Training and useful websites
Training and useful websites
Say What You See is an interactive AI experiment from Google Arts & Culture that challenges users to describe famous artworks in their own words. It encourages observation, creativity, and critical thinking while exploring visual storytelling.
Ways you can use Say What You See in your lessons:
✅ Enhance art appreciation – Encourage students to analyze and describe famous artworks.
✅ Improve descriptive writing – Challenge students to use rich vocabulary to express what they see.
✅ Spark discussion in literacy lessons – Connect art with storytelling and interpretation.
✅ Support language learning – Help students practice using adjectives and sentence structure.
✅ Encourage deeper thinking – Compare different perspectives on the same artwork and discuss interpretations.
GenType is an AI-powered typography experiment by Google that creates unique fonts and letterforms based on user input. It is a creative tool for exploring design, typography, and visual communication.
Ways you can use GenType in your lessons:
✅ Inspire creativity in design projects – Let students generate unique fonts for posters and presentations.
✅ Teach typography and branding – Explore how different fonts convey emotion and meaning.
✅ Enhance digital art lessons – Encourage students to experiment with AI-generated letterforms.
✅ Support literacy and storytelling – Have students design fonts that match the mood of their writing.
✅ Discuss AI in creative industries – Explore how artificial intelligence is shaping graphic design.
PhET provides interactive, research-based simulations that help students visualize and experiment with science and maths concepts in an engaging way. The simulations are designed to be hands-on, making abstract ideas easier to understand.
Ways you can use PhET in your lessons:
✅ Simulate science experiments – Conduct virtual labs in physics, chemistry, and biology.
✅ Explore maths concepts – Help students interact with graphs, fractions, and equations.
✅ Encourage inquiry-based learning – Allow students to manipulate variables and discover concepts on their own.
✅ Use for whole-class demonstrations – Explain complex ideas with interactive visuals.
✅ Support independent practice – Let students explore concepts at their own pace.
Safari Reader is a built-in feature on iPads that simplifies web pages by removing ads, sidebars, and other distractions, making text easier to read. It is an excellent tool for improving focus, accessibility, and comprehension.
Ways you can use Safari Reader in your lessons:
✅ Enhance reading comprehension – Help students focus on the main content without distractions.
✅ Support students with additional needs – Improve readability for those with dyslexia or visual processing difficulties.
✅ Encourage critical reading – Allow students to analyze text without being influenced by unnecessary visuals.
✅ Reduce screen clutter – Make web-based research easier by presenting a clean, text-focused version of articles.
✅ Improve accessibility – Pair with text-to-speech features to support students who benefit from audio learning.
Seeing AI is a free app by Microsoft that uses artificial intelligence to describe the world for people with visual impairments. It can read text, recognize faces, describe scenes, and identify objects, making it an essential tool for accessibility and inclusion.
Ways you can use Seeing AI in your lessons:
✅ Raise awareness about accessibility – Demonstrate how AI supports individuals with visual impairments.
✅ Enhance digital literacy – Explore the role of AI in assistive technology and real-world applications.
✅ Support students with additional needs – Use Seeing AI to help students access written content more easily.
✅ Encourage empathy and inclusion – Discuss challenges faced by visually impaired individuals and how technology helps.
✅ Incorporate into science and computing lessons – Teach about AI, machine learning, and how computers process visual data.
Click here for instructional video
Food Mood is an AI-powered experiment from Google Arts & Culture that suggests dishes from around the world based on your mood. It is a fun and interactive way to explore different cultures, flavors, and food traditions.
Ways you can use Food Mood in your lessons:
✅ Enhance cultural studies – Introduce students to global cuisines and their cultural significance.
✅ Inspire creative writing – Have students describe flavors and create stories based on their recommended dish.
✅ Support geography lessons – Connect foods to their regions and discuss how geography influences cuisine.
✅ Encourage discussions on food and emotions – Explore how different meals can impact mood and well-being.
✅ Integrate into cooking or nutrition lessons – Use Food Mood as a starting point for researching and trying new recipes.
NotebookLM is an AI-assisted research and note-taking tool designed to help students and educators organize information, summarize key points, and generate insights from their notes. It enhances learning by making research faster, smarter, and more interactive.
