Found on Facebook...

Stop telling ChatGPT to "summarize this."

It's lazy. It's vague. And it gives you fluff.

Use these 7 smarter prompts instead:

1. Summarize this into 3 bullet points someone could repeat after skimming. -> Clarity in seconds

2. Explain this like I'm pitching it to a busy administrator in under 60 seconds. -> Sharp, no wasted words

3. Condense this into an outline with main ideas and supporting details. -> Organized. Instantly useful

4. Turn this into a checklist I can follow step-by-step. -> From theory to action

5. Write the 3 key takeaways as if you were tweeting them for virality. -> Shareable, sticky insights

6. Explain this to a beginner using an analogy they'll remember. -> Simple language = better recall

7. Summarize this into a script I can use to teach a friend in 2 minutes. -> Learning by teaching = mastery

AI as Writing Mentor: Question-Based Rather Than Prompt-Based LLM Assistance 

By Steve Hargadon

In this article,  Mr. Hargadon shows us how AI can step into the role of a mentor—not just for writing, but for nearly anything. It interviews you about a topic you select and transforms into a partner who helps you explore and refine your ideas.  Following is the prompt he used.

Full blog post

Writing Partnership Prompt

Act as my collaborative writing partner. Use a question-driven interview approach to help me refine my thinking. Act like a skilled mentor interviewing me to help me find clarity and focus.

**Process:**

1. Start by asking me ONE open-ended question at a time to clarify:

- The core idea I want to share

- My target audience and desired outcome

- The tone/vibe I'm aiming for

2. Based on my responses, ask follow-up questions to explore:

- Key ideas and their connections

- Supporting details, examples, or stories

- Any specific angles that could make it engaging

3. Only after gathering sufficient context, suggest:

- A clear structure for communicating the idea

- 1-2 specific hooks or angles that would be likely to draw readers in

- An outline with proposed flow

4. Wait for my approval of the outline before offering to draft.

5. As you draft, use my own words and ideas. If I seem stuck, offer gentle prompts drawing on the themes discussed. Give me a chance to correct, rephrase, or revise.

6. Keep our conversation focused and efficient.

7. Conclude by summarizing our plan and asking what I'd like to refine before moving to a draft.

Remember: Ask questions one at a time, and don't rush to propose structure until you understand my vision." 

Back-to-School with MagicSchool

We made this back-to-school guide so you can start the year with clarity, creativity, and AI-powered support. You don't have to do it all alone.

What Is NotebookLM?

NotebookLM is a tool by Google that lets you upload your own materials—like PDFs, Google Docs, web links, YouTube videos (with transcripts), slides, audio files, and more—and interact with them via an AI-powered assistant that summarizes, explains, and answers your queries, all grounded in your content. 

It also offers Audio Overviews, which turn your materials into podcast-style conversations. Perfect for reviewing while you're on the go! 

Getting Started as a Student

1. Access the Tool
   Go to the NotebookLM website or download the mobile app (available for Android and iOS), then sign in with your Google account. 

2. Create Your First Notebook
   Click “Create” and begin uploading your study materials—lecture notes, textbooks, PDFs, Google Docs, slides, URLs, and more. 

3. Explore the Notebook Guide
   On upload, NotebookLM presents a "Notebook Guide" with:

   • An auto-generated summary

   • Suggested questions to probe deeper

   • Quick options to create study guides, outlines, timelines, FAQs, or an audio overview (podcast)

4. Chat and Ask Questions
   Use the chat interface to ask natural language questions like “What are the five main concepts here?” or “Explain this like I'm five.” NotebookLM cites the exact source in your documents.

5. Save Valuable Insights
   If the AI gives a great answer, you can save it to your notes page. There you'll see AI-created notes labeled clearly, alongside anything you manually write

6. Generate Audio Overviews
   One of the standout features—transform your materials into dynamic, two-voice podcast summaries. It’s engaging and easy to digest.

Why Students Love It

• Helps reduce study time—users report it cuts preparation time in half by generating outlines, quizzes, and summaries from textbooks.

• Particularly effective for exam prep—like those studying for certifications.

• Great for auditory learners—podcasts let you absorb material hands-free.

• Strongly grounded—only draws from your uploads, not the internet, so the answers stay factual. 

June 25, 2025

The Thinking Multiplier Method

If you want to learn something quickly using AI, use the Thinking Multiplier Method.

First: "Explain this like I'm in 5th grade"

Next: "Now, explain like I'm in 12th grade"

Further: "Give me the Master's level explanation"

Finally: "Break it down like I'm a PhD student"

Then ask: "What do people who disagree say?" "What are their best arguments?"

This process can increase understanding very quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours. 

June 18, 2025

Create a full week of lessons in 5 minutes with Brisk

Use the Lesson Plan button in Brisk to generate this week's lessons. From there, you can create presentations, quizzes, and more.

Open Brisk in a Google Doc, click Create, then click Lesson Plan.​

Try "Lesson Plan"

Adapt your materials to work for every student.

Automatically translate materials or adjust reading levels to meet students where they are.

Open Brisk on top of your content, then click Change Level.​

Try "Change Level"

Re-engage your students.

Try a Character Chat to bring your lesson to life. Your students can chat with a fictional character in a safe, engaging way.

Open Brisk, click Boost Student Activity, and then click Character Chat.​

Try "Character Chat"

Assess on the fly, without the grading pile.

Create an AI-powered chatbot activity that assesses students' understanding. 

Open Brisk, click Boost Student Activity, click the Assess tab, and then click Pulse Check.

Try "Pulse Check"

May 14, 2025

How I'm Using AI Bots with My Writing Classes

April 7, 2025

Diffit Weekly Resources

Novel & Book Studies

Click “save” to add these book-based resources to your library—then adapt them to fit your lesson plans.

