Beat blank canvas fear with the Learning Journey Advisor
Picture this: you’re sitting behind your desk on a cold, dark evening. Wires snake across the surface, connecting all kinds of devices to a single overworked power outlet. Outside, the wind howls and rain lashes against the window.
A cold cup of coffee sits untouched next to your keyboard, which hasn’t seen action in a while. The glow of your computer screen lights up the room with a harsh, sterile white. On it: a blank document. A single cursor blinks in the emptiness, silently urging you to begin, waiting for your thoughts to take the wheel.
If this scene feels familiar, you’ve probably faced it yourself: blank canvas fear.
You need to create something from scratch, a story, an outline, an email, and you just don’t know where to begin.
So the cursor keeps blinking. And blinking. And somehow, it’s getting on your nerves more than you'd like to admit.
When AI entered the chat
As you might know, starting a new template can be quite daunting. Especially if you haven’t used a learning platform before, or only just for a while. Where do you start? What activities do you select? And how do you name all these blocks and activities? To be fair, creating templates is one of the most challenging parts of using the aNewSpring-platform, because there is no specific recipe that suits your unique situation. We only provide the toolbox. You, as an author bring your expertise and insights for the content.
But what if we could help you with that as well? What if we have found a way to create the right recipe, based on your exact needs and your unique situation?
Not so long ago that seemed like science fiction, but with the rise of generative AI we were able to make it a reality.
So, allow us to introduce our newest AI-feature: the Learning Journey Advisor.
How does it work?
It's pretty straightforward: just enter your enter your topic, learning objectives and audience details, and the Learning Journey Advisor will suggest a detailed outline of specific blocks and relevant activities within that block. All tailored to what you think it should look like, and all while taking the right didactic approach into account. The more specific you are, the better it aligns with your needs.
If AI prompting AI is not your thing, don't worry, all advanced prompting happens under the hood, we just include your input in it. If you want you can still add extra instructions, but you don't have to.
How it works, step by step
In this Featured Feature video, you’ll see how, with just a few inputs, you can go from nothing to a complete template structure in minutes.
No time to watch? Here’s a quick summary:
Go to the Templates page and click “AI Advice”
Enter your topic, learning objectives and audience details
Click “Generate advice”
Refine if needed by adding extra input
Happy with the result? Click “Create template”
What the Learning Journey Advisor is meant to do vs. what not
The Learning Journey Advisor is a smart assistant designed to help you overcome the hesitation that comes with starting from scratch. It acts as a structured, intelligent starting point, giving you a clear outline of blocks and activities based on your input.
It’s a time-saver: instead of staring at a blank screen, you’ll have something concrete to work from within minutes.
It’s personal: the advice is tailored to your chosen topic, learning goals and audience characteristics.
It’s flexible: once the template is generated, you can adjust, refine and enrich it with your own content and ideas.
And most importantly: Note the word ‘assistant’. The Learning Journey Advisor is there to support you, not to take over. You’re still the expert, and your role as a learning designer remains central. Just like with cooking a recipe, you can still add your own flavours to it. It’s an advice, a guideline, something to help you get started and to beat the blank canvas fear.
Say goodbye to your blank canvas fear
So do you ever find yourself staring at an empty template again with no clue where to start or do you just need some inspiration to improve an existing learning journey? Just call in the help of the Learning Journey Advisor.
Feel free to try it out yourself. We’re always looking to improve, so let us know what you think!
