THE COGNITIVE toolkit
A student-built digital platform exploring how generative AI can strengthen learning, focus, and cognitive engagement.
The Cognitive Toolkit helps students and educators understand how generative AI can meaningfully support core cognitive skills: attention, memory, metacognition, and creativity - without replacing human thinking.
This platform brings together science-based insights, curated AI tools, and practical guidance to show how technology can enhance the way we learn and think.AI Tools for Cognitive Learning
Our Core Principle
AI should reduce cognitive friction, not cognitive effort.
Every tool featured in the Cognitive Toolkit is evaluated based on whether it:
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Encourages active thinking and retrieval
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Supports understanding and concept-building
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Reduces unnecessary cognitive overload
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Promotes reflection and self-awareness in learning
The goal is not faster work but better thinking.
How Generative AI Can Support Cognitive Development
When used intentionally, generative AI can act as a learning partner that:
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Helps students organise and connect information
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Supports sustained attention and executive function
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Makes learning more accessible across cognitive styles
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Expands ideas without replacing original thought
The tools below are organised by the cognitive skills they support.
Memory &Understanding
Building long-term learning through active recall and conceptual clarity
These tools help students organise information, build schemas, and strengthen retention by encouraging explanation, retrieval, and connection-making.
aiEDU — Learning Activities & AI Literacy
https://aiedu.org
How it helps:
Builds conceptual understanding, strengthens pattern recognition, and improves retention through hands-on AI learning activities.
Quizlet Q-Chat (AI Study Partner)
How it Helps:
Creates flashcards, quizzes, and explanation prompts from student notes. Uses spaced repetition to strengthen long-term memory. Encourages active retrieval and self-explanation, which are proven to improve understanding.
Elicit
How it helps:
Helps students explore questions by organising information across multiple sources. Encourages comparison, pattern recognition, and synthesis rather than single-answer thinking
Attention & Focus
Supporting executive function and reducing cognitive overload
These tools help learners stay mentally present by minimising distractions, supporting task initiation, and managing working memory.
Read&Write by Texthelp
https://www.texthelp.com/en-gb/products/read-write
How it helps:
Offers text-to-speech, screen masking, and focus aids that minimise distractions and support working memory.
Otter.ai
https://otter.ai
How it helps:
Converts spoken information into clean notes, helping learners stay present and reduce cognitive overload.
Goblin Tools
https://goblin.tools
How it helps:
Breaks tasks into steps, supports executive function, and reduces mental clutter.
Cognitive Accessibility
Designing learning for different cognitive styles and needs
These tools reduce cognitive strain and make information easier to process, ensuring that effort is spent on understanding rather than decoding or format challenges.
Speechify
https://speechify.com
How it helps:
Converts text to audio, improving processing for auditory learners and supporting concentration.
MindMeister
https://www.mindmeister.com
How it helps:
Visual mind maps strengthen concept linking, pattern recognition, and higher-order thinking.
Kami
How it helps:
Lets you annotate, highlight, comment on, and organise digital documents and PDFs. It works like a digital workspace for reading, note-taking, and collaboration.
Creativity & Idea Expansion
Using AI to expand thinking - not replace it
These tools are most effective when used after initial human ideation, helping students explore alternatives, challenge assumptions, and refine ideas.
Notion AI
https://www.notion.so/product/ai
How it helps:
Suggests alternative structures and perspectives. Prompts reflection with questions like “What’s missing?” or “How could this be reframed?”
Canva Magic Write
https://www.canva.com/magic-write/
How it helps:
Supports visual storytelling and concept representation. Encourages creativity through analogies, layouts, and design-based thinking.
Why AI Literacy Matters
Understanding AI is more than using tools — it means knowing how AI works, what its limits are, and how to guide others in responsible AI use. The GenAI Literacy Trainer Essentials course offers structured grounding in these areas, making it a useful reference for students and educators who want to deepen their AI understanding.
https://www.aiforeducation.io/train-the-trainer-institute-genai-literacy-trainer-essentials
Ethical Use & Responsible Learning
AI should support your mind, not replace it.
When AI Helps
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clarifying difficult concepts
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generating examples
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breaking down long texts
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organising notes and ideas
When to Rely on Your Own Thinking
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forming opinions
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reflection and analysis
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creative work
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graded or individual assignments
