Hi !

I’m Karl Lloyd, creator of AfL Lens. I’ve been teaching since 2007 and I’m currently the Head of Science and Lead in New Technologies at a secondary school in the North West of England.

When our school began rolling out a one-to-one iPad scheme, I spent a lot of time researching the technology available to support pupils. We chose the iPad for its familiarity, usability, and durability — but as I spoke with colleagues, it became clear that there wasn’t a single app that did the basics well, consistently, and simply.

Not every teacher shares the same enthusiasm for tech that I do. Most just want something that’s easy and works. That realisation led to the creation of AfL Lens.

There are plenty of apps for drawing, annotating, or changing background colours, but as a teacher, I wanted one that allowed me to see pupil responses in real time — without any extra hardware or subscriptions.

Apple Classroom already allows teachers to use their own device to monitor student iPads and control certain features, like opening apps or locking screens. But it always felt underused. I saw the potential to turn that monitoring tool into a powerful assessment tool — one that could show what pupils were actually thinking and doing.

To make that possible, the app needed some simple but vital design features:

• a pen thick enough to stay legible when viewed on the teacher’s iPad,

• a multiple-choice screen that made it instantly clear who needed support, and

• a sliding scale for quick checks of understanding, confidence, or agreement.

I was also frustrated that many “free” classroom apps constantly bombarded students with adverts. I didn’t want that for AfL Lens. It needed to be reliable, distraction-free, and entirely focused on learning.

A.I. has a huge role to play in education, but I firmly believe the teacher is — and should remain — the expert in the room. AfL Lens was built with that in mind: it gives teachers an instant insight into every pupil’s thinking, especially those quiet ones who might otherwise stay unnoticed.

As teachers, we all know how important it is to check understanding before moving on. That in-the-moment feedback and adaptation is what makes teaching effective and learning lasting.

So AfL Lens has been designed to be simple, purposeful, and free of gimmicks. More features may come in time, but simplicity will always be the heart of its success.

We’ve been using it in my own school, and my proudest achievement is that it’s being used by teachers who would normally say, “I don’t use tech”, as it just works — no logins, no dropped connections, no intrusive adverts — and the pen never runs out of ink!

I hope you and your pupils get as much out of AfL Lens as we do.