Napkin AI is a tool that you can use to create clear and simple content summaries with accompanying visuals. According to its FAQ section, “Napkin helps you transform your existing text content into visuals like diagrams, charts, scenes, and images. Think of it as having a personal visual expert right at your fingertips, ready to bring your ideas to life.” For time-strapped educators, this type of virtual assistant can be incredibly helpful.
How to Use Napkin AI
First, navigate to www.napkin.ai and create your free account. Then, log in.
Once logged in, the process is pretty straightforward. There’s a single menu button in the middle of the page that reads, “Create my first Napkin.” Click that option to generate content.
From there, you will have two choices: Paste in your own text content or have AI generate text for you. If you have content already, the pasting option allows you to control exactly what content is provided in your results.
To use AI to generate your text, you’ll need to write a prompt in the related box, like you’d do with any generative AI tool. For example, you might type, “writing a metaphor.”
When you click “Continue,” Napkin will generate text about your submitted prompt. For the metaphor example, it returned a nicely outlined guide of four sections, with the title, “Crafting Metaphors: A Guide to Figurative Language.” The sections included “Understanding Metaphors,” “Components of a Strong Metaphor,” “Examples of Effective Metaphors,” and “Tips for Writing Your Own Metaphors.” The summary also included an introduction and conclusion.
To generate an accompanying image, hover your mouse to the left of any section of text. A blue-and-white lightning bolt icon will appear. Click that icon, and Napkin will begin generating a diagram to help visually summarize the content provided.
In fact, Napkin will offer you a palette of choices. Scroll through the options and click on the one that you like best. Napkin will then insert it below the selected section of text in your document.
Even after the initial diagram has been generated, you have many options for customizing it. You can click on any icon included in the diagram to expose another lightning bolt, which then gives you additional icon options to choose from. Below the image is another menu that offers four additional options:
- Spark Search: Look for custom icons and even more shapes to add to your image.
- Labeling Tool: Add additional text.
- Sketch Option: Mark up the diagram with a digital pen.
- Image Option: Upload, drag-and-drop, or copy-and-paste your own images into the diagram.
Beyond that, you can edit the font type, text style, alignment, and color, and you can even add styling like a frame around a section of text. Once you are satisfied with your content, you can download a part of the graphic or the entire illustration or document.
Napkin also allows for collaboration, and to aid in that process, you can add comments along the right margin, much like you’d do with Google Docs. The sharing process is similar to what you would experience in Google and Microsoft. You simply click the “Share” button by your profile image at the top and then add an email address, or you can send someone a sharable link instead. You can grant four levels of access: view, comment, edit, or edit and share.
If you’d like to download a copy of your finished work, you can export it as a PNG, SVG, or PDF file type.
Integration Ideas
There are several ways that you might consider using this tool. The three below are good entry points:
- Content Generation: If you’re looking to generate clear, organized, and accessible overview information about a topic, Napkin is there to help. Of course, you could also do this with ChatGPT, Gemini, or the generative AI tool of your choice.
- Diagram Generation: Napkin does a nice job of generating informative diagrams that can help you organize ideas and concepts in a visual manner. While you could create these by hand using the feature for inserting diagrams in your favorite productivity tool, Napkin makes the process easy and creates initial options for you. Once you have this starting point, you can revise and customize as desired.
- Slideshows or Handouts: The generated content lends itself well to slideshows and handouts. You can print them out and use them just as they have been generated, or you can select the elements that you like and insert them into another project, like a slideshow, handout, or website.
If you’re looking for visuals, particularly diagrams, to go along with your content, Napkin AI just might be the tool that you’ve been searching for to support those efforts.
AVID Connections
This resource connects with the following components of the AVID College and Career Readiness Framework:
- Instruction
- Align the Work
- Collective Educator Agency
Extend Your Learning
- About Us (Napkin AI)
- Help Center (Napkin AI)