Learning Technologies Week 4 - Accessibility and MagicSchool AI

This is a LONG post! Please feel free to navigate to the section you are most interested in. Colleagues - I would welcome your suggestions in how to improve the layout of this blog post, especially when there's so much I want to say!

Accessibility 

    After learning about Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, I revisited my blog post from Week 1 to evaluate its accessibility and navigational ease. I utilized the built-in screen reader on my Mac, VoiceOver (activated by pressing "Command - F5") and found it took less than 5 minutes to listen to the whole post. However, I didn't understand how to effectively navigate the webpage and found myself getting confused by audio prompts like, "You are currently on a text element." Some abbreviations were unclear as well, such as abbreviations for the states Minnesota and Wisconsin. After publishing this Week 4 blog post, and all subsequent blog posts, I will be sure to read it using my Screen Reader and adjusting content and headings as necessary to minimize confusion. I also need to add image descriptions - I did not change these and the descriptions that appeared were not helpful!

MagicSchool AI

    Next I took time to work with the platform MagicSchool AI. Teachers in my district are encouraged to use MagicSchool AI and professional development is offered in how to best use it in the classroom. I did not use it in my classroom this past school year but know I can use it more with additional time to explore it. I tried two activities this week that I want to share with you.

Lesson Plan Generator

The first tool I utilized was the Lesson Plan Generator. I entered the learning objective as the prompt, and the rest was generated by MagicSchool AI. My learning objective is based on one of the Minnesota State Arts (Music) Standards for 1st grade: 3.1.2.3.1 "Choose musical ideas to share using a limited set of rhythms or pitches." I also asked MagicSchool AI to align the lesson to National Association for Music Education (NAfME) standards as well. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

Students will be able to use "so-mi" notation to notate and perform a short melody on a chosen music classroom instrument

ASSESSMENTS:
Students will notate a melody independently and perform at least 4 measures using "so-mi" notation.

KEY POINTS:

• "So" and "mi" are the two notes in the pattern; "so" is higher in pitch than "mi."

• The treble clef staff has five lines and four spaces, where notes are placed.

• Notation is written from left to right, reflecting the melody's rhythm.

• Students will learn to identify and play the notes on different instruments.

OPENING:

• Begin with a brief discussion about the importance of melody in music.

• Introduce the "so-mi" notes using hand signals to demonstrate the pitch differences.

INTRODUCTION TO NEW MATERIAL:

• Introduce "so" and "mi" using visual aids on the board.

• Demonstrate how to place these notes on the treble clef staff.

• Model how to play a simple melody on a classroom instrument.

GUIDED PRACTICE:

• Have students practice identifying "so" and "mi" on the staff.

• Ask guiding questions: "Which note is higher? Can you find where 'so' is on your instrument?"

• Provide examples of simple melodies for students to play in pairs.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:

• Students will individually notate a melody using "so" and "mi" on their staff paper.

• They will then perform their 4-measure melody using their chosen instrument.

• Expectations: Work quietly and focus on their notation and performance.

CLOSING:

• Gather students to share their melodies.

• Discuss what they learned about "so" and "mi" and how they worked together to create melodies.

STANDARDS ALIGNED:

• NAfME Standard 1: Perform music, alone and with others, from a varied repertoire.

• NAfME Standard 6: Listen to, analyze, and describe music.

• NAfME Standard 8: Understand relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

    This was an excellent start! However, not detailed enough for my purposes as an elementary music teacher focusing on a 1st grade music lesson. So I went back and added the words "quarter note" and "half note" to the prompt. MagicSchool AI then generated a more specific learning objective for me:

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

Students will be able to notate a 4-measure melody utilizing half notes and quarter notes in "so-mi" notation and perform it on a chosen music classroom instrument.

    The details that followed were also more aligned with the new learning objective as well. For the sake of brevity I won't list all the changes here, but the modified lesson plan would be very appropriate for a 30 minute first grade music lesson. In fact, it almost felt as if I were reading it from one of my curriculum teacher's guides. The 'guided practice' and 'independent practice' recommendations were spot on and exactly how I would structure this lesson.

    This lesson does not include any technological elements, so in that way does not reflect some of the readings we have had in class. After successfully implementing this lesson in the classroom, it would be interesting to ask MagicSchool AI to help create a lesson that involves notation using technology and provides opportunities to extend that learning outside of school.

Student Tool

    Next a tried a student tool in MagicSchool AI. "Character Chatbot" is an easy to set up tool that teachers can configure or leave blank. If left unconfigured, students can choose a historical figure or book character and "converse" with them. If set up by the teacher, which I did, students will "converse" with a predetermined figure or character. Teachers also specify which age group this chatbot is for.  I created a MagicSchool AI classroom for my 5th grade students and inserted a "Johnny Cash chatbot." You can try it here: https://student.magicschool.ai/s/join?joinCode=zDdquA I also linked this activity in the Google Classroom I have been developing. Below are highlights of my interaction with the Johnny Cash chatbot: 

Howdy there, young friend! I'm Johnny Cash, but folks call me "The Man in Black." I was a country music singer and songwriter who loved telling stories through my songs. I grew up poor on a cotton farm in Arkansas, and music helped me through tough times. I'm famous for songs like "Ring of Fire" and "I Walk the Line." 

