Playing Seriously: Four AI Apps I Built to Transform the Writing Classroom

Using PlayLab AI to Create Interactive Writing Tools for Student Engagement

Note: These are experimental tools I'm actively refining, and I'd love your feedback on how they might work in your classroom contexts.

In a previous post, I reflected on the power of play and collaboration in teaching writing—how playful exploration unlocks meaningful learning. Today, I'm excited to share how I've put these ideas into practice by creating four interactive apps using PlayLab. Each of these playful tools is designed to engage students, deepen their thinking, and support their growth as thoughtful, reflective writers.

Quick disclosure: I have no affiliation with PlayLab beyond being an enthusiastic user. I don't work for them, receive no compensation, and have no formal relationship with the company. I've simply found their platform offers an accessible balance of ease-of-use while building targeted tools for specific writing skills.

1. Schedule Sidekick: Roadmaps Without Rigidity

What it does:
Schedule Sidekick helps students turn intimidating writing deadlines into manageable, step-by-step plans. Students input their project details and personal work styles, and the app generates a clear, flexible schedule—reducing stress and encouraging realistic planning.

Student feedback from simulation: "Looks manageable, thanks!"

Classroom Value:

• Reduces student anxiety: Turns vague deadlines into clear paths.

• Fosters self-awareness: Students discover and reflect on personal workflow habits.

• Discussion-friendly: Easily integrates into LMS discussions, where students share and discuss their generated plans.

2. 🎯 Write Type: Personality Profiles that Inspire

What it does:
This app combines pop psychology with writing pedagogy to help students discover their writing personalities. Through a fun, reflective quiz, students receive personalized profiles, complete with creative names, descriptions of their writing identities, and tailored tips.

Sample outputs from simulations:

"🎉 You Are: The Reflective Architect"
"You thrive on structure and depth. You thoughtfully engage with each assignment by first laying careful groundwork, then building up your ideas brick by brick."

"🎉 You Are: The Spontaneous Creator"
"Your creativity thrives in quick, dynamic bursts. You're energized by vibrant environments and spontaneous ideas."

"🎉 You Are: The Deadline Dynamo"
"Nothing motivates you quite like urgency. You're the classic sprinter who thrives under pressure."

Classroom Value:

• Engages students deeply: Students enjoy exploring their unique identities and styles.

• Supports metacognition: Encourages students to articulate what genuinely motivates or challenges them.

• Builds community: Sharing these profiles in class or in Canvas fosters a community of writers who appreciate diverse approaches.

3. Unpack Your Golden Line: Deep Reading through Dialogue

What it does:
Using a Socratic conversational approach, this app guides students in unpacking their chosen "Golden Line"—a meaningful quote from their reading. Students articulate why it resonates personally and begin moving toward deeper textual analysis.

Student response from simulation: "It made me think about how we often try hard to move forward in life, but feel dragged back by past experiences or regrets."

Classroom Value:

• Develops critical thinking: Encourages students to progress from emotional reactions to structured analysis.

• Deepens engagement: The conversational approach draws out nuanced responses.

• Prepares students for writing: An ideal pre-writing exercise for analytical paragraphs or essays.

4. Thesis Nuance Navigator: From Bold Claims to Refined Arguments

What it does:
Through structured questioning and reflective dialogue, this app guides students from broad initial claims to nuanced, thoughtfully crafted thesis statements, incorporating subtle variations and counterarguments along the way.

Student outcome from simulation: "The impact of social media on teen mental health varies widely, largely depending on whether teens actively engage with supportive communities or passively consume content."

Classroom Value:

• Enhances critical thinking: Students learn to refine arguments, evaluate evidence, and anticipate opposing viewpoints.

• Encourages revision as reflective practice: Promotes revision as thoughtful refinement rather than mere correction.

• Flexible integration: Easily embedded in peer-review activities or formative writing assignments.

My Testing Process: Simulations and Real-World Trials

Each of these apps has gone through extensive testing through two complementary approaches:

1. AI Simulations: I've conducted numerous simulations within ChatGPT 4.5, asking the LLM to play roles of both student and app. These transcripts have been invaluable for catching potential issues and refining the prompts before implementing them in PlayLab.

2. Real-World Testing: I've also tested within the PlayLab environment itself, which requires me to manually play the role of student. While more time-consuming, this real-world testing helps stress-test the apps in their actual environment.

As Dr. Sarah Silverman noted in The Higher Ed Tech Podcast:

"PlayLab is designed to empower educators to create interactive, AI-powered learning experiences without requiring technical expertise. It's about making the technology serve pedagogy, not the other way around."

Tips for Creating Your Own PlayLab Apps

1. Start with clear learning objectives

Before building, identify exactly what skill or concept you want students to develop. The most effective apps have focused outcomes.

2. Use LLMs to draft your prompts

I've found it incredibly helpful to use ChatGPT to draft my PlayLab prompts. For example, I might ask: "Help me craft a step-by-step dialogue that guides students from an initial thesis statement to a more nuanced version with counterarguments."

3. Test with simulations first

Running simulations in ChatGPT before implementing in PlayLab saves tremendous time. Ask the LLM to play both roles—student and app—to see how the conversation might unfold with different student responses.

4. The prompt is just plain English

No coding or prompt engineering expertise required! Here's a snippet from my actual Write Type app prompt:

Background
You are a fun, insightful, and supportive writing mentor. You help college students explore their unique writing personality by guiding them through a short, reflective quiz. Your tone is friendly and a little playful—like the kind of personality quiz you’d find in a magazine or online—but with meaningful and practical outcomes.

You’ll ask seven reflective questions, one at a time. After the student responds to all seven, you’ll generate a personalized “Writer Profile” that includes:

• A creative name for their writer type (e.g., “The Quiet Outliner,” “The Deadline Sprinter,” “The Poetic Synthesizer”)
• A short description of their writing identity (tone, process, mindset)
• Practical suggestions (writing tools, ideal setting, time of day, approach to revision)

This process should feel like a mix of pop psychology and practical coaching. Make it affirming and useful.

Your Workflow
Step 1: Say:
💬 “Hey there! Ready to discover your writing personality? I’ll ask you seven questions, one at a time. At the end, I’ll share a custom writer profile just for you—complete with practical suggestions and a fun little name. Sound good?”

Step 2:
Ask these questions, one at a time, waiting for the student’s response before moving on:
...

5. Integrate with your LMS

The most successful implementation I've found is creating a Canvas (or other LMS) discussion that points students to the app and then asks them to share and reflect on their experience. While PlayLab does track student interactions, accessing these insights works best with institutional integration.

Getting Started with PlayLab

Setting up a PlayLab account is straightforward:

• It's free for educators and offers unlimited student use

• Registration requires attending a brief Zoom orientation (about 30 minutes)

• The orientation covers basic functionality and best practices

• Created by educators for educators, the platform prioritizes pedagogical needs

Playing Seriously, Learning Deeply

Building these apps on PlayLab has allowed me to infuse playfulness into the writing process, helping students engage more authentically and thoughtfully with their own learning. Students don't simply complete tasks—they explore their identities, reflect deeply, and approach their writing with curiosity and self-awareness.

These tools are still evolving, and I'm continuously refining them based on student feedback and classroom experiences. I'd love to hear how they might work (or not work!) in your specific teaching contexts.

I encourage you to explore these apps, create your own playful interventions, and share your discoveries. Let's continue using thoughtful, playful AI to reimagine how we teach and learn writing.

What experiments are you trying with AI in your writing classroom? I'd love to learn from your experiences in the comments below.