JOURNALIST / EDUCATOR / MAKER
A journalist’s curiosity.
An educator’s care.
A maker’s mindset.
I’m Yi Lu, a journalist, educator and AI storytelling practitioner. My work connects reporting, film education and tools that help people tell their own stories.
Dual master’s degrees in Journalism and International Affairs, Columbia University. Currently participating in UCI’s MES program.
My developing research explores authorship, cultural memory and the responsibilities of creating images with AI.
SELF-DEVELOPED MINI APP / CONVERSATIONAL LIFE WRITING
An autobiography, one conversation at a time.
I designed and developed this mini app to help people tell their life stories aloud. Companion-like conversations invite memories in short, everyday moments, gradually bringing them together into an autobiography.
Then bring the story to life through animated photographs, personal AI films and voice narration.
Explore Lightyear ↗
INDIVIDUAL CREATION / CO-CREATION / TEACHER AGENTS
Create your own story. Co-create with others. Bring it to life through AI-generated images and video.
I’m developing teacher agents that ask questions, offer guidance and support revision—designed to make storytelling more interactive and engaging.
IB FILM / DOCUMENTARY / COLLABORATIVE CREATION
My film classroom connects close analysis with hands-on production. Students explore how framing, editing and sound shape meaning, then develop their own stories through filming, collaboration and reflection.
My role is to design the learning activities and guide the creative process. The films are the work of my students.
01 / FILM LANGUAGE & CREATIVE CHOICES
Students analyse cinematography, mise-en-scène, editing and sound. Storyboard roleplay and a “Director’s Chair” activity bring these choices into collaborative shot planning.
Explore lesson planning and film portfolios ↗02 / DOCUMENTARY & INTERVIEWING
Documentary work brings together interview practice, camera skills and editing. My classroom archive includes student projects about older people’s loneliness and a local coffee shop.
Browse student documentary projects ↗03 / COLLABORATION & EXHIBITION
Group projects explore Hong Kong cinema, action filmmaking and music videos. Students plan, film, edit and reflect on their work, with selected films presented in the class exhibition.
Visit the student film showcase ↗
FEATURED TEACHER RESOURCE / BY YI LU
30-Minute AI Film Lessons for Busy Teachers
A practical guide to bringing AI filmmaking into everyday teaching, with short classroom routines, visual storytelling activities and reflection prompts.
Learn by making.
Leave with something you can use.
Workshop topics for teachers and education teams, drawing on my experience in film teaching, curriculum development, broadcast production and independent AI storytelling projects. Sessions can be shaped around participants’ goals and experience.
01 / AI IMAGES FOR TEACHING
Develop visual prompts, storyboards and classroom materials. Practice refining a prompt, checking an image and deciding whether it serves the lesson.
Practice task: create a small visual resource set for one teaching activity.
02 / YOUR FIRST WEBSITE
Turn a teaching idea or personal portfolio into a simple website. Work through content planning, page structure, links and publication.
Practice task: build a first personal or teaching page, informed by my own platform-building experience.
03 / AI STORYTELLING & FILM
Move from a story idea to a script, images, storyboard and short video. Discuss authorship, source use and the creative decisions behind each step.
Practice task: produce a short scene or storyboard with a reflection on the choices made.
Related areas include documentary and oral history, AI media literacy, and Chinese-English storytelling.
Email yilu1219@hotmail.com with your audience, topic and preferred format.
Ideas grounded in research.
Stories made for an audience.
2017 / POLICY PUBLICATION
2017 edition: Pursuing Institutionalization of the Prevention Agenda.
Contribution: U.S. section contributor.
Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, in partnership with Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Publication announcement ↗PUBLIC COMMUNICATION / BROADCASTING
TV host, scriptwriter, social media coordinator and news anchor. Hosted and wrote a weekly program on U.S. politics, education and people for audiences across Greater China and Southeast Asia; produced and anchored live news bulletins.
PUBLIC SPEAKING / TEDxQSI SHENZHEN YOUTH
Yi Lu · TEDxQSI Shenzhen Youth · Published by TEDx Talks
How can AI help bring the art of questioning back into the classroom? This TEDx talk connects with my work in journalism, film education and AI storytelling, and my interest in helping learners ask questions and develop their own ideas.
Watch my TEDx talk on YouTube ↗Good work is rarely
done alone.
A selected record of recognition is being prepared, distinguishing personal achievements, production-team awards and student honors.
For teaching, workshops, research or creative projects, I’d love to hear from you.
Email · yilu1219@hotmail.com
WeChat · 13316571986