Ways you can use NotebookLM in your lessons:
✅ Summarize complex topics – Help students break down lengthy texts into key takeaways.
✅ Support independent research – Allow students to organize notes and generate insights on their own.
✅ Enhance revision sessions – Create AI-generated summaries to reinforce key learning points.
✅ Encourage critical thinking – Use AI prompts to spark discussions and deeper analysis.
✅ Streamline lesson planning – Quickly compile resources and create structured notes for teaching materials.
AutoDraw is a fast and intuitive drawing tool that uses artificial intelligence to help users turn rough sketches into polished illustrations. It is a great way to support creativity, visual learning, and digital art skills in the classroom.
Ways you can use AutoDraw in your lessons:
✅ Encourage creativity in art lessons – Help students quickly refine their sketches into professional-looking drawings.
✅ Support storytelling and writing – Let students illustrate their stories with AI-assisted drawings.
✅ Boost engagement in presentations – Use AutoDraw to create simple visuals for lesson slides or student projects.
✅ Develop digital literacy skills – Introduce students to AI-assisted design tools and discuss how they work.
✅ Make learning more accessible – Provide a simple drawing tool for students who struggle with fine motor skills.
Skybox is an AI-powered tool that generates immersive 360° environments from text prompts. It allows users to create stunning digital landscapes and virtual worlds, making it a great resource for storytelling, world-building, and creative exploration.
Ways you can use Skybox in your lessons:
✅ Enhance creative writing – Have students design a setting for their stories and describe the environment in detail.
✅ Support geography and history lessons – Generate landscapes to explore different time periods or geographical locations.
✅ Inspire art and design projects – Use AI-generated worlds as a basis for digital artwork or architectural studies.
✅ Develop game design skills – Encourage students to create backgrounds for video games or interactive media.
✅ Boost engagement in VR and immersive learning – Explore AI-generated environments using virtual reality tools.
Skybox is an AI-powered tool that generates immersive 360° environments from text prompts. It allows users to create stunning digital landscapes and virtual worlds, making it a great resource for storytelling, world-building, and creative exploration.
Ways you can use Skybox in your lessons:
✅ Enhance creative writing – Have students design a setting for their stories and describe the environment in detail.
✅ Support geography and history lessons – Generate landscapes to explore different time periods or geographical locations.
✅ Inspire art and design projects – Use AI-generated worlds as a basis for digital artwork or architectural studies.
✅ Develop game design skills – Encourage students to create backgrounds for video games or interactive media.
✅ Boost engagement in VR and immersive learning – Explore AI-generated environments using virtual reality tools.
Suno is an AI-driven music generator that allows users to create original songs in seconds. By providing simple text prompts, students can produce unique melodies and lyrics, making it a powerful tool for music composition, creativity, and storytelling.
Ways you can use Suno in your lessons:
✅ Inspire creativity in music classes – Have students generate their own songs and analyze musical structures.
✅ Enhance storytelling and literacy – Let students turn their creative writing into songs.
✅ Explore AI and music technology – Discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming the creative arts.
✅ Support cross-curricular projects – Integrate music composition into history, science, or language lessons.
✅ Encourage collaboration – Have students refine AI-generated songs and perform their creations.
Microsoft Coach is an AI-driven tool designed to help students and educators improve their speaking and presentation skills. It provides real-time feedback on pace, clarity, and tone, making it a valuable resource for building confidence in communication.
Ways you can use Microsoft Coach in your lessons:
✅ Enhance public speaking skills – Give students a tool to practice speeches and presentations independently.
✅ Support language learners – Help students improve pronunciation and fluency with real-time feedback.
✅ Prepare for debates and oral assessments – Provide structured practice for verbal tasks.
✅ Encourage self-reflection – Let students review their recordings and track progress over time.
✅ Boost confidence in communication – Use AI insights to help students refine their speaking skills.
Semiconductor is a Google AI experiment that allows users to create music using hand movements. By interacting with the webcam, students can control virtual instruments and explore how motion can be translated into sound.
Ways you can use Semiconductor in your lessons:
✅ Introduce students to digital music creation – Explore how technology can be used to produce music.
✅ Enhance STEAM lessons – Connect music, computing, and physics by discussing sound waves and motion tracking.