The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Bridge To Terabithia 40th Anniversary Edition By Katherine Paterson

Trending with Teachers Like You

Click “save” to add these trending resources to your library—then adapt them to fit your lesson plans.

Thomas Jefferson, Birth, Death, Contributions, Facts
Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia and was a very smart man who loved to learn.

Ways We Use Wood To Build Housing Structures
People have used wood to build houses for a long time.

Horsheshoe Crabs
Horseshoe crabs are not really crabs, they are more like spiders and scorpions.

Aligned to Arkansas Standards

Click “save” to add these state-aligned resources to your library—or adapt them for your lesson plans.

(AR.10.RC.2.RF) Phones In School
Schools across the US are grappling with the issue of cell phone use, with policies ranging from outright bans to limited use during class time.

(AR.10.RC.3.RF) Franklin D Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States and served from 1933 until his death in 1945.

(AR.10.RC.11.RI) Cell Phone Ban
Cell phone bans in schools are becoming more common due to concerns about their negative impact on student mental health and academic performance.

Get More Resources Like These

4. Understanding my property tax assessment – I just got my 2025 property tax assessment and my taxes went up.  I took a photo of the assessment summary and asked Gemini to analyze it and explain why there was an increase in my tax bill (inflation).

Tip: Install the Gemini or ChatGPT app on your phone so that you can utilize your camera to upload a photo. This feature is now FREE for both services.

5. Edit a PDF – Someone sent me a PDF that I needed to edit. I dropped it into Gemini and it was able to convert the read-only file into an editable Google Doc! The integration of Gemini with Docs, Gmail, and Calendar is a great advantage to using Gemini.

March 4, 2025

Boost Writing Activities with Brisk

You give your students a writing assignment, and then… the questions start rolling in. “What should I write?” “Is this good?” “How do I make it better?”

Now, instead of running from desk to desk, you can give every student a writing coach right inside their Google Docs with Boost Writing Activities!

With Boost Writing Activities:

• Instantly share a writing prompt – each student gets their own copy or a blank document to work in.

• Students brainstorm and write with real-time feedback on planning, drafts, and revisions in the Boost chat.

• Attach a rubric and guide Boost in tailoring its feedback to your criteria.

Start with a Google Doc you already have, a blank one, or even a YouTube video or webpage. However you set it up, Boost is there to guide students while they write, so you can focus on teaching, not troubleshooting.

 ✏️ How to use Brisk Writing Activities:

1. Open the Google Doc, YouTube video, or article you want students to write about, then open Brisk.

2. Click Boost Student Activity, and click on the Write tab.

3. Choose from these writing activities: Writing Coach, Glows & Grows, Next Steps, and Goal Setting.

4. Enter in your specifications and add a rubric if you'd like. Then click Next.

5. Choose what students will see when you share the Boost activity. (Hint: We'll automatically recommend the best option for you!)

6. Then click Brisk It and share with your students!

Try Boost Writing Activities

February 25, 2025

The Latest from MagicSchool

Magic Minute Video Walkthroughs of the Latest Releases in MagicSchool: We launched our largest new suite of features in Enterprise like custom Enterprise tools, RAG-based tools, new student room insights, and MagicSchool Labs (hint: data analysis tool incoming!). Watch this video for the full scoop and read this blog post to learn more about what's new!

February 12, 2025

New in Diffit! Get resources for novels and books.

Diffit now creates resources for novels and chapter books

Search for a book, set the reading level, and instantly generate student-ready activities—all aligned to state standards and tailored for your classroom.

See how it works!

January 24, 2025

Diffit is an AI-powered tool that helps teachers create differentiated learning materials for students. It can adapt reading passages, generate texts, and create comprehension checks. Diffit can be used to support students with different learning needs, including those with IEPs. 

Try these four Diffit activities to bring critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, aka the 4 C’s, into your classroom.

• Critical Thinking: Brace Map: Whole to Parts

• Communication: Discussion Workbook

• Collaboration: Think Pair Share Slides

• Creativity: Comic Strip Recap ⭐️ Free this Month

These are a great way to add variety to station rotations or increase engagement in any lesson. If you’re just getting started, pick one “C” and give it a try!

January 6, 2025

ISTE has some great AI resources for educators. There are practical guides for engaging students in AI creation, a leader's guide to AI and podcasts, blog posts and case studies about AI.  iste.org/ai

December 13, 2024

Brisk Teaching is an essential AI-powered tool for ELA teachers. Its standout feature is the ability to quickly adjust the reading level of articles, PDFs, documents, and more.

In addition to this, Brisk can translate articles, generate quizzes, detect plagiarism, and provide writing examples, making it a versatile resource for reading and writing assignments.

Brisk offers a free version with core features, while advanced tools like rubric generation, IEP support, and grading tools are available through a paid subscription. For district-wide purchases, pricing information isn’t listed on their website, but inquiries are encouraged.

December 12, 2024

Today, we introduce MagicSchool 4.0 - the most powerful version of MagicSchool yet! In this new version, major updates include:

Create and Share Your Own Custom Tools - Change the behavior of tools and save them to your dashboard to better meet your needs as an educator. Watch this quick video or take the new certification course to learn how to create custom tools. Share the tools you've created with others who will benefit from your customizations! Try it now!

Prompt Assistant: Click the "Get Help With Prompt" button when you see it in the platform to improve your prompting to get a better result. Try it out in MagicStudent in the "Custom Chatbot" tool or in the customize section when changing the behavior of a tool. Try it now!

Take the Level 4 Certification Course to Learn about Custom Tools: We've created a new certification course that teachers you all about customizing tools in MagicSchool. Get level 4 certified and take the new course now!