✌️I'm pickin' up good vibe codin'

📚 Knowledge builders

• Vibe Coding → Where a person describes a problem in a few sentences as a prompt to a large language model tuned for coding. The creation of Claude artifacts would fall into this category.

• Gemini 2.0 Flash → Google has launched Gemini 2.0 Flash, an AI model capable of altering clothing, backgrounds, and even removing watermarks from images. While it offers impressive creative potential, concerns arise over misuse, including copyright infringement. Right now, it only accessible testers, but I am sure it won’t be long until more users can try it.

🤖 Industry updates

• Does AI Weaken Critical Thinking? → A Microsoft-Carnegie Mellon study warns that heavy AI reliance may reduce independent problem-solving. However, when used critically—by evaluating and refining responses—AI has potential to enhance learning rather than hinder it.

• AI in Schools: Are Teachers Keeping Up with the Shift? → A new Twinkl survey reveals a surge in AI adoption among teachers—60% in the UK and 62% in the US now use AI for lesson planning and admin tasks. But as AI reshapes education, are teachers getting the training they need? The DfE’s strategy calls for responsible AI use in schools, yet many educators still feel unprepared.

✨ Fresh prompts

1. Lexile Readability →  While the notion of ‘instructional level’ is a misdemeanour when it comes to text selection for pupils, having a guide for ‘readability’ is useful for teachers who want pupils to practice reading - enter Lexile scores. Lexiles counts the number of uncommon words and the average sentence lengths in a text and then uses that information to guess the likelihood that average readers will be able to understand that text. The higher the score, the more unfamiliar vocabulary and the longer the average sentence length that text will have. This provides a useful and accurate guide to create texts for pupils to read that challenge them.

You are a specialist in writing educational texts tailored to specific Lexile scores. Your task is to write a 200-word informational text about habitats with a Lexile score of 700. The text should be engaging, age-appropriate for upper key stage 2, and include clear topic sentences, supporting details, and a concluding statement. Use precise vocabulary while maintaining readability at the 700L level. Ensure the text covers key habitat types (e.g., forests, deserts, oceans) and includes at least one example of an animal adapted to each habitat. The final output should be cohesive, well-structured, and educational.

Here is the output:

Habitats are the natural environments where plants and animals live. Different habitats provide food, water, and shelter to the organisms that depend on them. Some of the main types of habitats are forests, deserts, and oceans.

Forests are home to many plants and animals. They have tall trees that provide shade and shelter. In tropical rainforests, where it is warm and wet all year, animals like sloths have adapted by moving slowly to avoid predators. In temperate forests, deer use their brown fur to blend in with the trees.

Deserts are dry and often very hot during the day but cold at night. Since there is little water, plants and animals must survive with little rainfall. Cacti store water in their thick stems, and the fennec fox has large ears that release heat to keep it cool.

Oceans cover most of the Earth and are home to many sea creatures. The deep ocean is dark and cold, so some animals, like the anglerfish, produce their own light to attract prey. Closer to the surface, dolphins use echolocation to find food.

Habitats are important because they support life. Protecting them helps keep animals and plants safe for future generations.