Yesterday, I led a professional development session on AI for a group of elementary teachers. At the end, a reading specialist asked if there was a way to generate presentations using AI tools. The short answer is yes. Continue reading to find out how.
There are a few AI tools that can help with this task. I’ll demonstrate two: Plus AI for Google Slides and the ChatGPT add-on for Microsoft PowerPoint.
Generating a Presentation Using Plus AI for Google Slides
Step 1: Start with ChatGPT to generate the content outline for the presentation. I typed in the following prompt:
I’m an elementary school literacy specialist. I want to educate the K-5 teachers in my school about the science of reading. Create the content for a PowerPoint presentation comparing and contrasting the science of reading with balanced literacy (See below).
ChatGPT’s Output: A Presentation Outline
Below is the output that ChatGPT generated in response to the prompt. Note that it isn’t very comprehensive and, in many places, it gives me directions for fleshing out the content. For example, on slide 1 it indicates that I should provide a brief overview of the importance of literacy instruction in elementary education, but leaves the work of crafting that to me. I could probably prompt it further to elaborate, but I’m going to do something else, instead. Keep reading.
- Title: Understanding Literacy Instruction: Science of Reading vs. Balanced Literacy
- Subtitle: Empowering Teachers for Effective Literacy Instruction in K-5
Slide 1: Introduction
- Welcome and Introduction
- Brief overview of the importance of literacy instruction in elementary education
Slide 2: Goals of Literacy Instruction
- Science of Reading:
- Focus on systematic, explicit phonics instruction
- Emphasis on decoding skills and phonemic awareness
- Balanced Literacy:
- Integrates various approaches, including whole language and phonics
- Aims for a holistic development of reading skills
Slide 3: Foundations of Science of Reading
- Phonological awareness: Recognizing and manipulating sounds
- Phonics: Understanding the relationship between letters and sounds
- Fluency: Reading with accuracy, speed, and expression
- Vocabulary: Building a strong word knowledge base
- Comprehension: Understanding and interpreting text
Slide 4: Foundations of Balanced Literacy
- Whole Language: Emphasizes meaning-making through exposure to complete texts
- Phonics: Incorporates phonics as one component of instruction
- Vocabulary: Contextual learning and exposure to diverse texts
- Comprehension: Focuses on understanding through various strategies
Slide 5: Key Differences
- Science of Reading:
- Systematic and explicit phonics instruction
- Skill-focused approach
- Balanced Literacy:
- Holistic, integrated approach
- Emphasis on meaning and comprehension
Slide 6: Common Ground
- Both approaches value reading as a complex process
- Emphasis on fostering a love for reading
- Incorporating a range of reading materials
Slide 7: Research Support for Science of Reading
- Highlight key research studies supporting the effectiveness of systematic phonics instruction
- Showcase data and outcomes demonstrating positive effects on literacy skills
Slide 8: Criticisms and Challenges of Balanced Literacy
- Limited focus on phonics instruction
- Concerns about inconsistency in teaching methods
- Critiques related to potential gaps in decoding skills
Slide 9: Implementing Science of Reading in the Classroom
- Provide resources and examples of effective instructional strategies
- Discuss professional development opportunities for teachers
- Highlight success stories from classrooms that have embraced the science of reading
Slide 10: Strategies for Balancing Literacy Approaches
- Suggest ways to integrate science of reading principles within a balanced literacy framework
- Emphasize the importance of combining phonics instruction with meaningful reading experiences
Slide 11: Professional Development Opportunities
- Science of Reading:
- Online courses, workshops, and conferences
- Balanced Literacy:
- Collaboration with literacy coaches, peer observations, and book studies
Slide 12: Conclusion
- Recap key points
- Emphasize the importance of informed and flexible literacy instruction
- Encourage ongoing professional development and collaboration
End the presentation with a thank you and an invitation for continued collaboration and learning.
Fleshing out the Outline using Bing Chat
ChatGPT gave me the bones of the presentation, but I might not want to or have time to do the work of defining terms, writing overviews, locating statistics and resources, etc. So…
Step 2: Paste the outline into Bing’s Chat with a prompt like this:
Help me turn this outline into content for a PowerPoint presentation. Include statistics and research studies to support claims made.
Here is an excerpt of Bing’s output. Note the footnotes and hyperlinks, which should take me to the corresponding source – though they don’t always, which is why it’s important to check every link.
Using Plus AI to turn Text into Google Slides
Step 3: Go to Google Workspace Marketplace and search for Plus AI for Google Slides. Click “Install.” Then, open Google Slides and create a new presentation.
Text to Presentation using Plus AI for Google Slides
Step 4: In the tool bar, select “Extensions” -> “Plus AI for Google Slides” -> “New Presentation with Plus AI.”
Step 5: Copy the content generated by Bing’s Chat (Copilot) and paste it into the text field. You’re limited to 5,000 words here, so you may have to cut some of the content and add it back, later.
Step 6: Choose a theme and then sit back and wait for Google to generate the presentation.
Step 7: Review your slides, add/edit content, consider and then delete “Plus Tips.”
Text to Presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint ChatGPT Integration
Microsoft’s ChatGPT Integration is less sophisticated. At only 250 words, the maximum input is just a fraction of AI Plus’ 5,000 words. Rather than pasting an entire outline of your slides, this forces presenters to type in the topic of their talk.
Here, I’m accessing PowerPoint through my browser.
Step 1: In the tool bar, I selected “Add-Ons” and then the first option in the drop-down, which is “ChatGPT for PowerPoint.”
Step 2: This activates the add-on, which appears to the right of the title slide. In the field that says “Presentation Topic,” I entered “The Science of Reading versus the Balanced Literacy Approach.” Then input 10 in the “Number of Slides” field and clicked “Create Slides.”
Step 3: Just like with Plus AI, check the output for inaccuracies. Make changes where needed.
Takeaways
So, yes, there are many AI tools that can assist with presentations. This post focused on ways to generate the content and then the slides from it. There are plenty of other tools that can help with the design aspect. One thing that is always important to keep in mind when using AI tools is that they is prone to hallucinate, or produce inaccurate (though seemingly plausible) information. All output has to be fact-checked carefully – rather than copied and pasted blindly from one tool to another (which is what I did in this experiment!)
How do you think these AI tools did?? Have you tried any others?
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