From Ideas to Apps: Rediscovering Creativity Through AI and Vibe Coding

For most of my working life, I’ve been fascinated by how ideas become real. In the last century, when I taught mass communications and videography, the creative process was equal part excitement and endurance. We storyboarded ambitious scenes, imagined sweeping camera moves, and dreamed complex scenes. But we then we spent hours in the editing suite wrestling with sync, sound, and timing. The gap between what we envisioned and what we produced was often wide, and closing it required patience, skill, and a fair bit of stubbornness. That has since changed has technology moved on.

I followed a similar path with early computing. Tools like WordStar, HyperCard, and QuarkXPress opened new creative possibilities, but they also demanded a working knowledge of code. I spent a lot of time getting to a working if not optimum solution.

When the web arrived in the 1990s, I used those skills to build simple pages for students. But as blogging platforms and user‑friendly tools emerged, the need to hand‑craft everything faded. Even when I later managed large coding projects, I left the actual code to the coders.

Today, that landscape around coding has shifted again and dramatically.

The Rise of Vibe Coding

We are now in an era where AI allows us to be more ambitious than ever. “Vibe coding”, using natural language to shape an application into existence, it represents a genuine paradigm shift. Instead of wrestling with boilerplate or scaffolding, we can focus on the logic, the user experience, and the problem we’re trying to solve. The AI does a lot of the magic and handles the heavy lifting.

If you are automating a manual workflow, prototyping a weekend idea, or simply tidying up a webpage, vibe coding lets you move from concept to working prototype with unbelievable speed. It’s powerful even if you never intend to write a line of code yourself. You can test ideas, explore possibilities, and hand a validated proof‑of‑concept to professional developers when you’re ready. Anyone really can have a go at this.

I’ve been experimenting with this through the Glasgow No Code Initiative, which has taken me “back to college” in the best possible way. While the classes use Replit, I’ve tried a range of tools, and the experience has been both a refresher and a revelation. It's been good too to catch up with some fellow like minds from Glasgow's digital community who have signed up for the course.

Interesting that course has been bought in by Glasgow region - I hope lots of academic and support staff have signed up and are able to deliver future iterations.

I’ve built a simple app that checks a community hall’s availability via Google Calendar and allows users to make a booking, something that would once have required a small team, a long timeline and/or would have cost money if we'd bought an off the shelf tool.

The Golden Rules of Prompting

Regardless of the tool, your results depend on the clarity of your instructions. There are four principles that consistently produce better outputs from tools like Replit , Claude or ChatGPT:

1. Be Clear and Concise

Avoid unnecessary detail. Tell the model exactly what it needs to know.

2. Prioritise Requirements

Put the most important constraints at the top of your prompt. Structure matters.

3. Frame Requests Positively

Tell the AI what to do, not just what to avoid. Positive instructions reduce ambiguity.

4. Use Precise Language

Specificity narrows the “hallucination gap” and leads to more reliable results.

And if the model gets it wrong? Refine your prompt. Iteration is part of the process, just as it always was in the editing suite.

A New Creative Cycle

What excites me most is how familiar this all feels. The tools have changed, but the creative impulse hasn’t. We’re once again at a moment where the imagination leads, and technology follows. The difference now is the speed: the distance between idea and prototype has collapsed.

If I was back in the classroom I'd be showing all learners how to use these tools to develop apps for themselves.

At a very simple level it quickly unpacks how a full stack app is built and how the different files and folders interact. I'd use it as a way to get learners to start understanding coding.

For educators, community builders, and anyone with a spark of curiosity, this is an extraordinary opportunity. If you have an idea, even a small one, give it a go. You might be surprised by how quickly it becomes something real.

And if the Glasgow No Code Initiative runs again, it’s well worth signing up.

TeachmeetBETT26: Twenty Years On and Still the Best Thing in the Room #TeachmeetBett26 #BettUK2026 #ALT #OpenEducation #openscot

Twenty years. That's how long the Teachmeet movement has been rattling around in classrooms, conference halls, and the odd beermeet event and it shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.

