The AI Teacher Lounge

Hey friends, Scott here.

What an amazing start to the week.

I am an instructor for the WeTeach_CS program through The University of Texas and the Region 4 hub, and this week I was in San Antonio for the WeTeach_CS Summit 2026.

Maybe it was just the sessions I was drawn to, but AI kept showing up everywhere. There were conversations, debates, questions, concerns, and plenty of “what do we actually do with this?” moments from K12 all the way up through higher education.

But one thing no one seemed to be debating is this: AI is here, and it is not going anywhere.

We are in the middle of a technology shift unlike anything I have seen, and I have been around since DOS, Windows 3.x, and the birth of the internet. That does not mean we panic. It also does not mean we wait around for someone else to tell us when we are allowed to start learning.

In my opinion, educators at every level cannot afford to sit back and wait for a district or administrator to decide what AI training might look like during the 2026-2027 school year, probably right after we all finish our annual bloodborne pathogen training.

But I may be preaching to the choir here.

You are subscribed to The AI Teacher Lounge. You are watching the podcast. You are checking out the weekly recommendations for channels, books, podcasts, and tools. That already tells me you are paying attention.

So this week, let’s keep paying attention together, without the hype, without the panic, and without pretending any of us have time for one more poorly organized tech rollout.

Our mission at The AI Teacher Lounge is to help fellow educators stay on top of the AI news, tools, and ideas that actually matter. If this issue helped you, please share it with a colleague who might find it useful too.

Source: THE Journal
Link: https://thejournal.com/articles/2026/06/15/naaic-expands-ai-workforce-development-efforts-to-high-schools.aspx

What happened: The National Applied AI Consortium, an NSF-funded initiative led by Miami Dade College, Houston City College, and Maricopa Community Colleges, is expanding its AI workforce development efforts into high schools. The plan includes free professional development for more than 600 high school teachers, along with curriculum support, practical teaching materials, an instructional resource hub, and access to a national AI education network.

Why educators should care: This is the kind of AI story that matters beyond the tool-of-the-week crowd. If AI is going to become part of career pathways, students need more than random chatbot exposure. They need teachers who have support, curriculum, and a clear connection between classroom learning and future work.

For CTE, computer science, technology applications, and career-focused programs, this is worth watching closely. AI workforce education is starting to move earlier in the pipeline, and high schools are going to need practical models that do not assume every teacher is already an AI specialist.

What to watch: Watch how much actual teacher support comes with these programs. A curriculum without training is just a folder. A resource hub without time to learn it becomes another abandoned bookmark. The real test will be whether teachers get enough support to bring AI into classrooms in a useful and responsible way.

Source: Tech & Learning
Link: https://www.techlearning.com/technology/ai/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-principal-using-ai

What happened: Tech & Learning published a practical look at how one principal uses AI throughout the day to handle administrative tasks. The examples include turning state guidance into staff-facing slides, drafting parent communication from scattered notes, helping with letters of recommendation, summarizing long emails, and using NotebookLM to navigate lengthy documents.

Why educators should care: This is where AI starts to make sense for busy school leaders. Not because it is flashy. Because it can take work that eats time and help turn it into a decent first draft.

That matters because principals, coordinators, department chairs, instructional coaches, and teachers all live in the land of “I need this written clearly, and I needed it ten minutes ago.” AI will not replace leadership judgment, but it can help leaders get out of their inbox and back into classrooms.

What to watch: The caution is privacy and context. The article notes the need to remove names or personal data before using AI. That needs to be a regular habit, not an afterthought. AI can help with communication, but sensitive school information still needs careful handling.

Source: EdSurge
Link: https://edsurge.com/news/i-built-an-ai-grading-tool-then-a-student-thanked-me-for-words-i-didnt-write

What happened: In EdSurge, teacher and developer Steven Swanson reflects on building an AI grading assistant and then removing its most automated feature. The tool could draft grades and comments, but the moment that gave him pause was when a student thanked him for encouraging feedback he had not actually reviewed.

Why educators should care: This is one of the better AI grading reflections I have seen because it does not take the easy road. It does not say “AI grading is evil,” and it does not say “let the robot handle it.” It gets to the harder question: Who owns the feedback?

AI can draft comments. AI can compare work to a rubric. AI can help a teacher move faster. But when a student asks, “Why did I get this grade?” the answer cannot be, “Because the system said so.”

What to watch: If your school is considering AI-assisted grading, start with disclosure and review. Be clear with students: AI may help draft feedback, but the teacher reviews it and owns the final decision. That is the difference between using AI as an assistant and letting AI quietly become the teacher of record.

