Making my first AI Lesson with Canva’s Magic Media app provided a wealth of insights, and humor. The lesson, designed for kindergarteners, focused on personal space and safety. My challenge was to create engaging content that not only appealed to young students but also simplified the complex concepts I needed to convey. What I learned was surprising and insightful to say the least.
1. My Writing Had to Improve… Quickly.
My initial instruction for Magic Media was to “create Paddington Style Bears” in pink and blue. (I had purchased two stuffed bears wearing pink and blue and I wanted them to connect to my AI lesson). In my lesson, the bears had to be doing certain things in each image such as, going safely down a slide, or sitting in a personal space on the carpet. The tricky part was figuring out how to write my directive in order to get the outcome that I wanted. Here are some insightful and funny examples of how this went.
My Writing Journey
My First Attempt
“Make one Paddington style bear in pink clothes and another Paddington style bear in blue and have one push the other Paddington style bear in blue clothes down the slide.”
Outcome
My Final Product Slide
“Make one Paddington style bear in pink clothes and another Paddington style bear in blue and have one push the other Paddington style bear in blue clothes down the slide.”
Outcome
2. Images from AI Can Lead to Unexpected Humorous Creations
Trying to create engaging and fun images for my kindergarten lesson, led me down a hilarious journey. I had so much fun trying to type my words correctly and precisely enough that AI knew what I wanted it to create. The journey to get there was so much fun and I often found myself laughing out loud during my journey in meaningful content.
3. Creating with AI Allowed Me to Bring My Ideas to Life!
I cannot draw… at all! I have so many ideas, but my ability to visually bring them to fruition is limited to say the least. I think that I may have capped out in 1st grade in regard to my visual arts skillset. AI has helped me expand on my creativity by helping me bring my ideas to life! At first, I thought I was cheating. I did not “draw or paint” anything independently. Then I realized that me using AI is like having someone help me bring my ideas to reality. Sometimes that be collaborating with a colleague to create something together or even hiring a freelancer to create something for me. These are still my creations and ideas.
I had a lot of fun creating my kindergarten lesson with AI and my students really enjoyed the lesson. I am hoping to be able to create more fun lessons in the future and explore where my creativity takes me!