Change is afoot. Or at least that’s the impression I get from the college writing classes I teach, as well as my conversations with educators who teach at various grade levels, and just from generally observing societal trends around education.

As we emerged from the pandemic era in education, we jumped right into the early AI era. Yet as AI skepticism mounts in and outside of education, I think/hope we’re about to enter a new era.

Though readers be warned, when it comes to predictions, I’m not exactly the Oracle of Delphi. After all, I truly thought this year was going to be a good one for the New York Mets. Even so, I do believe all of these predictions have more of a chance of coming true than the Mets do of playing in the World Series anytime soon.

Here’s how I see things playing out in the coming school year.

1. The Techlash Continues

Okay, so I’m no exactly going out on a limb with this one. But I don’t see the ongoing pushback against certain forms of technology going away any time soon.

For example, I haven’t spoken with one teacher from a district or school that banned phones who wants them back--not one. Presumably some exist, but their numbers are evidently small.

Likewise, I believe there’s a sizable consensus that even though screens of various kinds can be helpful, these don’t hold all the answers to education. The emphasis going forward, as it should be, will be on eliminating the tech that distracts from education and focusing on the tools that really and truly help students.

2. AI Cheating Declines

This is a bold prediction, I know. But I see 2026 as the peak of the “I’ll just let AI do my assignment” era that has altered education.

Going forward, particularly at the college level, I think we’re going to see more institutional responses and more cultural responses to this. Encouraging trends include the movement toward watermarking from some of the tech giants, including Anthropic, which recently announced Claude will start watermarking all text it generates.

I’m also seeing a growing sense that passing off AI as your own writing is not a thing that you should do in any situation.

I’m confident the combination of better AI detection models and watermarks paired with more intense societal disapproval will greatly decrease the prevalence of AI cheating by the end of the school year.

Again, this is an optimistic take, but I really think the current AI writing situation can’t go on, and this is the year it finally peaks.

3. Job Anxiety Decreases

The existential dread most of us feel about the future of human-powered labor will subside by the end of this school year, and both educators and their students will breath a collective sigh of relief.

I think this will happen for the same reasons I think AI cheating will decrease. Society by and large has made their feelings clear on what we think of AI-produced work of any kind: We dislike it about as much as we disliked new Coke.

AI will continue to play a key role in research assistance and tutoring, and in areas such as vibe coding. However, as we drive unwanted AI from the classroom, we’ll also drive unwanted AI from professions it has no business in, such as writing, illustrating, and pretty much all artistic fields. This will help students better control their career paths and get rid of that dark cloud on the horizon for some.

4. The Tactile Revolution Will Continue (And Obviously Won’t Be Televised)

The pen and papers that many educators have turned to in a desperate effort to guard against AI misuse are not going back in the desk. Students won’t need to write by hand to prove they’re not using AI going forward, but I don’t anticipate this trend going backward as many educators have realized there is something important and beneficial in the tactile experience. Education in the post-COVID era has gotten a little bit away from it, but more hands-on lessons with objects students can touch and feel has staying power.

For me, I’ve realized the value of getting writing students to create a piece of work that exists in the real, non-digital world. Whether that’s a handwritten note or a printout, changing the medium helps students engage differently, and sometimes connect with their writing in a more meaningful way.

5. The Next Big Thing Is Coming

Forgive me for the vagueness of this one, but with AI use and abuse hopefully maturing in the coming school year and the post-COVID period moving more firmly behind us, I think the field of education is poised to enter a new era of some type. I don’t know what this will be. I just get a strong sense of transition in higher education due to changing demographics and declining enrollment. I think some of that will trickle down to K-12.

I also think this shift will involve some type of truce between the techlash and AI, and hopefully incorporate the best of both worlds.

Ultimately, I’m not sure exactly what the future holds, but I’m confident a new era is dawning. Here’s hoping we can learn some lessons from the past when it does.

AI teaching tools have moved well beyond simple chatbots, with the best options now offer teachers practical help. That can mean lesson planning, assessment, differentiation, feedback, and classroom management. Some put AI directly into students' hands as a learning assistant.

The challenge is knowing which ones are actually useful. Countless AI tools now promise to transform education, but vary wildly in what is offered, designs for schools, and how much work teachers still need to do themselves.

These are some of the best AI teaching tools we've covered at Tech & Learning, selected for the different ways they can support educators and students. Some are designed primarily to save teachers time, while others are built to give students more personalized or interactive learning experiences.

From creating an entire lesson to helping a student practice a speech, these tools show just how broad AI's role in education has become.

Best AI teaching tools

Best AI teaching tool overall

EdCafe AI

Edcafe AI is one of the more complete AI platforms for teachers because it aims to cover the entire teaching cycle rather than focusing on one particular task.

Teachers can use it to plan lessons, create learning materials, assign activities, and assess student progress, all from the same platform. Existing resources can also be uploaded so the AI can work from the material a teacher is already using rather than starting from scratch.

This is helpful when time is of the essence. A teacher can upload a document, presentation, or curriculum material and use AI to turn that into lessons, quizzes, or activities that can then be shared with students.

Tools are also available for differentiation, including chatbots that can be tailored to different abilities or subjects. Teachers can then monitor engagement and performance, creating a feedback loop that can help inform future lessons.

For teachers looking for one AI platform rather than a collection of separate tools, Edcafe AI is a great option.

Best for personalized learning

Flint

Flint takes a different approach by combining an AI teaching assistant with an AI tutor for students.

Teachers can use the platform to create lessons, activities, and feedback, while its Sparky AI tutor gives students individual support as they work. The teacher remains in control of how much help the AI is allowed to provide, which is useful when you want AI to guide students without simply handing them answers.

Teachers can upload worksheets, rubrics, lessons, and other resources and use those as the foundation for AI-generated activities. Students can then work through those activities, ask questions, and receive support along the way.

The personalized element is great here. It doesn't expect an entire class to work through the same material at the same pace, but can provide additional support when individual students need it.

Teachers also get analytics and engagement information, while school-level controls and integrations make this suitable for wider deployment.

If you want to use AI to move toward more personalized instruction, Flint is a top choice.

Best for lesson planning

Eduaide.Ai

Eduaide.Ai is built specifically around the jobs that take up teachers' time, making it a useful AI assistant for planning and creating classroom resources.

The platform can generate more than 100 types of teaching resources, including lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, assessments, vocabulary lists, problem sets, escape rooms, and role-playing scenarios.

This doesn't rely on an open-ended chatbot prompt, so teachers can select the type of resource they want and provide the information needed to create it. That makes the process more straightforward for educators who don't want to spend time learning how to write elaborate AI prompts.

It also offers a built-in editor, so teachers can refine the generated material without leaving the platform. Support for more than 15 languages adds another useful layer for language teaching and multilingual classrooms.

Eduaide.Ai is less about giving students an AI chatbot and more about giving teachers an AI-powered resource creation assistant. It's ideal when the goal is to spend less time making teaching materials and more time using them.

Best for student AI interactions

SchoolAI

SchoolAI is designed specifically for education, with AI tools intended to support both teachers and students.

Teachers can use it to create tailored lesson plans, quizzes, and worksheets, with automatic alignment to educational standards. Students can then interact with AI in a more controlled environment rather than simply being handed access to a general-purpose chatbot.

SchoolAI is designed around the idea that AI can provide personalized support while still sitting inside a teacher-controlled classroom environment. The platform can adapt learning experiences to individual students, helping provide something closer to one-to-one support without requiring a teacher to spend one-to-one time with every child.

SchoolAI also highlights its FERPA, COPPA, and SOC 2 compliance, giving schools additional reassurance around its use in an educational environment. For teachers who want students to use AI rather than simply have AI create resources behind the scenes, SchoolAI is one to investigate.

Best for creating teaching materials

Almanack

Almanack is an AI assistant designed specifically for educators, with a focus on turning prompts into classroom-ready resources. Teachers can create slide decks, worksheets, lesson plans, quizzes, tests, games, and report card comments. It can also help with longer-term curriculum planning, giving it uses beyond simply creating a single lesson.

One of the top features is differentiation. Teachers can create multiple versions of a resource for different ability levels without having to start again each time. Almanack can also translate resources, which could be useful when working with multilingual students or creating materials for English-language learners.

The platform is standards-aligned and designed so that AI-generated content is created for teachers rather than being delivered directly to students. That leaves the educator in control of checking and refining the material before it reaches the classroom.

Like any generative AI tool, Almanack still needs a human check. But if creating teaching materials is eating into your preparation time, it can take a lot of the initial work off your plate.

Best for standards-aligned teaching

Teachally

Teachally uses AI to create personalized teaching resources while keeping curriculum and standards at the center. The platform can generate lesson plans, teaching guides, and assessments based on the subject, class, and individual learning requirements. It is designed to support differentiation, so teachers can create material that better suits students working at different levels.

One of its biggest selling points is its extensive standards alignment. Teachally supports hundreds of thousands of state and national standards, allowing teachers to connect generated resources with the requirements they're actually teaching. The platform also supports translation into more than 100 languages, giving it potential uses in multilingual classrooms.

That combination of AI generation and standards alignment makes Teachally useful for teachers who don't just want an AI-generated lesson, but want something that fits into the curriculum they already need to deliver. It's another good example of AI being used as a teaching assistant rather than a replacement for the teacher.

Best for public speaking

Yoodli

Yoodli takes AI into a more specific area of education, helping students become better speakers. The platform acts as an AI speech coach, allowing students to practice presentations, speeches, interviews, and other speaking activities privately before performing in front of a real audience.

Students can record themselves speaking and receive immediate feedback on things such as pacing, filler words, word choice, and body language. They can see specific areas to work on rather than simply being told that a presentation needs improvement.

Teachers can also create custom role-playing scenarios and learning activities, while Yoodli's AI Tutor can hold conversations with students and ask follow-up questions. This makes it useful for English, public speaking, presentations, interview preparation, and English-language learners.

The biggest benefit is the opportunity to practice without the pressure of an audience. Students can make mistakes, try again, and improve before they have to stand up in front of the class.

Best for teaching how AI works

Teachable Machine

Teachable Machine is different from most of the tools on this list because the AI isn't simply there to help the teacher. Instead, it lets students actually experiment with machine learning.

The Google tool allows users to train simple AI models using images, sounds, and movements. Students can provide examples, train the system, and then see how it responds to new information. This offers a super accessible way to demonstrate what machine learning actually means. Rather than explaining algorithms purely through theory, teachers can let students experience the process of training an AI system for themselves.

Educational resources are also available that can be used alongside the platform to explore topics such as algorithms, data, and AI ethics. For example, students can create an algorithm designed to identify their preferred type of sandwich, then examine why the system produces particular results. This opens the door to discussions around training data, bias, and the way algorithms can influence outcomes.

And there's no subscription to worry about as Teachable Machine is completely free to use and doesn't require users to sign in. For teaching AI literacy rather than simply using AI, it's hard to beat.

We talk with Brittany Miller, Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of the Center for Outcomes Based Contracting, Southern Education Foundation about outcomes-based contracts and why they matter for students. You can enjoy Miller’s engaging insights into these important topics during The EdExec Exchange: Critical Issue Roundtable Discussion at the upcoming EdExec Summit, taking place September 10-11 in Chicago.

“We've learned over time that in order to develop a strong contract between a district and provider, there is a misconception that the contingent payment is all there is to it,” Miller says. “You can’t simply make part of the money contingent on outcomes and everything will work for kids. First, we must identify who the students are you want to serve and what program is best going to serve those students from the research and evidence base that exists for particular products.”

At the nonprofit Center for Outcomes-Based Contracting, the work is focused on supporting school districts and their service providers with contracting so that a minimum of 40% of payment to the provider is contingent on meeting agreed-upon student outcomes, says Miller.

She adds that the organization provides technical assistance, field insights, research and policy references, such as their policy document on high-impact tutoring, to help the field grow in their practice of outcomes-based contracting. Open-source resources are also available via the website, aligned with standards of excellence developed from research, to move the needle for student learning.

Defining the success outcomes and metrics that are most important for the district, state or student's individual learning experience is the next step.

“Contingent-outcome payments create a structure for how the contractual agreement will work,” Miller says. “The real power in the work comes with mutual accountability and continuous improvement work. Outlining who is in charge of what elements upfront, before services are delivered, develops a theory of change for implementation that we are contractually committing to across the partnership to achieve those student success outcomes.”

Miller says the actual contract is typically between the district and service provider, or in some cases between the state granting organization and the service provider on behalf of districts, which is a healthier, clearer partnership than a typical instructional services contract.

Both vendors and districts come to Miller’s organization wanting to learn how they benefit from and create these contracts.

“We have a district contract accelerator that districts can enroll in to create a contract, as well as a provider learning series where we help providers understand the model and what their go-to-market strategy can be,” she says.

5 Domains Essential to Outcomes-Based Contract Success

• Clearly defined population and program.
• Clearly defined outcomes and metrics.
• Contingent outcomes payments.
• Mutual accountability.
• Continuous improvement.

Dollars and Sense in Edtech Contracts

A real strength of the outcome-based contract model is to increase efficiency and get more bang for the edtech budget buck.

“Our goal is not to lessen the number of dollars going into education,” Miller says. “Education needs to be well-funded, but we are in a tight spot right now in the current market. Now is even more important to make the best use of not only district dollars, but of our most precious resource of all — teacher and student time. That resource is irreplaceable.”

Students only have so much time in the classroom with their teachers, so the question becomes how to use technology in a way that enables stronger teaching and learning to happen in the classroom.

“We want to support what the teacher is already doing,” Miller says. “It’s a real opportunity to make sure that classrooms are using purpose-built education technology instead of consumer-built technologies that aren't focused on student learning in the same way.”

Outcome-based contracts are a way for providers to differentiate themselves in this current tighter marketplace.

“It makes a big impact to say, ‘We know that our product can be really effective for students, so we're willing to put our money where our mouth is,’” Miller says. “The reason providers are willing to do this is there are mutual accountability responsibilities on the district side which are also contingent for payment. Districts have to make sure students are using the technology as it was intended, based on provider research.”

This element of the contract leads to much higher rates of usage, which is aligned with the implementation integrity required to achieve successful student outcomes.

“In our first national edtech cohort, we had 69% of contract-enrolled students meet the dosage requirements as recommended by the provider,” she says. “That’s a far cry from the 5% problem we normally see and really speaks to how following recommended guidelines can create more cohesive and successful implementation in classrooms.”

Outcome-Based Contracts and Accountability

One area everyone can agree with is that students deserve the best edtech for their needs.

“The real goal here is to get away from the finger-pointing that happens when contracts go wrong,” Miller says. “We need to delve into being accountable to whom we ultimately intend to serve, which is our students. When you can include clear outcomes with measurement modes and standards-of-excellence elements into the contract on the front end, it creates ideal conditions for students to be served.”

An outcome-based contract lays out the means of arriving at that end goal for all stakeholders.

“Knowing how the accountability metrics work can be a really powerful agent for change,” Miller says. “It translates what the value proposition is into something the whole ecosystem understands. It also proves to be a powerful mechanism when it comes to board approvals for contracts. We’ve started to see providers use this as a proactive strategy in order to make themselves better known in the market. It’s really valuable for school boards who must answer where the dollars went and the outcome questions that are actually much more complex than people assume.”

Perhaps the service provider will only get 60% up front, with the remaining 40% being contingent on meeting agreed-upon outcomes. Either the student outcomes are met and the provider will get paid that full amount, or the student outcomes are not met and the provider will get paid less than that full amount.

“A really common misconception is that it’s all or nothing,” Miller says. “It's a per-pupil price at the outcome level, with multiple outcomes that every student can achieve. We're detailed and clear about serving individual students effectively with the technology in the classroom and ensuring the provider is being compensated for each of those outcomes. This personalization de-risks the contract for everybody involved.”

Miller is seeing a massive shift in the tides and stronger contract renewals in places where they are otherwise cutting back.

“Districts can negotiate an outcomes-based contract with their current providers to make sure that they're still serving students, with a proof point for why it's important to keep that product in the classroom. It's much harder to pull that service out of classrooms when they can show the success through data,” she says.

Miller says there's a lot of interest in the model from districts, providers and the philanthropic community that invests in the classroom.

“What we're most concerned about is that quality is maintained as the model scales,” she says. “The way to do that is through those standards of excellence.”

We talk with Tammy Wincup, CEO of Securly — a student safety company exclusively focused on how to help students be safe, well and ready to learn in their digital footprint — about the state of the market and how edtech CEOs can effectively lead in the current climate. You can enjoy engaging insights into these important topics during the CEO Keynote Panel: Strategies for Leading Through Market Uncertainty at the upcoming EdExec Summit, taking place September 10-11 in Chicago.

“You’ve got two polar conversations happening right now in terms of digital safety,” says Wincup. “There is the largest tech revolution that's ever happened, certainly in my lifetime, across tech around AI with administrators in districts trying to answer, ‘How do we prepare students and teachers?’ On the flip side, you've got a conversation happening in the community around using too much tech, with it coming back to a screentime and over-reliance on edtech conversation.”

Wincup, has been a leader in the educational technology realm for 25 years, with previous leadership roles at Rethink Education, Get Well and EVERFI. Her current company works with more than 27,000 schools, nearly half of all K-12 schools in the U.S.

“I’ve been in edtech before we called it edtech,” she says. “I think we're at an interesting period. It is a baseline expectation that we owe our kids a full operating safety and wellness plan, which cannot be piecemeal.”

Indeed, what used to be a side consideration, now is a main question districts have to ask and answer.

Changing Along With a Changing Market

Part of leading through a shifting economical landscape is finding your place in the big picture and addressing the heart of issues that matter

“We've gotten case studies, big districts with a hundred thousand students or more, facing the same challenges as small districts,” Wincup says. “Leading through this landscape falls back to how they operationalize it and how they tell their story to their stakeholders. Whether that's board, whether it's parents, whether it's teachers — we as an industry speak in general policies, but it's the administrators that actually have to then go make their message clear. Our job is to make sure that they have the tools to be able to execute those policies.”

As mentioned, the screen time debate continues to be a challenge.

“I was just on the phone with a very large school district considering their response and what they want to implement,” Wincup says. “Another smaller district has very masterfully used the data from their kids' digital footprint to inform teaching and learning. It’s a hard time for districts to balance both an AI revolution at the same time that parents and caregivers and boards are correctly asking, ‘Have we moved too far toward tech?’”

Backing decisions with data is one way to bring parents into the conversation, and to be confident that thoughtful decisions are made about how to use tech in the classroom.

“It’s almost like going back to 2010 when E-Rate and CIPA first came out saying, ‘We want to give funding to school districts to pay for the internet, but we also want to protect students in its use,’” Wincup says. “Those two principles are still wildly relevant. It's gotten more complicated. Now there are apps, there are tools, there are large language models, et cetera — it requires very sophisticated technology to help districts prepare for that.”