What would you like to know about my life or my music? I'd be happy to share some stories with you!

Who were your biggest musical influences?

Well now, that's a fine question! My biggest influences came from all kinds of music I heard growing up.

My mama, Carrie, used to sing old hymns and gospel songs around the house. Those church songs taught me how music could touch people's hearts real deep. I learned that music wasn't just for fun - it could help people feel better when they were hurting.

I also loved listening to the radio when I was a boy. There was this show called the "Grand Ole Opry" that played country music, and I heard singers like Hank Williams and the Carter Family. Hank Williams especially showed me how to tell a story in a song that made people feel something real.

But here's something that might surprise you - I also loved gospel music and even some folk songs. I learned that good music is good music, no matter what style it is.

What was your religion?

Well, that's a real important question to me, young friend. I was a Christian, and my faith meant everything to me, even when I didn't always live up to it.

Now, I'll be honest with you - I wasn't always the best Christian. I made plenty of mistakes in my life and did things I wasn't proud of. But that's what made my faith so important to me. I believed that God loved me even when I messed up, and that He could forgive me and help me do better.

I recorded lots of gospel albums because singing about my faith was one of my favorite things to do. Songs like "He Turned the Water Into Wine" and "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord" came straight from my heart.

I always believed that God gave me my musical talents for a reason - to help people and to share His love through my songs. Do you have any questions about faith or what it means to believe in something bigger than yourself?

What does it mean to believe in something bigger than yourself?

That's a mighty fine question, and it shows you're doing some real deep thinking!

To me, believing in something bigger than yourself means understanding that you're part of something much greater than just you alone. It's like when you look up at the night sky and see all those stars - it makes you realize how big the world really is.

For me, that "something bigger" was God. But it doesn't have to be about religion. Some folks find that "something bigger" in their family, their community, or even in trying to help make the world a better place. It's about caring for more than just yourself.

When I sang my songs, I wasn't just singing for me - I was singing for all the people who felt sad, lonely, or forgotten. I wanted my music to help them feel better.

What do you think makes you feel like you're part of something bigger? Maybe your family, your school, or helping others?

Helping people less fortunate makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger.

Well, that just warms my heart to hear you say that! You sound like you've got a real good understanding of what's important in life, young friend.

You know, that's exactly why I always wore black on stage. I said I'd wear black until things got better for the poor, the hungry, and the folks that nobody seemed to care about. When I saw people who didn't have enough food or a warm place to sleep, it made me want to use my music to remind everyone that we should help each other.

I used to perform at prisons because I knew those men were forgotten by most folks. Even when people said I shouldn't go there, I felt like those prisoners needed to know that somebody cared about them. That was my way of helping people who had less than me.

That caring heart of yours reminds me why I believed music could change the world - because it connected people who cared about each other.

Reflection

    After I finished reading the Johnny Cash Chatbot responses I was tearing up! I've read every Johnny Cash biography, autobiography, and book out there, and could almost imagine his voice saying these words. I was blown away by the conversational and seemingly authentic nature of the chatbot's responses. I had told MagicSchool AI that this chatbot was geared towards 5th graders, and thought it matched that reading ability and conversation style well.

    I wanted to ask a possibly challenging question that my 5th graders might ask - "What was your religion?" The chatbot's response was interesting and well done, I thought. It did not shy away from Johnny Cash's sometimes quite public demonstrations of spirituality and religion, but also concluded with a follow-up question that was non-religious. I followed that prompt ("What does it mean to believe in something bigger than yourself") and again, was impressed by the answer. I followed the next prompt ("What do you think makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger?") and again was blown away by the response. The chatbot made sure to personalize the answer and make it meaningful for the person or student asking the questions. I can't wait to try an activity like this with my 4th and 5th grade students when we study different musical artists and genres!

        I intend to ask some of the other teachers at my school how they have been using MagicSchool AI - again, I know it is encouraged by our district but I don't know what others have done. The challenge I see is the same as using any personal technological device in the classroom - monitoring student use, utilizing security and monitoring software to make sure students stay safe and on-task, and addressing the age-old issues of "my Chromebook is dead" "I can't find my charger" "Why won't YouTube work? Did you block it????" 😀

    When looking at the Oklahoma Guidance and Considerations for Using Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma K-12 Schools, three essential elements for integrating AI in the classroom are identified: transparency, rigor, and curiosity. Utilizing the MagicSchool AI character chatbot successfully addresses the element of curiosity by helping to expand student inquiry and exploration beyond the classroom.

References

Oklahoma State Department of Education. (2024) Guidance and Considerations for Artificial intelligence in Oklahoma Schools. Retrieved July 24, 2025.