As I read online, I bookmark resources I find interesting and useful. I share these links about once a month here on my blog. This post includes links related to AI video avatars, AI image generation and editing, research on how graphics affect learning, copyright and bias related to AI, and tools and templates for creating scenarios and other elearning.
AI video avatars
Why AI Video Avatars are NOT the Next Big Thing in L&D
Heidi Kirby digs into the research about AI video avatars (excluding the vendor research). The support really isn’t there. I’ve anecdotally seen lots of complaints about how they sit in the uncanny valley. But even as the video avatars get more realistic, is a talking head video really the best instructional method? Of course not! There wasn’t a lot of buzz about talking head videos before AI. Why is there so much buzz now? (Interactive video avatars for scenarios are a separate question and not addressed by this article. I think interactive video avatars are more likely to improve learning outcomes.)
Despite their increasing use, there’s limited evidence that AI-generated avatars significantly improve learning outcomes.
— Heidi Kirby
Lemon Slice
Create talking characters and video avatars with this AI video tool. (But think about how you use these characters and avatars to improve the learning experience, not just because the technology is available.)
AI image generation and editing
This Image Wasn’t a Stock Photo — and It Changed the Way I Build Training
Michelle Bonkosky shares her process for using ChatGPT for generating a unique image for a training workbook. I appreciate how she shows the process of iterating and refining her prompts; that’s a key point. She also includes some sample prompts for images for training assets.
Gemini Image Editing: A Guide With 10 Practical Examples
This article explains how to use Gemini for image editing with examples, showing what works and what doesn’t work. Modifying facial expressions and body poses worked fairly well in this author’s testing, making this one option for generating sets of character images.
Research on graphics and learning
When graphics improve liking but not learning from online lessons
Sung and Mayer research on different types of graphics and how they affect learning. Graphics improve satisfaction and may improve motivation through affective engagement, even if they’re irrelevant. Images are divided into 3 categories: instructive, decorative, and seductive.
Copyright, bias, and AI
AI Co. Anthropic Nabs Partial Fair Use Win in Copyright Case
The headlines about this case will miss a lot of the nuances; it’s not a complete win for Anthropic, but it is an important one. The ruling found that training AI on legally obtained copyrighted books is fair use because it’s “quintessentially transformative.” That doesn’t mean that training on pirated books is fair use, and nothing in this ruling explicitly addresses content publicly available online. The output of AI is also an unresolved question; I predict we’ll have some rulings that generating text or images that too closely matches existing copyrighted works is not protected. AI tools (especially image generation tools) need guardrails to prevent the generation of copyrighted content.
Bias in AI: Examples and 6 Ways to Fix it in 2025
Examples of bias in AI in image generation, recruiting tools, voice recognition, and other areas. The solutions here focus primarily on adjustments of the AI systems and debiasing strategy rather than on the level of individual prompts to improve representation. If you’re looking at your overall strategy for AI, how you address bias has to be part of the plan.
Tools and templates
Articulate vs. Parta: Time to Switch?
This is an extensive comparison of the Articulate Suite versus a new competitor, Parta. I haven’t tried Parta myself, but it does seem like a tool worth reviewing, especially if you do a lot of development for mobile users. Accessibility is one big drawback with Parta, and I’m not sure it has enough power to do all of the branching and variables features I need. It’s good to see what else is available though.
Updated Template for Writing/Designing Scenario Questions
Will Thalheimer has shared a free template for writing scenario questions. These are more in-depth than my typical examples of one-question mini-scenarios. I like how this template forces you to think about the context and about how to differentiate people who understand the topic from those who don’t.
Storymate – Story Planning & Publishing Tool
Free no-code tool for creating branching scenarios. Publish to HTML. There’s no SCORM wrapper current, but it’s planned for the future.
Gender Neutral Name Generator
While plenty of nonbinary people have names that are traditionally coded as male or female, sometimes more gender neutral names are useful for characters in scenarios.
Additional curated resources
Check out my complete library of links or my previous bookmarks posts.