Partnering Toward Success

“Last year there was a lot of polling around how students are using AI,” Wincup says. “We said, ‘Enough asking questions.’ We know what types of prompts and character AI and relationships with AI, etc., are happening. We know that 80% of the millions of prompts we see right now are within the guardrails that districts set.”

Steering the conversation to one that addresses the real issues is key.

“The other 20% are not, so helping districts think through their AI-use policies to keep students safe within that segment is our focus,” Wincup says. “Districts can bring parents and caregivers into the conversation using data from our home app, ‘This is the summary of what your kids did in their digital footprint while they were out of school, while on their school-issued device.’”

Being a good partner to stakeholders starts with information.

“Our job is not to make more noise in a very noisy space. It's actually to quiet and bring attention to what's actually happening versus the hypotheses on it.”

Wincup feels education is an industry where the vast majority of people are there for the right reasons. They are there because they fundamentally want to put the student at the center of the conversation.

“Start every conversation, every internal meeting with how does this benefit the student?” she says. “Yes, you have to talk about how it benefits the teachers and administrators. But we have an obligation to start with the students. The education organizations that do that every day are the ones that succeed.”

In Wincup’s opinion, the largest school districts are sometimes where ed companies “go to die.”

“A lot of entrepreneurs start by thinking, ‘I need to be in the largest districts,’” she says. “I find the mid- and small-sized districts and schools are the ones that will pressure-test you and frankly make you great. They are the innovators, the ones doing more with less. Those are incredible administrators and partners with whom you’ll want to work.”

Tammy Wincup: 3 Observations of the Evolution of Edtech

The K-12 tech user and buyer is far more sophisticated. In the early 2000’s, there was a misconception that K-12 weren’t great adopters, and so you could give them average tech. The CTO buyer is one of the most sophisticated vertical buyers out there so their expectation is higher for what providers are providing to them. Setting the bar higher is a good thing for our kids and for education.

It's a noisier market. K-12 used to be a place where all single-point solutions could bloom. Anybody who had an idea for a feature could find their way. Education, correctly, is now super sophisticated in saying, ‘That's not good enough.’ Just because you have a great idea of what might help in the classroom, that is not enough.

There is a new reality because of cybersecurity. This idea that technology providers would go directly to teachers and say, "Use my thing," does not and should not fly anymore because of overall safety and security. This is another area that has evolved for the betterment of our students.

Meeting the Leaders

Wincup believes that the best relationships grow when districts ask for help to solve some of their biggest challenges.

“My hope for the summit is that we will have really robust conversations about the problems we can actually help them solve,” she says. “I'd love to hear and really dive into the big look-around-the-corner challenges that districts are facing, and put it to the larger community with an expectation that we actually help solve them.”

Wincup will be sharing her insights during the EdExec Summit at:

• CEO Keynote Panel: Strategies for Leading Through Market Uncertainty
• Table Discussions: The Compliance Moat: Privacy, Cybersecurity & AI Governance
• The Security Vetting Hurdle: How to proactively pass district safety requirements to prevent stalled deals

For Melissa McCalla, the winds of Hurricane Harvey did more than cause damage to her school in Pasadena ISD–they blew her into a new chapter of her career.

McCalla had been a teacher, an assistant principal, and finally a principal, when the devastating storm struck Texas in 2017. It flooded homes and shut down her school, but did also have unintended positive consequences.

“It kind of fundamentally changed me as a leader,” McCalla says. “I had an opportunity to really engage with our technology division teams. Eventually I was leading libraries and instructional materials as part of that work, and then I eventually became the CTO.”

McCalla has been CTO five years now (and in the district for 25 years), during which she’s implemented a personalized learning initiative at 47 of 67 of the district’s campuses that involved coaching principals. She has also been instrumental in the district’s first full-time, structured virtual school, which opens this month.

“I never thought I would sit in the chief technology officer role,” she says. “It kind of came as a surprise.”

For this and other efforts, McCalla was recently recognized with a Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award at the Tech & Learning pre-ISTE Leadership Summit in Orlando. She shares how her district is launching a new virtual high school, boosting its CTE pathways, and more.

FLExible Learning

To address different kinds of learning, Pasadena ISD is launching FLEx Virtual High School, which will feature a combination of synchronous and asynchronous instruction. The initiative came about after the Texas legislature expanded virtual and hybrid learning and from feedback from students and parents who were looking for a more robust learning environment.

“This will be the first year that we're able to really provide a student with opportunity that if they want to do FFA [Future Farmers of America] in person, like raising an animal, you can go to one of our brick-and-mortar schools and take those classes in a face-to-face environment, but then you could also take four or five of your other classes virtually,” McCalla says. “I think that that's a new avenue for us that we haven't had the opportunity to really do in Texas previously.”

But those other classes are not simply static online learning.

“For instance, a virtual lab for chemistry might include getting online together and doing a lab together synchronously versus you know a traditional more synchronous self-paced lesson,” she says. “Each student has an individual mentor that they meet with weekly to set goals, and a cohort of students that they would work with as in the traditional home room and virtually as well.”

Speaking of opportunities, Pasadena ISD also offers a comprehensive CTE program that has been recognized at the state level and offers diverse pathways such as criminal justice, veterinary science, and because of its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, maritime studies.

“Our program helps students to do work that sets them up for success in the Port of Houston area, including setting the stage for them and working on ships,” says McCalla. “We have a full-time maritime simulator and our students can actually learn how to pilot a boat.”

The district’s newest initiative is partnering with San Jacinto Community College in launching a gamified cybersecurity course for students in grades 5-12. McCalla also touts the district’s welding program, which offers very lucrative job opportunities thanks to all the oil and gas refineries in the region, as well as the nearby port.

“One of the great things about all of those programs, technology and learning and innovation all go together with them to some extent,” she says, adding that the skills learned in these opportunities are translatable to all manner of post-secondary paths. “You know, the way to communicate, the way to work hard. The types of professional skills that you need to work collaboratively, to think innovatively.”

Boosting Digital Wellbeing

Through a project involving ISTE and the Pinterest Impact Fund, the district has prioritized digital well-being as a key element of its innovation strategy. Part of that is creating a supportive culture that helps staff, students, and families navigate digital spaces responsibly rather than implementing restrictive bans on technology.

To do that, Pasadena ISD is utilizing parent coordinators to bridge the gap between home and school, and make sure that everyone is consistent and on the same page when it comes to the message and practices around digital wellbeing, be it at school, at home, or when a student is on their own.

“So what does that look like, and then how are we helping teach students to navigate those spaces together?” says McCalla. “What are our students saying are the important things to them and the experiences they're having in digital spaces, and then how do we help support them in being successful there as much as it is in being successful outside of those spaces?”

Building Long-Term Success

For a leader who is looking to go down the path of digital innovation, McCalla advises building a diverse task force that includes students and parents in addition to others from across the district, and then make them an active part of the work.

“Don't just get them to give you input, but actually help them create a working group that brings in their voice in and then contribute to what you're working toward,” McCalla says. “That has made a big difference for us. I believe it’s going to lead to the long-term success of this work that we're doing because they become the advocate and they help tell the story across your community. So it's not just a one-off, it's not just a one point, it really is truly a collaborative ongoing work together.”

Tools They Use

• ParentSquare
• Microsoft Copilot
• LinkedIn
• ClassLink
• Incident IQ

Survey Methodology: Online survey conducted with 2,277 US-based education decision-makers within the SmartBrief and Tech & Learning audiences.

The K-12 educational landscape is transforming, and the strategies schools use to acquire resources are evolving rapidly alongside it. Today’s education decision-makers face a unique intersection of challenges: shrinking budgets, persistent staff shortages, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.

The resulting data from our survey paints a clear picture of a market shifting toward year-round agility, localized decision-making, and a strong demand for authentic vendor partnerships.

The Timeline: A Constant Cycle

Historically, education product procurement was defined by a summer rush. Today, that seasonal model is largely obsolete. Modern school districts have transitioned away from traditional buying windows, adopting an agile, continuous approach to discovering, evaluating, and acquiring educational tools.

• Identifying Needs: 62% of school leaders identify purchasing needs on an ongoing basis.
• Evaluating Products: 67% continuously evaluate products throughout the year, integrating research into their regular workflows.
• The Final Decision: 54% make final buying decisions on a rolling, ongoing basis, though a notable 33% still prefer to finalize their choices during the traditional Spring/Summer window.

Who Holds the Power?

For vendors, successful outreach requires knowing exactly who sits at the decision-making table. While district-level buy-in remains important for large rollouts, localized building administrators and frontline instructional staff hold the most significant sway over what actually gets purchased for the classroom.

Key Purchasing Influencers:

• Building-Level Administrators: 61%
• Instructional Staff: 59%
• Instructional Directors: 54%
• Technology Directors: 52%
• Superintendents: 46%
• School Board Members: 24%
• Parents: 15%

Where the Dollars Are Going (12–24 Months)

Faced with ongoing funding hurdles, the explosion of AI, and persistent staff shortages, districts are highly strategic about their investments. Over the next two years, funding is being heavily targeted toward empowering teachers through professional development and robust instructional products.

Top General Spending Plans:

• Educator Professional Development: 68%
• Instructional Tools & Systems: 63%
• Hardware (Laptops/Tablets): 48%
• AI Tools: 37%

Top Teaching & Learning Products Considered:

• Assessment Tools: 41%
• Reading Curriculum: 38%
• AI Tools (Chatbots, lesson creation, etc.): 37%
• Math & STEM Curriculum: 36% (each)

Hurdles & Deal-Breakers

To combat tightening budgets and maximize return on investment, schools are meticulously scrutinizing overall costs, ease of implementation, safety, and interoperability.

Macro pressures heavily influence these choices: 80% of respondents cite funding and budgets as their biggest current challenge, followed by staff shortages (45%) and AI concerns (39%). Altogether, 76% say these overarching challenges moderately or significantly alter their purchasing behaviors.

When evaluating solutions, vendors must be aware of the top deal-breakers that will quickly derail a sale:

• Subscription Costs: 63%
• Lack of Alignment with State Standards: 47%
• High Complexity of Implementation: 41%
• Inability to Integrate with LMS/Current Systems: 37%

The Evolving Role of AI & Screen Time

Despite intense national media conversations regarding student screen time and the rapid rollout of AI, school policies remain steady. Rather than enforcing outright tech bans, administrators are taking a pragmatic, case-by-case evaluation approach.

• Screen-Time Concerns: Surprisingly, 44% of educators state that national screen-time trends have not affected their tech purchasing habits.
• AI Procurement Policies: 57% report no significant policy changes regarding AI, continuing to evaluate tools contextually.
• The AI Dichotomy: While AI is actively helping administrators streamline purchasing predictions and strategic planning, leaders remain understandably cautious regarding data privacy, security, and the rapid pace of tech evolution.

How to Reach Education Buyers

Traditional, aggressive sales pitches fall flat in the K-12 environment. Educators lean heavily on authentic peer networks and actionable, real-world case studies to cut through the marketing noise and find tools that actually work.

• Discovery Channels: Teachers and peers (72%) and education publications (69%) are the top trusted discovery channels, ranking ahead of standard vendor outreach (56%).
• Preferred Content Formats: Webinars (65%) and district case studies (52%) are ranked as the most helpful resources for evaluating a product.
• Inside the Webinar: 71% of buyers prefer hearing peer-led presentations from fellow educators, and 56% want concrete insight into product implementation directly from vendors.

KEY SURVEY TAKEAWAYS FOR EDUCATION MARKETERS

Strong vendor partnerships are built on a foundation of trust, clear communication, responsive support, and a deep understanding of unique school needs. Educators place extraordinary value on long-term collaboration, pricing flexibility, and ongoing support that extends well beyond the initial sale.

The Bottom Line: Schools are looking for transparent, long-term partners who understand their resource constraints, stand behind their product claims, and provide continuous post-sale support. Your buyers turn to trusted brands SmartBrief and Tech & Learning to find solutions that meet these needs.

Contact us here to learn how our extensive menu of products can promote your messaging as a trusted partner year round.

As the academic year approaches, the integration of artificial intelligence into educational settings has shifted from a novelty or optional consideration to more of a necessity.

This summer as I engaged with my students, I had them each evaluate 10 to 12 generative AI tools of their choice. This summary is based on analysis of their notes from recent explorations and highlights a core group of "top-tier" tools that provide substantial value for both instructional efficiency and student success.

By focusing on tools that prioritize research synthesis, administrative logic, and visual communication, teachers and students can navigate the upcoming fall semester with unprecedented productivity.

The following six tools emerged as the most effective according to educators, offering a roadmap for fall implementation.

Gemini Notebook (The Research and Synthesis Powerhouse)

Gemini Notebook stands out for its "grounded" approach to AI, processing only the specific documents a user uploads. This makes it a premier tool for maintaining academic integrity while managing heavy reading loads. Personally, I find this one of the best tools available for summarizing large sets of articles or student papers to find themes or trends.

• How Teachers Can Use It: Educators can upload their entire curriculum unit to freshen it up or mold the materials differently. Student A noted that it can generate podcasts based on uploaded material, suggesting that "instead of having kids read a chapter of a short story, it could turn that into a podcast for you." It is highly effective for creating executive summaries and slide decks from dense research articles to maximize lesson prep time.
• How Students Can Use It: Students can upload lecture notes, textbook chapters, or articles to generate study guides, practice quizzes, or thematic literature overviews. Student B remarked that the audio overview feature is a "game changer," particularly for organizing complex concepts for long-term projects such as a dissertation.
• Concerns: A primary concern is the ethical implication of feeding the beast by uploading copyrighted works into an AI model. Additionally, users must be wary of surface level analysis, as the tool may occasionally overlook important nuances in the source material.

MagicSchool AI (The All-in-One Educator Assistant)

Historically one of my primary recommendations to K-12 educators–it consistently rates a "10/10" by users–MagicSchool AI is a platform designed specifically for the unique needs of the K-12 and university environment. It has a lot of built-in templates and is fully FERPA compliant.

• How Teachers Can Use It: Teachers can utilize a suite of more than 60 tools to generate IEP drafts, PLC agendas, and standards-aligned worksheets. Student C called it a "homerun tool" because it "supports the productivity and direction of [Collaborative Team] time without intruding on the actual meeting."
• How Students Can Use It: The Student AI Tutor offers personalized, 1-on-1 support. Student D found the tutor to be “excellent" because of the "depth of conversation it was having. It told me when I was correct [and] when I wasn’t giving it the skill it asked me to show."
• Concerns: The automated nature of the tool can lead to a loss of human tone if not reviewed carefully. Student E warned that if students rely too heavily on the AI to compile information, they risk "short-circuiting" the struggle required for true critical thinking.

Canva Magic Studio (The Visual Communication Leader)

Canva has evolved from a simple graphic design tool into a comprehensive AI suite that lowers the technical barrier for creating professional-looking learning visuals.

• How Teachers Can Use It: Educators can use Magic Design to instantly prototype course materials, turning a lecture outline into a cohesive slide deck. Student F noted its value for creating "take-home fliers for students to share with parents/guardians" and "quick signs for lessons."
• How Students Can Use It: Students can synthesize complex protocols into clear infographics or collaborative group projects. Student E highlighted that it allows students to "demonstrate competency through multimedia creation, fostering both digital literacy and communicative competence."
• Concerns: A risk of visual homogeneity, in which AI-generated layouts feel repetitive or corporate, exists. Also, there is concern regarding the "Couch Potato" effect, in which students may bypass the critical thinking, research, and synthesis stages if graded purely on the visual artifact.

Consensus (The Academic Search Engine)

Consensus is an AI-powered search tool that helps users quickly identify what peer-reviewed research says about specific questions.

• How Teachers and Students Can Use It: Both groups can benefit from its Consensus Meter, which shows scientific agreement on a topic. Student G found it "amazing" for literature reviews, noting that it "returned sources along with citations, as well as the ability to preview abstracts and PDFs in the same place." Student H appreciated its "excellent" accuracy and ability to find research "without going down a rabbit hole."
• Concerns: A major risk is that students may cite articles based only on the AI summary without reading the full source, which could lead to misunderstandings of the research.

Perplexity (The Citation-Backed Search Engine)

Perplexity serves as an enhanced search engine that provides direct answers supported by current online citations. It has historically been one of my go-to deep search tools, and one of my recent doctoral students used it extensively to gather data for his Delphi Study.

• How Teachers Can Use It: Staff can use it for policy benchmarking or for lesson planning on tangential topics outside their area of expertise.
• How Students Can Use It: Students find it much more trustworthy than basic search engines for report writing. Student I highlighted that the use of citations makes it "highly appealing and ... more trustworthy and applicable to my studies." Student J described it as a "graduate-level Google" that simplifies research into a digestible format.
• Concerns: Because Perplexity pulls from real-time web sources, its results are subject to the errors and possible ethical challenges present on the open internet.

Claude AI (The Writing and Logic Specialist)

Developed by Anthropic, Claude is recognized for its ability to handle massive amounts of text and its focus on providing safe and reliable responses. My students often refer to it as the “poet of the LLMs,” as they think it provides the best editorial assistance when they are writing.

• How Teachers Can Use It: Claude thrives in administrative nightmare scheduling scenarios. Student L described how it caught hidden scheduling conflicts and provided "realistic compromises" when managing transportation, weather, and facility bookings.
• How Students Can Use It: Claude acts as an effective career coach, helping students refine resumes and cover letters while maintaining their personal voice. Student K noted “it was effective because it gave organized and specific feedback on my writing" compared against specific rubrics.
• Concerns: Claude can occasionally produce a generic voice unless the user provides very detailed input. Privacy is also a major concern; users must be careful not to paste identifiable student data into the chat.

Your Fall Implementation Strategy

For the fall semester, these tools can be viewed as collaborative partners rather than replacements for human judgment. As educators, we need to expand the variety of tools that we expose students to in order to ensure they become and then remain digitally literate.

The "80/20 Rule" suggested by Student E is an ideal guiding principle: let AI handle the first 80% of a task, the drafting and organization, while the human expert provides the final 20% of auditing, empathy, and contextual nuance. Of course, the educator and/or student need to know how to develop a good prompt in order to get the AI tools to deliver a product at 80%. That’s one skill that regardless of the tool needs practice to develop.

Another one of my students argued with a faculty member as to why it was okay to ask a human editor to assist them but not an AI one as long as the student was upfront and disclosed the use of AI. Particularly when it is not considered necessary to disclose the use of a human editor or a visit to the writing center for support.

By integrating these tools thoughtfully, educators can reclaim time for high-value relational work while empowering students to become critical editors and auditors of data in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Thanks to Gemini Notebook and the Winona State University students of EL 590 for their assistance in creating this article.