✅ Engage students in interactive learning – Let students experiment with creating sounds using gestures.
✅ Incorporate movement into music lessons – Encourage creativity by combining body movement with rhythm.
✅ Explore AI and human-computer interaction – Discuss how technology interprets and responds to user input.
Quick, Draw! is an interactive AI experiment by Google that challenges users to sketch objects while a neural network tries to guess what they are drawing. It is a fun and engaging way to explore artificial intelligence, creativity, and visual recognition.
Ways you can use Quick, Draw! in your lessons:
✅ Introduce AI and machine learning – Help students understand how computers recognize patterns.
✅ Warm-up activity for art lessons – Encourage quick sketching and creative thinking.
✅ Boost engagement in computing lessons – Show how AI learns from human input.
✅ Develop vocabulary and critical thinking – Challenge students to describe how AI identifies different drawings.
✅ Use as a fun brain break – Provide a quick, engaging activity between lessons.
Breshna is a game-based learning platform that allows teachers and students to create their own interactive educational games without any coding skills. It is a fun and engaging way to reinforce concepts and encourage student creativity.
Ways you can use Breshna in your lessons:
✅ Create quiz-based games – Turn revision sessions into an interactive challenge.
✅ Encourage student creativity – Let students design their own educational games to demonstrate learning.
✅ Gamify assessments – Use games as a fun alternative to traditional quizzes.
✅ Enhance engagement – Make lessons more interactive with custom-built, subject-specific games.
✅ Use as an independent learning tool – Allow students to play and review key concepts at their own pace.
PhET provides interactive, research-based simulations that help students visualize and experiment with science and maths concepts in an engaging way. The simulations are designed to be hands-on, making abstract ideas easier to understand.
Ways you can use PhET in your lessons:
✅ Simulate science experiments – Conduct virtual labs in physics, chemistry, and biology.
✅ Explore maths concepts – Help students interact with graphs, fractions, and equations.
✅ Encourage inquiry-based learning – Allow students to manipulate variables and discover concepts on their own.
✅ Use for whole-class demonstrations – Explain complex ideas with interactive visuals.
✅ Support independent practice – Let students explore concepts at their own pace.
ClassroomScreen is an all-in-one digital display tool designed to help teachers manage their classrooms efficiently. It provides a collection of interactive widgets that support organization, time management, and student engagement.
Ways you can use ClassroomScreen in your lessons:
✅ Display timers and stopwatches – Keep students on track with clear time management.
✅ Use the noise level monitor – Encourage a quiet working environment with visual feedback.
✅ Show visual instructions – Reduce repeated questions by displaying clear lesson objectives.
✅ Random name picker – Ensure fairness when selecting students for activities.
✅ Interactive drawing and text tools – Support explanations and student engagement during lessons.
Flippity is a fantastic tool that turns Google Sheets into interactive games, quizzes, and activities.
Ways to use Flippity with students:
✅ Create custom flashcards – Support vocabulary building and revision.
✅ Random name picker – A fair way to choose students for activities.
✅ Interactive quizzes and board games – Make learning more engaging.
✅ Digital breakout rooms – Create escape room-style puzzles linked to different subjects.
Neal.fun offers a collection of engaging, thought-provoking activities that can be used to spark curiosity and creativity in students.
Ways to incorporate Neal.fun into learning:
✅ The Size of Space – Explore scale and distances in the solar system during science lessons.
✅ Absurd Trolley Problems – Great for discussions on ethics and decision-making in PSHE or philosophy.
✅ Draw Logos from Memory – A fun challenge for art and design sessions.
✅ Sorting U.S. Presidents or Time Guessing – Quick history-related activities for fast finishers. .
Bouncy Balls is a fun and visual way to monitor classroom noise levels. The balls move based on the sound detected by your device’s microphone, providing instant feedback to students.
Ways to use Bouncy Balls in your setting:
✅ Encourage quiet working – Challenge students to keep the balls still during focused tasks.
✅ Gamify classroom noise control – Use as a visual reminder to help regulate noise levels.
✅ Use for group activities – Allow discussions but keep volume at a manageable level.
✅ Mindfulness moments – Help students develop awareness of their voice levels.
