7 ways to use ChatGPT’s new image AI — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan
Transform your ideas into strong visuals
7 ways to use ChatGPT’s new image AI
- Cartoons
- Infographics
- Posters
- …plus several more
On 03/21/2025,
in communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, curriculum, education, educational games / serious games, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, ethics, journalism, K-12 related, languages and translation, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, media/film, morals/values, pedagogy, skills, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, teachers, teaching & learning, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Cultivating Speaking and Listening Skills in the Primary Grades — from edutopia.org by Rachel Scheer
Early elementary teachers can use these strategies to help students improve their oral communication skills.
The good news? There are many engaging and effective strategies to develop these interpersonal skills, and most are easy to incorporate into daily classroom routines. I use the strategies below to directly teach, model, and practice these essential communication skills at a developmentally appropriate level: turn-taking, small group speaking and listening, whole group speaking and listening, and accountable talk.
From DSC:
I love the parts about practicing how to LISTEN. We need more of that in our communications with one another…as well as when we are praying to God.
Teaching Students About Corporate Influences in a Curriculum — from edutopia.org by Elaine Alvey
By uncovering any hidden interests in a curriculum, teachers can open important discussions about media literacy with students.
These instances underscore the need for educators to be vigilant in vetting materials, recognizing that even seemingly reputable sources can harbor hidden agendas, necessitating a robust approach to media and information literacy both for ourselves and for students.
How to Spot Corporate Influences in Your Curriculum
So, how do we, as educators, navigate this minefield? Media literacy strategies offer important tools to equip ourselves and our students to analyze information landscapes intentionally, including the curricular resources we evaluate for use in our classrooms.
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From DSC:
I would encourage you to take a look at the work my sister Sue Ellen Christian has been doing re: media literacy, news literacy, and more. She created the Wonder Media website to discuss those topics. Plus she collaborated with several other people and organizations to develop a large, professionally-done exhibit re: these important topics.
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Boosting Engagement in World Language Classes With Games — from edutopia.org by Rachelle Dené Poth
Middle school teachers can use a variety of tech and no-tech games to help students build skills in the target language.
As a world language educator, I’ve always sought innovative ways to engage my students through meaningful learning experiences as they build their language skills. One way we do this is through gameplay. The benefits of games go far beyond simply learning and increased retention of vocabulary or grammar. Games can also foster collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills, making learning fun for students.
How Administrators Can Respond—Instead of React—in Tough Situations — from edutopia.org by Jessica Cabeen
These strategies can help school leaders stay self-regulated in the middle of frustrating and stressful moments.
Conversations That Might Be Better Left for Later
Not every conversation needs to happen in the heat of the moment. Some of the most productive conversations happen after we’ve given ourselves time to regulate. Here are a few categories of conversations that might benefit from a pause:
- Difficult feedback conversations. If emotions are running high, it might be best to wait until you can approach the discussion with clarity and empathy. A rushed or reactive conversation can shut down dialogue rather than encourage growth.
- Conflict resolution. When two parties are upset, stepping in immediately to mediate can sometimes escalate tensions. A brief pause allows for perspective-taking and a calmer, solution-oriented approach.
- Big-picture decisions. When stress is high, it’s easy to make decisions based on immediate pressures rather than long-term goals. Giving yourself space to step back ensures that decisions align with your leadership vision.
- Personal or emotional responses. If you feel personally triggered by a comment, criticism, or situation, take time to process before responding. Self-awareness in these moments can prevent regretful words or actions.
So the next time frustration creeps in, take a breath. Pause before you speak, type, or react. Because more often than not, the best response isn’t the fastest one—it’s the one that comes from a place of clarity, patience, and purpose.
On 02/20/2025,
in 21st century, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, ethics, future, game-changing environment, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, new business models, trends, United States, vendors, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
5 Legal Tech Trends Set to Impact Law Firms in 2025 — from programminginsider.com by Marc Berman
The legal industry is experiencing swift changes, with technology becoming an ever more crucial factor in its evolution. As law firms respond to shifting client demands and regulatory changes, the pace of change is accelerating. Embracing legal tech is no longer just an advantage; it’s a necessity.
According to a Forbes report, 66% of legal leaders acknowledge this trend and intend to boost their investments in legal tech moving forward. From artificial intelligence streamlining workflows to cloud computing enabling globalized legal services, the legal landscape is undergoing a digital revolution.
In this article, we’ll explore five key legal tech trends that will define how law firms operate in 2025.