Welcome to the August Edtech Show & Tell, in which our editors share some of the new edtech products that have caught our attention this month. These are not reviews or endorsements, but a showcase of education-friendly items, platforms, and more that we think might be noteworthy for you.

This month's new offerings include new digital curricula, an AI-powered smart pen, an air quality sensor, and much more.

Audiotool | 3.O

A step toward eliminating the bottlenecks musicians face when collaborating with one another, Audiotool 3.0 will bring Audiotool’s cross-platform music production ecosystem to any device, with native mobile versions coming soon. It will see the launch of NEXUS, a new open-source SDK that allows anyone to build their own instruments, plugins, and AI-connected music creation tools.

BandLab | BandLab For Education 2.0

Built to run on Chromebooks and other devices, BandLab for Education 2.0 is available free for eligible Title I schools and at a flat $2.50 per student per year for all others. The platform adapts BandLab Studio for education with teacher-managed classrooms, student assignments, and district privacy features. Students can record and create songs, tune vocals with AutoPitch, use an extensive library of samples through BandLab Sounds, and more.

Chief | Tempo Flat Panel In-Wall Single-Box Mount System

The Chief Tempo Flat Panel In-Wall Single-Box Mount System is designed for commercial and higher education environments, and supports small to medium displays in landscape or portrait orientation. It is engineered to streamline installation, support multi-phase installation workflows, and provide easy access to AV components for fast, efficient service. It combines mount hardware, in-wall device storage, and service access capability into a single integrated system that aligns with how commercial construction projects actually run.

ClassDojo | New Schoolwide Tools for School Leaders

ClassDojo's new capabilities help principals and school leaders communicate with families, strengthen school-home connections, and manage all staff outreach from a single platform. New capabilities include multichannel announcements (spanning email, text, voice, and mobile app), built-in Canva newsletter creation, one-click social media posting, schoolwide engagement dashboards, and new tools for middle and high school staff to communicate directly with students.

CyberNut | Neptune Navigate Digital Citizenship Platform

CyberNut has acquired the Neptune Navigate Digital Citizenship platform, adding an established student curriculum to its K-12 safety offering The company already delivers student safety and digital citizenship education alongside its staff-facing phishing simulation, security awareness training, and threat reporting. Neptune Navigate adds an additional deep, purpose-built curriculum. For districts, the result is a deeper, more comprehensive approach to online safety.

Daktronics | LiveWrx

LiveWrx is a fan engagement platform designed for high schools to create interactive experiences at live sporting events using video boards. It enables schools to run live polls, interactive games and fan challenges on their Daktronics displays while fans participate in real time using their smartphones. The platform is designed to increase crowd involvement, enhance school spirit and create new opportunities for sponsorship‑driven revenue during games.

Discovery Education | Social Studies Essentials

Social Studies Essentials is a new K–5 supplemental program designed to help teachers bring C3-aligned, inquiry-based social studies instruction into busy classrooms. The program was built to make rigorous social studies learning easier to implement with ready-to-use lessons, embedded literacy supports, primary sources, and teacher-friendly planning tools.

Epson | SureColor T3770E Education Edition

The SureColor T3770E Education Edition is designed to support schools looking to replace older equipment and confidently implement high-quality in-house poster printing. To ensure educators have everything they need to start printing on day one, the bundle includes the SureColor T3770E 24-inch wide-format graphics printer, easy-to-use Epson Print Automate software, 24” matte and glossy paper rolls, starter inks, plus an additional set of 110 mL ink cartridges, and a maintenance box, enough supplies to last well into the school year.

Extron | BT 100 AT D

This easy-to-use wall panel allows a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to be used as the communication device in a conferencing system. It also supports stereo audio playback from a range of Bluetooth-enabled devices. Flexible control for device pairing, volume, and media playback is available using the front panel buttons, RS-232 or the Dante network connection. The BT 100 AT D interfaces with any Dante‑equipped audio processor, such as an Extron DMP Plus Series AT Model, over a standard local area network.

Flowtica | Scribe

The Flowtica Scribe is an AI-powered smart pen that combines handwriting, voice recording, and AI to help students stay engaged during lectures instead of worrying about capturing every word themselves. It records both handwritten notes and audio simultaneously, allowing students to instantly revisit important moments, highlight key sections, and generate AI-powered summaries after class.

Just Right Reader | Knowledge and Language Building Library

Just Right Reader's Knowledge and Language Building Library is for pre-kindergarten students. The collection of 60 fiction and nonfiction books—available in both English and Spanish—are designed to develop students’ oral language, vocabulary, and background knowledge as they start their reading journey. The topic-based sets cover the themes of all about me, animals, building things, colors, community helpers, habitats, nutrition, plants, seasons, and transportation.

McGraw Hill | ALEKS Expansion

McGraw Hill welcomes additions to its AI-powered ALEKS portfolio of learning solutions: ALEKS Adventure for Grades 4–5 and ALEKS for Calculus II. These new offerings extend the reach of ALEKS and provide adaptive technology and actionable data help educators identify knowledge gaps and guide students to the skills they are ready to learn next.

Pimloc | Secure File Sharing

Secure File Sharing is a new capability in the Secure Redact platform that lets school districts and other organizations deliver redacted video, audio and documents directly to requestors through a secure, expiring link, accelerating delivery without the file ever being downloaded, re-uploaded, or emailed as an attachment.

PowerSchool | Schoology & NotebookLM integration

Gemini LTI users can now add Schoology course content directly as sources within NotebookLM. This allows educators and students to create AI‑powered study guides, summaries, audio overviews, videos, infographics, slide decks, and more, all grounded in materials already available in their Schoology courses.

SMART Technologies | Lumio WCAG 2.2 Accessibility Updates

Accessibility enhancements have been added to Lumio, the cloud-based teaching and learning platform, bringing the core student experience into alignment with WCAG 2.2, the internationally recognized standard for web accessibility. The update helps ensure that students who use assistive technologies can participate more fully and independently in classroom learning, engaging with lessons, activities and collaborative experiences alongside their peers.

Vernier Science Education | Go Direct Air Quality Sensor

The Go Direct Air Quality Sensor helps students investigate real‑world questions about the quality of the air we breathe with measurable evidence—right where they live and learn. Designed for high school and college use, this durable sensor supports indoor and outdoor monitoring so students can track pollutants over time, analyze spatial patterns, and connect air quality to human and ecological health.

• Edtech Show & Tell

We talk with Chad Johnson, Managing Partner in Cherry Tree & Associates’ investment banking practice, about the state of the edtech market and how education companies are managing the current climate. You can enjoy engaging insights into these important topics during the CEO Keynote Panel: Strategies for Leading Through Market Uncertainty at the upcoming EdExec Summit, taking place September 10-11 in Chicago.

Chad Johnson is an investment banker with a focus in education and former Manager of Business Development for PLATO Learning (now Edmentum). He’s been in the education market for 25 years, primarily helping entrepreneurs or private equity firms who are selling education companies, and suggests that the current market seems to be leveling.

“The last few years, renewals were tough, new business was challenging,” Johnson says. “There's a few companies that are doing really well—certain pockets like STEM curriculum, career and technical education—but most companies are happy just to be flat this year.”

Although Johnson sees that as an encouraging sign, he notes that the market always has been cyclical.

“Education is driven by state and local budgets primarily,” he says. “As the economy goes up and goes down, that tends to impact schools in a lag. There was so much money pumped into the system during the start of COVID that when that money went away, there was a resetting of expectations in terms of budgets for schools. We're going through a down period right now, but we fully expect eventually it will turn around. I don't think that will happen in the near term, but at least it's flattening out.”

Changes in the market aren’t just about finance, but can translate to a direct effect on the classroom experience.

“What really matters is what's going to be the impact on teachers and students,” Johnson says “The easier question to answer is how it affects the administration, because with fewer resources they're just having to make do with less.”

Budgets are smaller and enrollment continues to drop, which is also having an impact, especially on large urban districts.

“Teachers might have to handle more kids,” Johnson says. “They've got more demands put on them. There’s certainly still a problem with teacher retention. Part of what the admin is focusing on is making sure that they have enough teachers. These issues also filter down to the students. You will probably see fewer options, fewer alternatives in terms of programs that these schools are able to offer.”

To pare their edtech investments, schools have been much more focused on engagement.

“Schools are looking at who is using this product that they bought and have been paying for every year. If it's half the kids, is that good, is that bad?” Johnson says. “You can argue that there's a lot that a good teacher can do without a lot of resources. You don't necessarily need all the bright, shiny objects to teach children. The most important thing is having good teachers.”

A back-to-basics, tech backlash is gaining popularity.

“Some states with large districts are talking about limiting the amount of time that students can spend on screens,” Johnson says. “WIth these challenges in play, there’s only so much time in the day, and there's just not enough time for every edtech vendor to make an impression.”

Effects of a Down Market on Edtech Companies

“There is no doubt that there are some great products out there that are just having a much harder time getting face time with the schools, getting implemented, making the sale because of the market pressure,” Johnson says. “They just are not in as strong a position as companies with more resources to have those conversations with decision-makers and with educators. That's bound to happen in a down market, which is unfortunate.”

While this could hinder smaller companies or startups, it’s a natural result of tougher competition.

“At the same time, let’s bring the taxpayers into the room,” Johnson says. “From their standpoint, have there been solutions that were purchased and never implemented or poorly implemented so only a very small subset of the intended population is actually using it.”

Schools are thinking outside the budget-box to save the programs of which they are passionate and in which they believe, such as high-impact tutoring.

“It's one of these things that you can do with kids to have a markedly positive impact,” Johnson says. “But it’s not part of the main core budget of schools. You have to come up with additional money for it. Some places are getting creative, applying for grants or even getting nonprofits (or in some cases for-profits) to sponsor elements.”

4 Pieces of Actionable Advice to Weather a Flattened or Downturn Market

Johnson offers advice to navigate the current edtech market.

Do an audit of the tech you already have. Look for any underused elements within existing tech that could work to replace programs being phased out. Analyze how many students are being served by the program, and whether additional professional development could aid educators in finding greater value for their classrooms.

Focus on what schools need. It sounds basic, but at the end of the day, delivering an engaging solution that really works and helps kids—which teachers find useful and administrators find they can talk positively to parents about—that’s what is going to make it through this downturn and come out on the other side in a much stronger position.

Strengthen your relationship with your schools. Spend the time to check in with your customers, make sure that they're getting what they need. Blocking and tackling is really important. Some companies are growing through this market. If you’ve got the right solution at the right time, take advantage of that. Not everyone is in a position where they can easily invest in that kind of time to make sure they are giving their customers everything that they need, but you have to try to do so.

Get in front of the stakeholders. Prioritize customer conferences—the ISTEs and FETCs of the world—even if attendance has been down at those conferences as a natural reflection of budget tightening. Whatever you can do to get in front of customers and teachers is the smart thing to do right now.

What to Expect From CEO Keynote Panel: Strategies for Leading Through Market Uncertainty

EdExec Summit panelists joining Johnson offer a broad spectrum of unique perspectives on the market. Johnson will speak about how the market's doing both from a business standpoint as well as his role as an M&A advisor in the capital markets. One panel member is an investor in a private equity firm that focuses on education and owns a number of companies in different market segments. Another is a sales and marketing pro who advises education companies. One panelist is the head of product for a very large education assessment and curriculum company, who sells nationwide to both small and large districts. This talk will offer curated insight aimed at CEOs, senior executives, owners of education businesses, as well as superintendents and school administration heads.

For Matt Kuhn, Chief Technology Officer for Volusia County Schools in Florida, artificial intelligence has been around longer than most folks realize.

“The first AI was really Clippy way back in the day, right?” Kuhn says. “In the 90s when Clippy would jump on your screen and kind of annoy you a little bit, but it was gathering feedback from you and then differentiating what it told you next in terms of assisting you in learning how to use the program.”

Like Clippy (but dramatically less annoying), Kuhn has been active in shaping how AI is being used in his district, particularly by students.

“One of the things we've learned over the last couple of years is when we talk about using AI, we talk about it being a coach, not an answer giver, or we also say that it's an augmentation to your learning,” Kuhn says. “We want all of our AI to let students go through that healthy struggle but keep them right on the edge much like a video game does. You know, when a student loves a video game, it's because that video game has mastered that moment where the student feels like with just a little more effort, I could get to the next level. That's what we want AI to also do.”

Kuhn, a former small district teacher and principal before a stint as an author and edtech consultant, was also instrumental in Volusia’s early adoption of AI.

“We had one of the first policies around AI in the state of Florida in a school district, and I know it was one of the first because a lot of districts in Florida and even other states started contacting me and asking for a copy,” he says. “Our policy took a pretty open approach to allowing AI with some guardrails put in place so that people knew what the structure of it was and how far those boundaries could be pushed. But we wanted to make sure that our teachers and our students had the freedom to innovate within certain parameters.”

Kuhn has continued to lead AI efforts in his district, which include the creation of an AI professional development academy as well as the deployment of AI agents for district leaders to help them be more efficient and effective in their work.

For this and other efforts, Kuhn was recently recognized with a Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award at the Tech & Learning pre-ISTE Leadership Summit in Orlando. He shares his district’s AI efforts for students, teachers, and staff.

AI Is A Human Endeavor

Volusia County Schools is a diverse district of 60,000 students and 8,000 employees, with about 115 in Kuhn’s IT division. And with that many involved, there was a lot of concern about how to approach AI.

“We had to alleviate their fears with training and other data to show them that AI could be a positive experience for their students,” Kuhn says. “There's still certainly people that are skeptical, but our data shows that it's being used more and more each year by our teachers and our students. And we're an A-rated district for the second year in a row by the state of Florida. So our academic scores and other indicators are going up despite the fact that our AI usage is also going up.”

To address concerns and support staff who were interested in using AI, the district created its AI Academy, a year-long program that provided ongoing professional development events rather than a one-time workshop. The academy offered differentiated learning paths for various roles, including clerical, educator, and administrative staff, and ultimately, was a hit with everyone.

“The academy kept getting so big that we kept having to change rooms to larger venues just to accommodate all of the people who wanted to go through it,” says Kuhn, who added that the experience needed to be in person. “We found that face-to-face was going to be best for this, where people had their computer in front of them and we could walk around and assist and get them collaborating. We also wanted people to realize that AI is also a human endeavor, that it's not just about technology.“

Vendor partners were also part of the program. “If something new was coming out in Copilot, for instance, we would arrange with our Microsoft customer support to teach us that latest and greatest thing so that we could roll that out right away,” Kuhn says.

The academy concluded with “Volusia Learns,” a week-long district conference during which participants received digital badges. “And now when you see their digital signature or the directory information on their school website, they're showing the badge they earned,” Kuhn says.

Agents On Board

Similar to many districts, trying to navigate and analyze data from numerous disparate sources was a growing obstacle for Volusia schools. Director of Educational Technology Melissa Carr challenged the IT team to make board policies, procedure manuals, student data, and other info that’s typically housed in different departments and silos easily accessible to all.

“In the old way of doing things you have to kind of ask everybody ‘Where do you find this? Who has the latest on this? Can they email it to me?’ says Kuhn. “She wanted it to be a quick thing where a principal could just type in some things and this stuff would appear.”

To solve that challenge, Kuhn and his team developed the Volusia County Leaders Agent, a custom AI agent using Copilot 365 that could access district and student data, board policies, and procedure manuals, all with specific naming conventions for easy indexing. They then encouraged district leaders to customize it.

“Essentially what we did is we taught them how to make their own agent,” says Kuhn. “We put together a set of instructions and we gave them the links to the SharePoint site and the URLs that we would be using, and we walked them through. It was only three pages with screenshots, so it's not like a really hard process to create an agent.”

Having the leaders make their own agents allowed them to be very specific in how they designed it, and also fostered ownership and buy-in.

“They're like, ‘Oh, I've got this agent I made,’” says Kuhn. “‘Look at this. It does this cool stuff for me.’ You know, so instead of just saying, ‘Here, use this that we gave you,’ they're proud of it."

Keeping ’Em Swimming

The district plans to continue offering PD opportunities around AI, although it may not be another full year of the AI Academy as there is limited time available for training and many implementations happening in any given year.

Nonetheless, Kuhn and his staff are identifying and training Digital Learning Teacher Leaders (DLTLs), who lead deep, ongoing training on the latest AI tools with staff members within their building, and also provide resources and support. This approach helps them try to keep up with the pace of AI’s evolution.

“It evolves so fast,” says Kuhn. “But the way we figure is if we at least get them in the pool and swimming, even if the temperature of the water changes a little bit, they'll be able to deal with it.”

Tools They Use

• Microsoft Entra ID (Azure Active Directory)
• Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Forms)
• Microsoft Entra ID (Azure Active Directory)
• ClassLink / VPortal (single sign-on & app catalog)
• Canvas (Learning Management System)
• Focus SIS (student information, grades, attendance, analytics)
• Focus ERP (HR, payroll, finance, purchasing, budget – 19 modules)
• IncidentIQ (help desk, work orders, asset management)
• Jamf (Apple device management)
• Cisco Meraki (network switching & wireless)
• Cisco Identity Services Engine (network access control)
• ContentKeeper (web filtering & student internet safety)
• Finalsite (district & school websites)
• BoardDocs (school board agendas & meetings)
• ParentSquare (family/school communications tied to SIS)
• Canva (instructional and staff content creation)
• IXL
• Achieve3000
• Big Ideas Math
• Khan Academy
• Desmos
• PhET
• BrainPOP
• Facilitron (facility scheduling & community use)
• Lightspeed Web and Classroom Filter

While researching my recently updated article, Best Sites for Blended Learning, I came upon CK-12, a remarkable, new-to-me teaching platform that provides a varied and robust set of digital textbooks, AI-powered digital tools, teacher agents, simulations, and more.

CK-12 is the brainchild of the nonprofit CK-12 foundation, whose mission is to provide free access to high-quality, customizable educational content in multiple modalities, suited to multiple student learning styles, levels, and resources. Even better, all tools and features of CK-12 are fully free to educators, students, and families.

What is CK-12?

CK-12 is a K12 online education platform designed for teachers, schools, and families that serves as a customizable digital platform for teaching and learning.

Its flagship offering, Flexbooks, are standards-aligned digital textbooks for K12 math, science, English, social studies, and other topics, including college-level and adult education. Flexbooks are available in English, Spanish, Korean, German, Chinese, Greek, and Polish. A small selection of Flexbooks include built-in interactives.

In addition to Flexbooks, CK-12 offers a wide range of AI tools for teachers, AI teacher agents, learning analytics, study guides and adaptive practice for students, interactive simulations, and PLIX (Play Learn Interact eXplore) interactives.

How Does CK-12 Work?

