Time - one thing we constantly give up and can never get back
Hopefully, folks have had time to rest during this winter break. If you are like me, you begin to think about what is coming in the new year and how you would like to change or improve – this is the whole idea behind New Year's resolutions, right? Many teachers (my self included) want to find more work life balance spending less time working in the evenings and on weekends, and more time with family and doing activities they enjoy. The good news is that artificial intelligence (AI) is offering a lifeline to teachers seeking to reclaim their time.
In this post, we'll delve into the world of AI applications that can help teachers achieve their New Year's resolution by saving time on lesson planning and creating presentations. There are many hundreds if not thousands of apps out there and they all have their merits I'm sure. Here we'll explore two prominent AI solutions EduAide, and Plus AI (Google extension) and giving you the insights you need to usher in a more efficient and productive year. I spend the most time preparing lessons, both the plan and the presentation, so I thought I would start there.
Save Time Planning Lessons with EduAide.ai
I encourage you to try this application before returning to the classroom, you can decide if it is helpful to you in about 10 minutes, though I think just about everyone, newbies and experienced educators can find something to use here. Let's start with the cost - it's free! The first 15 generations per month on the free plan, after that there is a modest charge for use. One of the things I found most appealling was the list of options to choose from:
I chose to use the Lesson Seed for my trial run with the app because I usually have an idea of what I want to teach, but would like some help with the details. Just below this menu is an area to fill in a topic or keywords.
I must caution you . . . as with all AI . . . garbage in = garbage out. The better the information you input the better the output from AI will be, after all it's not magic (though it does feel that way sometimes).
Prompt Engineering - AI delivers when it is given a great prompt
So let's pause from EduAide.ai for a short moment. I mentioned the text box where you need to include the information for the AI to generate in this case a lesson plan (at least the seed). This is where folks quit before they start - I don't know what to ask - I have a simple solution. The Omni-Prompt Architect is a custom GPT I created to solve this problem for myself. If you need help engineering prompts for this or any other AI app this should help. Basically, you just tell the app what you want it to produce - I like to start my request with . . . can you generate a prompt to . . . (or some version there of) and then I copy and paste the prompt that is generated into whatever AI app I'm using. Ok, now back to lesson planning - I have decided to start with a "Lesson Seed" and see at the bottom of the page I need to enter some information so AI knows what kind of lesson to create. Below is my ask of Omni-Prompt Architect and its response:
Notice: It is a long prompt, but the more specific the prompt the better AI's output. I took the prompt that was generated and put it in the "Topic or Keyword" box below the menu:
Click the button below "Add to Workspace" and see what you and AI have created.
EduAide.ai Saves Teachers' Time Planning Lessons
Arrow over to see the full Lesson Seed:
While this is not a full-blown lesson with materials, etc. it gives me a starting point which sometimes is the hardest part. I believe it did save me some time - this took 10-15 minutes, saving me at least 30 minutes, if I can save this much time each day it adds up (x5 days = I just got back 2.5 hours this week!). Now that we have saved some time - let's save some more!
Save Time Creating Google Slides Presentations
In addition to lesson planning, I believe I spend too much time creating how I will present material to students. Most of the time at least part of what students need to know is created in Google Slides. I found a great Google extension called Plus AI for Google Slides, Â it has the ability to generate Google Slides based on text information the user puts in. First of all, great news - it's free, kind of. You are given 3 free presentations, after that you have to pay a nominal fee.
Add the extension - Go to Plus AI (click the link and it will take you to the right place), click the install button
Open a new Google Slides file. Go to the extensions menu (see image) and (once installed) it will appear on your list of extensions
The image below shows what you will see when you open Plus AI. Notice that one of the options is to create a presentation from text, which seems very cool but I'm not sure it is for me. I decided to start from scratch.
I selected the type of presentation as 'education'
Now I need to know what I want this presentation to be about - this is basically giving the AI a prompt. Not knowing what a good prompt would be I went back to the Omni-Prompt Architect and entered this request:
"What prompt can I use to get AI to produce a presentation for students who are beginning to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" the presentation should include background information about the setting"
The prompt generated for me was:
"Generate a presentation for students who are about to read 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' The presentation should provide comprehensive background information about the setting of the story, including the historical and social context of Maycomb, Alabama. Incorporate details about the time period (1930s), the racial dynamics, economic conditions, and cultural aspects prevalent in the rural southern town of Maycomb."
Brilliant! I literally copied and pasted this prompt into the field 'What is your presentation about?' After a few minutes Plus AI created this:
While this is not perfect, it does hit some of the main points. Certainly, I would want to add images and other media, but having this to work from would make the process quicker. I may not use it for every presentation, but on those days when you just need the help, this could be it!
Happy New Year!
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