Learning in Hand Issue 26

Issue 26 • Date January 15, 2025

Last week, I had the pleasure of leading a professional learning session at an elementary school where, for many teachers, it was their first introduction to AI.

The principal asked me to demonstrate how AI could help address their school improvement plan goals, which center on removing barriers to achievement. I introduced AI as a teacher’s “sidekick” and described the session like this:

“Team up with AI in 2025 and discover how it can help you offer engaging instructional options, create personalized activities, and lighten your workload. Bring your Chromebook and join forces with three AI tools: Magic School, Gemini, and Brisk Teaching.”

A man stands in a classroom in front of a large screen showing a cartoon of a robot and a woman.

Supportive Sidekicks 👊

By framing AI tools as sidekicks, teachers remain the central figures and experts in the learning process. When teachers “join forces” with AI, they benefit from a supportive partner that helps brainstorm ideas, create resources, and produce personalized learning experiences.

Below is a graphic featuring the sidekicks I introduced in my presentation.

In the end, most participants were drawn to Brisk Teaching—a free Chrome extension that can handle a variety of tasks for teachers and automatically insert the output into Google Docs, Slides, or Forms.

This issue of Learning in Hand Newsletter is sponsored by TeachAid. Thanks TeachAid!

Introducing TeachAid 2.0: A Massive Leap in AI for Education

Introducing TeachAid 2.0: A Massive Leap in AI for Education

TeachAid has rebuilt its AI platform from the ground up to offer the ultimate all-in-one curricular solution: expertly crafted unit and lesson plans, visually engaging presentations, adaptive activities, and final assessments designed for real student choice.

With this leap forward, we’re excited to unveil three innovative features that set TeachAid 2.0 apart:

🚀 Interactive Classroom: Energize your teaching with real-time tools that foster dynamic, engaging lessons.

🎙️ Student Participation Tools: Amplify every student’s voice with features that drive creativity, collaboration, and meaningful contributions.

🎮 Interactive Assignments & Activities: Transform learning with personalized, hands-on tasks that resonate with every learner.

TeachAid 2.0 isn’t just a platform; it’s the most significant advancement in how AI empowers educators and engages students. Built to save time, improve outcomes, and inspire excellence, it’s the leap forward the education world has been waiting for.

Sign up now to experience TeachAid and discover how AI is reshaping education for the better.

Nadeem Aljaber,
Founder @ TeachAid

Graphics Guidance 🎨

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) images can be resized and edited without losing quality because they consist of mathematical paths—such as points, lines, and curves—rather than pixels. This enables SVGs to maintain sharpness and clarity at any size and makes them customizable by adjusting properties like color, stroke, and shape.

Letters S, V, and G filled with different colors and containing anchor points, as if they could be edited.

You can search for SVGs on websites like Pixabay and FreeSVG.org, both of which offer free vector image downloads. The Noun Project is another great source for SVGs, and their images can be used for free with proper attribution.

SVG images can be inserted into PowerPoint, Keynote, and Canva. However, Google Slides does not support direct SVG uploads and will return an error if you try.

I enjoy using SVGs in my documents because I can easily change their colors to match my design.

Editing SVGs in PowerPoint: After inserting an SVG into a PowerPoint slide, click the "Convert to Shape" button under the Graphic Format tab. Once converted, you can click individual shapes within the image to change the fill color. Since SVGs are often grouped, you may need to ungroup or double-click to select specific shapes.

Editing SVGs in Keynote (Mac): After adding an SVG to a slide, right-click the image and select "Break Apart." Then, right-click again and choose "Ungroup." This allows you to select individual shapes within the image.

Editing SVGs in Keynote (iPad): After inserting an SVG, tap the Format menu and, under the Arrange tab, tap "Break Apart." Then, tap "Ungroup." You can now select individual shapes within the image and adjust their colors in the Style tab of the Format panel. Be aware that some SVGs with many components may not break apart completely in Keynote.

Editing SVGs in Canva: When you add an SVG to a Canva design, the image’s colors appear as swatches in the top toolbar. Clicking a swatch opens the Color side panel, where you can change the color. However, some complex SVGs with multiple colors may not be editable in Canva and no color swatches will appear.

Workaround for SVGs in Google Slides: Although Google Slides doesn’t support direct SVG uploads, you can use a workaround. Follow the steps for editing SVGs in PowerPoint or Keynote, ensuring you convert them to shapes or break them apart. Save the presentation as a PPTX file and upload it to Google Drive. When opened in Google Slides, the SVG will remain editable.

SVG images not only display crisp and clear, but they also allow for easy color adjustments to fit your design. I use this feature frequently with QR codes. I generate QR codes at goqr.me and download them as SVGs. When I insert them into my presentation, I can adjust the foreground and background colors directly in the app I’m using instead of generating a new image.

Search for Symmetry 🪞

I recently saw a physical puzzle with pieces that look like the letters Y, E, and S. The puzzle is available as a 3D printer file. The pieces can be arranged to form a shape that is symmetrical.

Screenshots of the 4 slides of the YES puzzle template

It’s somewhat easy to form a shape that is symmetrical using the Y and E since those shapes already have lines of symmetry. But adding in the S shape makes this puzzle a real challenge.

I recreated the puzzle in Google Slides and PowerPoint. The first two slides introduce the puzzle, and the puzzle with movable pieces is on Slide 3. Use it as a part of a symmetry lesson or as a brain break. Be warned: it’s easy to want to give up, but there really is a solution.

The solution is on Slide 4 and can be revealed by deleting the rectangle that covers the answer. Teachers may want to delete Slide 4 before sending a copy to their students to control when the solution is revealed to the class.

Want to bookmark this? Open the post on the Learning in Hand website.

Background Beats 🎶

Download free, copyright-friendly music from the YouTube Audio Library. There are thousands of tracks that are perfect for background music, and new songs are added periodically—20 have already been added this month.

Most tracks in the library require no attribution; however, some do require credit in your video’s description.

The YouTube Audio Library is my go-to source for music in my videos and presentations.

Spacebar Speedup 💨

Speed things up when watching YouTube on a computer! Hold down the spacebar while watching YouTube to play at 2x speed. Let go, and it’s back to normal.

I accidentally discovered this shortcut, and it’s now one of my favorite time-savers. It’s great for skimming through repetitive parts—like intros or long transitions—without adjusting playback settings. Whether you’re previewing content or watching tutorials, it’s an easy way to move through videos more efficiently.

Cartoon image of a finger touching a laptop's spacebar

Image generated with Ideogram

Thanks for joining me on this educational and technological journey! A special thanks to TeachAid for sponsoring this issue. If you haven’t signed up yet, give it a try—there’s so much you can do with a free account.

Smiles from Iowa,
Tony

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Al was used to revise some of the text in this newsletter. AI was also used to generate alliterative section headings.