When will Book Creator have AI in it?

Over the last year, several of our trusted partners, valued customers and cherished teachers have asked us, “When will Book Creator have AI in it?”.

It seems to be coming up more and more in conversations, so I thought it would be helpful to share with our community how we approach product development and what we are thinking about AI (artificial intelligence).

Book Creator's approach to product development

Before we get onto AI in Book Creator (spoiler alert: Book Creator already has AI in it!), let's talk about our approach to product development.

We are constantly improving our product, its features, and the tools, resources and support that we provide to teachers and administrators to enhance the way we deliver on our mission: to empower students of all ages and abilities to actively engage in the joy of learning.

We pride ourselves on listening to teachers, administrators, all our staff members, and, of course, students. From this, we have an endless list of amazing, impactful product improvement ideas (they actually get posted directly into our Slack channel on a daily basis).

Armed with excellent ideas and new technologies, our guiding principles when we consider new product features include:

• Mission serving: does it enable us to better serve students, their teachers and school administrators, and their families?
• Pedagogy first: does it have a clear pedagogical function, putting research-based pedagogy ahead of technology?
• Fun, without distraction: will it light up a student’s face, hooking them into the learning activity, without distracting them from the learning objective?
• Inclusive: does it support every student, helping to level the playing field?
• Safe: can we do it in a way that ensures the safety and privacy of our students and teachers?
• Simple: can we do it in a way that keeps Book Creator simple for teachers and students?

When is AI coming to Book Creator?

So now you know our approach to product development, let's turn to AI in Book Creator.

There is a lot of excitement about AI right now, driven by the rapid adoption and development of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT.

Suddenly everyone is talking about the future of education with AI in it. But many people don’t realize that AI has already been around for many years, in lots of the software you already use.

And actually... that includes Book Creator - starting all the way back in 2016 when we launched Read to Me (our text to speech reading tool).

Here are some of the other ways we use AI in Book Creator:

Speech to text

Integrated into our iPad app in 2017 and expanded to include 120 languages in 2020, this tool enables emerging and struggling writers or typers to “write with your face(!)”.

Did you know you can also use speech to text to search for things in Book Creator (like shapes or images)?

AutoDraw

Launched in 2019, this magical tool is both fun and inclusive, enabling anyone to be an artist. Start drawing, and AI takes over to guess what it is you're trying to draw.

Video captions

Added in our huge accessibility upgrade in 2020 and available in 120 languages — the ability to auto-generate video captions supports the deaf and hard of hearing as well as language learners.

Transcripts for audio

Similar to video captions, we also use AI to instantly auto-generate transcripts for any audio hotspots you record (in multiple languages, too). And in 2024 we gave this feature a massive upgrade with...

Translations

This enhancement allows teachers and students to translate text, audio, video captions and whole books! Teachers and schools supporting multilingual learners, and multilingual families, love this new feature, which is made possible by advancements in AI.

And coming soon...

Watch this space for a couple of fantastic new feature updates that will arrive soon - both use AI and involve images... 👀

So, what's next for AI in Book Creator?

As you can see, there are numerous ways in which Book Creator has deployed AI to good effect in recent years.

However, we understand that this field is currently progressing at light speed - and now when people ask us "when will there be AI in Book Creator" they are most likely referring to 'generative AI' - the ability to produce text, images, and AI responses.

So let's consider this question - would adding generative AI to Book Creator right now fit our guiding principles of product development?

This is a question we're still thinking deeply about. It's true that many of the new uses of AI align strongly with our values and mission, particularly those which address variability in student learning and improving equity and inclusivity in education. We'd also love to find more ways for Book Creator to improve the educational experience as well as saving teachers time.

Education is changing

Improving the educational experience involves us taking a step back and observing how AI is going to change education. We must ask ourselves what skills and competencies students will need, to prepare for a future where AI will do so many of the things we are currently teaching students to do (write, code, math, etc.).

At Book Creator we've always tried to foster future-ready skills (the 6Cs - Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Communication, Citizenship and Character). These are going to become even more important in the world of AI. How can we do even better at supporting teachers to develop these skills in their learners?

What does our community think?

As always, we are actively engaging with teachers and administrators about what role AI could play in improving Book Creator. While most of our district partners believe there are significant benefits to be had from AI, there are still big concerns about student safety and data privacy.

Many educators are turning to Book Creator as a safe place for their students to create content, for authentic and meaningful projects, or to embrace lifelong, AI-proof learning with digital portfolios. Creating portfolios with students empowers them to demonstrate not only the artifacts of their learning, but also the process of learning - reflecting on their progress over time and harnessing skills beyond simply showcasing what they know.

On the flipside, we have been delighted to hear about innovative educators like Holly Clark, who are creatively combining new AI tools with Book Creator - and there is so much opportunity for experimentation and growth here.

If you'd like to add to this discussion, feel free to comment below!

Safe, simple, impactful

However we choose to implement AI into Book Creator in future, you can rest assured that we will do it in a considered, collaborative way. As one district recently told us: "Book Creator is so thoughtful about new features, not just adding shiny new things". 

Not that AI is just the next shiny new thing, but we won't be rushed into any big updates just because it's the latest technology available to us! So, when we determine that the best way to improve Book Creator is something that uses generative AI, and we are certain that it will be safe, simple and impactful, you’ll be the first to know!