As educators, we're always on the lookout for innovative ways to engage our students and enhance their learning experiences.

The new and exciting world of AI offers lots of ways to do this.

Microsoft Designer, a powerful tool for creating AI generated images, provides a fantastic opportunity to blend technology and creativity in the classroom. 

All over social media we have been seeing super fun and engaging prompts for turning yourself or others into avatars or popular characters from TV, books, or even favorite toys. You might have even spent a ridiculous amount of time yourself creating the perfect LEGO or Funko Pop version of yourself... or maybe that was just me 😬

If it’s that much fun for us then it’s probably fun for our students as well.

So, just like we did when the Bitmoji craze hit the world of Snapchat, Twitter, and even our email signatures, we'll explore the capabilities of these unique Microsoft Designer prompts in the classroom.

In this post, we will ...

• introduce you to Microsoft Designer, the free tool we're using
• dive into some exciting prompts you can use with your students
• show you how to modify them to be exactly what you want
• share practical ideas for incorporating them into your lessons

What is Microsoft Designer?

Microsoft Designer is a versatile tool that allows users to create custom images, graphics, and visual content. With its intuitive interface and a wide range of design options, Microsoft Designer empowers both experienced designers and novice creators to bring their ideas to life. From designing logos and social media graphics to crafting personalized illustrations and avatars, this tool offers endless possibilities for creative expression.

How is Microsoft Designer different from other AI image generation tools?

Creating fill-in-the-blank prompts is a unique feature that makes this tool exciting and fun use. It takes away the dreaded blinking cursor on a blank page. You already have a great prompt that you can simply fill in or you can even edit the entire prompt and make it totally unique!

The ability to share the prompt with friends, colleagues or your larger social media circle adds a community building aspect to the creative process. It makes it possible for anyone to just fill in their details and create their own custom image. Then of course we all want to share our own version. I know I did!

Prompt Examples

Let's take a look at some fun prompts and image examples you can explore with your students using Microsoft Designer.

Adjusting prompts and creating your own

These prompts are fantastic because they a offer a fill-in-the blank image creation template. But what if the prompt isn't exactly what you want? What if you want to edit just a part of it?

Easy! Just click on "Edit entire prompt" in the lower left hand corner and change as much or as little as you want!

Create your own Microsoft Designer prompt

Creating your own prompt is really easy. The hardest part is thinking of the original prompt!

1. Open the Microsoft Designer website at https://designer.microsoft.com/image-creator
2. Write your desired prompt in the text field. For example: "Create an image of a female superhero with brown hair in a ponytail and blue eyes wearing a pink sweatshirt and black pants with black sneakers. The character is flying over the San Francisco cityscape with a fireball in their hand". You'll need to click on the text in your prompt to expand the text box. Click share to generate the template.
3. Identify the key areas you want to make customizable input fields, such as the clothing, gender, and location.
4. Highlight the words you want to turn into input fields, such as "Female" and "San Francisco". Click the "Add Custom Field" button to enclose those words in square brackets. 
5. Review the prompt to ensure the customizable fields are clearly indicated for the user.
6. Click "Next" to generate a shareable link for your custom prompt. 

Now when someone clicks the link, they will see the prompt with the input fields ready to be filled out.

Once the user enters their desired information, they can click "Create" to generate a unique image based on the customized prompt.This allows you to easily create reusable, customizable image prompts that can be shared with others to generate tailored visuals.

Ideas for Using Microsoft Designer Prompts in the Classroom

Now that you've seen some exciting prompts and what they look like, let's explore how you can integrate them into your classroom activities:

Character Creation

Encourage students to design their own characters, whether it's a Lego minifigure, Funko Pop figure, or a unique avatar. Discuss the choices they made and the symbolism behind each element.

Storytelling and Creative Writing

Use the custom characters as story prompts. Students can write narratives, create stop-motion animations, or develop short dialogues featuring their creations. Students can take their images and create their own comic strip.

Descriptive Language

Explore descriptive language by having students write detailed descriptions of their characters, highlighting the visual elements and their significance.

Deconstruct the Image

Have one group create the image then swap with another group to see if they can figure out what descriptive language was used to create the image.

Branding and Marketing

Discuss the importance of visual branding and packaging. Students can create their own Funko boxes, Barbie doll packaging, or design marketing materials for their characters.

Prompt Creating

Discuss the what makes these prompts useful. How could they create their own? What blanks would they leave out so that others could make their own image with a similar style but unique look?