Users can easily sign up for CK-12 via their Google, Microsoft, Apple, or email accounts. Once signed in, the teacher’s homepage highlights the newer AI-powered tools highlighted at the top, while the older flagship Flexbooks are lower down.

While the AI-powered tools and agents are intriguing and potentially time-saving for educators, the core of CK-12 is really the digital textbooks known as Flexbooks.

(Note that the continual right-to-left and left-to-right animation of the AI Teacher Tools boxes is an unfortunate choice for an organization that aims to be sensitive to learners of all types. Fortunately the student version of the site doesn’t include such distracting animations.)

FLEXBOOKS

Flexbooks carry a number of advantages over traditional textbooks. First, these are fully free, which offers an opportunity for substantial savings—perhaps as much as $1.5-2 million dollars for a district. And in contrast to paper textbooks, Flexbooks can be updated as needed, which of course represents yet another financial saving.

Additionally, Flexbooks are designed to be compatible with all external screen reading apps and tools, allowing for all content to be read aloud. This is especially useful for students who struggle to read at grade level. You can search Flexbooks by grade, language, and subjects. Additionally, one can browse the list of all Flexbooks, arranged by topic and grade.

For six selected math topics, Flexbooks are also available in an interactive as well as conventional version.

Educators can create classes directly in their CK-12 account, or via an existing LMS class, such as Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, and others. Then add students through email, roster upload, or direct entry. Assignments can be made quickly through links on every content page.

AI TEACHER TOOLS AND AGENTS

CK-12’s AI-powered Teaching Assistant comprises a large library of tools to speed teaching preparation, assessments and assignments, specialized learning, communications, and much more. Teacher Agent goes further, allowing users to quickly set up their own AI-powered agent, capable of interactive with students while adapting to their responses and learning styles.

What Are The Best CK-12 Features?

In addition to its flagship product Flexbooks, CK-12 offers several key customizable features ideal for the classroom setting.

ADAPTIVE PRACTICE

Adaptive practice exercises in selected topics are available for students in grades 1-5. Each topic includes dozens of subcategory skills that can be assigned to students.

For example, the Measurement topic is divided into money, time, systems, conversions, capacity, and mass. Within each subcategory skills include comparing, identifying, converting, and many others.

FLEXBOOK TEACHER TOOLS

CK-12’s Teacher Tools are built into every Flexbook page and include a quiz creator, lesson planner, and lesson “hook” generator. Simply click the desired link in the lower left-hand box in order to create a quiz, standards-aligned lesson plan, or lesson hook for the content on the current page.

As with most CK-12 features, users are free to adapt the pre-filled templates according to their own preferences.

LEARNING ANALYTICS

Comprising “foresights” and “insights,” Learning Analytics provide granular data on student and class performance, as well as overall performance for each question. While Foresights predicts a student’s future proficiency in the selected topic, Insights displays skill levels that students have already demonstrated, from "beginning" through “mastery.”

Using graphs and lists, the platform also shares performance data from the class, makes recommendations about how to address performance gaps, and highlights students who are performing exceptionally well.

INTERACTIVE SIMS

Sims are a great way to combine text- and graphic-based learning with interactivity, engaging students more deeply than static lessons. Available for physics and chemistry topics, CK-12’s interactive sims are concept-driven, standards-aligned, and offer downloadable PDF worksheets.

Each assignable simulation begins with a brief animation representing the target concept and includes a video tutorial, challenge questions, and easy sharing options.

How Much Does CK-12 Cost?

Remarkably, CK-12 is completely free for all users -- educators, students, families or anyone wishing to study and learn. The nonprofit CK-12 Foundation’s core mission is to provide content and technology tools that support customizable teaching in multiple modalities, for all types of learners, therefore all its tech tools are 100% free.

We talk with Nate Lichte, Chief Operations Officer of Lebra, about the challenges of retaining top talents in school leadership and the classroom. You can enjoy engaging insights into these important topics during Lichte’s presentation at the upcoming EdExec Summit, taking place September 10-11 in Chicago.

“I've always had a passion for leadership,” Nate Lichte says. “My mom was in human resources. Growing up I didn't get the traditional bedtime superheroes and fairy tales, I got leadership fables."

Like most fables, Lichte’s path wasn’t a simple or straight one, but it resulted in a lesson learned he brings into his work everyday.

“I got into education because I struggled with my own educational journey, so I wanted to make an impact for educators and their students,” he says. “I started in higher ed working directly with college students, which eventually led to K12. I even worked with juvenile justice and corrections education programs. I’ve been spending the last seven years with school superintendents within a company whose core product helped leaders to better connect with their employees to build a culture of belonging and ensure that the employee feels seen, valued, and inspired to grow.”

Lichte says the education sector is extremely unique, and presents difficult challenges for school leaders, who are under tremendous pressure. Every district is distinct, but most are facing the same challenges when it comes to staffing.

“Right now a lot of districts are talking about recruitment because we're dealing with this shortage of teachers,” he says. “The immediate thought is, ‘Let's go get more teachers.’ We're not talking enough about retention. It's far less expensive and far more impactful to create an environment where the best people choose to stay. At the end of the day, the best people want to work for someone that genuinely cares about them.”

Determining what matters most to the brightest stars in your school’s universe is key to keeping them.

“Teachers are not in a role for the compensation,” Lichte says. “The reason people stay is because they have great leadership. They have purpose. They have opportunity to grow. There's trust. There's flexibility. There's an authentic relationship that's built between them, the leadership, and the entire organization. That's what sets a high-performing organization apart, whether it's a K12 school district or any other industry.”

Just knowing what your staff needs is the first step. For Lichte, this isn’t about selling a product, but selling a culture that can make life better for all the stakeholders.

“Culture isn't something you can write on a wall,” he says. “Culture isn't something that happens because you throw a building a pizza party or order a snack cart on Teacher Appreciation Day. Those small things are great and may lead to a positive culture, but nine times out of ten, that's not what builds a healthy culture of belonging. What builds a strong culture of belonging is small intentional actions. It's conversations, it's feedback, it's recognition, all of those small things that happen in seconds in the day that build trust and relationships.”

Becoming the GOAT of Joy and Belonging Might Take a Few Llamas

“Culture starts from the top down,” says Lichte. “It doesn't matter whether we're working with K-12 districts, hospitals with 20,000 employees, or a private organization with 6,000. We have to start with the CEO or the superintendent of that organization. If you as the head of that organization do not believe — or don’t take the intentional actions that it takes to build a culture of belonging, it’s going to be an uphill battle.”

Small daily actions, such as noting someone’s birthday, might seem simplistic or something that wouldn’t move the needle on culture.

“When you're the superintendent of an organization and you send a personal email birthday message to an individual, it has meaningful impact,” Lichte suggests. “A superintendent in Illinois sent a last-minute birthday message to an individual in his district. The gentleman responded that he didn't know that the superintendent knew it was his birthday, and was furthermore surprised that he took the time just to wish him a happy birthday, because he's the superintendent leading this big district. His final sentence? Sometimes, being a janitor I feel at the bottom, but today — I feel at the top.”

This made such an impact on the superintendent, the district adopted a bigger recognition of birthdays and milestones across the organization. Doors were decorated, and joy and a sense of belonging was spread.

“These are the moments that matter,” Lichte says. “That individual employee will stay retained and engaged in his role because of this one small email and then everything else that the district has done to kind of change their philosophy. That's when employees feel trusted, valued. They're inspired to grow, regardless of what position they hold.”

Lichte insists this conversation should not be about recruitment, because recruitment will come when you create an environment with a focus on a culture of belonging. If that’s what you narrow in on, you're focusing on the wrong piece of the puzzle.

“The challenge for superintendents is that education is currently facing a heavy politically-charged environment,” he says. “They have budget constraints and reins are being tightened to the greatest degree they've ever experienced.”

Lichte says small intentional acts and inspiration matters. He cites Dr. George Philhower, Eastern Hancock Community Schools superintendent in Greenfield, Indiana, who has four key tenets, starting with joy.

“He wants every single individual to experience joy and that joy is exhibited not only when the kids are being taught, but when employees and teachers feel like they're part of the school,” says Lichte. “It takes intentional work. You cannot do it on Fridays and special occasions; as a leader, you need to do it every single day. If you're bleeding talent, it's because people don't believe, one, in you as the leader, or two, because your core tenets are in misalignment with what they want.”

This philosophy has attracted such a stir that 300 educators from around the country come to Philhower’s annual Joy Jam educators’ conference. To be fair, this is the same man who sent a local farmer in uniform riding a horse past a history classroom yelling, “The British are coming!”

So how does joy express itself in Greenfield, Indiana?

Says Lichte: “The best way I can sum up that conference is as I'm walking down to the main session, George passes me and says, ‘Have you seen a goat? We've lost the goat.’ The next thing I heard was his voice calling down the hall, ‘The llamas are slipping on the floor. We need a tarp for the llamas!’ Because this conference brought in everything that exhibits joy. This is why George doesn’t have a recruitment problem.”

3 Takeaways To Gain From Nate Lichte’s EdExec Summit Presentation

Culture is not a pizza party. Leadership is building a high-performing organization around a culture of belonging, built on a foundation of connection. You can’t have one without the other.

Start from the ground up. Learn from the good work already taking place, such as the birthday note example. Sharing best practices starts a conversation to spark ideas. Other creative things are happening organically in districts.

Create environments that people don't wanna leave. You can't just do it on Tuesdays and Fridays or because it feels like the right thing to do. You have to block your calendar 5-10 minutes every day and go find someone to make feel seen. If you're not giving this culture the same intention that you give your budget, then you're missing the mark.

Technology moves at such a rapid pace, it’s hard to keep up with the changes as a school leader. Since publishing my first article ("Did Apple Finally Find Its Chromebook Killer?") (just a month ago), Apple quietly increased the education price of the Neo by $100. That changes part of this conversation as at $499, the Neo was an intriguing disruption. At $599, districts will rightly ask much harder questions about return on investment. However, like I said in the previous article, this isn’t just about the price. It’s about value over time.

Now that we have that disclaimer out of the way, allow me to lay out the ground rules of this article. I’m not trying to get too overly geeky about this bake-off. I’m evaluating these through the eyes of a technology director trying to make a major purchasing decision that affects learning.

Which leads me to my second disclaimer: These decisions need to involve more than the person who is deploying and distributing the machines.

With that said, most of what follows are several different categories all school leaders should be considering when making a purchase of this magnitude. In the wake of the “tech lash,” leaders need justifiable reasons for introducing devices and screens into the learning environment.

Neo vs. Chromebook: Overview

My original thought for this bake-off was to compare Apple’s Neo with the Dell Chromebook 14 Laptop. These are both similar in size and price, but the truth is, most schools don’t purchase that model for their students. They tend to purchase smaller sizes (typically 11.6-inch HD models) and lower RAM and storage. As Chromebooks make up 93% of the K-12 market, I wanted to make this a comparison against the most commonly purchased device. Currently, Lenovo has a slight edge (25% vs. 21%) over HP when it comes to units shipped in the U.S.

Furthermore, the most common type of Chromebook is the “Clamshell” laptop. More than 62% of Chromebooks purchased are this type but there is a significant growth rate in the second type (Convertible 2-in-1 which is bought at nearly 15%).

Taking all that into account, the following series of tests and benchmarks will be run between a Lenovo Chromebook 100e Gen 5. The Gen 4 was the most purchased of its fleet last year, so we’ll go with the newest model when doing comparisons for the rest of this article. I fully recognize that many of you reading this will likely be purchasing HP, Acer, or Dell versions, so with that in mind, consider this a framework when doing your own comparisons.

The Hardware Story

I’m not going to do a “spec dump” here as you could do that by looking up the device you are considering and comparing its specs to that of the Neo. I will however, highlight some important technical features you’d want to consider and compare when making your ultimate decision.

Here’s a chart of a few things you should ponder when comparing devices:

Overall, it’s a pretty close comparison when you look solely at hardware components. In some ways it’s like the difference between buying a sports car vs. a pickup truck. The Neo is engineered for performance and premium experiences; you can go far and fast with it. The Lenovo is engineered to survive the day-to-day rigors of a middle school hallway; it can take some hits and still perform on bumpy roads. Both will need some maintenance to perform over the long haul and we don’t really know the longevity of the Neo yet.

Based on design alone, the Neo feels like something you’d proudly hand to a college freshman. The Lenovo feels like something you’d reluctantly hand to thirty 7th graders going on a rainy day field trip.

But there’s much more to each of these devices than design and internal components. Let’s see how they hold up in the classroom.

A Student’s Perspective

Given the fact that Neos just came out this summer, we have zero legitimate benchmarks to compare to existing Chromebooks. We can look at previous iterations of Macbooks in schools and iPads (which I have extensive knowledge of) to help guide us.

So, for the purposes of this article, I purchased a Neo for my incoming 9th grade daughter to try. She’s a heavy technology user (gamer, video, AI, etc.) and has a school-issued Chromebook that she can borrow from her older sister (soon-to-be senior) to run some tests. She’s also taking some online courses this summer, so I asked her to tell me some things she noticed and to write it all down.

This next section is written by her:

Five Things I Noticed in the First 10 Minutes

By a 9th Grade Student

1. The Apple screen made everything look way better.

This was the first thing I noticed. The colors looked brighter and the words looked sharper. When I watched a video, it looked more like my TV at home than a school laptop.

2. The Chromebook felt more like…a school Chromebook.

It wasn’t bad, but it felt like every Chromebook I’ve ever used. It worked fine for Google Docs and Google Classroom, but nothing about it really stood out.

3. The Apple trackpad was awesome.

I didn’t think I’d care about the trackpad, but it was way smoother. It was easier to scroll and click, and it just felt nicer to use.

4. The bigger screen actually mattered.

I thought a couple of inches wouldn’t make a difference, but it did. It was easier to have two windows open, like writing in one and looking at a website in the other.

5. The keyboards are almost the same except for one thing.

My friends are always popping off the keys to their Chromebook. It is harder to do this with the Neo keyboard.

Her final quote to me when I pressed her about a comparison was this:

"Honestly, if my teacher handed me either one, I wouldn’t complain. But if you lined them up and said I could keep one, I’d pick the Apple without even thinking about it. It just feels more like a real laptop than a school laptop if that makes sense.”

Some of the tests that I had her try with her Neo and Chromebook were to mimic different examples of things that she would do in various classrooms with technology. I asked her about AI, but she mentioned that’s not really encouraged and she tends to not use it as much as other students.

Here’s just a few of the tests we ran on both devices:

“The 50-tab Challenge”

I had her open up 50 tabs of various classroom applications. Her LMS, Google Docs, Slides, YouTube, Canva, an AI chat bot, email, and dozens of other websites she had visited in the prior school year. We then attempted to measure responsiveness, any type of heat or fan noise from the device and most importantly . . . lag. Both devices performed well under this pressure.

Outcome: Tie

“The Video Project”

I asked her to recreate a video project she had worked on earlier in the year using both devices. On the Chromebook, she used WeVideo. On the Neo, Apple’s iMovie software. While she was able to complete both videos within about an hour of each other, the Neo was much easier when it came to uploading, editing, recording and exporting.

Edge: Neo

“The Offline Day”

This is a big one for her. She’s claimed frustration in the past with the district’s network and at times our home network. As she does most of her work in Google workplace, we tried both devices with the internet turned off and both did well. She was able to write and edit with an option to submit later. She wasn’t able to use her AI LLM bots in either scenario, but she did reveal to me that if she had downloaded LM Studio on her Neo before the internet went down, she could use that as an offline AI agent.

Edge: Neo

Things The Spec Sheet Won’t Tell You

After the exchange with my daughter, I really started to think of this comparison on a broader level. Yes, if you go just by the spec sheet or the price, you’ll get some easy comparison numbers. However, what about all those aspects that don’t appear on a spec sheet but still affect the classroom? Things such as boot time, trackpad feel, and screen glare aren’t listed in a pros and cons section but still need to be considered.

As a former teacher, I know that classroom disruptions can take an entire lesson and tank it. When it comes to technology such as student devices, what can happen that causes unforeseen disruption? Things like fan noise, software updates, battery life, and lag can cause frustration for the student and disruption for the teacher.

There’s also some hidden costs that come into play. After years of running an iPad one-to-one environment, you don’t really realize how much your budget is bleeding charging packs, cords, and keyboards until you do a final assessment of your assets. Repairs for a touch screen are going to be more cumbersome than those of a traditional screen. How much time and energy does it take from your staff to deploy and collect the devices? What about if students pick off the keys from the keyboard, as my daughter mentioned? Also, think about the support burden of training staff and students on the interactions of a device. The more familiar they are with the device the less support is needed (in theory).

All of these “soft costs” add up in the long run and turn into the “Total Cost of Ownership,” which I mentioned in my previous post. Looking at the big picture beyond the spec sheets is something all school leaders should consider before purchasing student devices.

Many schools have models that support two different devices (elementary classroom sets and secondary student take-home devices). This adds complexity to the environment, which in turn, means more support and more training. If it’s the right device for learning, those can be absorbed in the final decision.

Questions Districts Should Ask Before Buying Either

Ultimately, this decision should come down to the factors mentioned above but with input from a wide range of people. Teachers, campus administrators, technology support staff, librarians, and students should have an opportunity to provide input for whichever device you might be considering. This accomplishes two tasks: it gives a broader range of viewpoints when considering the device, and gives those important stakeholders a voice in the decision process, which can affect the overall outcome after deployment.

Whenever we were due for another round of device purchases, our district would convene a “Digital Learning Task Force” made up of the above stakeholders as well as parents. We created surveys, held “open viewing” times for students to touch and use the devices in the current school environment, and held forums to brainstorm the issues we should be considering.

Here are just a few of the questions that we used to guide our decision making:

• What work do we expect students to create?
• How long do we realistically keep devices?
• How important is AI over the next five years of learning?
• Can our support staff manage another ecosystem if we change?
• Are our teachers comfortable with a different OS?
• Do we value the lowest purchase price or the lowest lifetime cost and resale?
• Are we buying devices for today’s classroom or the classroom of 2030?
• What periphery purchases must we make with the device?
• What does instructional support and training look like in each?
• How smoothly can we deploy and recover the devices year after year?

Conclusion

Purchasing a school-issued device for students has never been more complicated. School leaders are dealing with screen-time angst, digital distractions, increased pricing on parts, decreased supplies, and smaller budgets.

Needless to say, this is not a decision that you should make after reading a single article such as this one. However, you should be asking some of the same questions here of your community, as well as hundreds of other factors that I haven’t even listed.

After fifteen years, Apple finally built a laptop that belongs in the Chromebook conversation. I know the iPad has its place as well, and have long compared an iPad with a keyboard to a Chromebook, but this is different.

“Did Apple build the Neo to be a Chromebook killer?” is a more complicated question and one that depends less on benchmarks and more on the kind of learning your district hopes to create.

