Tommy Hills

Ever since I began crafting lessons, finding the perfect presentation software has been a priority. In any classroom, a slide deck is far more than just a sequence of bullet points; it is the visual backbone of the lesson that guides explanations and models concepts.

To find the best fit for everyday classroom utility, I ran a six-week experiment road-testing six cloud-based tools: Google Slides, Canva, Visme, Pitch, Prezi, and Adobe Express. I assigned a different platform to each year group to see how they handled the reality of a busy teaching schedule.

While platforms like Visme offer incredible data visualisation and Pitch produced pristine professional decks, Canva emerged as the undisputed winner for education.

Here is why Canva is my definitive choice for teaching:

✦ Live Delivery: The ability to roam the classroom with a tablet and draw live over slides completely transforms static presentations into interactive modelling tools.
✦ Workflow Efficiency: The massive library of built-in assets means I am never hunting the web for icons, keeping the focus entirely on lesson sequencing.
✦ Classroom Management: The integrated presenter timer keeps pupils on task without the clunky need to juggle browser tabs.
✦ Animations: Smooth features like Morph transitions are phenomenal for managing cognitive load when visually mapping out complex processes or algorithms.

As I prepare for the next academic year, having a streamlined workflow and establishing interactive brand templates will be more crucial than ever to keep resources highly consistent.

Check out my full breakdown, including a detailed look at the metrics, presenter views, and my week-by-week classroom journal in my latest blog post!

Check out the blog post here: https://tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com/best-slide-deck-tools.html

When I left university for a career in education, I thought my software engineering days were behind me. I was wrong.

During my Teach First Ambassador Project, I ended up undertaking a massive "software engineering" (sort of) project to overhaul how we track data, analyse assessments, and provide feedback in our Computing and IT department.

We were relying on qualitative, observation-based grades, which made consistency difficult. I wanted a system rooted in evidence, so I built a bespoke, automated relational database entirely within Google Sheets.

By leveraging complex functions like ARRAYFORMULA and FILTER, dynamic filtering, and Trust-approved AI for formative feedback, the system provides:

✦ Automated Question Level Analysis (QLA) that flags critical mechanical gaps instantly.

✦ Actionable, hyper-targeted feedback for pupils, rooted in John Hattie and Dylan Wiliam's research.

✦ Data-driven Feedback-and-Action tasks, directly applying Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction.

✦ A "Pupil View" dashboard that completely transformed the ease and depth of our parents' evening conversations.

This project proved that we don't have to choose between rich, diagnostic feedback and teacher wellbeing. This system handled the administrative overhead so the wider department could focus on adaptive planning.

I’ve written a deep dive into the educational research behind the system, the spreadsheet architecture, and the impact it had across different faculties. I strongly suggest reading my full post, as there was way too much to fit into a single LinkedIn post!

Read the full journey on my blog here: https://tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com/data-modelling-2026.html

On Friday evening, I stepped out of the classroom and back onto the stage to host the Lord Grey Staff Quiz for the second time, raising money for the Little Princess Trust. It felt fantastic to channel my inner gameshow host once again for such a wonderful cause.

Preparing the quiz like I would a classroom lesson, I had the tech setup ready to roll at the quizmaster's table, complete with quiz sheets laid out and presentation slides locked and loaded. I had some fantastic, unique rounds this year, including:

✦ Genremash, where classic songs were sung in unexpected musical genres.

✦ The Surprise Round, where every single answer contained a hidden theme.

✦ A special Catchphrase Bonus Round based on visual idioms. I put together an animated video featuring a little orange robot encountering a massive slice of cake, which was a lot of fun to build and definitely got the teams talking. This video in the style of the old ‘Catchphrase’ animations, generated using a combination of Google Gemini’s Nano Banana and Canva’s Image-to-Video tool.

✦ The triumphant return of Safeguarding Stories by popular demand. I repurposed our familiar CPOMS dashboard style to frame classic books, TV shows, and films as severe safeguarding alerts.

Alongside the main rounds, I introduced a creative team building challenge. Teams were given a blank Team Card and tasked with designing a graphic to represent their team name for an extra 5 points. The competition was fierce, but the creative output was amazing. 'Team English' put together some spectacular, pun-filled illustrations for 'Poor Expectations' that earned them a well-deserved bonus. That extra work and bonus points clearly paid off, as 'Team English' went on to win the entire quiz!

A huge thank you to everyone who came along, brought their competitive spirit, and donated so generously to the Little Princess Trust.

Reflecting on the past twelve months, I am amazed at how my classroom practice has evolved. What I've learnt from a year of using Canva for Education is that it is no longer just a design tool; it has become central to how I deliver lessons, reduce my workload, and engage my pupils.

I have just published a new blog post breaking down my current workflow and what I am experimenting with next. Here are a few key takeaways:

✦ Reducing Cognitive Overload: I use Canva to encourage dual coding, purposefully pairing concise text with relevant visual representations to help students process complex STEM topics.

✦ Live Modelling & Code Blocks: For teaching Mathematics and modelling worked examples, Canva’s digital tools serve as a highly effective digital whiteboard. Furthermore, the Code app has been brilliant for creating stylised, syntax-highlighted code blocks directly on my slides.

✦ Classroom Gamification: I absolutely love using Canva Code to build custom interactive widgets and games. Powered by the Canva Sheets connection, I can manage live data and integrate dynamic classroom leaderboards.

✦ Standardised Lesson Phases: Creating set templates for "Starter Activities" and "Main Activities" means I can drop in the day's computing problem without formatting from scratch. It is a massive workflow win.

Because Canva is an approved tool within our Trust, I had the opportunity to lead a CPD session sharing these exact strategies with other educators. As the platform continues to level up, I look forward to experimenting with new ideas like Knowledge Organisers and Canva Forms in the future!

