Ten Ideas for AI Image Generators in the Classroom
published by Mike Neumire on 10/30/2024
As educators, we're always on the lookout for fresh strategies to engage our students and deepen their understanding. AI-generated images offer a unique avenue to make learning more interactive and thought-provoking. Here are ten creative ways to integrate these images into your classroom, each designed to enrich student learning.
1. Vocabulary Visuals
Turn vocabulary learning into an annotated matching game. Provide students with a set of AI-generated images and a list of terms. Students must match each image to the correct term and explain their reasoning.
Why it's valuable: This activity reinforces vocabulary comprehension by associating words with visual representations. Explaining their choices encourages critical thinking and ensures they understand the nuances of each term.
What can I use to do this? You (and your students) can use Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design to generate AI images. You can then take those images and dump them into a Nearpod matching game, or use the Flippity matching template (this requires you to get URLs for your images).
2. Telestrations with AI
Initiate a collaborative game where a student generates an image from a prompt and passes it to the next student. The next student interprets the image and tries to recreate the original prompt to generate a similar image. The process continues, creating a chain of interpretations.
Why it's valuable: This exercise highlights the importance of clear communication and interpretation. It demonstrates how information can evolve and change, promoting awareness of perception and encouraging attention to detail.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design. You could then set up a Google slide deck for students to add the images to so that you can eventually see them in a progression to see how they transformed, or you could use a Google Form and require students to submit their picture as well as the prompt they used to make it, so you can incorporate prompt structure into the conversation.
3. Capture Learning in an Image
After a lesson, ask students to distill what they've learned into a single AI-generated image. They should then annotate the image, describing the prompt they used and their intentions.
Why it's valuable: This challenges students to synthesize information creatively. By visualizing their learning, they reinforce their understanding and reflect on key concepts, enhancing retention.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design. You could then have students share on a Nearpod collaborate board so everyone can see each other’s work and thoughts.
4. Four Pics, One Word
Assign students a vocabulary word and have them generate four images that could help others guess the word.
Why it's valuable: This gamifies learning, making it engaging and fun. It encourages students to think about different aspects of a concept and how to represent it visually, deepening their grasp of the term.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design. You can then set up a shared Google slide deck and students can each make their own slide and arrange the images. They can then explore other students’ images and start to make guesses.
5. Learning to Prompt
Let students experiment with crafting different prompts to generate images, aiming to establish effective strategies for precise results.
Why it's valuable: This activity develops critical thinking and technical skills. Learning how to communicate effectively with AI tools prepares students for future technological interactions and enhances problem-solving abilities.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design.
6. Image Interpretation
Students generate images representing historical events or scenes from a novel and then analyze these images to identify accuracies, inaccuracies, or misleading elements.
Why it's valuable: This promotes analytical skills and critical thinking. By evaluating the images, students learn to assess sources critically and understand the importance of accurate representation.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design.
7. Designing Book Covers
Have students create their own book covers for novels or articles they've read using AI-generated images.
Why it's valuable: This combines creativity with comprehension. Designing a cover requires students to interpret themes and symbols from the text, reinforcing their understanding and encouraging artistic expression.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design. They can then continue to design in Canva, adding titles, quotes, or any other design items they want until they have a polished end product.
8. AI-Generated Comic Strips
Challenge students to tell a story using only AI-generated images arranged in a comic strip format.
Why it's valuable: This enhances narrative skills and visual literacy. Students must consider sequencing and how images convey meaning, fostering storytelling abilities and creativity.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design. They can continue to use Canva and find a comic strip template to fill in.
9. Creating Advertisements
Students practice persuasive writing by creating advertisements featuring AI-generated images for products or concepts related to the curriculum.
Why it's valuable: This activity integrates marketing principles with subject matter learning. It develops persuasive communication skills and teaches students how imagery can influence an audience.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design. They can continue to design and edit within Canva until they have a polished end product.
10. Caption This
Students generate images based on a concept or standard. Their peers then write captions for these images to capture the intended idea.
Why it's valuable: This encourages interpretation and synthesis. Writing captions requires understanding the concept and expressing it concisely, reinforcing learning from different perspectives.
What can I use to do this? Students can generate images using Canva’s “Magic Media” app inside a Canva design.
Embracing AI in Education
Incorporating AI-generated images into classroom activities not only modernizes learning but also equips students with relevant skills for the digital age. These activities promote creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. By integrating these strategies, we can create a more engaging and effective learning environment that prepares our students for the future.