Collaboration is a hallmark of many of NASA’s endeavors. In 2020, NASA and the Department of State joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, introducing the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety and coordination between like-minded nations as they explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. A few days ago, the 70th nation joined the accord.

“When we brainstorm in the classroom, you're in a bubble,” says educator and NASA Solar System Ambassador Tim Needles of Smithtown School District in New York. “In some of these programs, much like in the space program, we will collaborate on a project with three or four different countries. Introducing students to other places gives them different experiences to pull from, even when they are back in that bubble. Every single time, there is surprise learning that happens.”

A cooperative perspective is key in advancing learning into infinite possibilities.

”It’s invaluable because yes, there's the things you expect in the curriculum, but we're learning about how to collaborate with people from different cultures and appreciate different perspectives within that learning,” Needles says. “When they put together the James Webb Telescope, it was a collaboration of a few different countries. So we collaborated with a class in Switzerland to actually build a model of the James Webb. They did part of it and mailed it to us, and then we did the other part. Just modeling that kind of international collaboration is a great lesson by itself.”

For helping students explore space and the world around them, and other efforts, Needles was recently recognized with a Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award.

Needles, also a nationally renowned expert on STEAM, shares his work with the NASA Solar System Ambassador Program and offers tips for those interested in getting involved.

Stepping (Way) Outside the Classroom

Needles has been a NASA Solar System Ambassador for a few years. “We work through the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in California, and we get trained on every mission,” he says. “The idea is to be able to communicate that information back in the world of education or in the community.”

Participating in events to support NASA helps others understand what space missions are about. Part of this message is also educating others on what the space program has already added to their lives without them even noticing.

“A lot of times, teachers don't even know the connections to space in what we are teaching,” Needles says. “If I'm working with a science class and we're looking at the environment, a lot of that data comes from the space program. As a NASA Ambassador I can help them understand how this upcoming mission is actually going to be really important to get new data to use.”

Exciting new developments will keep Needles busy sharing what he learns at NASA’s JPL. During the recent Artemis Project launch, he shared weekly videos and K-12 lesson plans — from designing a mission patch logo to using physics and math to calculate a flight plan — across his district and, as a NYSCATE board member, with all New York teachers.

“It’s really a new frontier, especially now with Artemis,” he says. “We're going to be building a base on the moon to be interplanetary at some point and try to get to Mars. We're going to have the first female on the moon in the next two to three years, which is very exciting. I watched Apollo 13 last night and it ends with them talking about when is the next man going to be on the moon? And I'm thinking, ‘Not exactly.’”

Through the program, Needles adds depth to his classroom by inviting people who work at NASA for a virtual meeting during which students can engage with one of the engineers, designers, or even the occasional astronaut.

“There's no better experience than that,” he says. “Whether it's involving AI or the environment, it all correlates to some of the things I'm doing within the NASA Solar System Ambassador Program. It’s exciting what we’re able to do in the classroom now. It’s just so interesting and really poignant at the moment, to be involved in this most important work.”

To Infinity … And Closer

Needles doesn’t need to bring students to space to build their global perspective.

“We went to the Galapagos two years ago. This year we went to Japan and Korea,” Needles says. “I think there's no better education program than going somewhere else and learning about a different culture and the different ways that people live. In today's AI world, those human skills of collaboration and openness to different perspectives are more important than ever. Travel opens your mind to different perspectives, which is more important than ever.”

Opening minds through bringing awareness of our place in the puzzle of the universe, first on a global scale, was good practice for becoming a NASA ambassador.

“So many of the students I bring on these tours haven't even been to New York City, and it's only an hour-and-a-half away by train,” Needles says. “Bringing them to somewhere like Ecuador, where it’s just an entirely different culture — it’s so exciting to see the impact. There's very few things you take on in education where you know that students’ lives are going to change from having that one experience. Every trip I take opens up the universe to these kids, many who then become world travelers in college and beyond.”

Students aren’t the only beneficiaries of gaining a global perspective.

“Now I'm traveling with teachers, which I've never done before,” Needles says. “I'm working with NYSCATE and a few other groups to do a teacher tour next summer exploring England, Scotland and Ireland. We connect with locals virtually before the trips to make connections and learn a little about their experience. We can really see how we're all one planet and how things are connected.”

Each destination has its own lesson.

“I went to Iceland for the first time last year and was entranced by how much of their energy is geothermal,” Needles says. “You go to a place like Amsterdam with the amount of people using bikes, or Europe’s reliance on public transportation, it's like, ‘Oh, so this is possible.’ It really opens your mind to what you could do, and how different things could be.”

3 Ways To Incorporate the NASA Ambassador Program Into Your District

Needles share how districts can implement the NASA Ambassador program into learning.

Plan an ambassador visit. The global program has over 145 ambassadors and another 1,200 volunteers. “You can access the website, look up the nearest ambassador to you and reach out,” Needles says. “They are always happy to come to the classroom and support the teachers or set up a book talk with an astronaut author. It's a free program — when we're working as Solar System Ambassadors, we don't charge.”

Volunteer with the program. If you have an interest and free time, you can start as a volunteer, and after participating in a few different events, apply for a bigger role. “The solar system is the overall topic, but you can have specialties such as working with a telescope or STEAM,” Needles says. “It is very flexible. They offer 2-10 trainings each week to hop on and learn about each new program.”

Apply to become an ambassador. You can apply through the program’s website. “There are a lot of opportunities and you get a badge and can visit the JPL on certain dates, as well as learn all about every new program or space telescope launch,” Needles says. Applications are considered annually for the three-year role.

Needles Teaching Videos:

• Artemis video
• Planet video
• Design with AI video

Tools They Use

• Discovery Education
• Adobe (Express, Aqua, Firefly, Photoshop, & Premiere)
• Google Education (with Notebook LM & Gemini)
• National Geographic Education
• SchoolAI
• Magic School
• Snorkl
• Claude
• Wakelet
• Quiver
• Sphero
• Phet Interactive
• SMART
• Wayground
• Lego
• Free Resources:
• NASA Solar System Ambassadors
• NASA Eyes
• NASA Learning Resources
• Okgo Sandbox
• Discovery Education AI Literacy

I was writing a speech for an end-of-the-year ceremony recognizing my students moving up to their next school. It’s one of many speeches, announcements, recommendation letters, and notifications I compose on any given day.

I entered a quote I had written into an AI prompt with instructions to produce a concise, inspiring speech for my fourth graders moving up based on it. I was impressed with the output: It was well structured, followed my conventions, and did a decent organizational job. Yet, it was missing the most important aspect, something I call “personification.”

The biggest mistake users make using AI to write is overlooking the visible lack of substance and eerie wording in LLM outputs. In fact, according to a study by researchers at four U.S. universities, AI chatbots have linguistic fingerprints that reveal which model is used: In five popular AI chatbots, distinct verbal quirks emerged.

It is the personification a human adds that’s absent in AI outputs. Understanding this can help everyone in your school community write better, not using AI as a crutch but rather as a partner–a partner who can put together good looking, well-structured passages, but with the need for the human touch to personify it.

The Personification Two-Step

Let me illustrate with a common example of what many school leaders are writing: letters of recommendation.

In years past, writing a good letter of recommendation would take me, a quick writer, 25-30 minutes to compose. Not bad, but when you add up the half dozen requests all happening at the same time, along with all my other writing tasks, it gets overwhelming. Normally, writing those six letters alone would take three hours.

Now, I take a copy of the requester’s resume, remove their name and identifying information, and ask the AI to write me a letter of recommendation. I can add into the prompt, positive, praiseworthy tone, or more neutral for someone with whom I am not so impressed.

Using this prompt and an attached resume takes 2-3 minutes to get an output. I will add their name and title that were previously removed. But the biggest gap is the personal touch: personification. This is where I go back and take very important steps.

1. I shift the tone from a rigid style even an AI that claims to know my writing style has. This reinforces that the human element has to be integrated and;
2. I add unique details only I know and on which I can elaborate. For instance, that one time the teacher stayed until 6:30 PM to make sure a student of theirs was picked up when the family had an emergency. I can speak to the empathy and character of the teacher in a way the AI neither knows nor understands.

As far as writing articles like this one, I remain dutifully old school. I prefer to write from inspiration, and then go back and edit. I may add a sentence, possibly even a passage that was adapted from an AI output, nothing more.

Don’t get me wrong–I have tested a concept article with AI. And then I scrapped it. The AI cannot give me the natural, conversational tone that I can. To me, good writing means the author is speaking to you. An AI speaks at you, kind of like an instruction manual.

As far as recognizing my tone, the AI can guess at my intonation, but not in a consistent manner. Here, you can feel it come off the page, like a story. An AI puts words together in a calculated, meaningful way but that substance is persistently missing. This is the nuance that is just plain absent.

Crafting A Partnership

As a school leader and author, I am selfishly happy AI doesn’t get nuanced, because that means learners and leaders like me must continue to develop the very abstract skill of writing. The exercise helps me work out my mental muscles.

Another significant challenge with relying on AI for writing is the odd tendency to mash nearby paragraphs together, often creating inaccurate or just plain false assumptions, or vaguely near estimates. AI outputs can give us help with those early questions when we query, offering options we may not have considered but when we dig deeper, when we really write from nuance, humans clearly own writing. Ignoring this will only illuminate AI overuse in student or adult outputs. AI lacks that embodied self awareness.

An MIT meta-analysis confirms this: the combination of human and AI works best when each partner can do the thing they do better than the other, and there is a synergy in this partnership. AI excels at rapid data processing and drafting (essentially calculations), while humans add that critical thinking, empathy, and final context. Humans must check the output and revise, remove linguistic fingerprints, and personify the content.

Understanding this balance provides a hybrid method that helps us work better without losing our natural thinking skills. Ignoring it creates obvious, almost embarrassing attempts at professionals intent to be positive, such as this letter an administrator emailed, copied straight from a chatbot.

The Bottom Line

I have found AI to be a helpful and efficient writing partner for quick starter thoughts and organizational structure. However, human nuance and embodied self-awareness win every time when it comes to qualitative and intuitive writing. AI can assist with brainstorming, research and editing, but it cannot replace authentic emotions, life experiences, imagination and unique voice.

Consider this as a guideline for reminding students and school communities that writing is one of the most important critical thinking skills to help develop the mind and express creative thought.

With the 2026-27 school year approaching, Tech & Learning is back with the “Awards of Excellence: Back to School” to help readers find the most impressive products and solutions that will support their work in any learning environment.

Tech & Learning is seeking nominations for products that offer schools versatility, value, and solutions to specific problems to support innovative, effective teaching and learning. From security solutions to hardware, software, and non-tech instructional materials, this award recognizes both new and legacy technology that support effective teaching and learning practices in the new school year.

The entry deadline is set for 11:59 PM ET on Friday, September 4. Begin your entry by clicking the button below or continue to read through the awards site for more information on eligibility, benefits for entering, and information on the Awards of Excellence.

Why Enter?

Winning an AOE for the best products and solutions for Back to School is more than just acknowledgement from Tech & Learning's editors, it's a fantastic way to showcase your products and their contributions to education.

Nominee Evaluation

• Winning products will be showcased in a special edition of Tech & Learning distributed to the T&L readership (73,000), which is built of education professionals, district leaders, and school administrators.
• All winners will receive a winners' package. This will include a fully licensed winner badge for in-house promotion, press release, and social graphic.
• A Tech & Learning Award of Excellence is a highly recognized accolade provided only to the best products supporting education, based on evaluation by a panel of education-experts.

Tech & Learning is looking for the brightest new products in the educational space — to help readers find the most impressive products and solutions that will support their work in any learning environment.

Each nominee will have to answer the following questions:

• What specific problem does this product solve?
• How is this product being used?
• How did your product exceptionally support teaching and learning in 2026?
• How does your product address the challenges facing education today?

So what does that mean in practice? It means our judges will be thinking about questions like:

• Is your product easy to use and does it include support for teachers as needed?
• Does your product simplify and enhance the teaching and learning experience?
• Is your product flexible enough to support both in-person and asynchronous teaching and learning?
• How is your product unique compared to others in the market?
• Can your product be easily integrated with existing products being used in schools?

Tech & Learning's panel of educators and judges will evaluate each of these answers, along with the product descriptions, images, and case studies.

Judging Process

The panel will score each entry against the following judging criteria: Performance; Reliability; Features; and Innovation. The products that score the highest across all the criteria will be named as winners in the 2026 Awards of Excellence: Back to School.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence: The Best for Back to School?

The Awards of Excellence are an award program recognizing innovation in the education industry. Tech & Learning magazine’s Awards of Excellence program for Back to School is a way to celebrate the most impressive products and solutions that support the work of teachers, students, and parents as they prepare for the new 2026—27 school year.

Who Can Enter?

Any company that has a product that supports innovative, effective teaching and learning (it can be a new or legacy product).

Why Should I Enter?

Winning an Award of Excellence tells the industry that your product has been approved by the most important audience - the educators themselves. The top products will be selected and featured in a special edition of Tech & Learning magazine reaching over 73,000 edtech professionals.a special edition of Tech & Learning magazine reaching over 80,000 edtech professionals.

When Are Entries Due?

All entries are due by 11:59 PM ET on September 4, 2026.

How Much Does It Cost To Enter?

Single Entry: $625.00

2-4 Entries: $595.00

5+ Entries: $525.00

What are the categories?

The categories are broken down into Primary (Tools for K-6 grade education), Secondary (7-12), and Higher Ed. You can enter the same product into multiple categories.

May I Enter More Than One Product?

Yes. There are no limits to the number of products you may nominate. Each requires a nomination form and entry fee(s).

When Will Winners Be Announced?

Winners will be announced in September 2026 and featured in a special issue of Tech & Learning

What If I Have More Questions?

If you have any questions about nominations please contact Beckie Sirs at beckie.sirs@futurenet.com

Learn more about the Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence Best for Back to School contest here.

Franklin Special District (FSD) is the only district in Tennessee to offer aerospace as a high school credit course to 8th graders. It has no entry requirements, making this CTE opportunity attainable for every student.

“We were hopeful that the students would connect with the subject and find it interesting, but they've really taken to it beyond my wildest dreams,” says Mary Decker, Associate Director of Schools for Teaching & Learning at FSD, who developed and leads the district’s aerospace program. “We have quite a few students who are now pursuing a career in aerospace. Many of them really weren't familiar with aviation before they took this class.”

A Tennessee Department of Education Innovative School Models (ISM) grant provided the district with $1 million to pursue college and career technical education (CTE) programming. Through this grant program, Decker reimagined modes of time, space, and learning in partnerships between middle and high schools, post-secondary, and the aerospace industry.

“It definitely gives them that real-world, hands-on learning that the students are craving,” Decker says. “There are some students who struggle with learning in traditional ways, but when you factor in the simulator time, it's really speaking their language. We've seen them become more open to the academic, book learning side of the class.”

For this and other efforts, Decker was recently recognized with a Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award. She shares details about her popular aerospace program implementation and tips for those interested in creating a similar program in their district.

‘Flying Before Driving’

Middle school might sound ambitious for such a program, but Decker says that’s not the case.

“I've had some people say to me, ‘Aren't they too young? Can they really appreciate the time on the flight simulators? Isn't this too much for them?’” she says. “They have absolutely risen to the occasion. They have excelled. Students rise to the level of our expectations, and I think this program has really demonstrated that.”

The program has created opportunities for in-demand and lucrative careers, such as future pilots, air traffic controllers, aircraft maintenance technicians, and aeronautical engineers. Some students will be poised to earn their private pilot license before they are old enough to drive.

“They are just finishing their freshman year of high school and already have aerospace in mind as a career,” Decker says. “They are thinking, ‘How can I start building up my flying hours? How can I start taking flight lessons? What other courses should I be taking? How should I be building my high school schedule so that it fits in with what I'm planning to do?’ Just seeing that sense of direction already in ninth graders is amazing.”

The program also offers other benefits to students.

“Getting the correct education and licenses for an aviation career is expensive and can be complicated,” Decker says. “If there are financial obstacles in the way, or students are intimidated by the process to get where they want to go, we wanted to take all of that away and just say, ‘If you're interested, we are going to do everything we can to take you as far as possible with aerospace.’”

Sims for the Win

Simulators aren’t just about sliding into a machine for a video game session. It involves navigation, management of emergencies, instrument awareness, taxi and hangar skills in a variety of aircraft.

Each FSD aerospace program classroom has at least five Redbird Jay Velocity Flight Simulators that students use daily, and at least one Redbird TD flight simulator, which is FAA-certified as a Basic Aviation Training Device (BATD) and a Redbird LD simulator.

“They can practice radio calls. They can simulate emergency scenarios. It continually gets more complicated and more realistic,” says Decker. “If they are working with a certified flight instructor, these are simulators that pilots can use to actually log flight time. They're authorized Federal Aviation Administration training devices. We offer students the best learning experience and the most realistic simulation of flight.”

The Redbird simulators allow different aircraft to be programmed for different scenarios in whatever type of flight the teacher wants them to learn for the day,

All this exposure sets students up for success regardless of which aerospace track they pursue.

“If they do go on to earn their pilot certificate, they've already banked some of that experience. If they are interested in becoming an air traffic controller, they have experience with radio calls. If they're going into aircraft maintenance, they have a better understanding of flight characteristics in different airplanes they've been introduced to through the simulators. It’s really just a win-win with the sims.”

Find a Teacher With Their Head in the Clouds

The first step in launching an aviation-aimed program is to find the right educators for the job. FSD has one dedicated aerospace teacher, who walks back and forth between adjacent middle schools.

“Not only is he a licensed teacher, he has a private pilot certificate and owns his own airplane,” Decker says. “We just got very fortunate that we have such a great teacher and he obviously knows the content exceptionally well. He has forged really fantastic relationships with the students.”

Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t hit the aerospace-superstar lottery in your district.

“I have talked to other districts where they've had a teacher come in who wasn’t necessarily knowledgeable about aerospace, but was very enthusiastic,” Decker says. “They were still able to use the curriculum, learn about the simulators and teach the class very successfully. We’ve had other STEM teachers attend professional learning around aerospace so that we have a team who are knowledgeable and are able to provide support, but our aerospace teacher handles all of the classes at this point.”

If there is one wish Decker had for the future of the program, it is simply to have more of it.

“I'd love to expand the program someday,” she says. “The way our master scheduling works, this class is an elective. It currently works very well for us to have the two classes at each middle school, so one teacher is able to handle it.”

FSD uses the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) High School Aviation STEM Curriculum, which provides a solid foundation.

