hour including uploading of the h5p packages to my online Pressbooks.

This is a very major workload reducer for teachers and if or when the next lockdown comes, it could be a life saver. Groups of teachers could work together to add quality control and pedagogical expertise and let the AI do the slog work of creating the tools. They are very easy to edit and control. The h5p.org site is open to all for free.

I now have the dilemma that I would like to update all my booklets to the new IB Bio syllabus but h5p.com (their commercial wing) want 1200 US Dollars for a year account with a publishing platform for 3 Authors with the Smart Import. I wonder if 2 Teachers would want to share the costs and get the benefits of quickly authoring their own online interactive tools. If so get in touch.

This may be of great interest to Teachers of advanced pre University Biology courses e.g AP, IB, UK A LEVEL, Irish senior etc

Some recent research done in Switzerland was led by Elsbeth Stern and Ernst Hafen of ETH

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0176906&type=printable

They used the Biological Concepts Instrument (BCI): A diagnostic tool for revealing student thinking
Michael W. Klymkowsky*☀, Sonia M. Underwood** & R. Kathleen Garvin-Doxas***

and this showed many areas where student conceptual understanding needs improvement and interesting sources of misconceptions.

https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1012/1012.4501.pdf

I have extracted the 28 Multiple Choice Questions of this Instrument into this Google form

https://forms.gle/dye4HAXr59JGXgwR8 also they are available as plain text

https://docs.google.com/document/d/140gs4Tm0dcJ6QYYh-zWbe48Q30XvQB4V7Tm0gClzLUc/edit?usp=sharing

You could use these great questions and data to elicit student misconceptions and then socially construct understanding through discussion.This could be a crucial step in helping your student to prepare for their coming end of course examinations.

Also if you are interested in sharing your student responses anonymously by using the google form. The form has 28 MCQ that take about 45 minutes. Yous as a teacher would be the only one who knows your student responses by giving them a code letter and number e.g D13 If you use D to identify your school. This data will ONLY help Teachers see patterns of important misconceptions in our subject. IN NO WAY WILL IT BE USED FOR RESEARCH OR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. If you are interested get in touch or just use the questions for your own needs JUST credit the AUTHORS AS THE FORM DOES.

Cognitive acceleration evidence

It was wonderful working with my fellow Authors Sarah Seleznyov, Stuart Twiss, Jeremy Hodgen and Mundher Adhami on this piece of research.

Cognitive Acceleration in Mathematics Education: further evidence of impact

If you are really serious about raising the standards of thinking and achievement in your school please get in touch.

Article link    Full text available

Climate change, Covid pandemic, Racial reckonings, Economic, Legal and other crises have brought discussions about Justice to the forefront of our public discourse.

Do you want to be one of three contestants to get involved and appear in one of the monthly episodes? Each episode will involve discussing the principles for some aspect of Justice. Each contestant will have brought 2 of their most important principles and 1 principle they strongly disagree with. The Game of Justice will be an hour or so via zoom and with permission of all involved published on youtube.

If you are interested and want to know more message or mail me.

Also for Theory of Knowledge teachers the unit lessons for Socially Constructing a concept of Justice help yourself to

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1axCuiqpQRnAfdLwpP6shxaOKpl9Z21KcRBgwqGhYNeg

University College London – Birkbeck University of London – UCL Institute of Education

If you want to join on Twitter  then use  #ASEChat Every Monday at 8 pm UK time

https://www.abceducation.ch/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ase_chat_27.04.mp4

If you want to join today on Zoom then Direct Message me @alexbclearning or Linda Needham @NeedhamL56

OR mail me alexblack@mle.abceducation.ch 

OR Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-black-10361a33/

Unfortunately Postponed from Saturday 12 th September at International School-Zürich North (ISZN) TO A NEW DATE PROBABLY in LATE August early September 2021

During the last four years of the now ending decade, Jaeann Tschiffely has added guest blogs. Many of them are about how her experiences of Let’s Think English and Maths training and application have enriched her teaching life. Thanks Jaeann you have inspried and challenged my thinking in many ways. Also, thanks to Michael Walsh @mikefnw75 and Sarah Seleznyov @sarahseleznyov who she still says are inspirations in her development.

Sarah blogs at https://www.londonsouthtsa.org.uk/blog/

Michael blogs at https://www.letsthinkinenglish.org/blogs/

The Thinking Teacher Teaches Thinking
https://www.abceducation.ch/blog/2016/11/23/the-thinking-teacher-teaching-thinking/

Every Lesson is a Vocabulary Lesson
https://www.abceducation.ch/blog/2016/11/07/every-lesson-is-a-vocabulary-lesson/

Beyond the Engaging Conversation; Getting Kids to Think
https://www.abceducation.ch/blog/2016/12/09/beyond-the-engaging-conversation-getting-kids-to-think/

PYP Exhibition and Symbolic Reasoning
https://www.abceducation.ch/blog/2017/03/15/pyp-exhibition-and-symbolic-reasoning/

“Can I draw?” Read Aloud and Dual Coding to Build Comprehension
https://www.abceducation.ch/blog/2019/04/18/can-i-draw/