The Teachmeet movement started in Scotland in 2006. A group of  Scottish teachers who wanted to share practice without the formality and expense of traditional CPD. No budgets, no keynotes charging four figures, no hotel conference suites. Just people who cared about learning, talking to other people who cared about learning. 

It spawned from a community around early Scottish Educational bloggers - Scotedublogs ( still going strong).  Over years  I offered sponsorship and venues when I could - though I did speak at a few and the teachmeet format moved around the world. 

But I do think we have stalled a bit in Scotland would be good to see much more grass roots activity. 

At the time and now,  it is refreshing to hear - fresh voices sharing their challenges and solutions.

 
For anyone who hasn't come across Teachmeet before, where have you been? The concept is beautifully simple.

• Practitioners suggest they will  share something useful, interesting or half-baked in two minutes or seven minutes. 
• These are added to the pot and then selected at random.
• No PowerPoint decks full of bullet points. 
• Perhaps an illustration or something to demo.
• They stand up and use their allotted time.
• Generally a safe space not usually live streaming.
• If you take too long you get a cuddly toy hurled at you. 
• Audience gets a useful link or idea to take away and look at later. 

No consultants selling you something. Just real people doing real things in real classrooms and colleagues, sharing what works and what doesn't. 

It's bottom-up professional development at its very best, and in an age where we are drowning in AI-generated content and slick vendor presentations, that authenticity matters more than ever.

What genuinely lifted my spirits at Teachmeet Bett 2026 was seeing new faces embracing the Teachmeet methodology. The audience was a good mix ; teachers, lecturers, learning technologists, people from schools, colleges and universities and the energy in the room was real. That's the thing about Teachmeet. You can't manufacture that energy. It either happens or it doesn't, and on that  Wednesday night it absolutely did.

It is simply great staff development. 
The presentations are all available here and there's also a lovely tribute to Teachmeet's twenty-year history worth exploring if you want to understand just how far this grassroots movement has come.

I used my two minutes to plug learning design, Open Education #openscot , and membership of ALT. I make no apologies for that. These are things I genuinely believe every college professional working with technology should know about. CMALT in particular remains one of the most underused professional development tools in Scottish further education, and events like Teachmeet are exactly the right place to spread the word.

A challenge 

• At the end of the night, the challenge went out: organise one. Your college, your school, your academic team , your local authority, your professional network. It doesn't have to be big. It doesn't have to be slick. It just has to happen. 

• I genuinely believe every college in Scotland — every college anywhere — should be running at least one Teachmeet a year. The cost is minimal it can be zero . The return in terms of practitioner confidence, professional community and shared ideas is enormous.

• To Scottish teachers and lecturers it is hard making your voices heard but you need to be brave for your learners. Teachmeets and Scotedublogs are great vehicles to share open practice. There is a community you can be part of.   

In the background there is some work underway to restate some Teachmeet assets like original wiki to help keep global momentum going.

Hat doffed to all teachmeeters past and present. I am looking forward to meeting future generations. 

Twenty years of Teachmeet. Here's to twenty more. Hope to see you at #teachmeetBett27 #tmbett2027

Shaking Up the System: Reflections on the #Edufuturists Roadshow February 2026

It was fantastic to finally meet the Edufuturists team in person during their UK Roadshow stop in Glasgow on February 2, 2026. The event was held in the pleasant, local surroundings of the Everyman Cinema , it's an excellent, intimate venue for conferences and discussions.

I've followed Edufuturists' rise from afar, and it's genuinely refreshing to see a fresh team challenging the status quo in UK education. Co-hosted by Ben Whitaker (former teacher, IDEAS Guy, podcast host) and Steve Hope (former PE teacher and EdTech CEO), the group is pushing for real revolution in how we support learners and society. Always nice to see some bottom up change makers - we seem to be in a period when we have run out of these in Scotland.
The Highlight: "The Real" David CameronThe standout moment was hearing from "The Real" David Cameron, In my view, still the most realistic and inspirational voice on the state of school education in Scotland. His provocation drew striking parallels between schools and colleges: an ongoing obsession with data measurement at the expense of genuine human relationships and connections at all levels.
I am sure he has done a few, but would be a great speaker for a College Learning and Teaching conference.

