Connected to Words: My AI and Teaching

 Log Welcome to Connected to Words. 

This blog is my digital notebook, where I reflect on my learnings, which merge with experimentation in the world of English teaching and artificial intelligence. As a passionate future EFL teacher, I am driven by curiosity: curiosity about how we can make learning more engaging, how technology can support our lessons, and how, as educators, we can continue to evolve. 

In this space, I will share what I learned in the AI Applied to ELT course, test tools, and give honest feedback. Don't expect perfection here: expect learning, questions, small wins, and an honest look at what it means to teach in the age of artificial intelligence. 

Whether you are a teacher, a student, or simply someone interested in how technology is transforming education, I hope what you find here sparks a new idea... or at least makes you rethink what's possible. 

Let's reimagine the classroom, one post at a time.

Introduction and Reflection: A Foundation in AI Introduction

 

Module 1 was the introduction to the fundamentals of artificial intelligence. At the beginning of the course, my knowledge of AI was limited, so I was interested in what I could learn in this course and how to apply each new knowledge to my teaching. 

At first, I expected to immediately start using tools like ChatGPT or Claude to create teaching resources. Therefore, I was surprised that the initial focus was on the history of AI and its basic concepts. At first, I didn't see the relevance of this theoretical section, but as I progressed, I understood how important it is to understand these fundamentals. 

They provide the necessary foundation for using artificial intelligence responsibly and effectively in education. Overall, this module gave me a clearer understanding of how AI works and how I can begin to integrate it into my practice as an English teacher in a reflective and informed way.

Modulo 1 Reflection on Key Concepts

 I was intrigued by the idea that artificial intelligence can support, not replace, teachers. Before, AI was seen as distant or perhaps impossible, but tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Google AI, etc., can help with routine tasks like checking grammar or drafting lesson plans. This idea changed my perspective.

Another key concept was Design Thinking, which encourages teachers to empathize with students, define their needs, generate creative solutions, and test them. This method moved me away from rigid, textbook-based planning toward more flexible, student-centered teaching. I now feel empowered to create lessons that respond to real challenges students face, making learning more meaningful.

I definitely plan to apply these two ideas in my future teaching: AI will help me organize, create, and personalize materials, and Design Thinking will help me create meaningful lessons tailored to each group I work with.

Module 1: Key Learnings

This module helped me a lot to understand what artificial intelligence is, how it works and how I can use it in my teaching.  I now see that AI can be a great support for teachers, especially to save time when planning lessons, creating materials or designing assessments. Moreover, it can help us improve the quality of our classes in many ways.

Learning about Design Thinking was also an eye-opener for me. It made me see how important it is to think about students' real needs and emotions if we want our classes to be meaningful and truly effective.

I can imagine how to apply these ideas in my classes using AI tools, such as transcription apps, to better analyze students' oral productions and create personalized assignments to help them improve. I also want to design more fun and interactive activities that allow them to connect more deeply with what we are learning. I certainly imagine using these tools of activities in my future classes, not only to motivate students, but also to work on vocabulary, storytelling, or cultural projects.

Module 1: Exploring AI Tools for Educational Content Creation

In this module, we learned how to create simple prompts to generate lesson plans and essays. I think this is important because it helped me simplify theprocess of creating educational materials. 

I used the same prompt in both ChatGPT and Gemini, and both generated effective results. 

 

Another AI tool I found fascinating is Microsoft Designer. It allows you to create beautiful visual resources that can be used as educational materials. However, working with prompts can be a bit tricky, especially when you require text to appear in the image, as it sometimes generates misspelled words.

Furthermore, the number of credits available is limited. Still, it's a brilliant and very useful tool. I even had fun creating personal animations, such as a cartoon version of myself based on the animation from "The Simpsons." 

 Finally, this module involved learning how to create slides with ChatGPT and Copilot. In both tools, you can write a prompt describing what you want on the slides and request that the content be generated in VBA format, which can then be exported to PowerPoint. You can also further customize the presentation with the Gamma application. Thanks to this process, I now spend much less time creating presentations!

Module 2: Reflection on AI Key concepts

 

Personally, I found Module 2 to be much more practical than Module 1. In this part of the course, I was looking forward to learning new AI tools and how to use them in the classroom. I was also eager to learn more about how to create new things and better prompts that would allow me to take better advantage of AI. Because of this, I was excited and curious to discover what we would learn. 

We explored specific ways AI can be applied to English language teaching: from using tools to support receptive and productive skills to designing AI-powered learning notebooks. 

I was particularly interested in discovering how tools like Read Along, Grammarly, and NotebookLM could help create more engaging and personalized learning experiences for students.

Módulo 2: Exploring AI Tools for Education

We explored different types of AI tools, and the best part was that we could create our own educational resources.

The most meaningful thing for me was learning how to create podcasts and songs with the support of tools like Elsa speak, Loora, and Ielevenlabs. I realized that it's not just about using technology, but combining it with creativity to spark students' interest.

I also loved that with Read Along, I could upload my own stories. This allowed me to personalize the reading for my future students and use their interests as a starting point to improve their reading comprehension and pronunciation skills.

This module helped me see that AI not only makes resource creation easier but can also make learning more authentic, fun, and student-centered.

Módulo 2: Key Learnings: Podcast & Songs, Read Along, NotebookLM, Claude & Interactive Conversations with AI

 

With this module, we learned about the potential that AI has to create more interactive and personalized English language learning. 

For example, creating songs and podcasts with AI not only seemed fun, but it also opened up a new way for me to design activities to connect emotionally with students. I was also amazed by Read Along, as it allowed me to integrate my own stories and texts for students to read while receiving automatic feedback on their pronunciation. It's a very useful tool to support fluent reading! 

On the other hand, with NotebookLM, I learned how to organize materials like small smart notebooks. I loved how this tool can act as a learning assistant for different subjects, allowing students to ask questions directly about the content being shared with them. We also explored Claude, another AI-powered tool that I found quite intuitive and powerful for generating ideas, explanations, and summaries. It's ideal for preparing lessons or quickly answering questions.

 Finally, an experience I really enjoyed was participating in interactive conversations with AI. It helped me see how students can practice speaking with confidence before interacting in public, because they can talk to an AI that gives them immediate feedback.

Conclusion: Artificial Intelligence to Enhance English Teaching

This blog has been a window into everything I've learned about integrating artificial intelligence into English teaching. I discovered that AI doesn't replace teachers, but rather supports them, facilitating the creation of more personalized lesson plans, teaching resources, and assessments. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Designer, and Gamma.app have allowed me to save time and improve the quality of my teaching materials.

I will also explore resources that will help me develop students' language skills, such as Read Along, Grammarly, NotebookLM, Claude, and the creation of podcasts and songs. These experiences not only strengthened my technical skills but also allowed me to design more creative, engaging, and meaningful language learning activities.

In short, this process has allowed me to grow as a future teacher, giving me tools to plan with greater intention and flexibility. I feel more prepared to face the challenges of the modern classroom and motivated to continue exploring new ways to innovate with AI for my students.