AI for Faster, Better Finance Teaching
A live demo guide showing finance faculty how to use AI to build presentation slides in minutes — not hours.
Overview
This tutorial demonstrates how to use generative AI tools to create polished, content-rich presentation slides for finance courses. Rather than starting from a blank slide deck, you'll learn a structured workflow that combines AI-generated content with AI-powered design — then apply your own expertise to verify the result.
The guide walks through a complete example using a Time Value of Money (TVM) lecture — covering present value, future value, compounding, and annuities — to show how each method works in practice. Every technique can be replicated with free-tier AI tools and requires no coding or IT support.
The Think → Design → Verify Workflow
The tutorial is built around a three-phase workflow that separates content generation from visual design and faculty review:
- Think — Use AI to generate a slide outline, learning objectives, and worked examples. This eliminates "blank-page" time and accelerates the drafting phase.
- Design — Move the outline into an AI slide tool for visual layout, typography, and imagery. This produces professional-looking decks without manual formatting.
- Verify — Faculty reviews and edits slides for voice, accuracy, and pedagogical fit. This is where disciplinary expertise ensures quality.
The Five-Element Prompt Pattern
To get high-quality output from any AI tool, the tutorial recommends structuring every prompt with five elements:
- Task — What to create (e.g., "a 10-slide lecture deck")
- Audience — Who it's for (e.g., "sophomores with no prior finance background")
- Goal — The learning objective (e.g., "explain why money has time value")
- Constraints — Slide count, tone, specific topics to include or exclude
- Output — Desired format (e.g., "outline with speaker notes")
Five Methods for AI Slide Generation
Method 1: Claude (Desktop App)
Best for: Quick drafts with strong content structure. Claude generates a .pptx file directly from a prompt.
Rating: Content: A | Design: D — excellent content, limited visual polish.
Method 2: Gamma (gamma.app)
Best for: Fast, visually professional decks. Gamma builds layout, typography, and images in ~60 seconds.
Rating: Content: C | Design: A — design-focused, needs strong prompts for depth.
Method 3: Claude + Gamma (Recommended)
Best for: High-stakes presentations (conferences, accreditation). Claude handles research and content; Gamma handles design via the Gamma Connector.
Rating: Content: A | Design: A — the best of both tools.
Method 4: Microsoft Copilot in PowerPoint
Best for: Faculty in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Native integration; can build slides directly from Word documents.
Note: Requires a $20–$30/month Copilot license. Research and design quality is mid-range.
Method 5: Google Gemini in Slides
Best for: Google Workspace users. Familiar interface and good for real-time collaboration.
Note: Design options and research depth are currently more limited than Gamma or Claude.
Guardrails for Finance Content
- Verify formulas — Always check sign conventions (PV/FV), compounding periods, and calculation results.
- Verify data — AI can hallucinate specific market data, dates, or statistics. Confirm every number.
- Protect privacy — Never paste FERPA-protected student data or confidential institutional information into AI tools.
- Maintain judgment — Treat AI as a drafting partner, not a substitute for disciplinary expertise.
Tool Costs (March 2026)
Claude
Free tier available. Pro: $20/mo
Gamma
Generous free tier. Pro: $15/mo
Copilot
Requires Microsoft 365 license. No free tier.