The Reality CheckWhile David's analysis of the system's struggles is compelling, it's also deeply depressing. The core message is one of bureaucracy over people, metrics trumping relationships and it's just got worse over my 39 years in education. We know the problems well, yet we're still circling the same discussions.

Networking & TakeawaysThe audience was a fascinating mix of change-makers from public and private sectors, including at least one former HMIE inspector. This created excellent networking opportunities and rich conversations. Great to catch up with some old friends like David and make many new ones.
My key takeaways: Even though Scotland's school system is far less fractured than England's, the deep-rooted challenges remain depressingly similar; the profound impact of poverty and persistently stalling learner satisfaction/engagement while teaching staff increasingly feel under siege.
Rehashed statistics everyone should know - lots of teachers being trained in Scotland but few full time jobs - at same time lots of current teachers and schools leaders want to leave the profession.
Overall, events like this Roadshow (themed "Funding & Efficiency," with free tickets thanks to sponsors like ParentPay Group) are a welcome spark for disruption.
But the persistence of these systemic issues after so many years leaves a sobering reminder that meaningful change is still elusive. Perhaps new agencies etc in Scotland will swiftly solve all of our challenges ? It would be great to see some clearer agendas for actual change.
Cross political parties politicians still really don't get learning and or are unwilling to really change up the offer available in schools and colleges and or in David's thesis empower schools to make more local decisions.
I did a bit to promote CMALT and ALT generally. Teachers need to know that there are structured ways to develop their professional recognition in the learning technology space.
Would be good too to welcome more of these folks in to the ALT community.
For more on the series: Get along to one of their next stops !

• Edufuturists Roadshow page (Glasgow details and upcoming stops like Belfast, Cardiff, etc.)
• Get an entry in to competition and/or get along to Uprising Conference in Liverpool.

A Week in London #bettuk2026 #bett26 Part Three BETT

 #Bettuk2026 Wed -Friday 21st-23rd January 2026

Here is my usual summary and observations

2nd year at BETT when there were no feet on the ground from Education Scotland.  A travel ban apparently. Shame when the biggest educational technology event in the UK is on and senior folks from all major IT companies are in London and not least the UK and international educational community. 

It is a bit of a scandal really. Scotland should be on the map at this event. I spotted Wales and Northern Ireland on the UK stands. Great to see EdTech's from schools, colleges, universities and local authorities found the ways and means to get down from Scotland. Education Scotland's sponsoring department please note.

Queen Elizabeth line to Excel continues to be a revelation for travelling to and from venue and opens up possibility of accommodation across London. I stayed initially with my daughter in her student flat over in Deptford and then moved for two nights to an amazing hotel hostel in Rotherhithe. Really brilliant value and proof that you can do BETT on a budget. Made for an interesting free short ferry commute in morning. 

It was very much AI every where - some pretty random and some very focused on the challenges discussed over the previous two days. AI can write your essay and mark it. Message really is that assessment has to change and that centres really need to learn about CASE and MCP servers to make most of their data and content. 

Bridget Phillipson Secretary of State for Education's address picked up on much I had heard on the two preceding days with OECD and 1Edtech. Good to see her back ( see last year's BETT post) . Highlighting the transformative potential of AI and EdTech to make learning more inclusive, support teachers, and improve outcomes for all learners. Announces new safety standards, new digital skills pathways for teacher training, and a £23 million expansion of the EdTech Testbeds programme to build a strong evidence base for effective tools. 

I achieved everything in my original plan and then some. 

Squeezed into a smaller area of Excel this year but having spoken to the organisers, more exhibitors and certainly high footfall. Great to have themed stages with keynotes distributed around exhibitors. I spent most of my time in and around FE/HE zone. Still think could do with a bit more from ALT, Jisc , QAA and perhaps some more focus on Colleges and vocational learning.  

