AIOhioEd
January 15, 2026 Issue #1
Continued from last month, since the public debate isn't going away any time soon! It's crucial for educators to not be swayed too far one or another by the latest, most passionate blog post. Remember, purpose and balance matter. The most effective teaching and learning processes are human at their core, and fundamental skills are as crucial as ever, especially at the elementary levels. But we cannot ignore the tremendous impact AI will have on our students. I don't believe this is an "either/or" scenario, and great teachers know how to balance!
A variety of articles on the topic from Education Week:
- Why Schools Need Tech. And Why They Don't.
- Schools Are Urged to Embrace AI - and Ban Phones. Can We Resolve the Tension?
and more . . . (I promise, I'm only posting the most informative from the mountain of articles out there!)
- The False Choice At The Heart Of AI Education Debates - Dan Fitzpatrick
The Chromebook Is Next: The Debate Over Screen Time Caps in Schools - A collision course warning from Nick Potkalitsky, PhD
- The Viral Video That's Getting EdTech Wrong — Again - Powerful stuff, in plain language
- Engaging with AI counterarguments - We need to give students structured, scaffolded space to wrestle with the questions AI raises. And they can’t effectively engage with AI the topic until they have a chance to explore AI the tool.
- When to turn the devices off in class - Matt Miller
- CoSN 2026: Screens for Empowerment, Not Distraction
- Ed tech industry scrambles to fight a wave of bills to limit screen time in schools
- Why and How I’m Limiting Screen Time in My Classroom - Edutopia
Want to sharpen your AI skills while digesting the content of these articles? Import the resources above into a new notebook in NotebookLM, interact and create studio output to your liking.
And Speaking of NotebookLM . . .
The AI firehose needs shut off occasionally to assess the scene
One of the earliest movements in AI / K-12 focused on the lofty promise of AI tutors. I admit, I was aboard the hype train for a minute. Khanmigo references were everywhere, and newer platforms were being developed to closely mimic that model. A few noteworthy, large districts went "all-in", and we grabbed a bag of popcorn. After 2+ years, we can reflect on some small advancements, and many more exaggerated outcomes that never came close to the evangelical proclamations. It's time for an honest evaluation.
Why Sal Khan’s AI revolution hasn’t happened yet, according to Sal Khan - Reinforces the need for perspective, balance, and choosing the right time and opportunity for AI application. Also captures mixed student sentiments toward AI tutors.
RIP Khanmigo & Edtech Industry Dreams of AI Tutors
AI Tutors Can Be Both a Help and a Hindrance in the Classroom, Explain Teachers - Written nearly a year ago, but the points still apply.
Balanced with some success stories:
Strengthening teaching and learning with AI: MagicSchool’s impact
How to scale AI tutoring in schools for personalized learning
ETIH Innovation Awards: Best AI Tutor or Personalized Learning Agent Shortlist - Reminding us that there are a lot of tools out there we've never even heard of that are gaining traction within specific learning environments.
What the research shows about generative AI in tutoring (Brookings)
Which sums up the current situation:
"While tutoring platforms enhanced by generative AI introduce new concerns around accuracy, pedagogical judgment, and possible dependence, the evidence shows that these platforms can hold numerous benefits for students - if designed responsibly."
Conclusion? There is still a lot of promise, and still a lot of work to do. AI tutors can make a difference for students in certain environments. This is an area to proceed thoughtfully and cautiously, with humans remaining at the wheel.
Highly recommended! A Practical Guide to Building Safe, Ethical, and Effective GenAI Literacy.
The SEE Framework is a practical resource for educators, school leaders, and learning designers who want to build GenAI literacy in their communities. It provides a structured overview of what GenAI literacy is, why it matters, and recommendations for how to develop it across age ranges and adult learning contexts. It is grounded in research and refined through our direct work with schools, districts, and organizations.
Fighting Back in the Dead Zone
From the Mark Cuban AI Foundation Newsletter.