GenAI, Legal Ops, and The Future of Law Firms: A Wake-Up Call? — from echlawcrossroads.com by Stephen Embry
A new study from the Blickstein Group reveals some distributing trends for law firms that represent businesses, particularly large ones. The Study is entitled Legal Service Delivery in the Age of AI. The Study was done jointly by FTI Technologies, a consulting group, and Blickstein. It looks at law department legal operations.
The Findings
GenAI Use by Legal Ops Personnel
The responses reflect a bullish view of what GenAI can do in the legal marketplace but also demonstrate GenAi has a ways to go:
- Almost 80% of the respondents think that GenAI will become an “essential part of the legal profession.
- 81% believe GenAi will drive improved efficiencies
- Despite this belief, only some 30% have plans to purchase GenAI tools. For 81%, the primary reason for obtaining and using GenAI tools is the efficiencies these tools bring.
- 52% say their GenAI strategy is not as sophisticated as they would like or nonexistent.
The biggest barrier to the use of GenAI among the legal ops professions is cost and security concerns and the lack of skilled personnel available to them.
Voting Is Closed, Results Are In: Here are the 15 Legal Tech Startups Selected for the 2025 Startup Alley at ABA TECHSHOW — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi
Voting has now closed and your votes have been tallied to pick the 15 legal tech startups that will get to participate as finalists in the ninth-annual Startup Alley at ABA TECHSHOW 2025, taking place April 2-5 in Chicago.
These 15 finalists will face off in an opening-night pitch competition that is the opening event of TECHSHOW, with the conference’s attendees voting at the conclusion of the pitches to pick the top winners.
Balancing innovation and ethics: Applying generative AI in legal work — from legal.thomsonreuters.com
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has brought a new wave of opportunities to the legal profession, opening doors to greater efficiency and innovation. Its rapid development has also raised questions about its integration within the legal industry. As legal professionals are presented with more options for adopting new technologies, they now face the important task of understanding how GenAI can be seamlessly — and ethically — incorporated into their daily operations.
Emerging Trends in Court Reporting for 2025: Legal Technology and Advantages for Law Firms — from jdsupra.com
The court reporting industry is evolving rapidly, propelled by technological advancements and the increasing demand for efficiency in the legal sector. For 2025, trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), real-time transcription technologies, and data-driven tools are reshaping how legal professionals work. Here’s an overview of these emerging trends and five reasons law firms should embrace these advancements.
On 02/20/2025,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, colleges, communications, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, e-readers, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, languages and translation, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, legislatures / government / legal, liberal arts, mathematics, multimedia, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, research, STEAM-related, student-related, teachers, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
AI in K12: Today’s Breakthroughs and Tomorrow’s Possibilities (webinar)
How AI is Transforming Classrooms Today and What’s Next
Audio-Based Learning 4.0 — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
A new & powerful way to leverage AI for learning?
At the end of all of this my reflection is that the research paints a pretty exciting picture – audio-based learning isn’t just effective, it’s got some unique superpowers when it comes to boosting comprehension, ramping up engagement, and delivering feedback that really connects with learners.
While audio has been massively under-used as a mode of learning, especially compared to video and text, we’re at an interesting turning point where AI tools are making it easier than ever to tap into audio’s potential as a pedagogical tool.
What’s super interesting is how the solid research backing audio’s effectiveness is and how well this is converging with these new AI capabilities.
From DSC:
I’ve noticed that I don’t learn as well via audio-only based events. It can help if visuals are also provided, but I have to watch the cognitive loads. My processing can start to get overloaded — to the point that I have to close my eyes and just listen sometimes. But there are people I know who love to listen to audiobooks and prefer to learn that way. They can devour content and process/remember it all. Audio is a nice change of pace at times, but I prefer visuals and reading often times. It needs to be absolutely quiet if I’m tackling some new information/learning.
In Conversation With… Ashton Cousineau — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
A new video series exploring how L&D professionals are working with AI on the ground
The Learning Research Digest vol. 28 — from learningsciencedigest.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
Hot Off the Research Press This Month:
- AI-Infused Learning Design – A structured approach to AI-enhanced assignments using a three-step model for AI integration.
- Mathematical Dance and Creativity in STEAM – Using AI-powered motion capture to translate dance movements into mathematical models.
- AI-Generated Instructional Videos – How adaptive AI-powered video learning enhances problem-solving and knowledge retention.
- Immersive Language Learning with XR & AI – A new framework for integrating AI-driven conversational agents with Extended Reality (XR) for task-based language learning.
- Decision-Making in Learning Design – A scoping review on how instructional designers navigate complex instructional choices and make data-driven decisions.
