🟣🟢 What’s This Episode About?

In this episode of "Early Education in the Age of AI," Jodie explores how educators can use AI tools to speed up and simplify the creation of essential visual support resources including communication boards, visual schedules, and social stories. Hear practical ways to use AI as your personal special needs and inclusion assistant while maintaining your educator voice and knowledge of children's individual needs and learning goals.

🟣🟢 What You'll Find Out

• How AI can help you create professional visual supports in a fraction of the time
• Step-by-step processes for creating communication boards, visual schedules, and social stories
• Effective AI prompts you can copy and use immediately
• How to maintain your professional judgment while using AI as a collaborative partner
• Ways to connect your visual supports to educational frameworks
• Design tips for turning AI-generated content into engaging visual resources
• Ethical considerations when using AI to create resources for children

🟣🟢 Visual Supports Discussed

1. Communication Boards: Visual tools that help children express their needs, wants, and ideas
2. Visual Schedules: Sequential representations of activities or routines that help children understand their day
3. Social Stories: Personalised narratives that help children understand and prepare for social situations

🟣🟢 AI Assistant Tools Mentioned

• Claude by Anthropic: Great for detailed descriptions and developmentally appropriate language
• ChatGPT: Useful for structured formats like visual schedules or communication boards
• Specialised early childhood AI assistants (for Empowered Educator members): Penny Planning, Dottie Documentation, and Ellie EYLF

🟣🟢 Try These Prompts With Your AI Assistant

💬 Communication Board Prompt: 

"I'm an early childhood educator creating a communication board for three to four year olds to use during meal times. Please suggest 20 to 25 words or phrases that would be most useful, organized into logical categories. The children in my group have diverse cultural backgrounds, so please ensure the vocabulary is inclusive of different food preferences."

Why it's excellent: Includes specific age group, context, number of items needed, and consideration for diversity

💬 Visual Schedule Prompt: 

"I need to create a personalised visual schedule for a three year old who struggles with waiting for preferred activities. They particularly enjoy art experiences, but become upset when art isn't immediately available. Please help me create a schedule format that emphasises when art opportunities will occur throughout the day and include strategies for managing waiting times."

Why it's excellent: Highly personalised, addresses a specific challenge, requests concrete strategies, and focuses on a common early childhood transition issue

💬 Social Story Prompt: 

"I need to create a social story for a four year old who becomes upset when [situation]. Please help me draft a simple social story using first person language that explains why we have [activity], what happens during this transition, and strategies the child can use to manage their feelings about ending their play."

Why it's excellent: Specifies the format (first person language), asks for explanations and strategies, and is structured to help children understand both the "why" and "how" of managing emotions during transitions

📍🟢 Canva Designs & Templates For Educators

Reclaim Your Time & Simplify Your Planning Cycle Documentation with Done-for-You Editable Templates

💬 Let’s Connect!

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🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence.

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