MAKING IT EASIER TO BE A BETTER TEACHER

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Here’s our weekly roundup of interesting education stories from around the world. Click each link to learn more:

• Fiction lovers unite! According to this research, here’s how your favorite books make you a better leader and teacher.

• Check out these opinions on why early intervention is the solution to the UK’s special needs crisis.

• There’s been another AI-driven school approval in the States - and no teachers are to be found inside.

TECH TALK

All-text lessons are boring

Okay, so let’s throw in some pictures. But stock images are also boring. Alright, let’s whip something up in Canva. But maybe that’s too generic. We'll, then you need this week’s tool.

Whether it’s explaining complex topics or personalizing content for your classroom, creating clear and engaging visuals often feels like one more thing on a never-ending to-do list.

The Solution: Napkin AI

Napkin AI is an idea management tool but for teachers, it’s also a powerful way to generate custom graphics that turn your ideas into visually engaging, classroom-ready materials.

Here’s how Napkin AI can help:

• AI-Generated Diagrams: Napkin AI can take your notes, keywords, or lesson ideas and automatically create concept maps, flowcharts, or other visual representations. Simply enter a topic, and it will generate a polished visual to support your lesson.

• Editable Templates: After Napkin AI drafts your graphic, you can tweak it to fit your specific needs. Adjust colors, labels, or layouts to ensure it aligns perfectly with your teaching style or classroom standards.

• Cross-Content Integration: Upload lesson plans, student data, or curriculum documents, and Napkin AI will suggest visual formats to represent key points or connections. For example, it might turn a historical timeline or scientific process into a clear, engaging diagram.

• Time-Saving Simplicity: Forget fumbling with complicated design software. Napkin AI’s intuitive interface makes creating professional-quality graphics as simple as typing in your ideas.

How About YOUR Classroom?

Custom graphics aren’t just eye-catching—they’re also a powerful teaching tool.

Strategies:

• Visualize Complex Topics: Use Napkin AI to generate concept maps or flowcharts for challenging units. For example, students learning about ecosystems could benefit from a vivid, AI-generated diagram of food chains.

• Enhance Student Presentations: Encourage students to use Napkin AI to create visuals for group projects or individual presentations, building their digital literacy while lightening your workload.

• Differentiate Instruction: Quickly generate visuals tailored to varying ability levels. Create simplified diagrams for struggling learners or enriched visuals with extra details for advanced students.

With Napkin AI, creating custom graphics is no longer a scary task but an easy way to enhance your teaching.

The tool is currently still in beta testing - but this means you can currently sign up and use it for free while they fine tune the details. 

BRAINY BITS

Are screens leading to a rise in ASD?

Screen time before the age of 2 has long been debated as a factor influencing developmental outcomes.

This week, we dive into a freshly published (2025) study exploring its potential link to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age 12.

The Study: Screen time before 2 years of age and the risk of Autism at 12 years of age

Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, researchers tracked 5,107 children (representing a weighted population of 243,046). 

Screen time at age 2 was measured by weekly hours spent watching TV, videos, or internet-based content. ASD diagnoses were parent-reported at age 12 (for the same children).

Researchers employed robust statistical methods:

• Logistic Regression: To explore the association between screen exposure and ASD, adjusting for sex, maternal education, and family income.

• Instrumental Variable Analysis: To isolate screen time from confounding socioeconomic factors and determine causality.

Essentially, these are fancy advanced models that take in data and try and separate out the what and the why behind a result.

The Results:

At first glance, the study seemed to show that children with more than 14 hours of weekly screen time at age 2 were nearly twice as likely to have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis by age 12. 

But here’s the twist: when researchers accounted for factors like family income and maternal education (using the above statistical models), the connection disappeared.

These findings emphasize that screen time alone does not directly increase ASD risk, underscoring the influence of broader environmental and contextual factors.

And let’s be very clear here - just because screen time doesn’t directly lead to ASD (according to these results at least), it does not mean that lots of infant screen time is a good thing. 

This is why research is oh so fun to read 🙃

For example - we know that lots of sugar does not directly result in hair loss - but this doesn’t mean that suddenly lots of is a good thing.

In Your Classroom:

So what exactly can you take away from studies like this then? While ASD is still being widely studied, results like this show that screen time isn’t a direct cause of ASD. 

Instead, it’s part of a bigger picture that can be influenced by a family’s environment and genetics. For teachers, this means:

Strategies

• Context Matters: Socioeconomic factors may play a larger role in ASD risk than screen time itself.

• Holistic Assessments: While early childhood screen use should be monitored, it’s critical to consider broader developmental and environmental factors.

• Advocate for Balance: Encourage parents to create balanced routines for young children, emphasizing play and interaction alongside limited screen use.

This study is a valuable piece of the puzzle in understanding ASD, but it’s just one of many. 

While it highlights how socioeconomic factors influence both screen time and developmental outcomes, it reminds us that ASD is complex and multifaceted. 

Teachers (and parents) should approach screen time as one element of a broader developmental context, but stay aware that ongoing research continues to deepen our understanding of autism. 

REFERENCES

Tech Talk:

Napkin AI. (2024). Get visuals from your text. Retrieved from https://www.napkin.ai/

Brainy Bits:

Lin P, Wu WT, Guo YL. Screen Time Before 2 Years of Age and Risk of Autism at 12 Years of Age. JAMA Pediatr. 2025;179(1):90–91. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.4432