"This month's prompt acknowledges that time of year between the conclusion of standardized testing and the last day of school - that time when teachers and students ask themselves, "Why am I still here?" Many people call it... The Dead Zone. 🎵🎹🎶
This prompt is designed to help teachers find ways to make it through that mysterious dimension with both your sense of humor and your sanity intact. Copy and paste the brief prompt below, replacing the highlighted portions with your own information, into your LLM of choice." (Gemini, Claude, Chat, Magic School)
Background: It's late April. My students finished state testing last week and now sit in my class like sentient houseplants. They're present but not... here. We have 4 weeks of school left and a perfectly good curriculum I can no longer justify emotionally or logistically.
Role: A teacher who is also a little tired, refuses to do busy work on principle, and thinks the most educational thing that can happen right now is students doing something real.
Input: I teach [subject/grade]. My students respond best to [choice, creative work, real problems, competition, etc.]. I have roughly [X] minutes per class. Do NOT suggest: Socratic seminars, passion projects, choice boards, or anything that sounds like it came from a TPT bundle.
End goal: 3 genuinely engaging lesson ideas for the post-testing dead zone. These should be ideas that honor the fact that students have checked out AND that I still have to justify my existence as their teacher for 4 more weeks.
Format: Brief descriptions with the hook that would sell each one to a 16-year-old.
Every month, you'll find strategies, concrete examples and introductions to tools that can make an immediate impact on classroom instruction. The focus will be on free, or freemium platforms.
AI Educator Tools - AI Educator Tools exists because educators deserve better than guesswork when choosing technology for their classrooms. Founded by Dan Fitzpatrick, a teacher, AI education specialist, bestselling author, and Forbes contributor, this platform was born from a simple frustration: the overwhelming number of AI tools flooding into education, with no independent, educator-focused place to compare them.
10 Smart Ways Elementary Teachers Can Use AI to Save Time and Inspire Creativity - A solid list for generating ideas from John Sowash - utilizing AI as a "thought partner" on the teacher side.
Google for Education Gemini Ready-to-use AI prompts for teaching - Every great lesson begins with a spark!
Curious About Claude? Check out:
The Ultimate Claude Guide for Teachers: A practical guide to get you started
The next two tools have limited "free" capabilities, but the lower-tier monthly subscriptions are intriguing. So for our higher level science & math friends, they may be worth looking into:
GPAI - Visualize STEM concepts instantly - Demo video here
Illustrae - Scientific figures in minutes
Generate publication-ready figures, posters and presentations for any idea. Just describe (or sketch) what you need.
Merging Statistics and AI Literacy in a High School Math Course
In a recent unit in her Statistics class, Manchester HS Math teacher Sabrina Donatelli brilliantly leveraged AI's limitations to teach both probability and critical data literacy.
The lesson began by exploring the concept of randomness, challenging students to discern true random (TRNG) from pseudo-random (PRNG) generation. By asking an AI to simulate 100 coin tosses, the class discovered that AI cannot generate a true random sample on its own. Because AI is a deterministic, pattern-matching engine, it relies on mathematical formulas and seeds rather than true physical chaos. The teacher highlighted a fascinating moment of AI "self-correction" during the exercise: when challenged that a truly random sample of 100 tosses has a 97% chance of containing a streak of six, the AI immediately altered its output to include streaks. This proved to the students that the AI was predicting statistical probability and matching human patterns, rather than genuinely rolling the dice.
The unit culminated in a hands-on hypothesis testing activity where students evaluated an AI-generated claim against real-world data. Students prompted the AI for the average ACT score of current seniors at a specific high school. The AI confidently claimed an average of 23-24, but by using anonymous actual scores provided by school counselors, the students hypothesized that the actual population mean was lower. Groups of students used different systematic random sampling methods to use in their analyses. After conducting a formal hypothesis test, calculating the sample mean, and evaluating standard deviations. p-values, and rejection regions, the students overwhelmingly rejected the AI's claim. Beyond the math, this discrepancy sparked a vital discussion about data bias, algorithmic blind spots, and privacy laws. The class deduced that the AI likely skewed higher because only top-performing students publicly report their scores online for scholarships.