Source: Microsoft
Link: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/education-blog/copilot-notebooks-and-study-guide-now-available-to-copilot-chat/ba-p/4527320

What it is: Copilot Notebooks is Microsoft’s AI-powered workspace for bringing materials together in one place. Think files, notes, links, chats, meeting notes, and other resources gathered into a notebook where Copilot can answer questions based on that content. Microsoft is also rolling out Study Guide features that can help turn those materials into study supports.

Why it matters: This is interesting for schools already living in Microsoft 365. Teachers and students often have materials scattered across PDFs, slides, Word documents, Teams posts, OneDrive folders, and “I swear I put it somewhere” digital chaos. A notebook-style AI workspace could help students organize information and help teachers build study supports from the materials they already have.

That said, this is not a magic study fairy. It still depends on what materials are included, what licenses are available, and whether students know how to question the output.

The classroom use: This could be useful for a unit review, research project, certification prep, or any class where students are juggling multiple resources. Students could use the tool to generate a first-pass study guide, then check it against the actual course materials.

The caution: Availability and licensing matter. Microsoft’s support page notes that Copilot Notebooks is available to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat licensed users, and accounts need SharePoint or OneDrive access to create notebooks. So before you build a lesson around it, check what your district actually has turned on.

My take: Worth watching, and worth trying if your school already has access. But I would not make it the center of a lesson until you know your students can actually open and use it without a technology scavenger hunt.

Well, let me introduce you to one I absolutely love, and it is my go-to source when I need to learn a new model or technique. Futurepedia @futurepedia_io is an outstanding channel to subscribe to.

Yes, they are trying to sell you their courses, but honestly, you wouldn't know it by watching their channel. As of right now, they are the best channel hands down for learning about different tools, models, and techniques in a relatively easy way, minus all the hype. Check them out.

Have students critique an AI-made study guide.

This is a simple one, and it works even if you do not have Copilot Notebooks available.

Take a small set of materials from a recent lesson or unit. It could be slides, notes, a reading, a vocabulary list, or a handout. Use an approved AI tool to generate a short study guide from those materials.

Then give students the AI-generated study guide and ask them to mark it up.

• Have them look for three things:
• What did the AI get right?
• What did the AI leave out?
• What would you change to make this more useful for an actual student?

That last part matters. Students are often very good at spotting when a study guide sounds fancy but does not actually help them study. Let them be the editors.

This activity teaches content review, AI awareness, and information literacy at the same time. It also shows students that AI output is not automatically finished just because it is neatly formatted.

Optional prompt: “Using only the class materials below, create a one-page study guide for students. Include key ideas, vocabulary, common misunderstandings, and five review questions. Do not add outside information.”

Then follow up with the class:

• “Now let’s see what the AI missed.”

The theme this week is pretty simple: AI can help, but it still needs a responsible human nearby.

I am all for using AI to cut down on admin work. If a principal can turn a dry state memo into usable staff slides in under ten minutes, I am not going to clutch my pearls. That is a win. If a teacher can turn a messy set of resources into a first-pass study guide, also a win. If AI can help draft feedback so students get something clearer and faster, I am listening.

But there is a line.

The moment AI starts making decisions that students experience as teacher judgment, we need to slow down. Feedback is not just text. A grade is not just a number. A comment from a teacher carries weight because it comes from a relationship, a classroom context, and a human who knows the student.

That does not mean AI cannot help. It means AI should not sneak into the driver’s seat while we pretend we are still steering.

This is where I think educators need a better phrase than “AI is coming for education.” That makes it sound like a storm cloud with a software subscription.

A better question is: What work should AI help us do, and what work still needs our judgment?

Drafting a parent email? AI can help.

• Summarizing a long document? AI can help.
• Creating a study guide from class materials? AI can help.
• Giving final feedback to a student? That still needs the teacher.

The tool is not the point. The workflow is the point. And the best workflow is one where AI saves time without quietly removing the educator from the part that actually matters.

This week in StackFord, I have been thinking a lot about how students handle scattered learning materials.

Every teacher knows the folder problem. Slides in one place. PDFs in another. Notes somewhere else. A review sheet that may or may not be the final version. Students are not just learning the content anymore. They are also trying to manage the pile.

That is one reason I keep building course materials, labs, simulations, and review resources with structure in mind. Students need clear pathways. Teachers need materials that do not require a second job to organize. And when AI enters the picture, structure matters even more.

The bigger takeaway for teachers is this: AI works better when the learning materials are clear, organized, and intentional. Garbage in, garbage out still applies. So before we ask AI to help students study, we need to make sure we are giving it the right materials to work from.

AI can help organize the pile. But we still have to decide what belongs in the pile.

This week, try AI on one low-stakes workflow. Summarize a lesson. Draft a study guide. Clean up directions. Then ask the important question:

Did this actually save time, or did I just create another thing to babysit?

That answer matters.