AIOhioEd
January 15, 2026 Issue #1
Are we all asking different questions?
As AI becomes more integrated in schools, some students and staff have questions about data center water and electricity usage, emissions and other concerns. Rightfully so. Others cling to the promise of AI technologies making a difference in research and reducing energy consumption and carbon footprints. Some look for apples to apples comparisons to many of the modern luxuries and processes we take for granted. There is a lot of uncertainty and, as researcher Andy Masley has discovered, a lot of misinformation. The answers are rarely as simple as some headlines suggest.
The questions actually provide a great learning opportunity for upper level students at the intersections of relevance, engagement, digital literacy, global citizenship, and research skills to serve as a segue to responsible use.
As many times as I'm asked, I have never pretended to have an "answer". But I spent months curating the best research and articles I came across, putting them into NotebookLM, just so I could at least have an informed conversation. Since I can't share my Notebook publicly yet, feel free to copy these resources into your own Notebook, use the "Search the web for new sources" option and build your own. It's a worthy exercise. Here's a link to my Notebook for my SummitESC readers.
The process has allowed me to continue my work with a clear conscience and pragmatic approach that promotes reflection with context, not absolutism. And the hope that our guidance can help our students make a positive difference in the long run.
Key considerations:
- Will AI technology be able to help solve energy or climate challenges?
- Are we talking water usage, electricity, or noise pollution?
- Location of the data centers matter!
- How does AI usage compare to beef production, streaming content, paper consumption, cement production, aviation, fashion, household climate controls, cruise ships? Are we looking at the entire picture?
- Are the AI giants releasing trustworthy data?
- MY use or the overall global impact that includes training models?
Again - it comes back to an exercise in a durable skill. We need to teach framing this question around critical analysis - not fear, bias or agendas. What a great research exercise for educators and our upper level students!
More if you're interested:
AI for Education - AI's Impact on the Environment (Downloadable lesson)
Andy Masley - AI & the Environment - A balanced look at the panic
AIs Environmental Costs Threaten Water, Land and Climate
What Uses More - an interactive app
SpaceX wants to build AI data centers in space. Will it work?
These 9 Things Are Worse for the Environment Than AI Data Centers
And please take 5 seconds to answer this month's poll question at the end of the newsletter!
AI Meets Biodiversity Science and Wildlife Research
Technology is transforming the race to save nature
AI helping to transform the fight against global extinction
AI-Powered Biodiversity Monitoring: Revolutionizing How We Track Nature’s Hidden Patterns
If you haven't heard, this is kind of a big deal. And a lot of educators are unaware, which means a lot of students are unaware.
May 2026: Google officially declared its search engine an "AI Search" platform.
I've been a user and fan of Google in education for many years, but this one bothers me.
Consider:
- What happens if you have a "No AI" policy on an assignment? Does that mean the student cannot do a search?
- How does this impact a student's ability to "do" research - and evaluate and locate resources?
- What does this mean for students under the age of 13?
- Over the last 20 years, "search results" have moved from most popular, to sponsored, to AI result - burying resources that could be better matched for the assignment, and promoting the hive mind.
At the very least, we need teachers who can address this in August, and make a teachable moment out of the switch!
More if you're interested:
Every search bar in the world just became a chatbot.
Why an AI 'Death Spiral' Threatens the Internet - Video
Google’s ‘New Era for AI Search’ May Threaten Democracy
Sounds alarmist, but makes many great points.
“Chain-of-thought” lesson breakdown
Courtesy of Matt Stepnowsky: "First We Model" Substack
Instead of typing: “Help me teach solving systems of equations.”
Try :
“First, unpack (this standard) into 2–3 clear learning targets in ‘I know how to’ language for 9th grade students.
Then :
For each target, design one quick formative check (like a problem or question) I can use in the middle of class.
Finally :
List one common misconception for each target and suggest a way I might address it using a visual or a quick explanation.”
What this does: breaks your planning into helpful small moves. Asking for the work in steps keeps both the human and the machine from jumping straight to a big blob of “lesson.” You end up with a clearer sequence you can actually picture in a 45-minute period.
Every month, you'll find strategies, concrete examples and introductions to tools that can make an immediate impact on classroom instruction.
