FLYING CatFish
VT No 307 - The AI Advantage
Hello Everyone,
WELCOME EVERYONE,
Ideas are everywhere. Action is rare.
I enjoy the messy process of figuring things out and making ideas real. That usually means NEW books, NEW courses, and NEW experiments.
I have just finished six children’s books and self published them. They are for brave, adventurous kids who are willing to try things and see what happens.
It is tough work. Turning an idea into something real always is.
The strange thing is that schools rarely teach this skill. Too often students are trained to wait for instructions instead of learning to act.
The books explore the ability to act without waiting for instructions.
ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY,
Have as Much FUN as possible!
Enjoy the ride!
Enough of the chat, check out the Amazing Tools & Absolutely Splendid ideas
I have to share with you in this issue, in the spirit of
EASIER, MORE PRODUCTIVE
& A WHOLE LOT MORE FUN!
Until Next Time…
PS
Virtual Teacher is.......... FREE FOREVER
Here's What's on the MENU Today
Mind Candy - mental treats, light, fun or entertaining things for the brain.
The Art & Courage of Liking What You Like - I still liked the same things I liked when no one was watching.
Whisk AI Replacement - WHISK is being retired on April 30th.
EUTRAPELIA - Love this Word
LOOK Mum NO Hands! - AI HAllucination
TO DO LIST - Make sure you do!
VT YouTube - It’s probably UnLIKELY!
Let's create a ripple effect of learning, sharing, and growing together.
Pass any good ideas on to colleagues, and encourage them to subscribe to VirtualTeacher for more.
MIND CANDY
The fear is that AI will replace us.
The reality is worse: it can turn us into content factories producing endless garbage.
Volume creates AI slop.
Quality that amplifies creativity and productivity, that is the advantage AI can never replace
The Art & Courage of Liking What You Like
I have reached a point in my career where I can choose the work that feels right.
With that freedom comes a simple truth. I had spent years adjusting to the system. I often shaped my style to match what was acceptable, while still doing what I genuinely cared about. It has always been a pull between what works for the system and what works for the students and me.
When I looked back through my archives I realised I still liked the same things I liked when no one was watching. Those early impulses were honest. They were mine.
Most people edit themselves long before they find their real voice. School teaches this early. You hear the labels too experimental too emotional too academic too creative. You learn to match what the system rewards. You learn to play safe so you can pass. Students and teachers both fall into this. Approval becomes the compass. Curiosity fades.
It starts small. A tiny shift to please the teacher. A choice made to fit a trend. Over time the surface becomes polished while the centre goes quiet.
The work looks fine yet it loses joy.
It loses pulse. You lose the spark that brought you there in the first place.
The way back is not dramatic. It begins with noticing what pulls your attention. A detail you enjoy. A thought that keeps returning. A reason you chose this path in the first place. These small traces are the real map. They guide you home.
Courage in work is not loud. It is the moment you let yourself like something without waiting for approval. It is confidence in your gut, even before the logic arrives.
If an idea gives you a buzz
If you grin even though it might flop
If you feel that tiny OOH! YES
That’s your instinct talking back.(this is the goosebumps idea again)
Most people feel lost at some point. They think others have more clarity or confidence.
Yet most are hiding the ideas that feel too personal. The difference lies in who keeps hiding and who starts choosing honesty.
When you begin choosing honestly the work changes.
It gains weight.
It gains pulse.
You stop looking sideways. You start looking inward and forward.
Your taste becomes a compass instead of a performance.
Who you are is always evolving. The task is to stay in conversation with yourself.
To let your view mature in its own time. To protect the ideas that feel tender or new.
Your life opens when you stop performing and start listening. This quiet listening leads to something rare in a noisy world. A point of view that only you can offer.
Original work. Your work. Joyful and true.
It is absolutely worth fighting for.
This is why I wrote What Do You Like?
It gives students permission to look inward and name the things that light them up.
It works every time.
They understand it.
They talk.
They share.
