Learning Project Update 9: Paywall Fatigue and AI Doldrums

While working on my learning project last week, I fell down the AI content creation rabbit hole. Crafting my query letter to publishers, I thought I had clawed my way back out. I was wrong. But I’m getting ahead of myself… as usual.

My Week: Trying to (Digitally) Reinvent the Wheel

After two and a half years of teaching online, I’ve become overly versed in digital platforms and screencasting tools. It’s no secret I’m easily distracted by a good digital deep dive; imagine me during the pandemic, with nowhere to go but a screen! My list of favourite tools includes many highlighted by Katia, Screencastify, Loom, WeVideo, and Canva. EC&I classes have encouraged my explorations, all in the name of meaningful tech integration and learning documentation. I love finding new online resources that engage students and support digital literacy.

So this week’s goal should have been easy: Try something completely new (to you) and use it to showcase your learning. In my case, the objective was to create a tutorial on how to write a knock-out query letter.

Enter: the dreaded paywall problem…

A Quest for New…and Free

And so began a new quest, exploring platforms like Animoto, Animaker, Powtoon, VideoScribe and Adobe Spark. Each one ticked three criteria boxes: Visually engaging, well organized, and mostly unexplored by me.

But as I started building content in each, I’d hit monetized brick wall after monetized brick wall. Deep sigh. Either the free version was so limited it wasn’t useful to me or my classroom (looking at you, laughable Animoto stock photo gallery with 18 options), or I was only allowed a small amount of credits before being locked out of premium content.

This is the reality of our consumerist world (I know), but every time I started feeling inspired or extra creative…

POP! Premium Content! WHOMP WHOMP!

Imagine believing you could walk into Bulk Barn and fill your bags with all the most delectable tidbits; then – abruptly – being told to take a Candy Korn and go…unless you buy the VIP Candy Plan. How would students feel?

Yes, you can be creative to your heart’s content…for the right price. 

Reluctant Rest Stop @ Lumen5

Last week contained similar false starts, including Pictory and Invideo.io. Along that trend, I settled on Lumen5, a site I’d never heard of or used before. It’s paywall also didn’t seem too aggressive… at first. 

Like the platforms I tested before – lest we forget the Three Legged Giraffe Incident – Lumen5 takes a written script and transforms it into video format.

Script-writing options:

• Answer simple prompts and let AI build one for you (hmmm, pretty sure I explored the ethics of this last week).
• Copy and paste your own script.
• Use AI to generate a totally new script for you based on a simple prompt (okay, ethical dilemma déjà vu).

 

After my previous blog, I finished writing my query letter based on the submission guidelines of Kids Can Press. From there, I quickly

scripted a tutorial video, featuring snippets of my query letter. Perfect, just copy and paste it to Lumen5, click build video, and you’re done for another week, Kim! Right? 

Two pixelated seconds later, everything changed.

The heartfelt, detailed script I had carefully poured over was overwritten by AI (hey, but I didn’t click that button). The remnants contained a shell of my key ideas. If I wanted my words in the final video, I would have to pay up! Envision me throwing my hands in the air.

Frustrated but determined, I exported the video, unfortunately keeping the AI-rewritten script. I’m sharing it alongside my original text to provide comparison.

AI keeps the key points, but takes the soul (just to keep it under the 1-minute mark)

AI Versus Authentic Voice

This experience once again highlighted something I’ve been thinking a lot about the last few hyperspeed-tech-years… the ethical implications of AI in the hands of our children. In anyone’s hands, actually.

It’s worth asking: Which script feels human? Which version would demonstrate and amplify our students’ unique voices?

I can tell. I’m sure you can, too. But can our students?

Pros?

Yes, Lumen5 has some benefits – more sophisticated, relevant stock footage than Pictory or Invideo, editable subtitles, personalized voiceovers, and script prompts for struggling writers.

But, Also…

The downsides are a serious matter. I didn’t want AI to touch my work. I was under the impression it wouldn’t touch my work if I steered clear of the AI button. It did it anyway, without consent. And that is a slippery slope, indeed.

Would I use Lumen5 again? Not for students projects. Not for personal creative work (unless I opened my wallet).

If nothing else, Lumen5 should be used as a discussion point in the classroom; a digital literacy tool to teach students about the importance of ownership, authentic voice, and creativity. I recommend it only as a cautionary tale of what happens when AI transforms or silences something that was uniquely yours.

Final Thoughts: My Tech-Tired Takeaway

These last two weeks have left me tech-tired with AI doldrums. I spent hours trying out tools I’ll never use in my classroom (or personally). My intentions were noble – create something fresh and engaging to demystify the worrisome publisher query letter. Instead, I ended up frustrated by flashy, monetized platforms that lock away their most important features. Silenced by the algorithm.

Next week, it’s back to the basics! I’m building the original tutorial I envisioned, using tried and true Canva and Screencastify. My voice will be entirely my own. 

For now, though? Paywalls and AI have me signing off to sit in the sunshine. If I shovel some snow, maybe I can go “touch grass.”

POINTS TO PONDER

Please feel free to answer one/all the questions below, or use your unique voice to leave feedback, insights, and/or resources. 

1. Have you ever tried using a digital tool with your students or for personal projects, only to be hit with paywall limitations? How did it affect the creative process?
2. How do paywalls and limited “free” access to digital tools contribute to the digital divide in education? What impact does this have on individuals – especially students – trying to explore creative learning opportunities?
3. How do you help students recognize and protect their authentic HUMAN voice in a digital world that so easily rewrites or replaces it?