Hey there, bike friends! If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know that I’m passionate about bikes, books, animals, and art. I’ve previously posted on a range of initiatives that celebrate bike books, for example:
Today, I have another fantastic book to add to your collection—one that combines a love for bikes, books and animals. Today, we are pedalling into an adventure called Duck on a Bike by David Shannon. This charming children’s book will make you smile, laugh, and maybe even inspire you to try something new. So, grab a cozy spot, a cup of tea and a young one who love bike stories and let’s ride into this delightful tale!
Enjoy!
Duck on a Bike is a popular children’s picture book written and illustrated by David Shannon. It tells the story of a duck who finds a bike and decides to take it for a ride around the farm.
In this story, Duck begins his adventure by discovering a bike that has been left by a child. Curious and excited, Duck climbs onto the bike and starts pedaling around the farm.
As Duck rides past other farm animals, they are amazed and wonder why a duck would want to ride a bike.
Duck encounters various animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, and horses. Some of the animals are impressed by the duck’s skills, while others are dubious or even jealous.
Duck loves the thrill of riding the bike and having the wind in their feathers (who doesn’t!!?).
Eventually, Duck returns to the farmyard, where the other animals gather around to see what happened on the ride. Inspired by Duck’s adventure, the other animals start trying out the bike for themselves, each with their own unique style.
The story ends with Duck suggesting that someday they might even see a whole flock of animals riding bikes!
I like Duck on a Bike because it is a charming and entertaining book that promotes the ideas of trying new things, breaking stereotypes, and embracing adventure.
This is a delightful story for young and older young readers – and I appreciate its humorous illustrations and inclusive subtext that anyone, (even a Duck or any other animals) can ride a bike.
Ride on Ducks!
Image: Good Reads
Image: Good Reads
And it’s good to see that this beloved book being celebrated by readers and libraries more broadly – like this installation below from Rippon Public Library!
The US National Bike Summit is an annual conference event that brings together bike advocates and enthusiasts from across the country. Now in its 23rd year, will be held from March 26 – March 29, 2023. This year the summit will be held in Washington, DC and the program offers a range of engaging activities, including in-person workshops, mobile discussion groups, biking opportunities, and networking events. Its primary focus is to foster the development of a Bicycle Friendly America that caters to the needs of everyone. In order to accommodate participants both physically and virtually, all sessions, panels, plenaries, and keynote speeches will be live-streamed online.
I was super excited to see this year that Keshia Roberson was one of the Key Summit speakers.
Keshia will be hosting the They Were Seeds: The Buried Legacy of Black Wheelwomen.
This session explores the legacy of Black women cyclists and how their roots have inspired future generations of diverse riders.
The incredible contributions of Black women in cycling deserve our recognition and celebration. Throughout history, remarkable figures like Kittie Knox and Ayesha McGowan have shattered barriers and blazed a trail for Black women cyclists.
Their groundbreaking achievements continue to inspire a new generation of Sheroes who are dedicated to creating more opportunities for Black women and girls to embrace the exhilaration of biking.
The remarkable Keshia Roberson founded Major Knox Adventures (MKA) with the aim of honoring the legacy of these trailblazers.
MKA is dedicated to providing affordable bike trip experiences, ensuring that women of color can partake in the transformative joy of outdoor adventures. It’s important to acknowledge the representation and contribution of African-American women cyclists which has been historically lacking and sorely underrepresented.
MKA seeks to change that by fostering inclusivity, creating a welcoming environment, and empowering Black women to experience the outdoors in all its splendor.
It would be amazing to hear Keshia Roberson present the They Were Seeds: The Buried Legacy of Black Wheelwomen at this year’s 2023 Bike Summit.
It is great to see a virtual conference option as well….mmmm….maybe next year….
Image: Major Knox Adventures
5 Cyclists Project
As regular readers of this blog know, I have a particular interest in decolonial herstories and in uncovering the lesser-known stories, contributions and experiences of women on two wheels… which is how I come to know about Keshia.