- Interactive E-Books and Engagement – Examining the impact of interactive digital books on student motivation, comprehension, and cognitive engagement.
- Elevating Practitioner Voices in Instructional Design – A new initiative to amplify instructional designers’ contributions to research and innovation.
Deep Reasoning, Agentic AI & the Continued Rise of Specialised AI Research & Tools for Education — from learningfuturesdigest.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
Here’s a quick teaser of key developments in the world of AI & learning this month:
- DeepSeek R-1, OpenAI’s Deep Seek & Perplexity’s ‘Deep Research’ are the latest additions to a growing number of “reasoning models” with interesting implications for evidence-based learning design & development.
- The U.S. Education Dept release an AI Toolkit and a fresh policy roadmap enabling the adoption of AI use in schools.
- Anthropic Release “Agentic Claude”, another AI agent that clicks, scrolls, and can even successfully complete e-learning courses…
- Oxford University Announce the AIEOU Hub, a research-backed research lab to support research and implementation on AI in education.
- “AI Agents Everywhere”: A Forbes peek at how agentic AI will handle the “boring bits” of classroom life.
- [Bias klaxon!] Epiphany AI: My own research leads to the creation of a specialised, “pedagogy first” AI co-pilot for instructional design marking the continued growth of specialised AI tools designed for specific industries and workflows.
AI is the Perfect Teaching Assistant for Any Educator — from unite.ai by Navi Azaria, CPO at Kaltura
Through my work with leading educational institutions at Kaltura, I’ve seen firsthand how AI agents are rapidly becoming indispensable. These agents alleviate the mounting burdens on educators and provide new generations of tech-savvy students with accessible, personalized learning, giving teachers the support they need to give their students the personalized attention and engagement they deserve.
Learning HQ — from ai-disruptor-hq.notion.site
This HQ includes all of my AI guides, organized by tool/platform. This list is updated each time a new one is released, and outdated guides are removed/replaced over time.
How AI Is Reshaping Teachers’ Jobs — from edweek.org
Artificial intelligence is poised to fundamentally change the job of teaching. AI-powered tools can shave hours off the amount of time teachers spend grading, lesson-planning, and creating materials. AI can also enrich the lessons they deliver in the classroom and help them meet the varied needs of all students. And it can even help bolster teachers’ own professional growth and development.
Despite all the promise of AI, though, experts still urge caution as the technology continues to evolve. Ethical questions and practical concerns are bubbling to the surface, and not all teachers feel prepared to effectively and safely use AI.
In this special report, see how early-adopter teachers are using AI tools to transform their daily work, tackle some of the roadblocks to expanded use of the technology, and understand what’s on the horizon for the teaching profession in the age of artificial intelligence.
On 01/21/2025,
in Amazon, business, career development, collaboration, communications, community colleges, higher education, instructional design, leadership, learning ecosystem, skills, society, strategy, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
A Community College’s Guide to Building Strong Partnerships — from eddesignlab.org
This November 2024 guidebook offers higher education practitioners actionable strategies for building and sustaining partnerships that both meet regional needs and support students, families, and communities. This work was based on the design and delivery of dual enrollment pathways as part of the Lab’s Designers in Residence 2.0: Accelerating Pathways project.
…
The practices and case studies shared here are informed by higher education leaders across six community colleges as part of the Lab’s Designers in Residence program.
We have organized the guidebook based on core elements of a strong partnerships strategy, alongside how to establish a strong foundation and sustain and maintain the partnerships you’ve built. Through our research, we’ve identified four key elements of strong partnerships:
+ Communication and collaboration
+ Shared vision
+ Adaptive and responsive
+ Action-oriented
You will find guiding questions, tools, and case studies within each of the four elements.
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Also from The Education Design Lab:
- Skills Validation Guidebook: 10 Steps to Design a High-Quality Skills Validator
The Skills Validation Guidebook (October 2024) aims to inform + empower designers of skill validators, such as educators, instructional designers, and hiring managers, to support stakeholders in the skills-based ecosystem.
On 12/29/2024,
in 21st century, adjunct faculty, adult learning, business, collaboration, colleges, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, curriculum, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital video, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, experimentation, faculty/staff, global / globalization, graphics, higher education, ideas, internet, journalism, K-12 related, liberal arts, library / librarians, media/film, Michigan, multimedia, music, new media literacies, online media, parents/guardians, platforms, podcasting, political science, reading, skills, social learning / networks, social media, society, sociology, story, student-related, teachers, technologies for your home, TVs, United States, universities, vendors, writing, youth,
by Daniel Christian
Introducing the 2025 Wonder Media Calendar for tweens, teens, and their families/households. Designed by Sue Ellen Christian and her students in her Global Media Literacy class (in the fall 2024 semester at Western Michigan University), the calendar’s purpose is to help people create a new year filled with skills and smart decisions about their media use. This calendar is part of the ongoing Wonder Media Library.com project that includes videos, lesson plans, games, songs and more. The website is funded by a generous grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in partnership with Western Michigan University and the Library of Michigan.
