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I’ve tried many of the new Artificial Intelligence-powered text-to-video tools, and none of them have been ready for prime time.
Today, Google unveiled its version, called Google Vids, and though I think it has more advantages than the others in using it as a teaching tool, it’s still nothing to write home about.
In order to access it, you have to register for Google Workspace Labs.
Once to go Google Vids, you’re asked to input a prompt. Mine was:
A boy is in the forest and has lost his dog. He searches for it and eventually finds it. They are both overjoyed at their reunion.
Here’s the link to the video that resulted, and here is its embedded version:
It’s easy to edit it and, most importantly for English Language Learners, it’s also easy to record your own voice narrating the video (which I didn’t do).
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, it’s not really a video. Instead, it’s a slideshow with a musical and possible audio accompaniment.
Google, like most AI companies, continues to be long on future promises for AI and short on delivering useful AI products.
If I would use Google Vids in the classroom, it would be with English Language Learners and as a “one-off” activity, following the outline of the one I use with them for AI-generated images (see How I’m Using AI Art Generation To Teach English To Newcomers).
The key ways AI can be helpful in the classroom right now are with providing teacher assistance in preparing differentiated lesson materials, automatic pronunciation feedback for ELLs and with enhanced teacher/parent multilingual communication.
Those are not nothing, but nor are they game-changers (see WHAT I THINK ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WILL DO – & WHAT IT WON’T DO – IN K-12 EDUCATION).
I’ve tried many of the new Artificial Intelligence-powered text-to-video tools, and none of them have been ready for prime time. Today, Google unveiled its version, called Google Vids, and though I think it has more advantages than the others in using it as a teaching tool, it’s still nothing to write home about. In AI, ESL Web Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…
