Creativity and Edu Innovation: AI & Digitization for Problem Solving in Your Classroom

I’ve been building widgets lately. Not the shiny, complicated ones that only a seasoned developer could love—but classroom-ready tools that help my students see ideas more clearly and interact with their learning. I call this work “vibe coding,” but the name isn’t mine. It comes from a broader movement—one that’s quietly reshaping how non-developers like us can design educational technology with AI assistance. In a recent article on Medium, Niall McNulty defines vibe coding as the practice of describing what you want in natural language while AI handles the bulk of the programming work. The term, originally sparked by AI pioneer Andrej Karpathy, is elegant: let users in this case teachers, focus on the what and the why, and let AI carry more of the how. Why Vibe Coding Matters for Us As teachers and instructional designers, we’ve long had ideas for tools that could help our learners—interactive maps, click-and-drag sorters, animated quizzes, or self-grading checklists—but we’ve often b...

AI and the Joy of Discovery  "The algorithm isn't the enemy, it's a tool! A powerful one, if we know how to wield it." I found myself saying this more often than not, whether in a lecture hall packed with future educators or a virtual meeting spanning continents.  I've always been fascinated by the 'how' – how technology reshapes learning, how we cultivate creativity in a world increasingly driven by data, how we bridge the digital divide to ensure everyone has a seat at the innovation table.   The Creative Spark in the Age of AI Imagine you have a super-smart computer friend who can help you solve tricky problems and come up with amazing ideas. That's AI! It's not just robots from movies; it's a powerful tool that's changing how we learn and create. Today, we're going to explore how AI can be our creative partner in the classroom and beyond. AI: Your Creative Partner in Discovery AI isn't about replacing our brains; it's a...