What do YOU Like? Animation Week 8

VT No 301 - The Magic Begins with Adobe Express Character Animate

Oct 19, 2025

Hello Everyone,

Imagine this, I know, I know, I could be accused of severe overuse of the word imagine. But here I go again, happily committing another crime of overuse.

Imagine a classroom where students work at their own pace, self-motivated and self-directed. Imagine them evaluating their own work and each other’s, while the teacher guides, applauds and advises instead of marking and disciplining. Imagine the teacher with time to sit beside an individual, not constantly trying to keep the whole room in line. That’s the classroom I dream of: no de-motivated, overworked teachers, but teachers and students working together in positive and important ways.

That’s exactly the spirit behind the Week 8 AI lesson plans. This week it’s all about turning students’ own words into animated performances, complete with characters, lip-synching and a whole lot of laughter. Kids get to experiment with tone, style and delivery, discovering how much power they have over how their ideas are received. It’s creativity, ownership and confidence all rolled into one.

So jump in, imagine what could happen, try it out and then share what happens in your classroom. Your stories, your tweaks, your “aha” moments, that’s what keeps this whole Virtual Teacher adventure alive and buzzing.

The above image was created from my prompt in an AI app I built and animated in Dezine using Google Veo 3.

Share the Adventure…

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.
#AIinEducation - Week 8 What do YOU Like ? Animation
SPOTLIGHT Moments: a short, intentional time where you highlight and celebrate a student’s work or effort.
TO DO LIST : Make sure you do!
VT YouTube: Check out theHuman + AI Stories.

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

I think that a life properly lived is just learn, learn, learn all the time.
Investor Charlie Munger on life long learning

Absiolute Carp
“Aoccdrnig to rscgeearch crraeid out at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosnπt mttaer in what orede the ltteers in a word are. The only iprmoatnt thing is taht the frist and lsat ltteres are in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a total mses and you can still raed it wouthit any porbelm.
This is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by istlef but the word as a wlohe.

Ceehiro
Sunday telegraph September 21^st, 2003 P136, I think

Reader Comments

Cathy, this week’s intro gave me chills! I’ve been reading VT for years, and seeing you hit #300 feels like being part of something big. Your story about starting this newsletter 25 years ago reminded me why I keep coming back, it’s personal, it’s passionate and it always makes technology feel fun instead of intimidating.

Your free AI lesson plans have been a lifesaver in my classroom. I downloaded Week 7 as soon as it landed, and my students were buzzing with excitement about trying the activities. The fact that you keep refining them based on teacher feedback shows how much you genuinely care about making this work for real classrooms.

Thank you for sticking with this mission and for inviting us all along for the ride. Here’s to the next 300 newsletters.
Emily C

Thanks, Emily – love hearing that Week 7 hit the mark in your classroom!

Let’s be honest, nothing lights up a classroom like seeing kids bring their own writing to life!

This week we’re taking creativity up a notch. Students start by writing about what they love, no rules, no filters, just pure ideas. Then the magic begins: they record their writing, animate a character with Adobe Express Character Animate and experiment with different voice styles (excited, serious, silly, even alien!) to see how a change in delivery changes the entire message.

By midweek, the room is buzzing, lip-synching characters are talking back, kids are giggling as they try out robot voices and partners are debating which version is the most believable. By the end of the week, students have polished videos, added reflections and are confidently presenting their work on the smart board.

The best part? They’re not just learning tech skills, they’re discovering that their words, their tone, their choices make the story uniquely theirs. That’s powerful stuff.

👉 Download Week 8 now and give your students the chance to see their words come to life. It’s the perfect blend of writing, performance and tech fun and it’s ready to use tomorrow! You might like to reflect on that!

SPOTLIGHT MOMENTS

Spotlight Moments A “spotlight moment” is a short, intentional time in class where you pause the general activity to highlight and celebrate a student’s work or effort in front of everyone.
A powerful aspect of spotlight moments is that they provide excellent modelling for students. When the teacher highlights & celebrates a piece of work, they’re also showing how to recognise effort, creativity & growth in others.
Kids see this in action & can carry the same technique into their own peer interactions, noticing the “good stuff” in each other’s work, giving specific feedback & valuing what matters.
In this way, spotlight moments double as both encouragement & social learning.

CHECK THESE OUT LIST

What was going on when I was born? Wondering if anything interesting on the news was going on when you were born. Find out here.

What Does the Fox Say? is getting a huge number of hits. Check out the ideas and download the lyrics. A fun, creative lesson using music, dance, and art.

Where Does Water Go the video and track water from where it falls anywhere in the world to where it goes. then try the River Runner global app Choose you location and watch the aerial view of water traveling over the land.

Astrophysics & Astronomy Starts with a Bang. Check out theJames Webb Space Telescope

Scale of the Universe This is powerful interactive on the size of the Universe, the things within it and the speed of light. Some very big numbers here. Just a lovely resource. One of my favourites.

VT YOUTUBE

Check out this Video:

The Future is AI - Welcome
The AI Revolution - and Seymour Papert
"NOTHING could be more ABSURD than an experiment in which computers are placed in a classroom where NOTHING else has CHANGED!"
Seymour Papert