NTLSN · Crash Course · Build

Build your own teaching tools with AI — a crash course

You can build a small interactive tool for your students this afternoon. Four short lessons on doing it with AI, then a self-check.

The one thing to remember: every tool on NTLSN is just HTML in a browser — no install, no server. With AI to write it, you can build one for your students without being a developer.
4 lessons~10 min read1 self-checkGrounded in no-code / AI-assisted build & web good practice

The lessons

1
What you can buildSmall, single-page, no install
›

The sweet spot is a self-contained page that runs in a browser — a calculator, a self-check, a visual, a decision tool. Exactly like NTLSN's own tools.

  • Think single-page, runs offline, nothing stored or sent.
  • Calculators, quizzes, timelines, diagrams, self-assessments.
  • If students just open a link, you've removed every barrier.
2
Describe it wellPrompt the build
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Building with AI is prompting with a goal. Describe what it does, who it's for, and what it should look like.

  • State the purpose, the inputs, and the output.
  • Ask for a single self-contained HTML file, no dependencies.
  • Give an example or sketch of the layout you want.
3
Test & refineIt won't be perfect first try
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Treat the first build as a draft. Try it, find what's wrong, and ask for fixes — iterate to good.

  • Click everything; try odd inputs; check it on a phone.
  • Describe bugs specifically and ask for the fix.
  • Keep refining until it's genuinely usable.
4
Share it safelyAccessible, private, attributed
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A tool for students must be accessible, store no data, and be honest about what it is.

  • No data collection; everything stays in the browser.
  • Make it accessible — keyboard, contrast, captions and labels.
  • Say what it is and isn't; attribute sources you used.
Grounded in
  • Accessible web practice (WCAG)
  • Privacy-by-design for student tools
◇ Bring it together — from the NTLSN commons
Claude Code for Academics coursePrompting for Academics courseFree in-browser toolsAccessibility preflight tool

Before you build and share a tool — a quick self-check

✓
My tool is a single page that runs in the browser.
✓
It stores nothing and sends nothing.
✓
I described purpose, inputs and output to build it.
✓
I tested it on odd inputs and on a phone.
✓
It's accessible — keyboard, contrast, labels.
✓
I'm honest about what it is, and I attribute sources.
Source & attribution. Curated from no-code / AI-assisted build and web good practice indexed by the NTLSN commons. NTLSN is independent of AI vendors. Mind accessibility, privacy and your institution's IT policy.
A free NTLSN crash course · see them all at /crash-courses.html. Runs in your browser; nothing is stored or sent.  ·  ← Back to NTLSN