“The AOPA sets the standard for a comprehensive aerospace curriculum,” Decker says. “They work closely with Redbird to incorporate the simulator instruction so the teacher knows the best lessons to integrate for a specific scenario in the simulator. The two definitely work hand-in-hand. It includes aerospace history, aerodynamics, engineering, flight characteristics of different aircraft, even a section on unmanned aerial systems.”

A Winning Pilot Program

Part of launching an education program based on the art of aviation is letting students’ ambitions and imaginations take flight.

“We're about three hours away from Memphis, where FedEx is based so a lot of FedEx pilots live in the area,” says Decker. “They have been very generous in coming in and talking to the kids, letting them know what their careers and path to flying looked like. We had a Southwest Airlines representative come in to tour the classes and meet with the students.”

Getting a pilot’s perspective on the industry is great, but seeing them in action is inspiring. Students get to attend the Great Tennessee Air Show in nearby Smyrna to see multiple types of aircraft, and interact with the pilots and various support personnel.

The flight and aerospace industry is broad and varied in the area. For example, pilots from a hot air balloon company have done demonstrations and students have visited the aviation program at nearby Middle Tennessee State University.

“We're definitely trying to involve the community, and specifically the aviation community, to show our students all the paths they can take to achieve their aviation dreams,” Decker says.

Taking the wheel isn’t the only option for interested students.

“We definitely wanted to develop pilots, but there are so many opportunities and jobs available in aerospace careers — air traffic controller, aircraft maintenance, aeronautical engineer, airport manager . . . .” Decker says. “Whatever their interest is, we are here to encourage it.”

3 Tips to Helping an Aerospace Program Take Off

Decker offers advice for others looking to launch a career pathway in aerospace.

1. Build Your Team — “If somebody's looking to start an aerospace program, think beyond finding a great teacher,” she says. “It really has to be a team effort to make it as high quality as possible for the students. Our instructional technology specialists, curriculum supervisor and technology supervisor and members of his tech team have really thrown themself into supporting this program. I’m really fortunate that they saw the possibilities this would offer students and have been enthusiastic from day one.”

2. Give the Team Support and Information — “Make sure the teacher has everything they need with regard to curriculum, provide them with professional learning,” Decker says. “Have your technology team and instructional technology attend training and learn how to set up and troubleshoot the sims so that they are always running perfectly. Make sure school administrators have all the background and are kept well-informed because their support is really important as well.”

3. Find the Finances — “We were fortunate that we have this ISM grant, but I also applied and received a smaller grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation,” Decker says. “If you have money within your budget to allocate that’s great, but take the time to explore state grant funding sources. The AOPA curriculum is free, but plan funding to ensure simulators will be part of your program. They are not inexpensive, but they're worth it and really crucial.”

Tools They Use

• i-Ready
• aimswebPlus
• Discovery Education
• Learning.com
• Destiny
• Code HS
• Quaver Music
• QuaverReady
• Clever
• Skyward
• GoGuardian
• Parsec
• Curriculum-specific tech resources include: McGraw Hill Wonders (K-4); Savvas Realize Science (K-8); Studies Weekly (K-2); Gallopade (3-8); Open Up Reading (5); Savvas My Perspectives Reading (6); McGraw Hill StudySync Reading (7-8); Actively Learn ; McGraw Hill Math (5-6); Big Ideas Math (7-8, Algebra 1, Geometry)

The insights from a recent Ed-Tech Leadership Collective Briefing paint a clear picture: the traditional playbook for marketing to school districts is obsolete. Today’s educational leaders are navigating a perfect storm of tightening budgets, expiring stimulus funds, and an unprecedented volume of vendor outreach.

The Briefing, co-hosted by Tech & Learning, featured two speakers from T&L’s EdExec Summit, taking place in Chicago on September 10-11. The discussion offered a sneak peek into the kinds of conversations expected to take place at this event for education executives.

Collin Earnst, Founder and Managing Partner at the Ed-tech Leadership Collective, spoke with Trina Reeves (Director of STEM and Innovation at Clayton County Schools, GA) and Joe Ayala (Director of Information Technology at Santa Clara USD, CA), to hear their candid feedback to education companies looking to market to them.

Below are the insights education companies can use to evolve their marketing and sales strategies and build lasting partnerships with schools.

The New Era of Budget Scrutiny and ROI

The days of easily accessible ESSER funds are gone. Districts are now managing the realities of inflation, cost escalators, and, in many cases, staff reductions.

Consequently, the scrutiny placed on spending has never been higher. Superintendents and school boards are demanding concrete proof of a product’s Return on Investment (ROI).

"One thing that is being asked more than ever is, ‘Is your product actually making a difference?’” Ayala said. “From the superintendent level to the board members, I've been asked more about ROI than I have in my entire career over the last six months."

Trina Reaves echoed this reality, noting that shifting leadership brings intense new focus on metrics. Sharing a recent conversation with her new superintendent, she detailed his strict mandate: "’I want to see the data, I want to see usage. I want to compare it to scores, how the students are performing.’ He says if it's not making a difference, it's going to go."

To market effectively in this environment, vendors must proactively assist district leaders in proving this value. Enter conversations armed with data, usage metrics, and a clear understanding of the district’s specific strategic plan and needs. Don’t put the burden of justifying a product's cost on the district.

Cutting Through the Vendor Noise

District leaders are inundated with sales pitches. With some administrators receiving upward of 200 calls per day and countless emails, the push for a "quick win" or an immediate long-term contract can permanently damage a relationship.

"I've actually fired quite a few vendors,” said Ayala. “If they went really hard on the first sale, I'm like, ‘Okay, I'll give you one sale, but we're not going to form a partnership. You got that one PO from me, but you're not going to get any more POs.’”

To break through the noise, education companies must pivot to a value-first, relationship-based approach:

▶Go slow to go fast: Building a genuine partnership can sometimes take years. Rushing a district into a long-term commitment before they have secured funding or proven the concept through a pilot will likely burn bridges.

▶Show up without an ask: Support district events, attend regional STEM collaboratives, and send check-in emails that offer value rather than a sales pitch.

▶Respect the chain of command: If an initial pilot or conversation is moving slowly, do not bypass your primary contact to pitch directly to the superintendent or principal. This is a surefire way to get blacklisted.

When you do earn that trust, the loyalty is profound. "Once you're my partner, we're partners and 10 toes down for you all the time," Reaves said. "When I think of something, I'm calling you. When I need something, I'm calling you."

Flexibility in Pricing and Implementation

Rigidity in software licensing is a major friction point for modern districts. If a tool is primarily utilized by a specific subset of teachers, vendors should not force a district-wide site license.

"There is no way I should pay for 5,000 licenses, and only 100 kids are using it,” Reaves said. “If those 100 kids are doing great but we’re spending $2 million, that's a problem."

When budgets are tight, vendors who adapt their pricing and packaging to match actual usage will retain clients. Furthermore, successful implementation requires ongoing PD. Because teacher turnover is high, Reaves suggests packaging PD deeply into the adoption rather than treating it as a massive, recurring separate line item that eats into a district's limited PD budget.

Standardizing and Sharing Meaningful Data

You cannot prove ROI without accurate data, yet many edtech platforms make data extraction unnecessarily difficult. Beautiful, high-level presentation dashboards are nice, but district IT leaders need raw, exportable data to integrate with their own internal systems.

"I think the next iteration of edtech is developing some data standards of reporting data back,” said Ayala. “One easy thing that you do is make sure the usage data is easily exported."

Vendors must collaborate with districts to define what constitutes an “active user.” Is it one login per month, or five interactive sessions per week? By establishing shared metrics and making data sharing agreements seamless, vendors empower district leaders to confidently defend the product to their school boards.

The Ed-Tech Vendor Playbook: Do's and Don'ts

The Bottom Line

Marketing to K-12 educators today requires empathy, patience, and a willingness to adapt. Vendors who listen to a district's financial constraints, respect their time, and prioritize slow, authentic relationship-building will ultimately thrive.

As the conversation with Reaves and Ayala makes clear: once you prove your value and earn the title of a true "partner," district leaders will advocate fiercely for your continued presence in their schools.

To build a winning strategy for the post-stimulus education market, join us at Tech & Learning's EdExec Summit on September 10-11 in Chicago. Featuring tailored tracks for every functional leader, each session is co-facilitated by a district buyer—providing exclusive, direct insights to help you craft an actionable business plan.

In today’s digitally rich environments, the value of knowledge lies not simply in its availability but in how effectively it is created, refined, and applied over time. Knowledge management addresses the use of data for instructional and school improvement, and should ensure that administrative processes and procedures are clearly outlined in such a way that organizations do not lose knowledge or efficiency when personnel leave, rotate, or are otherwise unavailable.

The process facet of knowledge management should be a continuous cycle in which educators and institutions intentionally capture insights, reduce complex tasks to clearly defined processes, and systematically share and apply that knowledge to improve practice. This process-driven approach enables schools and districts to learn from prior initiatives, sustain institutional memory, and adapt more effectively to change. By embedding knowledge management considerations into daily practice, institutions can strengthen their processes and reduce the costs associated with personnel transitions.

One of my students recently raised the concern that she worked within a team of five. Even though they all effectively shared the same job title, each covered a specific group of students. When someone was absent, however, there was a loss as the specifics of dealing with that student group were not always documented.

This kind of approach causes delays when someone is out sick or on vacation, and can be significantly more detrimental when a key player leaves an organization, and no one has been cross-trained to deal with the totality of the vacated position.

What should technology leaders do to ensure this facet of knowledge management is embedded into their instructional practices?

1. Capture What Employees Know

Too often, valuable knowledge remains locked in the experiences of individuals. Effective knowledge management begins by intentionally capturing both formal and informal procedures, from routine office workflows to exceptions that staff learn to handle through experience. When clerical employees document what steps they take and which systems they update, who must be notified, and how they verify accuracy, they convert individual know-how into transferable organizational knowledge. This is particularly important in a world where change control is usually controlled by a cloud-based provider and not the institution itself.

For example, when a clerical employee changes a student’s bus route, the process may require updating the student information system, notifying transportation, alerting the classroom teacher and office staff, confirming parent or guardian communication, and checking that the old route no longer appears in any active roster or report. If those steps are not clearly documented, the change may be completed in one system but missed in another, creating confusion for staff and potentially inaccurate information for families.

Leaders should ensure that routine clerical tasks such as address changes, attendance corrections, schedule adjustments, or transportation updates are supported by clear, step-by-step procedures that can be followed consistently by any trained employee.

2. Reduce Critical Single Points of Failure

One of the most significant risks facing schools and districts is the existence of critical single points of failure. These situations in which essential knowledge or processes reside with only one employee seem to be more common as school budgets are stretched. These vulnerabilities often go unnoticed until a key individual is absent, retires, or accepts a position elsewhere.

In many educational organizations, long-serving employees develop expertise that is never formally documented because "they have always handled it." While this arrangement may appear efficient, it creates organizational risk. For example, a district technology coordinator may be the only person who knows how to submit annual state technology reports, manage key integrations between the student information system and learning management system, or update user provisioning rules. If that employee unexpectedly leaves, the district may struggle to complete required reporting, restore system functionality, or troubleshoot issues that arise during critical periods such as student registration or state testing.

Technology leaders should routinely identify processes that depend on a single individual and prioritize documenting those workflows, creating backup procedures, and assigning secondary personnel who can perform the task when necessary.

Institutional knowledge should belong to the organization, not to any one employee. One of the best ways to address this issue is to cross-train staff.

3. Build Cross-Training into Organizational Culture

Documentation is an important first step, but written procedures alone do not guarantee organizational resilience. Employees must also have opportunities to learn and practice responsibilities outside their primary roles. Cross-training helps ensure that critical functions can continue even when key personnel are unavailable while also fostering greater collaboration and understanding across departments.

In educational settings, cross-training might involve office staff learning basic attendance reporting procedures normally handled by another clerk, instructional technology specialists learning the fundamentals of student account provisioning, or technology support staff becoming familiar with the district's purchasing and inventory systems.

Consider a school district in which only one employee manages the onboarding process for new staff members. If that individual is absent during the busy summer hiring season, delays may occur in creating network accounts, issuing devices, assigning software licenses, and granting access to instructional resources. By cross-training at least one additional employee and periodically allowing that person to perform the process independently, the district can ensure continuity of service and reduce disruptions. Periodically performing the process is essential so cross-training employees remember what they are doing and can catch any small changes to software that might modify the process that went unnoticed.

Effective technology leaders view cross-training as an ongoing investment in organizational capacity, employee growth, and operational stability.

4. Use Technology to Strengthen Process Consistency

Rather than relying on employees to remember procedures or learn through informal conversations, schools should leverage digital tools to create systems that guide staff through established workflows and provide easy access to current information. Knowledge bases, internal wikis, shared cloud documentation systems, workflow automation platforms, and ticketing systems can help standardize processes and ensure that a critical task is completed consistently regardless of who performs it.

For example, when a student's address changes, a documented workflow can guide staff through updating the student information system, notifying transportation services, communicating with teachers, and verifying that all related records have been updated. By embedding procedures within technology systems, organizations reduce the likelihood of missed steps and create greater continuity when employees are absent or positions change.

Artificial intelligence further enhances these capabilities by making organizational knowledge easier to access and use. AI tools can summarize lengthy procedures, generate first drafts of documentation, create frequently asked questions from existing manuals, and help employees quickly locate the information they need. A staff member unfamiliar with a process may be able to ask an AI-powered knowledge assistant how to complete a particular task and receive guidance drawn directly from institutional documentation.

Similarly, a short video demonstration or screen recording can provide visual instruction that is often more effective than pages of written directions. (It is important that these videos and other instructions are representative of the school’s version of the software. One cannot simply use “off-the-shelf instruction” in many cases, as they can cause confusion.)

Technology and AI cannot replace the need for strong underlying processes, however. Poorly documented procedures simply result in faster distribution of inaccurate information.

The effectiveness of AI and other knowledge-management technologies depends entirely on the quality of the knowledge contained within. Technology leaders should therefore view these tools as mechanisms for preserving institutional memory, improving process consistency, and ensuring that organizational knowledge remains available long after individual employees move on to new roles.

Effective Process Management

Ultimately, effective process management is an essential leadership responsibility. When schools intentionally document procedures, cross-train employees, and use technology to make knowledge accessible, they reduce disruption, preserve institutional memory, and improve service to students, families, and staff.

Successful leaders and organizations do not depend on one person knowing what to do. They build systems that ensure important work can continue accurately, consistently, and confidently, regardless of who is available to perform it.

While generative AI can automate administrative tasks, streamline lesson planning, and free up time for student interaction, it also introduces new safety risks. Addressing the Risks of AI-enabled CSAM and Explicit Content in Education, Qoria’s global report, shows that these tools are also being exploited to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and explicit imagery with alarming ease.

The weeks before the school year begins offer a critical window for district leaders to move from a reactive posture to a proactive strategy, taking strong digital safety steps before students return for the first day of school.

From the Data: Understanding the AI Digital Threat

School leaders should first understand today’s digital exploitation. Catherine Brown, Chair of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), says, “AI image generators have become much more sophisticated, to the point where almost anyone can make or manipulate life-like sexual or nude imagery of children at the click of a button.”

So-called "nudifying" apps have dramatically accelerated the ease with which this material is made, leading to devastating instances of grooming, distress, and bullying. The data gathered in Qoria's global survey underscores that these problems are active on school grounds today:

• Widespread Administrative Concern: An overwhelming majority of school leaders–91.4 percent in the United States, 90.5 percent in the United Kingdom, and 91.7 percent in Australia–voiced deep concerns over adult perpetrators using AI to groom students.
• Monthly On-Campus Incidents: Around a third of respondents in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia reported experiencing at least monthly incidents in which students possess, share, or request explicit, child-generated nude images.
• Younger Average Ages: The average age for these explicit content incidents is currently concentrated between 11 and 13 years old. Even more concerning, approximately 12 percent of U.S. and Australian respondents reported seeing these behaviors in children as young as 8 to 10 years old.

Despite these figures, few schools have preparation and prevention measures in place. More than 30 percent of the surveyed school leaders admitted they are unfamiliar with the common online grooming tactics that modern perpetrators use.

When school personnel do not understand the technical mechanics of the threat, early detection becomes nearly impossible.

Actionable Step 1: Empower Teachers Through Specific Safety Training

Teachers are a school's front line of defense, yet they are frequently left out of high-level technical digital safety briefings. To build an abuse-aware culture before the first bell rings, district leaders should design back-to-school professional development that addresses AI safety directly.

First, training must explicitly cover how AI changes grooming behaviors. Traditional grooming relies heavily on human text interaction over long periods. Modern AI algorithms allow bad actors to analyze massive amounts of social media data to identify vulnerable children with absolute precision. These tools can map out student interests, emotional states, and communication patterns to generate deeply persuasive, personalized messages. Staff need to know that a student's sudden emotional withdrawal or obsessive device usage could be connected to highly sophisticated online interactions.

Second, training must address the internal threat of student-generated content via nudifying apps. Whether a student acts out of thoughtless experimentation or clear intent, their developmental immaturity may blind them to the dual damage of these actions: the significant harm inflicted on the peer depicted and the severe fallout to their own relationships and future reputation. Teachers must be instructed on strict reporting protocols, understanding exactly who to contact in IT, administration, and school counseling the moment they become aware of a simulated image circulating in a peer group. This approachable guide for schools on AI-generated sexually explicit imagery from OCEPI can help with a framework for creating plans for both prevention and response.

Finally, training should acknowledge that staff safety matters, too. The Qoria report notes that there have been instances in which teachers and school staff find themselves victims of image-based manipulation through the misuse of AI technology. Treating this as a developing human resources concern builds trust and reassures educators that the district protects its entire community.

Actionable Step 2: Build Proactive Parent Awareness

The digital lives of students are happening both during the school day and when they leave school property. In fact, the risk can escalate during unsupervised time at home. Qoria's report indicates that a quarter of children are already using AI apps regularly to complete their schoolwork, meaning these tools are a constant presence in their domestic lives.

While parents might be focused on screen time and cyberbullying, AI-generated explicit content might be a blind spot. Districts can use the pre-school orientation window to actively educate parents.

A successful parent awareness campaign before the school year begins should focus on transparency and trauma-informed child-centered practical tools:

• Host Digital Literacy Orientations: Do not wait for a crisis to inform parents. Provide specific back-to-school webinars or easy-to-read guides detailing the reality of generative AI tools and the ways the school is supporting their children. Avoid alarmist language. Instead, explain the mechanics of image generators and peer-to-peer messaging apps clearly. OCEPI has a 10 Best Practices guide with a clear framework for how to structure messaging.
• Provide Parental Control Frameworks: School districts should offer concrete guidance on how families can manage devices at home. Introduce parents to reliable parental control tools and explain how to set up filtering on home networks. ConnectSafely has parent guides with clear instructions that school leaders can share with families.
• Create Clear Communication Pipelines: Parents need to know that if they discover a deeply concerning digital incident at home, the school is a safe partner rather than a punitive authority. Provide families with clear, step-by-step reporting instructions to ensure open dialogue. The Cybertipline from National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is helpful to share.

