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ChatGPT Just Passed the Mood Meter Test for Image Generation

April 21, 2025 By Bryan Kerr Leave a Comment

A few months back, I came up with an idea for testing AI image generators: creating a mood meter graphic that teachers could use in their classrooms. I thought this would be a good way to test how well AI image generators create something with several different elements that also look visually cohesive. At the […]

Watch Out for Low-Quality Sources When Using Google Deep Research

February 13, 2025 By Bryan Kerr Leave a Comment

A young man sits at a vintage computer in a traditional college office setting, typing with a focused and engaged expression. Behind him, a woman with curly hair, wearing a turquoise cardigan, leans in with a supportive and encouraging smile. The background features wooden bookshelves filled with books, a large window letting in natural light, and a desk covered with stacked books and papers, creating an academic atmosphere.

Recently, my favorite newsletter linked an article about Sweden going back to paper textbooks after 15 years of using digital devices. This was the first I had heard about it. The headline intrigued me because I was looking for the latest research on screen time and its impacts of using digital devices in the classroom. […]

Generative AI: The Day I Stopped Searching and Started Creating

January 20, 2025 By Bryan Kerr Leave a Comment

Midjourney generated art of eacher in classroom wearing a black hoodie, wry smile, hacking on a laptop, comic book art, neon punk color palette

I’m just kind of dumbstruck by AI right now. A problem cropped up at work, and AI helped me solve it in a way that wasn’t possible a year ago. It wasn’t a big problem, just the kind that gets on your nerves when some app doesn’t work how you want. The solution, however, offers […]

Turn NoteBookLM Audio Overviews into a Podcast Feed with PushPod

November 10, 2024 By Bryan Kerr 2 Comments

A man walking in an urban setting, wearing headphones and holding a smartphone, appearing focused as he listens to audio content. He is dressed in a casual yet stylish outfit, including a gray blazer and white T-shirt, with a blurred cityscape in the background.

So you love NotebookLM’s audio overviews feature, but it’s a pain to listen to them on the go. What if you could listen to them on your favorite podcast player? You can! I found a tool called PushPod that lets you create a private podcast using a Dropbox or OneDrive folder. This tutorial will show […]

How Generative AI Helps Me Maintain Flow When Writing

January 25, 2024 By Bryan Kerr Leave a Comment

DALL-E 3 generated image from the prompt, "Generate an image of a songwriter sitting on a couch with a guitar in his lap and a notepad and pencil in his hands." ChatGPT then used this prompt: "The image should depict a songwriter sitting on a comfortable couch in a cozy room. The songwriter is casually dressed and has a relaxed posture, with a guitar resting on his lap. He holds a notepad and pencil in his hands, suggesting he's jotting down lyrics or music ideas. The environment should give a sense of creativity and inspiration, with soft lighting and warm colors. The room may have musical elements like a record player or posters of famous musicians in the background to enhance the musical theme."

Writing has always been a challenge for me. It’s hard to maintain flow because I often fall into the trap of editing while writing. I will show you one way I used ChatGPT Plus to avoid that trap, and then I’ll mention some of the free options available to do the same thing. I’ll also […]

Reboot: Making Sense of AI in Education

November 28, 2023 By Bryan Kerr Leave a Comment

Image of aliens arriving above a valley filled with people looking up at the spaceships with awe and anxiety.

I’ll get write to it. I’m rebooting my blog because of AI. I’ve worked in K-12 education for fourteen years, and I’ve never seen a new technology emerge with the power to radically change our world with such power and speed. Tablets, 3D printers, smartboards, 1:1 classrooms, those were iterative developments that (not always) enhanced […]

Sparking Student Creativity with Abstract Ice Cream Cones

October 18, 2017 By Bryan Kerr

Abstract Ice Cream Cone Created in Tinkercad

How can we help kids be more creative? It’s a question I often think about when working with students at Garden Street Academy. Creative thinkers make better problem-solvers. Here’s a bit of insight I recently had with sixth graders in my 3D printing and design class. I’m teaching them to design for our 3D printers […]

How to Change the Background Color of an Apple Pages Document

May 21, 2016 By Bryan Kerr

Wave Swinger at Santa Barbara Fair for Apple Pages Background Color

Have you ever wanted to change the background color of an Apple Pages document? If the document has full-page body text (instead of text boxes), and you try to drag a photo, shape, or object onto the page, you’ll notice that the text either gets pushed around like two magnets repelling each other, or it gets covered up. This quick tutorial […]

Taking Notes in Class: Laptops vs. Handwriting

May 4, 2016 By Bryan Kerr

Taking Notes: Typing vs. Handwriting

I didn’t get my first computer until my third year of college in 1995. It was a giant, Windows 95 tower PC (a P120 with 16MB of RAM). Laptops were not common, and no one used anything but pen and paper to take notes during class lectures. Forward to today, and laptops and tablets are […]

Dinosaur Timelines and Time Scales for Class Reports and Projects

March 18, 2016 By Bryan Kerr

Timeline of Jurassic Park Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are a popular topic in schools, especially with younger students. One of the important bits of information students learn is when dinosaurs lived. However, I couldn’t find any simple dinosaur timelines or time scale that students could print out and use to show when a dinosaur lived. Dinosaurs roamed the earth for 181 million years. It can be challenging for […]

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