Great to see many of the Scots who made it down at the Scottish gathering kindly supported by SmartBoards. Good too to get great update on their products. The training and support they give users is first class- liked new mike through smartboard- and still like smartboard mini. 

Nice to see more thought on design and layout of the start up zone. Though apologies nothing really fired me up this year.  

TeachmeetBett26 on Teachmeet's 20th Anniversary. Many thanks to BETT organisers for super on site support. 

I did a two minute plug for learning design , Open Education  and for membership of ALT. Thanks too Everway/Texthelp for sponsoring cracking social at 02 Battle Bar and for old pal Dawn Holly-Bone from 2Simple for chairing so well. Was great to see new faces embracing Teachmeet methodology. Presentations here and tribute to Teachmeet history.  Every College should hold one at least once a year. Challenge is out to all attendees to organise one.

Here is very quick run down of what caught my eye and attention and some of my chats .

• Microsoft - sat through a few sessions to be up to speed with their new roll outs. I didn't go to all of their sessions mainly the What is new session. But you can get all of their sessions here.
• Google - Similarly spent some time getting on inside track . Some great sessions on using Notebook LM for research.

I am still really amazed that every College does not have tenancies on both Microsoft and Google platforms. It can be done at no cost, if you know how. Both are promoting a range of new tools within existing licensing costs and the best way to prevent any shadow IT developing. 

In main auditorium, teaching and learning theatre and Higher Education theatre - some practical workshops particularly around how AI is changing up operational areas of Colleges and Universities - from data to track skills and employment opportunities , answering phones and even students using vibe coding to create their own booking systems. Had quick coffee and catch up with Paul Mckean and Sue Attewell on Jisc AI work.  

Lots of AI with everything sat through presentations  and visited some of these stands. Last year Teachermatic was out in the lead for teacher content creation, now everyone is at that game , including Microsoft and Google.  More significantly emergence of tools using CASE and MCP.

Many amazing stands - big budget items. The Egyptian Education Authority had built a pyramid. 

Lots too on esports - which I still don't quite get.  I do get it as a gateway to games development and programming.

VR and AR it is still ClassVR leader of pack and interesting new tools for simulating interviews.  Metaverse learning and Body Swaps territory . Think every College should have a class set of VR head sets for appropriate activities. 

Liked this juice bar vending machine as an alternative to fizzy drinks. 

A few stands that I thought were selling Vapes - were really selling Vape detector systems. A sign of the times. 

Great conversations with ClickView , Cisco Training Academies and BodySwaps - it is great to hear they are going from strength to strength. Met some old Spanish friends who do lot around improving data and learning material flows for Colleges and Universities. I spent some time too revisiting C-Learning and their Merlyn Mind product. 

Useful conversation with Newcastle College group who are doing the right thing and rolling out CMALT to all of their educational technologists. Follow up conversation with their Rob Wraith on how they manage access and costs around tokenisation in Microsoft Co-Pilot. Basically how they set up permissions and controls so that the institution does not get additional bills. ( this is issue for many institutions moving ahead into this space) So critical that learning technologists and IT work together around this. 

Only spotted one awarding body - which may also be sign of times - assessment and certification really need to change.

But back to my theme of week it was really AI with everything - have a look at BrainFreeze stand useful to see they are explaining how their tool uses CASE and MCP.

Sorry to miss a sit down and proper catch up with Vic Boyd and Scott Renton from City of Glasgow College who were around too and many more colleagues from across vocational learning. We will catch up soon. 

On way down I spotted a very negative post about BETT from a 'leading' Scottish educational academic who I think has attended one BETT in the past- it was very down on the technological hegemony - but on all technology really. 

Yes, lots of selling of fantasies but some really useful learning for all. People make BETT not the technology. Everyone working in learning really needs an understanding of technologies - it is the only way to actually move classroom, institutional and global learning forward.  We all need a bit more #openscot. 

And a final big thanks for all the hospitality and good company I enjoyed. 

My week in London Reports

• Part One with OECD
• Part Two with IEdtech.
• Reports on Previous BETT conferences here.

I miss Wakelet as my tool of choice for summarising events like this.