Actionable Step 3: Provide Meaningful Layered Student Support

Protecting students requires a combination of clear education and protective technology. Before the school year starts, administrators must audit and align both educational and technical sides of student support.

On the educational side, digital wellness curriculum must expand far beyond plagiarism or screen-time management. When designing lessons regarding AI-generated explicit content, districts should follow the 10 best practices from the Online Child Exploitation Prevention Initiative (OCEPI).

First, curriculum developers must minimize or eliminate fear-based messages. Learning about worst-case outcomes seldom changes youth behavior because children typically believe it will not happen to them. Next, lessons should emphasize the social and emotional consequences of these behaviors. Focusing strictly on legal warnings or telling students that certain digital actions are illegal actually decreases the likelihood of reporting.

Additionally, student programming must maintain a child-centered approach. If a student is targeted by a nudifying app or an online predator, the school messaging must reassure them that they are not responsible for what happened. Shaming or blaming a student who has been manipulated only silences them.

True prevention requires active skill-building. Programs should explicitly teach how to set digital boundaries, utilize assertive communication, take screenshots as a record, and report harmful behavior. Because introducing these sensitive topics frequently prompts real-time disclosures, counselors and support staff should be on hand to receive student reports with immediate empathy and support.

IT departments have a role on the technical side. Before students arrive for the first day of school, technology teams can ensure that filtering and monitoring software are fully updated to flag searches for known nudifying applications and explicit keywords. Early detection is absolutely critical. The Qoria report emphasizes that many technologies schools already possess, including content filters, student monitoring systems, and digital wellness check-in tools, can assist in the early detection of risk.

Stepping Into the Future Together

The challenges introduced by advanced generative AI can feel daunting to already overwhelmed educators and parents. However, school and district leaders have the authority and community trust required to get ahead of these digital threats. Intentional steps during the summer to train staff, engage families, and strengthen network visibility can cultivate an environment where technology serves student learning without compromising student safety.

As the Qoria report concludes, planning for a unified community approach ensures that no individual school leader, teacher, or parent has to navigate the risk of AI-generated exploitation alone.

Resources

• Addressing the Risks of AI-Enabled CSAM and Explicit Content in Education. Quoria. 2025.
• Guidance for School-Based Professionals and School Leaders. Online Child Exploitation Prevention Initiative (OCEPI). 2025.
• Ten Best practices for Prevention Programs. Online Child Exploitation Prevention Initiative (OCEPI). 2024.
• Parent Guides from ConnectSafely. ConnectSafely.
• Cybertipline. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)

Watch above or listen/download below.

For nearly 30 years, E-Rate has been what one might call the most boring of utility programs — a broadband subsidy that quietly connects America's schools and libraries. Now the FCC is asking whether it should exist at all.

Reg Leichty, founding partner of Foresight Law + Policy and a longtime E-Rate advocate, joined the Tech & Learning podcast to break down the commission's newly opened review of the program. His first message: don't panic. His second: take this seriously.

"Sunsetting," he notes, is the polite framing — the proceeding is an inquiry into whether the investment should be terminated.

Leichty pushes back on the review's central premise, which ties E-Rate to concerns about student screen time. Questions about how much time kids spend online are worth asking, he says, but these fall outside the scope of the program and the FCC's telecommunications mandate — an inappropriate merger of two different streams of work.

The stakes are concrete. E-Rate is a need-based subsidy, scaled to community poverty levels, that supports everything from dark fiber projects to wireless access points. Remove it, and those costs fall on local communities — hitting hardest in low-income districts and expensive-to-connect rural areas such as the Nebraska town where Leichty grew up. He also sees a contradiction in questioning school connectivity at the very moment the administration is championing AI readiness.

Still, Leichty argues periodic review is healthy, and this proceeding is a chance to modernize the program's badly dated cybersecurity provisions using early learnings from the FCC's cybersecurity pilot.

The timeline offers breathing room: a 60-day comment period once the notice hits the Federal Register, 30 more days for replies, and likely no implementation before 2028.

Leichty's advice for district leaders: contact your members of Congress this month to educate them about what E-Rate does in their district, and file comments through the FCC's electronic filing system when the window opens.

Take action: The FCC's comment window opens once the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is published in the Federal Register, and as Leichty notes, the commission is obligated to review every comment it receives.

- District leaders can file directly through the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System — reference WC Docket No. 26-133 — using either a written document or the express comment field.

- The full NPRM and commissioner statements are available on the FCC's website.

- For advocacy resources and updates on the proceeding, CoSN has issued a statement on the review and maintains ongoing E-Rate advocacy tools for members.

- And per Leichty's two-part strategy: don't wait for the comment window — contact your House member and senators this month and tell them what E-Rate funds in your district.

Copilot Study and Learn is a mode Copilot can operate in that employs Microsoft’s “study and learn agent,” which is built on learning science practices and designed to encourage active thinking rather than give away answers. I recently tried it and was impressed overall. It does a better job than Copilot in its normal mode at guiding students through the learning process.

Here’s a closer look at how to use Copilot Study and Learn, what I like about it, and where I felt it could still use some work.

What is Copilot Study and Learn

Copilot Study and Learn is an AI agent within Copilot specifically designed for learning. Copilot Study and Learn is programmed to incorporate concepts from learning science, including adaptive scaffolding, productive struggle, active learning, and application and transfer.

The tool is available for all education subscribers to Copilot. Activate it by opening Copilot, clicking the plus sign in the left-hand corner of the prompt box, and selecting the Study and Learn option.

Where Copilot Study and Learn Earns High Marks

Copilot did a wonderful job of refusing to do the work for me. It never turned into an answer machine, which most chatbots do and I have found to be an issue even for some study and learning AI chatbot modes I’ve looked at in the past.

Specifically, Copilot Study and Learn did a nice job giving me a brief lesson on elementary particles. Elementary particles are, as Copilot put it, not made of smaller pieces, “as far as we know.”

Copilot began the lesson by asking me what I knew from what atoms are made. After I said, “I know atoms are made of protons, which consist of quarks and something else, and electrons,” Copilot responded:

Nice—you’re already thinking at the right level 👍

You said atoms have protons (made of quarks) and electrons. Let’s sharpen that a bit:

Protons are made of quarks

There’s also another particle in the nucleus… (you hinted “something else”)

Electrons are not made of smaller pieces (as far as we know)

Similarly, when I entered a writing prompt I use with my Composition 100 college students, it actually provided really good advice on putting together the essay.

By comparison, last time I tried ChatGPT in study mode it would almost always end up writing material for me as "an example." Even though ChatGPT kept telling me it wouldn't write my essay, that's exactly what it did.

Copilot did not do this and, in fact, refused to write the paper for me even when I tried to trick it into writing my paper by asking it to write it as an example.

Where Copilot Study and Learn Could Use Additional Supports

Despite its successes, my experience with Copilot Study and Learn was not all positive. Copilot provides constant links to back up the lessons it gives. This seemed like a major plus at first, but annoyingly, many of these links have to be copied and pasted and are not shared as URL links. Worse, many links--at least 25%--did not work. Copilot also had a tendency to refer to illustrations within these links, which compounded the problem. Of course, using visual aids is a great teaching tool, but not if the links to the illustrations don't work.

More broadly, as impressive as Copilot Study and Learn and other similar tools are, these have an inherent limitation when it comes to motivation. I found the more I used these tools, the more bored I became. Learning is hard, and I’m not saying a new chatbot should solve that problem entirely, but to be effective these tools need to be at least as engaging as existing learning technology, such as YouTube videos or gamified learning apps such as Duolingo. Right now, I'm not sure these are. As impressive Copilot in study and learn is, watching YouTube videos on elementary particles taught me more quickly and was more entertaining.

Of course, combining the two, a video followed by a short interactive conversation, might be the way to go.

Bottom Line: Copilot Study and Learn

Yes, Copilot Study and Learn is a tool I would recommend for school leaders and educators to use with their students. It has its flaws to be sure, but overall it's a really effective AI tutor.

Research into whether these tools work well and how to get the most out of any one is still emerging, but I believe that in some form, these tools will be a part of the future of education.

That said, I don’t think these will ever replace real-life tutors for a variety of reasons. For one thing, these platforms currently are not as effective as a skilled tutor, which is effective because you're meeting with another human and creating a connection that goes beyond simply improving learning.

Then again, tutoring can be expensive and students don't have 24/7 access to tutors on demand.

Ultimately, my gut feeling is that right now, tools such as Copilot Study and Learn would work better in conjunction with more traditional learning tools as a supplement to textbooks, videos , class time, and human tutoring.

Late one night, while scrolling through social media, a video from JoseMonkey appeared in my feed. JoseMonkey, who does not publicly use his real name and describes himself as a geoinfluencer, has built a substantial following by solving geolocation challenges submitted by viewers. In a typical video, someone records what appears to be an ordinary location and challenges him to find them. Often there are no famous landmarks, no readable street signs, and few obvious clues. Yet through a combination of observation, queries, research, and geographic reasoning, JoseMonkey is often able to identify the exact location.

While the videos are entertaining, these also serve a broader purpose. JoseMonkey frequently reminds viewers that seemingly harmless details in photos and videos can reveal far more information than people realize, including where they live, work, or spend their time. (An additional lesson about data privacy and cybersecurity is in here!)

I was initially drawn in by the challenge, but after watching several videos, I realized that the real appeal lay in the process. An ordinary scene becomes a puzzle, and every object, shadow, building, and feature of the landscape has the potential to become a clue.

But the popularity of JoseMonkey's videos reveals something important about geography, a subject that is often misunderstood in schools. Many adults remember geography as a collection of maps, capitals, and place names that had to be memorized for a test. While factual knowledge certainly has value, that narrow view overlooks what makes the discipline so powerful. Geography is fundamentally about understanding relationships between people and places, interpreting patterns in the natural and built environment, and making sense of the world through investigation.

JoseMonkey's work offers a compelling demonstration of these skills in action. In one challenge, an ordinary mailbox became the starting point for an inquiry when he researched where similar designs were commonly used, eventually narrowing the search to Taiwan. In another, details such as municipal infrastructure, license plates, and vegetation helped identify locations in Turin, Ontario, and North Carolina. Individually, these clues seem insignificant; the value emerges through context and the ability to connect small observations into a larger geographic story.

Locating Critical Thinking

JoseMonkey succeeds because he presents geography as a mystery to solve rather than a collection of facts to remember.

Viewers are invited to follow the clues, consider possibilities, test assumptions, and watch the investigation unfold–skills that involve critical thinking. The challenge is not knowing every mailbox design, license plate, or tree species in the world, but recognizing which details might matter, researching possibilities, eliminating alternatives, and refining conclusions as new information emerges.

In many respects, the critical thinking process resembles detective work, except the clues are embedded in landscapes, infrastructure, architecture, and the countless details that shape our understanding of place. Much of the learning occurs during the investigation itself as participants explore possibilities, encounter dead ends, and gradually narrow the field of options, all of which translate well beyond the classroom.

For educators, geolocation challenges also offer a useful reminder about engagement. People are naturally drawn to problems that require investigation and discovery. Geography provides rich opportunities for this kind of learning, yet it is often reduced to memorization. When students analyze landscapes, interpret maps, examine settlement patterns, or explore relationships between human and environmental systems, they engage in the same habits of mind that make geolocation challenges so compelling.

‘Where Am I?’

Perhaps the larger lesson behind JoseMonkey's success is not about geography alone, but about learning itself. His videos demonstrate the power of curiosity-driven inquiry. At a time when answers are increasingly available with a quick search, the ability to observe carefully, ask thoughtful questions, evaluate evidence, and make sense of complex information remains essential. Geography provides an ideal vehicle for developing those habits because every place tells a story waiting to be investigated.

The continuing popularity of geolocation challenges suggests that people have not lost their appetite for discovery. If anything, these remind us that some of the most meaningful learning begins with a simple question: Where am I, and how can I figure it out?

Unlike many adults, teen students are not hesitant to explore, experiment, and embrace artificial intelligence, with nearly two-thirds admitting to having done so, according to a recent Common Sense Media report.

Although many of them report using it for research purposes, the reality is often quite different, with students embracing it for a range of other reasons, from cheating on school work to creating deepfakes.

Some students have also turned to AI chatbots for companionship, with a few even falling into romantic relationships. Others have even taken AI into their confidence for unvetted mental health support, which has occasionally ended tragically, with chatbots encouraging, and even guiding, student plans for self-harm.

In many of these situations, parents, teachers, and other adults have no idea how deeply a student has become involved with an AI chatbot, or even that they’ve formed an interpersonal relationship with an AI-generated character on a platform such as Character AI or Replika.

“Even if you don't have a child who's using one of those, it’s possible for them to end up in a relationship with chatbots as common as ChatGPT or Gemini,” says Kerry Gallagher, Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning at St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts, and Education Director at the nonprofit ConnectSafely, which is dedicated to online safety, privacy, security and digital wellness.

Understanding Social Penetration

Chatbots are primarily a commercial enterprise designed to be engaging, so it’s not surprising that a student – especially vulnerable during adolescence when they might be struggling socially, feeling lonely, or working through mental health or self-image issues – could fall under one’s sway.

“An AI chatbot will answer or respond with the output in which it refers to itself in the first person,” says Gallagher. “So that shifts the way the user is thinking about what they're interacting with because if the output is ‘I …’ then that feels like a personal conversation. It also refers to the user as ‘you.’”

Add into that how more refined the voices used by chatbots have become, and how easy it is to interact with through earbuds, and it can feel like a student is talking with a real, caring human.

“The voice intonation, the mood, the way it shows kindness and empathy, and the way that comes across–what you’re really talking about is something called social penetration theory, which is an intentional design that's coded into the algorithm,” says Gallagher. “The AI companions are programmed to slowly increase the intensity of small talk in order to draw the user in more and more. We see that in the bottom of the output, ‘Do you want me to do this next or this next?’ It starts asking the kind of adjacent questions that humans would ask as part of their conversation.”

Managing Student-AI Relationships

When it comes to navigating these situations, awareness is always the first step. “Parents should not hear about this and rush to lock down their kids' phones,” says Gallagher. “They just need to be informed about what's available on those phones so that they can be talking to their kids about it.”

In that vein, Gallagher notes that it’s sometimes a challenge to recognize that a student has gotten into an unhealthy relationship with an AI because the signs might be harder to spot since most kids tend to be on their phones constantly. But if they’re in their bedroom alone with the phone and the door closed for hours on end, it might make sense to check.

“Swing by their room to check in, ask what they’re up to in a caring way, and listen with genuine curiosity,” says Gallagher. “No need to barge in, but if it's quiet for a long period of time, what are they doing? If they're talking to friends on FaceTime, you can hear that, right? Do you know the voice of the friend they’re talking with? If not, can you ask to introduce yourself and say hello?”

It can be a challenge for educators to address student-AI relationships, especially if it primarily is happening outside of class time. Nonetheless, Gallagher suggests expanding AI awareness by exploring it yourself.

“It's important for adults to be using AI so that when we talk about it, it’s coming from experience,” she says. “If you're not sure how to start, talk to a colleague who is using it and ask them to show you what they're doing.”

Failing to understand AI companions may invalidate what may already be an important relationship in the student’s life, which is not going to help a child who made a poor decision.

“Part of our job as educators is to hold kids accountable, and also to counsel kids so that they don't make those same mistakes again,” Gallagher says. “If adults only tell kids that AI chatbots aren't real and their relationships aren't real, it could result in children doubling down on those relationships.”

When directly dealing with a student engaged with a chatbot, Gallagher suggests focusing on the reasons behind the relationship.

“I would say, ‘Tell me more about your chatbot. When do you talk to it? What is its name? What are some of the things that you talk about?’” she says. “Because I want to get into why they use the chatbot. What need is it meeting? How can we help the student meet that need in a healthier way?”

Gallagher says understanding the underlying why of what’s happening is key.

“By asking them more about their AI chatbot and their relationship, what we uncover is what needs that relationship with that chatbot is meeting that aren't being met right now, and how we can then share that information about that need with the family or school counselor. If that need of that child is met, they're less likely to feel like they need the chatbot and they're also less likely to feel like they need to do harm to their peers or themselves.”

Boosting AI Literacy

In general, educators should aim toward using AI tools that allow them to supervise what students are doing and so they can monitor for any concerning usage.

Gallagher also advocates for better AI literacy, but as tools have evolved, so should the discussions and activities with students.

“Educators can ask kids to develop their own ideas, their own lists, their own guidelines around when AI use is helpful and when it might be harmful,” she says. “They know more than we think. Even students as young as second or third grade are ready to start the conversation about which tasks require human effort so learning can happen.”

Doing so can help peel back the curtain so students can understand what AI actually is and how it works, and use it in a healthy manner.

“Start as simple as teaching that AI is programmed for pattern recognition and help kids understand, especially at that younger age, what that means,” Gallagher says.

She also recommends talking about understanding prompt engineering and verifying outputs with a human eye.

“I think it's okay to ask AI for advice as long as there's a corroboration of that advice,” she says. “If students ask AI to help brainstorm ideas or for initial feedback on an email that they've drafted, that's all fine. It still needs to be run through a human before it becomes something that is integrated or sent.”

Finally, to help boost critical thinking around AI, educators should consider changing their approach to assignments.

“For example, one of the benchmarks might ask students how they used AI. What was the output? Show the actual output, and then show the next version to demonstrate the important critical student thinking. What did the learner do between those two versions? We can help students practice adding that human filter after the AI is used.”

Watch above or listen/download below.

Most conversations about education equity focus on helping students who are struggling. AJ Gutierrez wants to talk about those who are achieving yet are still being overlooked.

As the new CEO of Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), Gutierrez is leading a national nonprofit that partners with more than 900 middle and high schools across 35 states to identify students who are prepared for advanced coursework but aren't getting access to it. In this conversation with Tech & Learning, he offers insights for district leaders on how to do more for students that may be off the radar.

A recent Mathematica study found that EOS partner schools identify more than 2.5 times as many underrepresented students ready for AP, IB, or dual enrollment compared to traditional methods — and that those students, once placed, perform just as well as their peers.

"There's a huge subset of students who are ready for advanced coursework who were, for many reasons, being overlooked," Gutierrez says. "If you look at things like the PSAT, there was a large study EOS conducted with EdTrust where they were missing on 80% of students who would have qualified."

What makes the EOS approach distinct is what it measures. Beyond grades and test scores, EOS collects student survey data on factors such as whether a student feels connected to a trusted adult at school, their future aspirations, and their sense of belonging. When those insights are combined with academic data — and increasingly, with AI-driven predictive analytics — patterns emerge that no dashboard alone would surface.

