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Curipod
Pros: AI generated content can lessen workload; interactive elements are fun and engaging for students; can be used for many subjects
Cons: AI content is not always useful as is; content banks are a bit hard to navigate; takes a bit to learn how to use it
Bottom Line: With a lot of teacher input, Curipod can be a fun tool to add to any classroom
Curipod allows teachers to add some interactivity into their classroom in a fairly quick and straightforward way; utilizing AI to create topics and questions for discussion.
Teachers can either type in a topic and have Curipod create a series of slides for them with the help of specific generator options (like ones that create discussion questions, drawing prompts, polls, or exit feedback). Teachers can also upload their own slides and have them "Curified", which uses AI to generate ideas for engagement questions.
They can also create their own slides right in Curipod and use AI on individual sections or make up their own questions. The AI can also be used to provide instant feedback to students on their responses in some instances.
These slides are then shown to the students and they can 'login' using a class code and participate in the various activities from their own devices and the results can then be shared with the class and used as a discussion item. The responses are collected and can help teachers review how their students are doing and gather feedback (either anonymously or with names) on their class.
Curipod can help teachers quickly create slides with interactive content to present to their students on just about any topic. The AI is used to take keywords, such as "geology", and a grade level, and turn it into an interactive element depending on what the teacher chooses (polls, exit cards, drawing, discussion).
Overall, the use of AI is a neat feature but doesn't really add too much beyond coming up with different prompts that need to be manipulated. Many of the AI generated responses are basic in what they are asking and oftentimes not appropriate for the grade level being requested (they were either too difficult or too easy), and so it requires significant teacher editing and input to make them useful for the class. Many of the photos don’t align with the text, and can make for awkward or flat out inaccurate juxtapositions (e.g. a slide detailing Swahili culture with a photo from the Civil Rights movement).
Where it does excel is at letting teachers make their slides more interactive, either by creating them right on the website, or by uploading their own slides to the site. They can then add in various activities to engage their students with the content.
The real strength of Curipod is not in the AI components but instead in the ability to add interactive elements to slides and engage students in a game style (similar to Kahoot!). This allows teachers to add an element of fun to reviews, collect feedback from their class on how things are going, answer questions using polls, and more; creating a more social and engaged atmosphere for the class.
In addition, Curipod allows students to be assigned a nickname (some of which were a little odd - like "eating iphone") or the teacher can force students to use their real name (good for collecting anonymous feedback vs evaluating individual students). There is also an option to moderate responses before sharing them with the class, which is especially useful if the draw feature is chosen.
With heavy teacher input and focus, Curipod can be a good tool to add to a classroom and can encourage students to engage with the content in different ways. However, overuse of the tool may cause student burnout and disengagement. And the fact that feedback responses are AI generated can give students the sense the teacher is not engaging with them over time. When used thoughtfully though, it can be a useful tool for teachers looking to get student’s attention.