I contributed to a journal publication last year which looked at geography and collective memories through art – and in this article, I cited the incredible 5 Cyclists Project (included below and see the full article here), which is the inspiration for Keshia’s MKA 1928 Legacy Tour.
The 5 Cyclists Project showcases the incredible untold story of five African-American women, Marylou Jackson, Velva Jackson, Ethyl Miller, Leolya Nelson and Constance White, who in 1928, biked 250 miles cross-country. At the time, cycling was overwhelmingly white and elite, a dynamic that still remains today (Mackintosh & Norcliffe, 2007). The centrepiece 5 Cyclists photograph (Scurlock, 1928), challenges essentialising assumptions as to when, how and why certain bodies cannot move through landscapes. It questions mainstream notions of who a cyclist is, where they can go, how far they travel, what spaces they can access, and how mobility shapes environments encountered. This project reminds us that certain voices and lived experiences are systematically overlooked, and the need to shed light on the complex issues and legitimacy of racialised, gendered, and classed experiences.
I am truly inspired by the multitude of remarkable endeavours undertaken by bike activists, and it fills me with great admiration to delve into the rich legacy of extraordinary women in the world of cycling, both past and present.
The dedication and passion exhibited by individuals like Keshia is so needed today.
To Keshia and the Bike Summit community, keep shining and making a positive impact!
The EA PD Fest is an excellent opportunity to engage with fellow educators and share ideas and experiences about teaching, learning and educational engagement. I always look forward to this event and have attended several times before. See more on the EA PD Fest 2017 here and the EA PD Fest 2018 here.
The session I am presenting will explore how some AI tools can be incorporated by English teachers into classrooms. I’ve been experimenting with using AI with my English language students for a while now and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with other teachers – and hearing their ideas as well.
Innovative AI Tools for English Language Teachers: The Future is Now by Nina Ginsberg
Attention all English teachers! Join us for an exciting session where you will learn how to harness the power of AI in your ELICOS classroom. In this session, we use some of the latest AI tools to engage students and reinforce English language skills. Not only will you leave with a better understanding of how AI can support language acquisition, but you will also gain practical tips and strategies for effectively integrating AI into your existing curriculum and classes. All demos are in real-time so you can see exactly how quick and easy it is to create unique and purposeful AI-supported ELICOS activities.
Bring a laptop or iPad if you want to follow along. All participants receive a handy take-home AI teacher’s resource pack. Suitable for new AI users and teachers who want to know more. This is an opportunity to stay ahead of the curve in education technology and bring some excitement to your English language classroom. So don’t wait any longer, embrace the future!!
Paint by Text is a free and simple AI image editor tool that allows users to create and edit images using natural language commands. Users can give simple instructions, such as “make the sky more blue” or “remove the background”. There are three stock images to edit or you can upload your own photo.
Start with simple instructions and check the basics
Get student suggestions and/or pre-teach some useful words
Start with one simple instruction
Use keywords not full sentences or complex instructions
Check spelling
Discuss ambiguity
AI takes things literally
Some good things to keep in mind from Re-Thought: Write positive prompts that describe what should be present, not what should be missing. “A man without a beard” will result in a bearded man. If it is in the prompt, it is likely to be mapped. So write “a clean-shaven man” for pictures with predictably clean-shaven man
Vocabulary: use concrete instead of abstract words. For example:
Concrete: koala, bicycle, sushi, spaghetti, fire truck (more predicable)
Abstract: hope, happy, success (more diverse results)
Build up instructions
Start with one word, then build up
Give students a few examples: night, Umbrella, Christmas, gift, purple ribbon, in Tokyo
Grammar: discuss different language features
Prepositions – above, next to, besides, from, in, out, under
number noun OR adjective + noun
Class Activity: Change the Picture
Give students a chance to explore the tool. Ask them to change a picture three times and record what prompts were used. Students can also upload their own picture to modify. In pairs or groups, use the four images to practice key English language features, such as
Compare and contrast
Vocab: clothing, colours, setting, time, objects
Past, present, future
Tell the story…
Predict what picture/will happen next
Discuss what worked and didn’t work with each photo edit
MURF AI is a text to speech tool that employs a versatile AI voice generator to produce natural-sounding speech from text inputs. MURF AI voice generator can customize the speech by selecting different voices, languages, and speech styles to suit specific needs. The free version offers a 300-word immediate voiceover recording and 10 mins in the studio and there is a massive range of voice selections.