On 12/09/2024,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Adobe, analytics, art, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, communications, communities of practice, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, data related items, design, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, Google, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, legislatures / government / legal, marketing/social marketing, media/film, Microsoft, multimedia, music, Natural Language Processing (NLP), new media literacies, NVIDIA, online media, Open AI, platforms, podcasting, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, programming, skills, social media, strategy, student-related, technologies for your home, technology (general), tools, United States, vendors, videoconferencing, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Where to start with AI agents: An introduction for COOs — from fortune.com by Ganesh Ayyar
Picture your enterprise as a living ecosystem, where surging market demand instantly informs staffing decisions, where a new vendor’s onboarding optimizes your emissions metrics, where rising customer engagement reveals product opportunities. Now imagine if your systems could see these connections too! This is the promise of AI agents — an intelligent network that thinks, learns, and works across your entire enterprise.
Today, organizations operate in artificial silos. Tomorrow, they could be fluid and responsive. The transformation has already begun. The question is: will your company lead it?
The journey to agent-enabled operations starts with clarity on business objectives. Leaders should begin by mapping their business’s critical processes. The most pressing opportunities often lie where cross-functional handoffs create friction or where high-value activities are slowed by system fragmentation. These pain points become the natural starting points for your agent deployment strategy.
Create podcasts in minutes — from elevenlabs.io by Eleven Labs
Now anyone can be a podcast producer
Top AI tools for business — from theneuron.ai
This week in AI: 3D from images, video tools, and more — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper
From 3D worlds to consistent characters, explore this week’s AI trends
Another busy AI news week, so I organized it into categories:
- Image to 3D
- AI Video
- AI Image Models & Tools
- AI Assistants / LLMs
- AI Creative Workflow: Luma AI Boards
Want to speak Italian? Microsoft AI can make it sound like you do. — this is a gifted article from The Washington Post;
A new AI-powered interpreter is expected to simulate speakers’ voices in different languages during Microsoft Teams meetings.
Artificial intelligence has already proved that it can sound like a human, impersonate individuals and even produce recordings of someone speaking different languages. Now, a new feature from Microsoft will allow video meeting attendees to hear speakers “talk” in a different language with help from AI.
What Is Agentic AI? — from blogs.nvidia.com by Erik Pounds
Agentic AI uses sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning to autonomously solve complex, multi-step problems.
The next frontier of artificial intelligence is agentic AI, which uses sophisticated reasoning and iterative planning to autonomously solve complex, multi-step problems. And it’s set to enhance productivity and operations across industries.
Agentic AI systems ingest vast amounts of data from multiple sources to independently analyze challenges, develop strategies and execute tasks like supply chain optimization, cybersecurity vulnerability analysis and helping doctors with time-consuming tasks.
On 12/05/2024,
in business, career development, colleges, communications, community colleges, corporate / business world, education, higher education, ideas, K-12 related, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, skills, social learning / networks, strategy, student-related, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, workplace, youth,
by Daniel Christian
What We Talk about When We Talk about Networking — from michelleweise.substack.com by Dr. Michelle Weise, Julia Freeland Fisher, and Nitzan Pelman
Networking, Social Capital & the Goldilocks Ask
I recently had a chance to sit down with Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of Education at the Christensen Institute, and Nitzan Pelman, CEO of Climb Together and founder of Climb Hire, for a live CGN webinar on tapping into our networks (some of you may recall, I wrote about these two phenomenal women in my post, “Who You Know … A Little Bit: The Power of Weak Ties”).
I love getting to learn from their constantly evolving thinking on cultivating and mobilizing social capital. And in this episode, we get super tactical on the how-to’s of networking for young people.
From DSC:
Tell your kids or grandkids to watch this. I didn’t have a CLUE about networking when I graduated from high school — and even from college. It took me years to get an accurate understanding of the place and power of networking. And that it’s not all about looking out for #1 and taking from/manipulating/exploiting others. But it’s about sharing resources, learning and connecting with others, helping others connect with relevant others, and more.
I hope that we can produce more items like this to help the next generation get started and navigate their careers.