Stillpool

Settings

These settings need JavaScript, which is off in this browser, so choosing one changes nothing.

Changes apply as you choose them.

Theme
Font
Why these fonts?

Choose the font you find easiest to read. Studies have not found that special "dyslexia fonts" help people read faster or more accurately. More space between letters and words does help some readers, so try the spacing setting too.

Text size
Reading layout
Letter and word spacing
Line spacing
More reading controls

Focus mode hides the Map and Help links, the breadcrumb and the footer, so only the page you are reading is left.

Reading voice and speed

Emma is a computer voice, made with the open Kokoro model. Her readings are saved on this site. Where a part has no Emma reading yet, your device's own voice reads it.

Reading speed

The number is how many times faster than normal. 1.5 is one and a half times as fast. The voice keeps its pitch.

Move or delete progress
Move your progress

This device's save code:

Or open this restore link on the other device:

For teachers

This page is for teachers and trainers who want to use Stillpool with a group.

What Stillpool is

Stillpool is a free site for learning about AI, with no adverts, no account and no cookies. It puts neurodivergent learners first, with short lessons on calm pages. No lesson is timed or scored.

What a class needs

A class needs a web browser. There is nothing to install and no sign-up. Stillpool asks for no name, email or account. Progress and Settings need JavaScript to be turned on.

Each learner's progress and settings stay in their own browser and are not sent anywhere. The host, Vercel, receives ordinary request details such as an IP address, as for any web page. The Privacy notice has the full list.

The pillars

The lessons sit in 5 pillars. There are 41 lessons in all. Choose a pillar to see it on the lesson map.

  • How AI works: 10 lessons. Topics: What AI is and how it answers; How it learns, and where it goes wrong.
  • Prompting: 7 lessons. Topics: Tell it what you need; Shape it, check it, reuse it.
  • Ethics and society: 8 lessons. Topics: What goes into AI; Who answers for AI.
  • Using AI well: 9 lessons. Topics: Using AI for study; Using AI day to day and at work.
  • Going deeper: 7 lessons. Topics: How a model is made and tested; Building with a model.

How a lesson is shaped

Each part of a lesson is written twice. Simple says the idea in short, plain words. Deep adds the detail and the examples. Simple always shows, and a switch adds Deep.

Near the end is a check-in, a few short questions. Every answer comes with an explanation. A learner can try again as often as they like, and nothing is scored. Every lesson lists its sources.

Each lesson states an approximate time. Across all lessons, it runs from 7 to 10 minutes with Simple only. With the Deep layers it runs from 12 to 16 minutes.

Ways to use it with a group

These are suggestions. Change them to fit your group.

  • One lesson as homework, then a discussion. Learners read a lesson and do its check-in on their own. The group then talks about it in class.
  • One lesson together on a projector. Read the lesson as a group and do the check-in together. Text size goes up to Largest. Focus mode hides the header navigation links, the breadcrumb, the contents list and the footer. Settings stays. A badge earned on the projector stays in that browser only.
  • Learners choose a lesson from one pillar. Every lesson is open and none has to come first. Each learner picks one that interests them.

What the badge means

A badge is earned by doing a lesson's activity: the check-in questions near the end. Finishing a lesson on its own does not earn one. A badge is not a score, and Stillpool does not lead to a qualification.

A badge is kept in the learner's own browser. There is no account, so a teacher cannot look up a learner's badges. There is no teacher view.

A learner can show you the finish page on their own device. It says "Badge earned" when that device holds the badge. A learner can also show their save code. It holds the lessons they finished and the badges they earned, and nothing else.

To read a code, restore it in a browser. The lesson map then shows what it holds. Restore adds to the progress already in that browser.

Access

The Settings button is in the header on every page. Changes apply as you make them and stay in the browser.

  • Read aloud: a recorded voice or a voice on the device, at Normal speed or up to 1.5 times faster.
  • Text size: five steps, from Small to Largest.
  • Spacing: letter and word spacing, and line spacing.
  • Fonts: Lexend, Public Sans, the system font and OpenDyslexic.
  • Themes: Light, Dark, High contrast, or the same as the device.
  • Movement: a Reduce motion switch.
  • Focus: a Reading ruler, and Focus mode. Focus mode hides the Lesson map, Search and Help links, the breadcrumb, the contents list and the footer. Settings stays.
  • Text versions: a switch to show interactives as text.

The Accessibility statement has the detail and the known limits.

Licence

The lessons are under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab). You may copy, share, remix and build on them. You must give credit, link to the licence and say if you changed anything.

You may not use them to make money. If you share your own version, it must carry the same licence. You may not suggest that the authors back you.

The credit to give is: "<lesson title>" by Emanuel Covasa, from Stillpool, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Add a link to the lesson and a note of any changes you made.

The site's code is all rights reserved. The NeuroBridgeEDU name and logo are not covered by the lesson licence. The Licences and credits page has the detail.

Contact

To report a mistake in a lesson or a barrier in the site, write to contact@neurobridgeedu.eu. Please do not email a save code.