Watch Your Words Come To Life!

Ideogram AI

@LisaBerghoff

There is lots of buzz around artificial intelligence, what it can and can't do, what it should and shouldn't do. When I talk to educators, one of the biggest questions that I get asked is about use of generative AI to create images. This is such wonderful news because images are very important in learning. Using images along with words can help students remember, retain, and make connections, so let's look at how to create images.

There are so many AI text to image generators out there and some are better than others. Through trial and error we are also seeing that generative AI is good at creating some types of images and not so great at creating others.

I was recently introduced to an exceptional AI generative text to image tool called Ideogram.AI and I was very impressed. Here is what you need to know.

What is Ideogram.ai?

From the website:

Ideogram (pronounced "eye-diogram") is a new AI company on a mission to help people become more creative. The company is developing state-of-the-art AI tools that will make creative expression more accessible, fun, and efficient. It's pushing the limits of what's possible with AI, with a focus on creativity and a high standard for trust and safety. The company has built its own foundation models for text to image synthesis and as a result, Ideogram v0.1 and v0.2 have unique capabilities, such as rendering coherent text into text. Click below for a 1 minute introduction to Ideogram.ai.

How To Use Ideogram.ai

1. Go to ideogram.ai and login or sign up using your Google account.
2. Pick a username/display handle. 
3. Describe what you want to see and click "generate". You will see four options appear. Click on one to choose it. Yes! You can prompt in other languages!

4. From there, you can click "retry" to generate again. You can also copy your prompt as well as the "magic prompt", which is an ai generated version of your prompt that has a lot of detail. You may also share or download your image.

Here's one that I made. It took three prompt changes to get what I wanted but even the first attempt was very good. 

Image created by Lberghoff on Ideogram.ai

What Else Can You Do With Ideogram? 

Click "explore" and "top" to see what others have created. If you like something that was already generated by someone else, you can click on it to see the prompt. You can also choose "remix" and adapt the prompt to meet your needs. This can be a huge time saver as well as a great way to learn how to prompt ai for images. 

You can also choose to follow creators who make things that you like. Those will appear when you click "following". When you open an image created by someone else, you can click the follow button to see everything that they generate.

Want to go back and see what you have already created? Click on your profile in the upper right hand corner and you will see all of your images on the screen. 

Image created by Jennrobi on Ideogram.ai

Is Ideogram free?

Yes-ish. There is a free version that allows up to 25 prompts per day in what they call the "slow queue". I have not experienced an issue with generation speed but the paid versions have access to their "fast queue". Also, all images generated using the free version are considered public.

Consider having your students use Ideogram to create logos, images to go with their presentations, images that can demonstrate their understanding of a particular concept, and more. Another interesting activity would be to click on the "explore" tab in ideogram, click on an image, and then look at the prompt. You can also have students compare the prompt to the magic prompt. What words were used to create the image? When you read the words, do you see a different image? This is a wonderful entry point into the world of AI prompting for students. Remember, students can also remix images that they find. Students an also create on Ideogram and then put those images into Canva to be even more creative. 

How will you use Ideogram?

Want some help? I am always happy to work with you!