Teach with Tech

This edition of Teach with Tech focuses on how generative AI has impacted the writing process and how teachers across content areas can use AI to support writing growth in their classrooms. Using generative AI as a writing coach or partner is most appropriate at the secondary level, when students already have the foundational skills needed to leverage it effectively. In elementary and intermediate grades, teachers can use AI to generate supports such as writing aids, organizers, and prompts to help students develop their skills.

OpenAI released ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. Five days later, it had already surpassed one million users. Just seven days after its release, The Atlantic published an article titled “The College Essay is Dead.”

The death of writing seemed imminent, especially with the rapid spread and integration of generative AI into all aspects of learning, programs, and apps. And today, if a student is smart about its use, they can easily rely on AI to write their essays—often in ways that are undetectable by current technology. Students can run essays through a “humanizer” app that adjusts vocabulary and syntax until the text scores as 100% human on checkers. There are also multiple apps (easily found with a Google search) that will type the essay into a Google Doc using natural writing patterns, creating a revision history that appears organic, with no copy-and-pasted text.

But writing is not dead.

Joan Sedita, author of The Writing Rope, states that writing is "thinking on paper." Sedita argues that the process of composition, the struggle with details, and the wrestling with facts is where learning happens. So how are teachers to combat the rampant use of AI to replace learning?

Focus on process over product.

Teachers can no longer simply assign writing; they must shift assessment toward the writing process rather than the final product. Joan Sedita reimagined the writing process as think–plan–write–revise and recommends dividing writing time accordingly: 40% for thinking and planning--which includes brainstorming, outlining, and research, and should take a substantial portion of class time; 20% for writing the initial draft; and 40% for revising, which occurs throughout the process as students self-reflect and receive peer or teacher feedback.

Sedita emphasizes that this is a continuous cycle, not a linear sequence. When students complete graphic organizers and drafts in class, they are engaging in the thinking and learning that writing requires.

Reflect on craft, content, and choices.

Provide a variety of opportunities for students to reflect on their own writing. Students can highlight parts of their work and annotate their thinking, noting where they struggled, revised, or made intentional craft moves. They can explain their choices related to craft, syntax, and content, or reflect on how AI supported them at different stages of the writing process. Students may also reflect orally during conferences with the teacher.

Teach when and how to use AI.

Using district and school guidance, develop a clear AI policy for your classroom. Create a rubric that explains when students may use AI and what it absolutely cannot be used for. Consider labeling assignments--or specific parts of assignments--as red (no AI), yellow (limited AI use), or green (any AI allowed). And please embed AI literacy into your curriculum; students need to understand when and how to use AI, as well as its benefits and limitations.

Use AI as a writing partner and coach.

There are many places in the writing process where AI can help students without thinking for them. It is essential to remember that AI is a writing partner and coach, not the writer. First drafts must be human.

1. In the thinking stage, AI can help with graphic organizers, brainstorming and developing ideas, understanding tasks, looking at multiple perspectives, and developing background knowledge.
2. In the planning stage, AI can help with organizing ideas, developing graphic organizers and outlines, and assisting writers with audience and purpose.
3. In the writing stage, the first draft must always be written by the student. However, AI can help in several ways, including providing sentence stems for English language learners, word banks, vocabulary support, and understanding of rubric and assignment.
4. In the revising stage, AI can play a crucial role. There is not enough time in the school day for teachers to provide immediate and individualized feedback to students. When used with proper guardrails and in specific contexts, AI can assist writers by providing specific and actionable feedback.

Writing is not dead.

Educators have always adapted as technology evolves--from the invention of chalkboards, to projectors and Google Search, and now to generative AI. The digital tools available to students today make it essential that AI literacy and instruction be embedded in every content area so students learn when and how to use AI in ways that enhance, rather than replace, both writing and critical thinking. Writing is not dead; it is shifting. By teaching students to use AI thoughtfully, we ensure they remain the thinkers, creators, and decision-makers at the center of their own learning.

Major generative AI platforms such as Microsoft Copilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT now offer the ability to create customized versions of their models. Google's approach to this kind of personalization is called Gems. For educators, these tools can become meaningful partners in planning, instruction, and reflection. Gems allowed you to develop a prompt once rather than retyping it over and over.