*Mrs. Donatelli used Gemini to assist with the creation of this handout.
This lesson serves as a perfect blueprint for using AI not just as a computational assistant, but as a subject of critical analysis - teaching students to mathematically verify the digital information they consume.
A focus on AI integration with upper levels this month.
The importance of student conversations cannot be emphasized enough. Here is an insightful piece from veteran HS teacher Stephen Fitzpatrick.
What Students Want Teachers to Know About AI
" Across different students, different grade levels, and different levels of AI sophistication, they were all saying versions of the same thing: they want help understanding this new technology and how to use it for learning. Telling us not to use it and just punishing us when we do is not a long-term solution. Give us a space where we can be honest about what we’re doing without fear that honesty becomes a way to indict us."
- AND -
From Education Week: This article reinforces the urgent need for teachers to begin modeling best practices for AI integration, and providing specific levels of "no AI" to "full AI" guidelines for assignments:
Students Are Worried That AI Will Hurt Their Critical Thinking Skills
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Check Your Career's AI Resilience Report
The future of work is changing fast with AI. This tool gives you a snapshot of how all U.S. occupations may be affected based on today's best available data. Search any occupation to get started.
As our high school students face many questions related to their future, this tool may serve as a conversation piece. While there is no "crystal ball" or sure-thing prediction model, talking through options and relevant data may help the set their compass.
A solid article for admins and tech leaders, from Tech & Learning. . .
Responsible Use Is The New Acceptable Use: One District's Pragmatic Playbook for the AI Era
Key points:
" . . .stay open, experiment carefully, and don't wait for a perfect policy before engaging."
- and -
the authors discuss why " . . .vague-on-purpose policy, a grading scale for AI use, and teacher-to-teacher modeling are the best defenses a small district has against an overnight technological revolution."
And another from Tech & Learning, offering straight-forward tips for all district leaders and tech admins.
What Schools Should Ask Before Buying An AI Tool 💲💵
"From data privacy and staff readiness to classroom fit and long - term cost, here are the questions schools should ask before investing in AI."
Apologies for last month's snafu! I released the newsletter a day early, and voting for the poll didn't open until April 1st. An accidental April Fool's prank! 🙃
Moving on . . .
This month, I would love to hear your thoughts on PD when it comes to readiness for integrating AI into lessons with students. In my sessions, participants generally fall into 3 categories. While this is obviously an oversimplification, it is accurate to a large extent.
- The cautious newbie. This teacher has not had the time, interest or opportunity to dive into AI. They love to see ready-made tools, templates and exemplar lessons. They want to be confident in their initial usage, and structure provides reassurance. (Questions like: "Now what's a chatbot?")
- The comfortable veteran. They have a firmer grasp of AI - or they're at least more confident to dive in; they'll listen to sample lessons but are looking for specific ways to make connections with their lessons. (Questions like: "So how do I create a chatbot, and why would I?")
- The independent. They are confident in their tech knowledge, their content, and where the path for integration lies. They just want the tools and more time to experiment and explore. (Statements like: "We used a customized chatbot in class today, and I'm interested in helping students create Notebooks in NLM to research their next project")
So this month, the questions is: Which one are you?
Last Months Poll Result:
"I use AI as a teacher tool..."
Results:
72 % - Daily
14% - 2 - 3 times per week
14% - Weekly
There has been a noticeable shift since we hit 2026!
Thanks for reading!
Please reach out with questions or ideas for future newsletters. Also, if you know of a teacher who is leading the way or doing something interesting with AI integration, let me know so they can be featured in a future issue "Teacher Spotlight"!