Read the full breakdown on my blog here: https://tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com/canva-1-year.html

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I have been looking at the new DaVinci Resolve 21 update and it brings some really exciting changes to how we edit.

For those of you who don't know, I've been using Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve to edit since 2018, after previously using Vegas Pro and Premiere Pro. I found DaVinci to be my preferred editor to use and continue to watch excitedly for the new developments from Blackmagic.

We usually need to use several different software subscriptions to finish a single project. However, Resolve is now putting everything together in one place.

Here are the updates that stood out to me:

✦ Editing Photos: The new Photo Page is the biggest highlight for me. You can now use their node-based colour grading tools on still photos, right next to your video timeline. This will be a brilliant alternative to Adobe Lightroom, and makes use of existing knowledge of colour grading in Da Vinci Resolve.

✦ Finding Media: Sorting through lots of clips just got much easier. The new AI search tool lets you scan your footage for specific faces, objects, or even spoken words. This is going to save hours of manual logging.

✦ Useful AI Tools: These new AI features feel like they actually help with the workload. You can now change the focus of a shot after you have filmed it. There are also tools to fix blemishes, and an audio tool that creates a unique voiceover from just a ten second audio sample.

Having video, audio, motion graphics, and now photos in one workspace is a massive step forward. I am looking forward to testing this new workflow out and seeing how much time it can save.

Just when I thought I’d finally mastered last year's updates, Canva Create 2026 just changed the game again.

As a Canvassador and educator, I’m always looking for ways to bridge the gap between "great idea" and "finished resource." This year, it feels like Canva didn’t just add features, rather they fixed the entire fragmented creative process.

The standout announcement for me? Canva AI 2.0. It’s no longer just about generating a single image; it’s about "Agentic Orchestration." The AI now acts as a creative partner that understands your brand, your data, and your intent. I’ll try to summarise the most exciting features as best I can:

✦ Brand Intelligence: AI that actually knows your Brand Kit. It applies your fonts and styles to drafts automatically.

✦ Layered Object Intelligence: No more flat AI images. Everything generated is now fully layered and editable.

✦ Canva Connectors: Syncing live data from Notion, Google Drive, and emails directly into my docs.

✦ Canva Code 2.0: This is huge for gamification. You can now import HTML and edit it via drag-and-drop without touching the underlying code.

✦ Canva Offline: Editing without a signal is a massive win for teachers on the move.

With the integration of Affinity and the acquisition of Cavalry, the professional ecosystem is becoming hard to ignore. Is it time to move away from expensive Adobe subscriptions? I’m seriously starting to think so. Learning to use these tools properly is going to change the way I view design.

I’ve broken down exactly how these tools will shift the needle in the classroom in my latest blog post.

Read the full breakdown here: https://tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com/canva-create-2026.html

tommysthoughts.thetommyverse.com

As I head into the final stretch of data collection for my MSc-R Computer Science Research Project at the University of Kent, I have to say a massive thank you to everyone who has participated so far.

But I'm not quite at the finish line yet. If you have 20 minutes to spare over the next few days, I’d love for you to contribute to my thesis, "Stand-Up and Deliver."

The core question remains: Can Artificial Intelligence actually write stand-up comedy? Does it possess genuine comedic ability?

To find out, I need you to evaluate some AI-generated comedy in my completely anonymous survey. Simply read a few versions of the generated jokes and pick the ones that work best to you!

Take the survey here: https://universityofkent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeN1DR5Mb3VlMHA

Sharing this post or passing the link to friends and colleagues is still incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for the ongoing support!

The dataset for participants for my research survey is growing, but I still need more human judges!

If you have 20 minutes free today, I would absolutely love your input on my thesis, "Stand-Up and Deliver." I am investigating whether Artificial Intelligence can actually write stand-up comedy, and I need you to evaluate its comedic ability.

The survey is completely anonymous. All you have to do is read a few variations of some AI-generated comedy and select the versions that are the most successful.

Take the survey here: https://universityofkent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeN1DR5Mb3VlMHA

Sharing this post or sending the link directly to colleagues and friends is also a massive help.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported my research so far!

A massive thank you to everyone who has already taken the time to participate in my "Stand-Up and Deliver" research survey!

If you haven't had a chance to participate yet, the survey continues to be open! I am still looking for people willing to answer a selection of questions to help me determine if Large Language Models can write and improve stand-up comedy.

To get involved, I need you to act as the judge via the survey below. It’s a completely anonymous, 20-minute survey where you simply read different versions of AI-generated jokes and pick the best ones.

Take the survey here: https://universityofkent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeN1DR5Mb3VlMHA

Please feel free to share this with anyone else who might enjoy rating some non-human written comedy. Every single response brings me one step closer to completing my research project. Thank you again for your support!

If you're wondering why I've been a bit quiet on here lately, it's because I've been working on my MSc-R Computer Science Research Project at the University of Kent. Now, I can share a little bit of what I've been working on!

One of the questions I'm tackling is this: Can Artificial Intelligence actually write stand-up comedy, or is human humour simply too complex for modern LLMs to compute?

My thesis, "Stand-Up and Deliver," explores AI-generated comedy, and I need your help to figure out if these AI have any real comedic ability.

I'm looking for participants to take a completely anonymous, 20-minute survey where you'll read a few versions of the same jokes and vote on which one made you laugh the most (or groan the least!).

Whether you're an AI enthusiast, a comedy fan, or just looking for a fun break in your day, I would love your input.

Take the survey here: https://universityofkent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aeN1DR5Mb3VlMHA

Please feel free to share this post or send the link to anyone who might enjoy rating some robotic comedy. Thank you in advance for supporting my research!

(This research is supervised by Anna Jordanous and has been approved by the University of Kent Ethics Board).