Gems are designed to act as custom experts. With initial guidance, they can take on roles such as a lesson-planning partner, a student writing coach for feedback, a brainstorming partner, or differentiation supporter. Gems can be "programmed" to provide outputs in specific formats, adhere to district and state requirements, connect with learning targets, and mimic an educators communication style. Once those expectations are built into a Gem, it will consistently respond with the structure, tone, and guardrails you provide it- freeing up your time for relational work with students.

Want to test the power of Gems? Try out the Revision Coach that will support high school students in revising their essays. You can find the specific instructions I gave the AI (and it was revised and clarified by AI) here. Check out the sample below on feedback that I requested using a student paper.

Generative AI can be frustrating when you don't get what you want from it- the lesson plan isn't standards-aligned, the worksheet doesn't have short answer responses, or the explanations and examples don't relate to your grade-level. Whether you are creating materials, differentiating content, sparking engagement, or scaffolding practice- prompting is now a foundationally necessary skill.

Think of prompting this way:

a good prompt = a good output

a weak prompt = generic, inaccurate, or unusable material

Generative AI tools (like ChatGPT, Gemini, NotebookLM, and others) don’t “know” what a teacher wants unless the teacher clearly communicates the task. A vague prompt such as “Explain fractions” produces a vague answer. But a detailed prompt that clarifies the audience, context, and purpose generates instructional materials that are accurate, accessible, aligned to student needs, and ready to use in class.

Good prompts will often include the following:

1. Role/Persona

• This tells the AI how to think.
• Example: “Act as a math intervention teacher…”

2. Task

• What do you want it to create?
• Example: “…explain multiplying fractions…”

3. Audience

• Who is this for? What do they need?
• Example: “…for 5th graders who struggle with vocabulary…”

4. Context

• Background information, standards, student misconceptions, or learning goals.
• Example: “…they often confuse numerator and denominator…”

5. Format

• How should the output be organized?
• Example: “…provide a 3-step explanation, an analogy, and 4 practice questions…”

6. Constraints

• Length, tone, level, or requirements.

• Example: “…keep the reading level accessible for ELL students.”

Not every prompt requires every element. At its heart, prompting is a teaching practice. It’s the art of:

• clarifying intent
• naming student needs
• and designing for engagement

Educators who learn to prompt effectively gain a powerful new partner in planning, differentiation, and creativity. And as AI continues to evolve, the educators who master prompting today will be the ones shaping the future of instructional design tomorrow.

Here are some recent articles to read and ponder.

This article from Edutopia explores how "reaction videos" can transform passive classroom viewing into an active learning experience by teaching students to annotate digital media through verbal commentary. By mimicking popular social media formats, students use screen-recording tools like Screencastify or OBS to demonstrate critical thinking and make real-time connections with the curriculum.

he article explores how AI-powered real-time translation tools are breaking down language barriers in K–12 schools to improve classroom engagement and simplify administrative tasks like student registration. While these tools facilitate two-way communication for students and families, they are positioned as a supplement to human educators rather than a replacement for specialized staff.

Join us for a yearlong series of virtual Tech Talks focused on how AI is reshaping teaching and learning. Explore practical tools, ethical considerations, and classroom-ready ideas with fellow educators.

Goals
🔹 Build AI literacy for teachers and leaders
🔹 Explore ethical, student-centered applications of AI
🔹 Connect and collaborate in a growing AI-focused educator network

Monthly Tech Talks

Tech Talks will run from 4:00pm to 5:00pm. Register for each Tech Talk on the IMESD Events Calendar. Each month is linked to it's specific registration page.

• March 10: AI for Visual Learning
• April 14: AI as a Thinking Partner – Using AI to Spark Deeper Inquiry
• May 12: Future-Proofing: Where AI is Headed — and How Educators Can Prepare

February Tech Talk Resources

• AI For Feedback & Grading and AI for Writing Recording
• Slides
• AI Program's discussed during the Tech Talk:
• Brisk - Chrome Extension
• School AI
• Perplexity
• Google Gemini

This is a monthly newsletter from the School Improvement Department of the InterMountain Education Service District. If you would like more information on EdTech tools, resources, or training, please contact:

Ayla Olson

Instructional Coach

Email: ayla.olson@imesd.k12.or.us

Phone: 541-966-4657

Website: sites.google.com/imesdapps.org/instructional-coaching