AI in Action for Educators

Welcome back to AI in Action for Educators — Part 2, really, of Sparking Creativity.

Today we’re putting creativity into action — with The Remix Challenge — and talking briefly about ethical use.

We already talked about why creativity matters
More and more, especially when competing with tick tock and Youtube videos, teachers need to be creative to keep students engaged, foster crucial skills like critical thinking and problem-solving, and make learning more meaningful and effective.

Three Kinds of Brainstorming

AI can support different types of creative thinking, depending on what you need:

• Divergent thinking — generating lots of ideas.
  For example, you might ask AI, ‘Give me 20 ways to introduce fractions’. This helps you explore possibilities you might not have thought of on your own.
  

• Convergent thinking — narrowing ideas down.
  Once you have a big list, you can ask, ‘Rank the best three ideas’, which helps you focus on what will work best for your students.
  

• Transformational thinking — taking existing content and changing its form.
  You could say, ‘Turn this text into a cartoon’ or ‘Explain this as a short story’. This lets you see your lesson in a completely new way.

The Remix Challenge
Let’s see AI in action with a live example I call The Remix Challenge.

Take any ordinary paragraph — maybe a short explanation in your lesson — and highlight it. Then ask AI to transform it:

• ‘Turn this into a mystery clue.’

• ‘Rewrite this for a curious 6-year-old.’

• ‘Explain using a sports metaphor.’

What you get back is the same content — but suddenly it feels fresh, engaging, and memorable.

Here are some additional prompts you might try.

• Turn this topic into a metaphor.
  

• Gamify this lesson for 4th graders.
  

• Give me 5 wildly different ways to introduce _____.
  

• Make this a challenge or mystery.
  

• Create a hands-on version of this activity.

This is the power of remixing: AI gives you ideas to play with, and then you decide what fits your students best.

Before you think I’m giving too much credit to AI, let’s clarify something really important: how we think and talk about AI matters.

AI is not a friend, therapist, boss, or someone who can do your work for you. It doesn’t have feelings, opinions, or judgment. Treating it like a person can cause confusion for both teachers and students.

Instead, AI is a tool — a research tool, a secretarial tool, a proofreading tool, a data analysis tool, or even a prompt-writing tool. In other words, it’s here to help you accomplish tasks more efficiently, spark ideas, and support learning — but you’re still the teacher, the thinker, and the decision-maker.

By framing AI correctly in our classrooms, we help students see it as a powerful resource, not a replacement for their own thinking or creativity.

Ethical Creativity
AI outputs are starting points — students must analyze, select, remix, and make it their own.
AI is a tool: Allow it to enhance human capabilities, not substitute for them.
Human oversight throughout the process is required: human judgment must remain central to the creative process.
Encourage the use of AI for exploration and innovation, while making sure students still develop foundational skills.
Establish and communicate clear rules for appropriate and inappropriate uses of AI to maintain academic integrity.
Have open conversations about the purpose of learning and the responsible use of AI.

Try It This Week
“Pick one topic you’re teaching soon and tell AI:
‘Give me 5 surprising ways to introduce ___ to grade ___.’
Choose your favorite — and use it tomorrow.

And check the newsletter for a long list of the Best Creativity Prompts for Teachers.

Pick one topic you’re teaching soon and tell AI:
Give me 5 surprising ways to introduce ___ to grade ___.

Small steps lead to big creative habits! And check the newsletter for a long list of the Best Creativity Prompts for Teachers.

Next week our AI lesson will be on Using AI to improve student revision skills!

Thanks for watching, and have a great week!