Toolkit

A tool only makes this list after I’ve made something real with it. Where I can, I link to the thing I made.

• think & build

  Claude

  My thinking partner and builder. Drafts, research, the code for this site, and the scripts behind every video on it.

  Made with it: everything on the home page

• remember

  claude-obsidian

  Runs my personal knowledge vault in Obsidian. Articles and notes go in; Claude files them into linked pages I can ask questions of later.

• remember

  Open Notebook

  An open-source take on NotebookLM that I run on my own Mac, for documents I’d rather not upload anywhere.

• make music & video

  ChatCut

  A video editor you drive with prompts. My first stop for songs and for short AI video clips.

  Made with it: Home Is You · Same Sky · Carve Her a Heart

• make music

  Mureka

  Song generator, in English and Mandarin. I use it inside ChatCut, or on its own as a backup. It gives a timing for every sung word, which makes lyric videos much easier.

  Made with it: Home Is You · Same Sky

• make music

  ElevenLabs

  For music that has to fit an exact length, or when I need clear licence terms.

• make video

  OpenArt

  Many image and video models in one place, so I can try a few side by side before choosing one.

Tools I plan to use in the classroom. Not on the list above yet, because I haven’t made something real with them.

• work together live

  CodeShare

  A free shared text editor that needs no sign-up. Open a page, share the link, and everyone types in the same document at once. Handy for learners to write and compare a prompt together.

• collect ideas

  Padlet

  An online board where learners post text, images and links on one shared page. Good for gathering everyone’s ideas or questions in one place during a session.

Tools I’ve signed up for or am keeping an eye on. Not recommendations yet.

What came before this list, back to 2006: twenty years of trying tools.