They lift each other.
This is where I want my focus to be and where I want their focus to be.
On the spark.
On the joy.
On the small honest choices that become the foundations of who they are and who they can become.
Check it out here.
Direct link to Soft Cover Print of What Do You Like?
Link to my AMAZON Author page.
Whisk AI Replacement
I have used Whisk a lot, In teacher DEMO mode, it has been great to use in class with kids.
I enter kids’ prompts and they see a creation come to life right before their eyes AAAH! moments a plenty..
Now WHISK is being retired on April 30th.
So I have hunted for a new app to replace it. Adobe Firefly & Canva are available to many schools under license or paid subscription and offer AI image generation.
However, I wanted to find a totally FREE option with lots of FREE credits, a simple interface and images large enough to photograph from an EWB, for my K-6 classes.
Totally teacher demonstrated. Totally inspiring to to children.
REVE
THE BEST one I have found so far is REVE.
Perhaps you can recommend others.
PROS
simple chat interface.
generates 4 images, select one, select one, click and open in new tab for full screen version
Generous FREE plan. Typical allowance: about 20 images per day on the free tier.
Images are downloadable after the session so you can review or send them to the kids.
Stores images from previous sessions
BING IMAGE CREATOR - FREE
PROS
extremely simple
generates 4 images, select one, right click and open in new tab for full screen version
good quality
15 prompts per day, which is fast generation 60 images(4 for each prompt) there is no strict hard limit on total image, after 60 render times increase.
Images are downloadable after the session so you can review or send them to the kids.
Stores images from previous sessions
IDEOGRAM
Another option which I would use as a paid option is Ideogram. The FREE option give 10 “slow images” per week, not useful.
The paid version is about $20.00 per month. If you want to experiment with it just buy a month. Set the link to MY images for classroom use rather the the ideogram home page as the images here are uncensored, so my images is the safe option for a classroom demonstration page.
PROS
extremely simple
generates 1-4 images, select one, click and open in new tab for full screen version
good quality
Paid Plan is 1,000 credits about 150 images for month.
Images are downloadable after the session so you can review or send them to the kids.
Stores images from previous sessions
CONS
Home page contains uncensored user generated images- avoid this and login with browser tab to MY IMAGES
EUTRAPELIA - Love this Word
Definition: The virtue of playfulness.
Origin: Aquinas (The heavy hitter of theology).
Eutrapelia means having the ability to be playful, to joke, to not treat every moment of your life like a performance review at a bank. Aquinas basically said, “It is a sin to be a bore.” (I am paraphrasing, but barely).
LOOK Mum NO Hands!
CHECK THESE OUT LIST
14th of March is Pi Day!
Happy 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939... Day!
I do so love a good Pi, irrationally so, that is why I always celebrate PI DAY.
For one thing, it’s constant.
Geography on VT Without Geography you’re NOWHERE ! What is the most dangerous place on earth? Where is it?
Click That ‘hood I you have a lazy 15mins at the end of the day or are just looking for a brain break this is a great game. Play the Australian States & Territories game or the South East Asian Countries Game.
PromptHero is a website where you find prompts used to generate AI images. You search for an image style, open an image, copy the prompt, and paste it into your own AI image generator to create similar images.
VT YOUTUBE
Looking for something UnLIKELY!
Check out the UnLIKEY video
This Newsletter is not free, despite the misleading advertising above.
The Fee is now due. Each week you must help one colleague AI & technology who has less knowledge than you. HELP THAT PERSON even if you have to visit their classroom or do a little research and get back to them. Trust me, this will help a lot of people get their computer classrooms running better. OK I'm trusting you!!!
Editor: Cathy Brown cathy@virtualteacher.com.au
Before you go I have a question for you:
Would you be interested in learning more about AI and how to integrate into your teaching? Would you like more information about inservice and training?
No need to decide just yet, just email me if you'd like to start the ball rolling. cathy@virtualteacher.com.au or check out the VT AI Consultancy Page.