Brisk's AI Prompt Library gives you ready-to-use prompts for AI chatbots - just copy, paste, and get creative ideas for your classroom. Use them in Brisk or any AI tool to generate engaging content.
Turning Lesson Ideas Into Usable Resources With AI
A second-grade teacher shares her process for quickly developing new lesson plans and other materials.
What Is Scite and How Does It Work?
"Scite is an AI-powered academic research tool that is designed to make the process of finding, evaluating and understanding sources easier, and does an excellent job at all three of those."
5 AI Education Trends According To A Microsoft Executive
#3 - An Emerging Trust Issue, is an important one.
*And Instructional Technology Guru Rebecca Dwenger says Granola is the BEST AI notetaker! 😉
From Damon Howe, a History teacher at Gulf Shores HS in Alabama:
A PDF summary of the traditional lesson, the new lesson, and the important shift that occurred.
"The lesson was not really about the Treaty of Versailles. It was about what students had to do with the Treaty of Versailles.
That is the shift I am trying to make with AI-enhanced lesson design. A traditional version of this lesson might ask students to identify the major terms:
• war guilt
• reparations
• military restrictions
• territorial losses
• League of Nations
Those are important.
But if students only memorize the terms, they miss the deeper problem:
How do you create peace when every country wants something different?
That is where I used AI differently.
I did not ask it to simply create notes or a worksheet.
I used it to help build a learning sequence around three moves:
Scaffold → Decide → Justify"
A variety of - and sometimes opposing - student perspectives are illustrated in the articles below. All are rooted in real experiences and observations, making it evident why conversations in schools and guidance on proper usage are critical.
What it looks like when a 9th grader realizes how TikTok works
A 60 minute lesson focusing on AI awareness and great discussion, along with teacher reflection and uncertainty; shared so it could be helpful to other educators.
Kids Are Turning to AI Before Adults for Homework Help
"Many kids struggling with school and socialization use AI more frequently" - and we need to pay attention; same with the article below...
Young People Are Sounding the Alarm on AI. We Should Listen to Them
The implications of wearable tech for schools
Do we need to include the word "wearable" in our policies?
"A pupil wearing an Apple Watch in a lesson can publish the audio to TikTok by lunchtime. A pupil using smart glasses can film another pupil in the corridor, classroom, changing room or toilet and share the clip before the end of the day. A parent in the school office wearing AirPods (or META glasses) can capture a confidential meeting without anyone present being aware."
How Wearable Tech Is Transforming the K–12 Classroom
The Pocket AI recording device
The Difference Between "Legal" and "Allowed"
Wearables in Education: Risks, Opportunities and the Inevitable Future
"In a world where AI can read and write for us, speaking competence will be in demand, and well-spoken people will stand out."
An insightful article by Erik Palmer on MiddleWeb. Great ideas on how we can all "raise the bar", no matter what subject or grade level.
Teaching AI Literacy in Any Class: A Conversation with Matt Miller
In this episode of "The Balance", Dr. Catlin Tucker chats with Matt Miller about his new book, AI Literacy in Any Class, and what it means to prepare students for a future shaped by artificial intelligence.
Listen here 🎧 🎤
From Common Sense Media
"AI is already in the classrooms, bedrooms, and pockets of our children. The Youth AI Safety Institute is a new, independent effort to research AI's impact, set safety standards, evaluate products, and share what we find."
Common Sense continues to do great work related to safety with our students. This site offers product reviews, articles and research, risk assessments, resources for families and more.
AI Friction Labs - The assessment tool teachers have been waiting for. (Middle & Upper Levels)
"Detection tools failed. The essay is compromised. AI Friction Labs gives teachers a new way to see what students actually know - by watching how they think."
AI that pushes students to think harder, not less. Free, downloadable model lessons that will inspire you to redesign for what matters.
From Professor Andrew Maynard
Everything you wanted to know about doing a PhD ...
but were afraid to ask.
This is a cool little exercise to work through, even if you're not ever going to go back and get a PhD. It gives you the prompt to copy into the chatbot and lets you see what having a back and forth "conversation" really looks like. If you've never had an opportunity to use an AI chatbot as a thought partner, or topic explorer - start here!
How it started - Future of Being Human Substack - Under the hood of what it takes to build a worthwhile AI activity.
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 with AI integration, let me know so they can be featured in the "Teacher Spotlight"!
