Campfire Session — Our October '26 Updates

00:00 What we'll cover

Teddy previews the session: new ways to create and share in Flint, tests and quizzes, support for every kind of learner, more control for school admins, and a Q&A at the end.

01:27 Spreadsheets and formulas

In a 10th grade computer science class, Sparky pulls the results of a Python loops and conditionals quiz into a spreadsheet and calculates the class average.

Teddy then asks Sparky to add a column that curves the scores and to round them to whole numbers. Sparky writes each formula and explains what it does, so teachers learn how the spreadsheet works as they go.

03:32 Interactive simulations and sharing by link

In a 12th grade chemistry class, Teddy builds a simulation of Le Chatelier's principle in a chat and refines it by sending Sparky screenshots of what to change. Students adjust temperature and volume to see how the reaction responds.

The Share button limits access to one class or opens it to anyone with the link, and can publish the simulation to the school library or the public library. A copied link can go straight into an LMS, and students who open it see only the interactive.

06:31 Resizing images in documents

When Sparky makes a document, teachers can now drag an image's handles to resize it. Teddy shows this on a Día de los Muertos worksheet for an 11th grade Spanish class, sizing the images so each page prints cleanly without moving the file to Google Docs or Word.

07:26 The new Library

The redesigned Library, in the left-hand menu, holds activities and artifacts shared by teachers at your school or published to the public library. Teachers can filter by subject and topic, then choose Use Activity to copy an activity into one of their classes.

From there, Start a session tries the activity as a student, and Edit lets teachers tell Sparky how to adapt it to what they teach.

09:22 Building tests and quizzes

Alongside chat and file upload activities, teachers can now assign tests and quizzes. Teddy opens the Python quiz's settings to show availability and due dates, multiple choice and free response questions, and points for each question.

Teachers can edit questions by typing or ask Sparky to add one. Questions can be added after students have submitted, and students can reopen their session to answer them. Students take the quiz on their own, without Sparky.

13:09 Grading, feedback and answer keys

Sparky grades free response answers against the teacher's grading guide and gives each student feedback. Teachers can add their own feedback on each question, typed or dictated.

Share results controls when students see their scores, and the answer key can be released to students who have submitted, then hidden again if needed.

15:02 Printing transcripts and downloading student uploads

In a 10th grade factoring quadratics activity, Print transcripts shows every student's conversation with Sparky on one scrolling page that can be printed. Download images collects all the pen-and-paper work students uploaded into one zip file.

16:48 Extra time, dyslexia-friendly font and dark mode

In a class's settings, teachers can add accessibility accommodations for individual students, such as 15 extra minutes on a 30-minute timed activity for a student with time and a half.

Teddy also introduces the dyslexia-friendly font and shows dark mode, set from the Theme menu under your name. Dark mode helps when projecting Flint in class, and the theme can also follow your computer's settings.

18:47 AI Literacy for Teachers course

The AI Literacy for Teachers course starts from Learn more about Flint on the home page. Teachers new to AI can begin at Level 1, and teachers who already use it can start at Level 2.

Lessons are timed, show how AI works with interactive examples, and ask what you teach so the work produces resources you can use with your students. Each level earns a badge in Flint and one you can add to LinkedIn.

Teddy also confirms that everyone signed up for Flint receives the monthly product update newsletter.

22:43 Tracking staff progress on the course

In the admin Professional development section, school leaders can see which teachers have started or finished each level of the course. The Remind button emails one teacher, a selected group, or everyone who hasn't started.

23:57 Uploading your school's AI policy

Admins can upload the school's AI policy under Settings, then AI policy, and Sparky reads it in every conversation. Teddy imports a full policy document and a one-page summary.

He then asks Sparky, as a 9th grade English teacher, whether students can use AI to draft essays. Sparky reads the policy, explains that it depends and why, and offers to draft AI use guidelines for the assignment.

29:44 Moderation alert frequency

Admins can now get moderation alerts immediately, or as an hourly, daily or weekly email.

30:20 Classes tab and renaming students

The new Classes tab lets admins publish or unpublish many classes at once, hiding unpublished classes from students, and delete duplicates. Admins can also rename a student under People, so students appear by the name they prefer.

31:34 Help in Flint

The help center now lives inside Flint. Under Learn more about Flint, Help lets Sparky find articles on features such as slides, spreadsheets and quizzes.

32:34 Recap

Teddy recaps the month's updates for sharing, accessibility, school admins, and the AI literacy course.

34:06 Q&A: moving students between classes

An attendee asks how to move a student between classes by hand. Teddy shows the steps: as an admin, remove the student from the first class under People, then add them to the second class by email. A student listed with an unassigned role is still treated as a student.

38:04 Q&A: interactives inside activities

An attendee asks whether an interactive can sit inside a guided activity. Teddy opens the Flame Test activity for 12th grade chemistry, where the simulation is part of an activity chat and Sparky guides students through questions as they explore it.

Teachers can find Flame Test in the Flint Public Library, along with a post-lab analysis activity that goes with it.