We’re long past the novelty of a flashy slide deck, what we need is clarity of information, visual hierarchy and design plus ease of access. These elements of cognitive load theory (Sweller), visual hierarchy and design (Paivio), alongside ease of access with purposeful minimalism (Mayer) are often what make or break a presentation.
In education, what we need isn’t more tools to animate text, it’s solutions that help us and our students think clearly, communicate purposefully, and adapt quickly. That’s where Gamma comes in.
Gamma is an AI-powered presentation platform that doesn’t just simplify slide creation, it redefines it. The tool is built around speed, clarity, and structure, stripping away the over-design of traditional platforms and putting the focus firmly on the message. In many presentations at conferences, and SLT meetings, I’ve often talked about signal verses noise: what delegates hear compared to what was actually intended. And in schools, where time and attention are always at a premium, that makes a real difference.
From a teacher’s perspective, Gamma is immediately useful as it can do lots of the heavy lifting for you. Need to create an explainer for a complex topic, a parent workshop resource, or a visual prompt for classroom discussion? Gamma drafts your outline in seconds and offers clean, professional formats that just work; no fiddling with fonts, no layout wrestling (unless of course you want to!). Just content, supported by AI, come presentation, webpage, documentation or even social posts. Plus you can select which language, there are over 50 to choose from, you want your content to be in!
Reviewing learning with retrieval practice
Well-crafted visual prompts or summary slides can act as effective cues for recall. When teachers use AI-generated visual decks at the end of a topic or as part of spaced review, students are encouraged to retrieve knowledge from long-term memory, something we know strengthens retention over time. Gamma makes it quick to produce these resources, enabling teachers to build more frequent retrieval opportunities into their planning cycle without an undue workload burden.
You’re on the stage!
We’ve all been there. The assembly slot suddenly becomes yours because a speaker cancels last minute. Or the presentation you were expecting to support with doesn’t arrive. Perhaps a colleague’s been taken ill, or something’s shifted in the calendar and you’re suddenly in front of an auditorium full of students with very little prep time.
It’s in these moments; the unplanned, unscripted parts of school life that a tool like Gamma really earns its stripes.
Thanks to its AI-powered engine, Gamma can generate a well-structured, visually appealing presentation from a single, well-crafted prompt. Simply type in your topic, whether it’s resilience, digital citizenship, or even how to revise effectively, and Gamma will create a coherent deck with talking points, suggested layouts, and a narrative arc in a matter of moments.
A real example
Here’s an example of a presentation I gave, and made with Gamma, in a whole school assembly on UAE Cyber Laws, see here. My original prompt for the presentation is pictured below:
In the interest of sharing, here’s another example of a slide I created using Gamma for our House Mario Kart competition.
It’s not about cutting corners; it’s about giving professionals the support they need to deliver high-quality input even when time isn’t on their side. And let’s be honest, those moments are more frequent than we care to admit. For educators, this means less stress and more consistency. For students, it means they’re not met with a thrown-together set of slides or a hastily spoken monologue, they get something purposeful, structured, and worth listening to.
Gamma doesn’t replace expertise, it amplifies it. It steps in when you need a springboard, a framework, or simply a bit of inspiration to get going. And in the unpredictable rhythm of school life, that can be the difference between just getting through a session and making it meaningful.
What functionality does it offer?
What I really like about the tool, lets remember that’s what it is (!), is that you can edit the theme by customizing colours, fonts, logos and other visual styling elements. You can also build your own custom themes. Plus, and possibly most importantly, you can export to pdf, PowerPoint, Google Slides, as a PNG or even straight to LinkedIn; not bad for a free tool.
In a world where digital literacy is about more than navigating software, Gamma offers something smarter: a tool that helps you or your students organise, present, and think better. For educators looking to raise the bar while saving time, it’s well worth exploring their free account offering.
So how does it work?
For the record, this is not a paid promotion, I just like the tool and have benefitted from it on a few occasions! So why not give it a go here. In terms of access, Gamma uses a credit-based system that’s both transparent and flexible. Whether you’re generating full presentations, adding AI-generated cards, or refining slides through chat, each action has a clear credit value which can be seen below:
What’s helpful here is that you’re only charged for actionable suggestions, errors or clarifications don’t cost you anything. This system means you can explore and iterate freely, without wasting credits unnecessarily. And for schools exploring AI tools with staff or students, this model offers a manageable, scalable entry point.
This post is the second in my AI Mini Series which features some of the tools from my workshop titled “My AI Leadership Toolkit” from the BSME Teaching and Learning Conference last term.
Want to explore further?
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