🗑 10 AI slide tools + 25 lesson hooks

💻 Bring your lessons to life with Prezi AI

This back-to-school season, give your lessons the upgrade they deserve with Prezi AI, which is a faster, smarter way to create presentations that actually hold your students’ attention.

Prezi AI transforms your ideas, outlines, or even existing files like PDFs and PowerPoints into visually engaging, dynamic presentations in seconds. No more static slides or overwhelming bullet points. Instead, you get clear, compelling lessons designed to help students stay focused and retain more.

Think of it as having an AI-powered designer by your side. Educators are already seeing the difference: 82% report better student engagement when using Prezi AI in the classroom. Whether you're refreshing last year’s content or building something brand new, Prezi helps you create classroom-ready presentations with cinematic movement, visual storytelling, and custom design, in a matter of seconds. 

💻 TECH TIP 💻

💻 10 AI presentation tools to level up your lessons

When teachers find out that AI can generate lots of things for them, here’s one of the most common questions I hear …

“Can it make slides for me?”

The answer is YES, and there are lots of tools that can help.

In today’s new post — 10 AI presentation tools to level up your lessons — you’ll find …

Prezi (prezi.com)

Prezi AI transforms your outlines, PDFs, or even existing presentations into dynamic, cinematic lessons that feel more like storytelling than lecturing.

Just drop in your topic or file. Prezi AI turns it into something stunning.

It makes slides quickly … and the zooming, panning, and cinematic movement keep students locked in.

Try This: Take an old PowerPoint and upload it into Prezi AI. Watch how it transforms into something totally new—and way more attention-grabbing.

Gamma (gamma.ai)

Just type your topic or paste in a lesson outline, and the AI creates a polished, scrollable presentation that blends text, visuals, and even interactive elements.

Canva Magic Design (canva.com)

Describe your presentation idea and watch as the AI builds out a slide deck, including images, transitions, and layouts.

Other AI presentation tools

We also highlight SlidesAI, Adobe Express AI Presentation Maker, Visme, Microsoft Copilot for PowerPoint, Gemini for Google Slides, Beautiful.ai, and Simplified.

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

🪝 25 engaging lesson hooks for class

How do you hook students into a lesson?

Capture their attention from the beginning? Make the relevance crystal clear?

I learned about the power of the hook when I read Dave Burgess’s book, Teach Like a Pirate, more than 10 years ago.

He wrote: “Don’t just teach a lesson. Create an experience.” And he offered dozens of hooks — creative teaching ideas you could tailor to whatever you’re teaching.

Since then, I wrote Tech Like a Pirate — the techy follow-up that expands on creating classroom experiences with our devices and tech tools.

It all has something in common — the power of a HOOK.

Looking for something to spark interest in your students — and get them thinking in the right direction?

We updated a post that we co-authored with Megan Diede and Kara Risby of IntegratED. It’s titled “25 engaging lesson hooks” — and in it, we suggest that you try …

#1. The movie trailer hook

Using iMovie or Clips create a short video that includes ideas of the content being taught (see the example clip below). Remember not to give them too much information. Keep them wondering.

#4. The mystery box hook

Put different items in the box to give clues to what you will be learning about. Students make predictions and discuss what they believe these objects have to do with the upcoming learning. Here are some ideas.

#12. The riddle hook

Have AI create riddles, poems, or puzzles related to the lesson topic. Students solve them to unlock the day’s content.

AI prompt: “Write a (fun/funny/engaging) riddle for my ___ graders about [topic]. The riddle should guide them to the answer ____.”

#19. The meme hook

Start the lesson with a humorous or thought-provoking meme that relates to the content. This modern hook is a quick way to spark discussion.

#21. The secret message hook

Create a coded message (using ciphers or digital tools) that students must decode to uncover the lesson’s topic. Here are some ideas.

#25. The slow reveal pixelated image hook

Start with a heavily pixelated image. Gradually sharpen it while students guess what it might be. The clearer it gets, the more they predict the lesson topic. Use the Pixelify app in Canva.

Wait … there’s more!

We’ve updated this post with 25 lesson hook ideas. There’s sure to be something that sparks an idea that your students will love!

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!