From the Lab
Where classroom challenges become learning innovations
Articles, build guides, and classroom insights from a practicing ELL teacher
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Featured Article
How I Built Three Learning Games in Two Weeks (And Why My ELL Students Actually Used Them)
Real talk: I was tired of persuasive writing units that went nowhere. Here's how I used AI to build a system of three connected learning games that got my ELL students presenting to district leadership.
Will
Read Full Article →8 min read
March 15, 2024
Latest Articles
Classroom Stories
Why My Basketball Grammar Game Worked (And What Failed First)
The unexpected success story of combining sports vocabulary with grammar practice—and the three iterations that didn't work.
6 min read
March 10, 2024
Research
Deliberate Play vs. Just Playing: What Adam Grant's Research Means for ELL
Breaking down the science behind why game-based learning works for language acquisition, and how to design for it.
10 min read
March 5, 2024
How-To
You Don't Need to Code: Building Your First Learning Game with Claude
A step-by-step guide to creating a custom vocabulary game using AI prompting. From idea to deployment in one afternoon.
12 min read
February 28, 2024
Build Guide
The Hover Translation Feature That Changed Everything for Newcomers
How one simple design decision made my apps accessible to students with zero English proficiency.
5 min read
February 20, 2024
Classroom Stories
When My Students Asked to Skip Recess to Play My 'Game'
The moment I knew deliberate play was working—and what made this learning experience different from worksheets.
7 min read
February 15, 2024
Research
FERPA Compliance for Teacher-Built Apps: What You Need to Know
Navigating student data privacy when building your own educational tools. A practical guide for classroom teachers.
9 min read
February 10, 2024
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