MathsBot offers a wide range of maths tools, including manipulatives, question generators, and visual aids to support teaching and learning.
Ways you can use MathsBot with students:
✅ Number lines and place value charts – Useful for explaining maths concepts in class or small group sessions.
✅ Manipulatives (counters, algebra tiles, fraction bars) – Great for hands-on learning and interventions.
✅ Question generators – Quickly create problem-solving activities and mental maths challenges.
✅ Exam-style questions – Ideal for retrieval practice and assessment preparation.
Fluency by Amplify is a math fluency platform designed to help students develop automatic recall of key number facts. It provides engaging, adaptive practice to support mental maths.
Ways you can use Fluency in your lessons:
✅ Daily math warm-ups – Start lessons with quick fluency drills to build number confidence.
✅ Personalized practice – Adaptive exercises adjust to each student’s ability level.
✅ Fact fluency challenges – Gamified activities make fluency practice fun and engaging.
✅ Small group interventions – Identify and support students who need targeted fluency practice.
Polypad provides interactive mathematical manipulatives, making abstract concepts more tangible for students.
Here are some ways to incorporate Polypad into your maths lessons:
✅ Explore fractions and decimals – Use fraction bars to help students visualize parts of a whole.
✅ Teach geometry and symmetry – Shape tiles allow students to experiment with transformations and tessellations.
✅ Run probability experiments – Simulate dice rolls and probability scenarios in a hands-on way.
✅ Support algebraic understanding – Algebra tiles can help students solve equations visually.
balance tools.
Rewordify is a tool designed to help students read and understand challenging text by simplifying difficult vocabulary and providing clear definitions. It supports learners who struggle with comprehension and those learning English as an additional language.
Ways you can use Rewordify in your lessons:
✅ Supporting struggling readers – Simplify complex texts to make reading more accessible.
✅ Vocabulary development – Highlight and replace difficult words with easy-to-understand definitions.
✅ Differentiated learning – Adjust reading materials for different ability levels within the same class.
✅ Pre-teaching difficult texts – Prepare students for comprehension tasks by simplifying key passages.
Learning by Questions
Questions and assessments
Mentimeter is an interactive presentation tool that allows you to engage students with live polls, quizzes, word clouds, and Q&A sessions. It is a great way to increase participation, collect instant feedback, and make lessons more interactive.
Ways you can use Mentimeter in your lessons:
✅ Assess prior knowledge – Use quick polls at the start of a lesson to see what students already know.
✅ Create live quizzes – Gamify learning with real-time multiple-choice and ranking questions.
✅ Generate word clouds – Let students contribute their ideas and see responses visually.
✅ Encourage anonymous participation – Great for students who may be shy or hesitant to speak up.
✅ Check understanding – Use instant feedback questions to see if students grasp key concepts before moving on.
Try using this TOP approach to make GenAI work for you. Make sure you edit, adapt and improve your prompts as you go to get the best results. The final outcome might not be perfect, but it will give you the framework to edit and improve.
Over the past term, I have been developing a way of tracking and assessing children in Digital Education. An example can be seen here.
Digital Education Assistant Website
My current Year 8 class are using Google CS First to make games. I used Google Sites to create a generator that would provide them with a child, a particular interest and a favourite colour. I used Midjourney to create all of the images using --ar 400:267 to make sure they were the correct size for Google Sites. My class then had to design a game based around what they knew about their given child. This made them think about the sprites, colour scheme and the overall look of the game. Here is a link to the website
Next, they will be making games for each other, with partners chosen at random from the name generator! I have made the generator scroll through the class names for 3/4 seconds before choosing to make it more exciting to watch.
Teachermatic AI is a brilliant website that will save teachers hours! The website says it will 'Reduce workload and elevate teaching and learning.' I have to agree with this! Similar to ChatGPT, you can request it to do pretty much anything, but it is all based around teaching. You get 5 free credits per day to use, or you can use the paid for version. It can generate flash cards, debate topics with a number of different points of view, give ideas/scenarios/answers from experts in a field, create rubrics, analyse work and so much more...
Canva’s video tools allow you to record, edit, and share student work in a creative way.
Here are some ways to use Canva Videos:
✅ Student project explanations – Get students to present their work and learning journey.