The two MURF features I’ve used are the free text to speech and the Studio.
1. Text to Speech
Access this online via the NUF website Product tab. It gives 200 words and have 3 voices to choose from. Once you paste your text, it will take a few second to covert. You cannot download this copy, just listen online.
2. The Studio
Upload any documents, Google Sheets, PDFs or web links and you get 10 mins free audio. Also has a great range of voices and functionality to change speed, share and export.
Also try Speechify which is the next step up in Text to Speech.
Teach Anything is a simple and easy to use free, open-source AI tool that allows users to ask a question which it then creates two different versions – easy or professional – of the same answer.
This tool can be used in a variety of ways:
a tool to quickly modify a topic introduction for upper/lower levels
exploring diverse perspectives
outlining oral presentation topics
comparing language registers
discussing vocab/language shifts from spoken/written
In pairs. Give one student the ‘easy’, the other student has the ‘professional’ answer. As a team look, for language shifts and changes. Then together, rewrite the answer again as a ‘new’ third version. I like to use the third as an ‘academic’ answer. This task practices and reinforces academic structures (topic sentences, TEEEL paragraphs, transition words, include examples, specific details and evidence, intext citations…etc). Or as a news report. Or as instructions.
Night Cafe is one of many AI Art Generators that uses Artificial Intelligence to create unique pieces of art in a matter of seconds. Users can input a prompt and/or select from a range of styles. Once you sign in, the interface is relatively straight forward and you can generate one free image at a time or get a set amount of free tokens per day.
In class, I usually show three different AI art generators (Night Cafe is one) and let students experiment and chose their favourite one to work with.
Student-created AI art can be used to in English language classes in several ways:
Speaking and Listening: Students work in pairs or small groups to describe the AI-generated artwork to their peers. This activity can help students develop their speaking and listening skills, as well as their ability to use of targeted language features like grammar, conjunctions, transitions phrases and who, what, when, where, how and why aspects.
Vocabulary Building: Elicit students’ own words, preteach or scaffold vocabulary. Use AI-generated art to reinforce and/or introduce new vocabulary words. Students identify objects, places or concepts within the artwork and practice using the new vocabulary in context.
Writing: Use AI-generated art as inspiration for the writing assignments. Students write a paragraph, short story, poem, or dialogue based on the image, and teachers can provide feedback on their writing skills, including grammar, vocabulary and style.
Paragraph/Essay Writing: Students write a paragraph or short essay (cause and effect, compare and contrast, advantages and disadvantages) about the image, focusing on developing vocabulary and grammar skills and applying language features learnt from class.
The example below is from a recent class. We had been working on the topics of climate change, animal extinction and social media to practice cause and effect writing. To end on a more positive note, I asked to students to reimagine a different, more positive future. I encouraged them to be as creative as they wanted. The students used Night Cafe to create an AI image and wrote a cause-effect explanation for their new vision which they then presented to the class. They love it! Here is one example (shared with student’s permission):
Image: Art of Quantum 2021. Eddleman Centre for Quantum Innovation, UC Santa Barbara
Undertaking a PhD is a constant mix of wild emotions, academic tensions and ever-present confusion.
Here is an example from today in 100 words.
Revisiting Chapters
It’s a strange feeling….being back at the research desk. Revisiting methodology. Trying to produce my first ‘real’ full chapter. I need to send this to my supervisors in 10 days. Throat is tight and house needs cleaning. I force myself to stay with it. Where did I leave off a month ago? Mmmm…there it is…now that bit is okay ….interesting… actually, I wrote more than I thought! There are some nice sections. Time to kill my darlings. Yellow highlights for gaps yet to fill. I add content from two years ago – surprised at its eloquence. It’s kinda coming together. Potential.
