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Ellen Bees

@ellenbees

Teacher, learner, parent, bookworm. Living in Winnipeg on Treaty One Territory. She/her. https://teacherbees.ca/

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21.09.2023
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Latest posts by Ellen Bees @ellenbees

I'm not familiar with Edsby. How has it integrated AI?

05.03.2026 13:09 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, it isn't helpful when it comes to helping students develop and practice key skills. I've been opting for lots of tasks that lean more on paper and pencil work instead.

05.03.2026 04:01 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I agree. I think divisional policies and guidelines are definitely needed, along with a more critical eye of the ed tech in general.

05.03.2026 02:50 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I think that might depend on the school? That hasn't been my experience.

I hope that the public consultations result in more protections for people. And I'd really love to see curriculum that actually addresses how AI impacts us, the environment, society etc.

05.03.2026 01:36 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

A study by the BBC found that AI misrepresents news content about 45% of the time.

23.02.2026 01:40 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The kids section of my local library has a colouring corner with a dollhouse that kids can colour, which is the most adorable thing ever.

18.01.2026 02:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The second post in my series on teaching students about how to think critically about AI. We learned about why AI hallucinates, how AI can demonstrate bias and why using reliable sources is important.

teacherbees.ca/ai-part-3/

15.01.2026 22:50 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Here's the second post in my series on teaching students how to think critically about AI. We learned about how AI affects learning and mental health.

teacherbees.ca/ai-part-2/

15.01.2026 13:42 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
What is Artificial Intelligence? Artificial intelligence is increasingly being sold by tech companies as a solution to many problems and a way to make life easier. This is especially true in the world of education, where teachers are...

I've been spending a bit of time writing about how to help students understand AI and think critically about it. The first step below is helping them understand what it is and how it is developed, with a focus on some of the ethical issues surrounding its training.
teacherbees.ca/ai-part-1/

15.01.2026 03:29 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

I sometimes use it as a teaching tool with students to teach them about hallucinations and the importance of looking at reliable sources.

13.01.2026 03:43 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

But libraries are the best. I can’t understand somebody being annoyed with them.

31.12.2025 02:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Those look fantastic!

Also, yay there’s a third Dungeon Club! πŸ˜ƒ

29.12.2025 01:29 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
We Fell For The Oldest Lie On The Internet
We Fell For The Oldest Lie On The Internet YouTube video by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

This reminds me of the Kurtzgesagt video where they try to find the source of the claim that blood vessels are 100,000 km long.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=bgo7...

21.12.2025 17:51 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Education technology often features a lot of fads, but this one is a lot more intense.
I think people need to consider whether whatever AI is generating is actually what we need, particularly considering the connected impacts on well-being, learning and development.

14.12.2025 14:17 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Rather than teaching students how to use AI, since I'm not convinced they should, I've been teaching them about AI, how it works, and other factors like hallucinations and bias.

I figure everyone should have a better understanding of the technology before making decisions about whether to use it.

14.12.2025 13:16 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Respecting a Young Person’s Pronouns Can Be Life-Saving, New Survey Shows New data from The Trevor Project shows that less than half say their pronouns are respected by the people closest to them.

Transgender and nonbinary young people have a lower risk of suicide attempts when their pronouns are respected. Respecting pronouns can save a life.
www.parents.com/respecting-p...

14.12.2025 12:46 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This paper contains some good arguments about an issue that concerns me a lot when I hear my colleagues talking about LLM use in developing their research:

Whose ideas are you presenting as your own?

(Though the fatalist argument the authors make at the end of paper is disappointing/bizarre.)

14.12.2025 12:38 πŸ‘ 559 πŸ” 122 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 4

There are a lot of ethical implications to explore (such as environmental and copyright issues and workers' rights), plus questions about how AI actually affects us in terms of mental health and learning.

13.12.2025 16:44 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Something I'm not seeing reflected in the WSD framework is the need to help students critically think about AI. Students and a lot of teachers don't always have a strong understanding of how AI models work, where the data comes from and issues like hallucinations and bias.

13.12.2025 16:44 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This Is Just To Say

I have thwarted
the LLM
that was in
your algorithm

with which
you were probably
planning
world domination

Forgive me
it was delicious
so banal
and so stupid

20.11.2025 23:55 πŸ‘ 231 πŸ” 49 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

I've included options that can help adapt it for older students too. I suspect students should probably learn these lessons before high school, but better late than never!

15.11.2025 14:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Understanding AI

This term I collaborated with another teacher to make this middle school unit about generative AI, how it works and how it is impacting us, the environment and society, with the aim to help students make more informed decisions. Feel free to share!

www.canva.com/design/DAGyC...

15.11.2025 14:53 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
’Intangible assets’ of big data come with costs thanks to ever-expanding energy, water needs Premier Wab Kinew has been dropping hints the province could soon look to position itself as a leader in what some commentators are calling the β€œfourth industrial revolution.” Speaking on a politics a...

This term, we learned about AI and its impacts. We learned about data centres and how in communities elsewhere they are putting stress on the energy grid and water supplies.

Looks like that lesson is becoming increasingly relevant here.

www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...

15.11.2025 13:10 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

These new understandings will help us as we establish together what are inappropriate and appropriate uses of AI in connection with school.

I’m hoping these lessons have given students the understand they need to think critically about AI and make better decisions regarding its use.

09.11.2025 15:26 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This term, my students and I focused on thinking more critically about generative AI, how it works and its consequences for the environment, communities, artists, our mental health and our thinking.

I’m assessing their thinking in a summative assignment and I’m appreciating how thoughtful they are.

09.11.2025 15:15 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
A squirrel sitting in a tree nibbling a red sucker it found somewhere.

A squirrel sitting in a tree nibbling a red sucker it found somewhere.

Happy November 1st everyone!

01.11.2025 23:36 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

This is the time of night where I start handing out giant handfuls of candy just to get rid of it all.

01.11.2025 01:09 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I never met him in person either, but he would reply to my Twitter posts back in the day and give really lovely insights.

25.10.2025 01:47 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Online Media Literacy and Social Studies Online media literacy is vital to help students assess the reliability of online information and think critically about what they see online. Being able to identify misinformation, fact check informat...

Today at MTS PD Day, I presented about online media literacy in the social studies context.

Here is some of what I covered, including how to teach about misinformation, lateral reading, and evaluating sources.

teacherbees.ca/online-media...

24.10.2025 22:54 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I especially liked a card game they demoed where we needed to correctly sort important 2SLGBTQIA+ events in Canada on a timeline. I’m looking forward to ordering it when it is available!

24.10.2025 21:54 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0