✅ Lesson highlights – Create short videos summarizing key learning moments.
✅ Parent communication – Share classroom events, student achievements, or digital newsletters to keep parents informed and engaged.
Canva is an easy-to-use design tool that allows you to create posters, presentations, and videos to engage students and share learning with parents.
Here are some ways you can use Canva in your lessons:
✅ Create visually appealing lesson slides – Design eye-catching presentations that make key concepts stand out.
✅ Encourage student-led presentations – Let students create their own topic summaries using templates.
✅ Design classroom displays & infographics – Help reinforce learning with bold visuals.
✅ Set creative assignments – Students can make digital comic strips, timelines, or posters.
✅ Use Canva Videos – Record student reflections, project explanations, or lesson highlights and share them with parents to showcase learning.
Midjourney just became even easier now you do not have to use Discord. Just log in, use the '+Imagine' prompt and get creative. You can also use any of the editing tools once your image is made! (+Imagine schnauzer dog wearing a baseball cap riding a bike down the beach ) You can also drop multiple images you have created to combine them together! (does not always turn out how you want it to!)
Vary (Subtle & Strong): Add subtle or strong variations to your image.
Upscale (2x/4x/Subtle/Creative): Enhance image resolution with options for 2x, 4x, subtle, or creative upscaling.
Remix (Subtle/Strong): Apply subtle or strong remixing effects to your image.
Pan (Up/Down/Left/Right): Adjust the viewing perspective by panning up, down, left, or right.
Inpainting (Vary Region): Vary specific regions of the image using inpainting techniques.
Rerun or Use: Prompt: Regenerate the image or use the original prompt.
Change AR (Aspect Ratio): Modify the aspect ratio for a different visual presentation.
Here are two examples of Prompt Guides, one from Mark Anderson and another from Dan Fitzpatrick. They are both really useful when thinking about how to get the best output from ChatGPT.
It is so quick and easy to make short videos for lessons and information using Canva.
You can make them in seconds using the Canva templates. Just click on Video, select a template, change the words and download! Some other examples can be seen here on the Other ideas page
This is a great Chrome extension that will take the YouTube video you are watching and do a range of tasks for you. It can summarise the video in 5 bullet points, summarise it in a chort paragraph or take the script that you can then use with the ideas below.
During the session today, we looked at using ChatGPT and Gamma to create quick slide shows to share with the children.
Step 1
Using ChatGTP - use a prompt to tell ChatGPT to create an outline for a presentation about .......... for Year ....... Include how many slides you would like it to be, any specific information you would like to be included and any other information.
Step 2
Copy the outline that ChatGPT has created.
Step 3
Log into Gamma and select Create with AI, then select Paste in Text. Paste in the text from ChatGPT and watch the magic happen
Step 4
Review the slides. They will not be perfect but wit will have done 95% of the work for you!
Here is an idea to use ChatGPT and Kahoot to create fun and interactive quizzes for children. These could be used for activities, assessments and more...
Step 1 - Making the quiz
Find a YouTube video that you would like to share with the children. Scroll down the page to find the SHOW TRANSCRIPT option, and select it.
Step 2
Looking at the transcript on the top right hand side of the pahe, click Toggle Time Stamp (this will remove the times) Now secect all of the text.
Step 3
Open ChatGPT and create a prompt, Create me a multiple choice quiz with ...... questions that is suitable for ..... year olds. Now paste in the script. Your quiz will be generated and you could use it like this.
Step 4 - Turning it into a fun Kahoot
Copy and paste this text into ChatGPT.
Output it into a table with these headings:Question - max 120 characters,Answer 1 - max 75 characters,Answer 2 - max 75 characters,Answer 3 - max 75 characters,Answer 4 - max 75 characters,Time limit (sec) – 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120, or 240 secs,Correct answer - choose one - 1, 2, 3, or 4
This will output your quiz into a Kahoot template format. It will now create the questions in a table
Step 5
Copy the questions from the table in ChatGPT and paste them into the Kahoot template sheet (this can be found by looking into Kahoot and starting to create your own quiz)
Step 6
Save the Kahoot Template Sheet and upload it into Kahoot.
Step 7
Check that answers are not too long, add your pictures using the AI feature in Kahoot and then use the activity with your class.