How I Use ChatGPT for Brainstorming Without Losing My Voice 🤖

Hello friends, once again! 🤗

When people talk about AI, it’s usually with fear. I get it. The overreliance, the environmental impact, the unknowns of what it means for creativity. I’ve read about all of that. And still, I’ll say it: life will never be the same after AI.

The first time I heard about ChatGPT was from, of all places, South Park. The episode was about kids secretly using ChatGPT to write their essays, and at the end, it turns out Mr. Garrison was using ChatGPT to grade them. The irony was hilarious.

Fast forward to this year, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott passed legislation banning student electronic devices in schools. I actually agree with this one. Students having fewer distractions and less access to their devices is a good thing for learning. (Check out the post The Texas Phone Ban: What It Means for Teachers and Learning on my full thoughts about devices in schools!)

But for teachers, I think technology still has a place, especially tools like ChatGPT. It can take care of the repetitive tasks that drain our time and energy, so we can focus on the creative parts of the job.

When I Needed It Most

When I was still in the classroom, I spent hours typing lesson plans that all sounded the same, changing only a few words each week. I spent even longer drafting parent emails, trying to sound professional, kind, and firm all at once.

Those are the moments when a tool like ChatGPT could have helped me the most. Not to replace my voice, but to help me find it faster.

How I Use ChatGPT Now

Now that I’m back to working on my TPT store, ChatGPT has become one of my favorite tools for brainstorming and design.

In my last blog, Inside My Brain: How I Turn Ideas Into Math Activities, I talked about how I visualize my activities before I ever make them. I can picture the layout, the flow, and the concept before a single problem exists.

That’s where ChatGPT comes in. I’ll describe what I see in my head:

• “A graphing activity that looks like an underwater I Spy puzzle.”
• “A transformation worksheet where each planet changes based on the function.”

Then I ask for help mapping it out: What could the directions look like? How can I structure the problems? What kind of story or theme could tie it all together?

ChatGPT helps me take those quick flashes of ideas and organize them into something I can start building.

It’s the same for marketing. I’ll ask how to make a thumbnail that feels bright and engaging or how to phrase a caption that invites comments. It doesn’t do the work for me, but it helps me move from “I have an idea” to “I have a plan.”

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Why I’m Not Afraid

There’s a lot of fear about what AI will do to creativity and education, but I don’t think it has to replace anything. It can simply support the process.

ChatGPT can’t replicate your classroom stories, your sense of humor, or your years of teaching instincts. But it can help you get past writer’s block, reword a tricky paragraph, or save an hour that you can spend creating instead.

For me, ChatGPT became the thing that helped me get unstuck. It gave me a way to brainstorm again and reconnect with the creative side of teaching that I had missed.

So if you’re a teacher or creator who’s unsure about using it, start small. Use it for your repetitive tasks, your brainstorming sessions, or to organize your ideas. Keep your human touch, but don’t be afraid to let AI make the process lighter.

💬 Let’s Reflect

Have you tried using AI tools in your teaching or creative process yet? What do you think they can help with, or what do you prefer to keep fully human?

Keep creating, octopuses. 🐙

Daniela

🧩 Related Resources

Here are a few of my favorite activities that blend creativity and structure — the same balance I try to strike when designing with AI:

⭐ Graphing Linear Inequalities – Hidden Message | Slope-Intercept & Standard Form
⭐ EXPONENTIAL Function Fact & Fib Finder | Key Characteristics of a Function
⭐ Function Personality Quiz & Assignment | Graphing Functions and Math Writing

Thanks for reading! You can find all my math resources on 
👉 Teachers Pay Teachers | Math with Mrs. DOT
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