"Education is always going to be human-led, but technology-augmented," Gutierrez says. "You can't just share a dashboard or a widget and expect big change. You're talking about shifting mindsets and shifting human behavior."

Gutierrez brings a personal dimension to the work. A product of Boston's Match Education program, he credits rigorous coursework and personalized support as pivotal in his own trajectory. He went on to co-found Saga Education, which helped catalyze a national high-impact tutoring movement and secure more than $7 billion in public investment between 2020 and today.

At EOS, his next focus is chronic absenteeism — using the organization's survey data and emerging AI tools to identify students at risk of disengaging before it's too late.

"If we focus on individual students," he says, "we can increase the odds of improving average daily attendance."

ISTELive 26 was another energetic and inspiring conference. Held in Orlando this year, the event featured hundreds of sessions and exhibitors, offering attendees unparalleled opportunities for learning and networking.

The association also announced a name change. It will now be known as International Society for Transforming Education (ISTE), reflecting the merger of legacy ISTE’s focus on technology and ASCD’s commitment to instruction.

The exhibit hall showcased a vast array of new products and services. Our Tech & Learning judges scoured the show floor to rigorously review the nominations for this year’s Tech & Learning Best of Show at ISTELive 26 awards. The evaluation criteria included ease of use, overall value, uniqueness in the market, and clear proof that the product streamlines teachers' workflows and supports student achievement.

“AI took a back seat to discussions about the screen time debate at this year’s ISTE conference,” noted Christine Weiser, Content Director for Tech & Learning. “The overarching question from the show floor: How do we educate our communities about the difference between active screen time that supports student learning and passive doom scrolling?

“There were plenty of examples of edtech products that are supporting active learning on display, and our judges used this as one measure of their nominee evaluations. Below are their top picks. Congratulations to all our winners!"

Primary

Acer Chromebook 311 (C725T)

“The Acer Chromebook 311 is a solid option for younger learners, especially considering its price point. We found it to be durable, reliable, and well-suited for the daily wear and tear that comes with elementary classroom use, making it a strong value for schools.”

Adobe, Aqua by Adobe

“Aqua by Adobe is a thoughtful and timely entry into elementary creative technology. Rather than adapting professional creative software for younger users, it was designed specifically for children, balancing creativity, accessibility, digital literacy, and age-appropriate AI in a safe, free environment. The combination of educator input, strong early adoption, and the absence of cost barriers makes it particularly compelling for schools.”

Amplify Education, Amplify Desmos Math

“The new Desmos math tool from Amplify is an amazing platform to help students concretize the abstract concepts of math! This tool not only uses a project-based approach to learning, which solidifies complex math concepts, but also provides many opportunities to learn them in different ways. An added bonus is that many of the lessons that are available are available at no cost to any student!”

Amplify Education, mCLASS Math

“This new mClass Math product from Amplify is pretty solid at helping students analyze mathematical reasoning and thinking patterns and improve their overall math skills. It is particularly good for middle school students who have been struggling in the past, helping them catch up with their peers.”

Belkin International, Belkin Connect USB-C Keyboard with Stand for iPad

“The Belkin Connect USB-C Keyboard with Stand for iPad is a no-nonsense classroom tool built around the things schools actually need: durability, easy setup, and testing compliance. It is not flashy, but removing Bluetooth, batteries, and charging issues makes it a very dependable choice for shared iPad programs.”

BenQ RP05

“The BenQ Board RP05 feels like a standout interactive display because it brings AI tools directly into the classroom experience rather than treating them as an add-on. With on-device AI, 50-point touch, Google EDLA support, wireless sharing, and robust IT management features, it looks like a comprehensive solution for schools seeking to modernize instruction at scale.”

Boxlight Symphonic Series — Primary Education

“This series of notification and information products give the end user a variety of features to choose from. They appear to be very easy to install and maintain.”

Boxlight Symphony — Primary Education

“This is a powerful and very well thought out communication system. That it can be implemented on an existing IP network without the need for an Internet connection is a great value ad for school districts.”

ClassLink Suite

“ClassLink has been an efficient and impactful tool in our district for staff and students. Our workflow and student experience have been elevated using this tool

Clear Touch, Nova

“The 6000 Nova Series comes across as a very smart long-term classroom display, especially because the hot-swappable Core Module directly tackles the pain of costly refreshes and downtime. It feels well-rounded and future-focused, with strong hardware durability and a useful software suite that adds real value beyond the screen itself.”

Clear Touch, Command Studio

“Command Studio feels like a really practical way to bring high-quality broadcast into schools without making it overly technical or equipment-heavy. The portability, wireless setup, touchscreen control, and Clear Touch ecosystem integration make it especially valuable for campuses that want students or staff to produce polished live content with less friction.”

CTL Chromebook PX112C with Integrated 5G, 4G LTE, and CBRS Connectivity

“This is a very capable Chromebook. Although the broadband connectivity is not new or innovative, the use of the Citizen’s Band Radio Spectrum (CBRS) is a great feature.”

Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Professional Learning

“i-Ready Professional Learning is a comprehensive and well-developed educator support system that goes beyond traditional workshop-based professional development. Its combination of coaching, leadership development, on-demand learning, and embedded guidance reflects current best practices in adult learning and implementation science.”

CyberNut - K12 Phishing and Digital Citizenship Training

“CyberNut is a strong cybersecurity tool built specifically for the needs of K–12 schools. We found it provides valuable protection while also giving district leaders the data and insights needed to proactively identify risks, strengthen security, and make informed decisions about keeping students, staff, and systems safe.”

Edmentum, Courseware Elementary

“Edmentum’s comprehensive Courseware digital curriculum for grade 6 through adult learners is based on the development of real-world skills, identifying students’ passions, and cultivating perseverance and grit. Our Courseware is rigorous, relevant, and aligned to state and national standards with over 400 courses covering core, elective, CTE, world language, and advanced subjects.”

Epson BrightLink 870Ei Ultra Short Throw Interactive Display with 4K Enhancement

“The Epson BrightLink® 870Ei is a strong evolution of interactive classroom display technology, combining the flexibility of projection with many of the collaboration features typically associated with interactive flat panels. Its ability to create a large interactive image on existing whiteboards, combined with 4K enhancement, wireless casting, and collaborative annotation, makes it an attractive option for schools looking to maximize instructional space while avoiding the size limitations of fixed displays.”

ExploreK12, Frax (ExploreK12)

“Frax is an adaptive, game-based design that emphasizes conceptual understanding rather than rote procedures. It is grounded in sound instructional research and is adaptive to the needs of the learners. It is a powerful supplement to math instruction in the intermediate grades.”

ExploreK12, Raz-Plus (ExploreK12)

“Raz-Plus is a comprehensive supplemental literacy platform that aligns well with current Science of Reading practices. Its greatest strengths are the breadth of instructional resources, assessment capabilities, and flexibility for differentiated instruction across K–5 classrooms. The refinement and expansion of an established product makes it a robust tool for reading intervention and supplemental literacy instruction.”

ExploreK12, Reflex (ExploreK12)

“An excellent supplemental math solution for building foundational fact fluency. Its greatest strengths are adaptive personalization, student engagement, and a clear focus on helping learners develop the automaticity needed for success in higher-level mathematics.”

Follett Software, Follett Destiny Library Manager

“The Follett Software Destiny Library Manager is the best tool on the market for managing school libraries and providing real-time usage reporting. Follett has become the gold standard for doing so in elementary, secondary, and even higher education.”

Follett Software, Follett Software AI

“Follett AI provides helpful analytics within Follett environments. It gives relevant insights to users within the context of district policies, all while protecting data and privacy.”

Forward Edge, Edge U Badges

“The Edge U Badges platform provides hundreds of self-guided courses with microcredentialing. It combines flexibility, instructional relevance, and meaningful credentialing opportunities. Its greatest strengths are the depth of content and its ability to personalize educator growth while supporting district professional development goals.”

HamiltonBuhl, HamiltonBuhl PowrePost

“The HamiltonBuhl PowerPost is a practical classroom product that solves a common operational problem: providing accessible charging where it's needed. Its mobility, mix of AC and USB ports, and thoughtful cable management make it useful in flexible learning environments.”

InfoCase, PermaLock XP Case

“The PermaLock XP case provides real protection for student devices. Its innovative design locks onto each side of the device, avoiding the need for hinges, typically the weakest point of the case. If I had a student with a 1:1 device, this is the case I'd get!”

IPEVO Inc., IPEVO Cast

“PEVO Cast is a clean, easy classroom solution for wireless sharing without the usual app downloads, logins, or device headaches. It is especially useful for schools with mixed devices, and the fast switching plus smooth 1080p sharing make it a practical fit for everyday teaching and student presentations.”

JAR SYSTEMS, Stack6 by JAR Systems

“The JAR Systems Stack6 is a thoughtfully designed charging station that focuses on portability, simplicity, and efficient USB-C charging for shared-device environments. Features such as integrated short cables, Quick-Sense charging, ventilation, and a modular stackable design address many of the day-to-day frustrations school IT teams face.”

Learning.com, EasyTech Digital Readiness Platform with Integrated AI Literacy — Primary Education (K–6)

“EasyTech Digital Readiness Platform presents a well-conceived approach to digital literacy. It embeds AI literacy into a broader K–8 progression rather than treating it as a standalone topic. It uses sound pedagogy and a strong developmental sequence—from foundational digital skills to AI ethics and algorithmic reasoning.”

LEGO Education, LEGO Education Science

“Everybody loves LEGO! These highly engaging kits draw students into science learning by providing hands-on, collaborative challenges. Teachers and students will love these inquiry-based, curriculum-aligned activities.”

LEGO Education, LEGO Education Computer Science & AI

“LEGO Education Computer Science & AI appears is an effective way to make coding and AI more approachable for younger students without making them feel like it is too abstract or intimidating. The hands-on kits, scaffolded lessons, and mix of icon- and word-based coding give it strong classroom value, especially for teachers who need something structured yet creative.”

Lexia, Science of Reading Classroom by Lexia

“Lexia has evolved to become one of the most comprehensive literacy ecosystems available for K–12. The suite of products covers a range of tools including adaptive instruction, assessment, AI-supported guidance, English language development, and professional learning, all in a unified platform.”

Lightspeed, Redcat by Lightspeed

“Lightspeed solutions are excellent and reliable. They are easy to implement in any classroom without a lot of IT intervention. They have the quality audio and feature set of more expensive hardwired classroom systems without the labor overhead or complexity.”

Lightspeed Systems, Lightspeed Insight - Screen Time Dashboard

“Lightspeed Insight seems like a very useful decision-making tool for districts that need clearer answers around app usage, screen time, and whether technology is actually supporting instruction. I like that it turns a messy, emotional topic into real-time data that leaders can use in board, parent, and policy conversations.”

LocknCharge

“The LocknCharge FUYL Smart Locker System addresses a real operational challenge for schools by automating device lending, charging, repairs, and asset management. Rather than functioning as a simple charging locker, it combines secure hardware with cloud-based workflow management, reducing the burden on IT staff while improving accountability. The integration of multiple authentication methods and real-time tracking makes it a mature and practical solution for 1:1 device environments.”

MagicSchool

“We piloted MagicSchool across our district and received very positive feedback from both staff and students. Teachers found it intuitive and easy to incorporate into their daily workflow, while students appreciated how it supported learning in meaningful and accessible ways.

MAXCases, MAXCases Extreme Shell-F Slide-On Case for the MacBook Neo

“The MAXCases Extreme Shell-F Slide-On Case for the MacBook Neo is custom designed to fit the new NEO by Apple. MaxCases brings their quality-designed protection to Apple's latest computer line. While this is a solid case, this case also does a great job of protecting the most vulnerable areas of the computer as well as protecting the keyboard.”

Moravia Education, Cubetto+

“Cubetto+ is a delightfully tangible way to teacher the littlest learners about coding. This tool provides developmentally appropriate learning with emphasis on storytelling, debugging, and hands-on exploration. No screen required!”

Otus

“Otus makes every step of the learning process more efficient for teachers, administrators, students, and families by using their portals that integrate grades, assessment scores, progress monitoring, and a full-fledged data warehouse. Their all-in-one platform, with integrated tools to gather, visualize, and act on student growth data, allows teachers and administrators to make decisions based on solid data that help students achieve significant growth and make strides toward reaching their full potential.”

Ozobot, K-2 Math Fluency Kit

“Ozobot's Math Fluency Kit brings together coding basics with deep math learning. Using Evo robots with common math manipulatives, students explore mathematical concepts in engaging, hands-on ways. Fully developed lesson plans and materials align to standards. This tool provides the perfect way to build computer science learning into math.”

Pitsco Education LLC, Drone Maker Kit

“The Drone Maker Kit excellent STEM solution for grades 3 - 8. It authentically integrates engineering, physics, and problem-solving. Its greatest strength is immersing students in the complete engineering design cycle, making it much more than a drone flight activity.”

Prodigy Education, Prodigy

“Prodigy is a highly engaging learning platform because it turns math and ELA practice into something students actually want to keep using. The adaptive practice, teacher dashboard, free access, and new game modes make it a strong classroom support tool, though its biggest strength is engagement and skill practice rather than full curriculum replacement.”

Promethean, Promethean ActivPanel 10 (AP10)

“Promethean makes great products with the features students and teachers need to succeed as well as the flexibility to include multi operating systems. The included software are great additions too.”

Read Naturally, Inc., Read Live

“Read Live is an excellent literacy intervention platform distinguished by its strong research foundation, comprehensive intervention tools, and long history of success. Its greatest strength is consistent, evidence-based implementation rather than technological innovation. With the current trend towards less screens for young learners, their print option provides a relevant and appealing option for literacy learning.”

Samsung Electronics America, WAFX-P

“Not only does this new WAFX-P Interactive Panel by Samsung offer stunning, vibrant displays of life-like content for learning, but it is also amazingly versatile, accepting content from many curriculum companies and converting lessons created with other display brands and interactive software platforms. I especially like its AI Assistant capabilities, including Circle to Search, AI Summary, AI Quiz, and Live Transcript, which bring cutting-edge tools that are easy to use for teachers of all subjects!”

Seesaw

“Seesaw is one of the most established and versatile learning platforms for elementary education. Its combination of digital portfolios, standards-aligned instruction, family communication, and creative student expression makes it especially effective for PreK–6 classrooms. The addition of AI-powered instructional tools strengthens the platform, while third-party validation and broad adoption reinforce its educational impact.”

SMART Technologies, SMART SoundLift Voice Amplification Solution

“This helpful addition to the SMART ecosystem allows teachers to use natural voice without any students missing a word. Although it has a narrow use case, it works seamlessly to provide dual-microphone support for presentations.”

TORSH Talent- Professional Learning Platform for Instructional Coaches and Educators

“This is a coach's dream! Extremely helpful tool for tracking teacher learning and student outcomes. Made by a coach, it is intuitive and provides lots of info in a usable format.”

TouchView Companion Series: Portable Collaboration Without Boundaries

“I found the TouchView Companion Series to be a unique approach to projecting content, especially in small group learning environments. Instead of keeping instruction tied to the front of the room, it gives teachers the flexibility to bring content directly to students, creating more opportunities for collaboration and interaction, especially in primary grades and centers.”

TouchView Interactive ULTRA Series Gen 6: Secure, Future-Ready Collaboration for Every Learning Environment

“The TouchView Interactive ULTRA Series is a robust classroom solution that gives educators the flexibility to teach in a variety of learning environments. We found its ease of use, portability, and connectivity make it a strong option for supporting everything from whole-group instruction to small-group collaboration.”

Wayground

“This is a very good solution for elementary education. Its tool set is varied enough to address the needs of the modern classroom, whether it be special needs accommodations or language understanding. It also seems to use AI in a strategic and well thought out manner.”

Secondary

Acer, ProDesigner PE270K L1

“I found the ProDesigner PE270K L1 to be a solid monitor that delivers great value for the cost. Its high-resolution display makes it a strong option for classrooms where students and staff are creating graphics, digital media, or other visual content that benefits from accurate color and sharp detail.”

ASUS NUC 16 Pro Mini PC: Small Footprint, Big Impact in Education

“The ASUS NUC 16 Pro Mini PC is a strong fit for schools that want serious AI-capable performance without taking up much space. Its compact design, centralized management, rugged certification, and service-friendly build make it feel especially practical for classrooms, labs, and district-wide deployments.”

AVID Products, AE-15 USB-C Headset: Bridging the USB-C Affordability Gap

“The AVID AE-15 USB-C Headset is a smart, no-nonsense classroom audio solution that solves a compatibility and affordability issue for schools moving to USB-C devices. It’s not flashy, but the durability features, student-friendly design, low price, and 2-year warranty make it a strong everyday option for districts buying at scale.”

BenQ RP05

“The BenQ Board RP05 Interactive Display comes across as a powerful, future-ready classroom display that goes well beyond basic touch and presentation features. The on-device AI, 50-point touch, Google EDLA access, wireless sharing, and district management tools make it feel like a strong all-in-one option for modern learning spaces.”

Bluum, Redefining Career Readiness Through the Nation's First District-Wide Esports Program

“Bluum’s esports career pathway initiative is a well-executed example of turning student interest into a real district-wide learning opportunity. What stands out is that Bluum is not just selling equipment but also bringing together the space, technology, curriculum, partners, and implementation needed to make the program sustainable.”

Boxlight Symphonic Series — Secondary Education

“The Symphonic platform has the features and ease of installation that would work in any school district. Great solution.”

Boxlight Symphony — Secondary Education

“This is a powerful and very well thought out communication system. That it can be implemented on an existing IP network without the need for an Internet connection is a great value ad for school districts.”

Brisk Labs, Brisk Teaching

“Brisk Teaching is one of my favorite AI tools for teachers on the market today. Not only do they pay close attention to student and teacher data privacy as a process input for AI, but I also love that it already resides as an extension to your browser. This makes it a tool that teachers don't have to leave their workspace to use another web platform.”

Britannica Education, Britannica Studio: AI Teachers Can Trust

“I really like that this product is focused on appropriate use of AI. Britannica Studio helps teach appropriate and responsible use of AI as a tool to work alongside or in place of student work.”

Cellairis, Cellairis Cyber Pouch

“This is a simple, reliable, and low-tech solution to keep devices safe while blocking distractions. Making them large enough for additional items is a nice feature too. The device storage accessory also makes devices quickly accessible in case of an emergency. Not including locks takes away the added labor of managing them for teachers and lost keys/forgotten combinations for IT managers.”

Cidi Labs, DesignPLUS: Transforming Canvas Course Design at Scale

“DesignPLUS feels like a really helpful upgrade for Canvas users who want better-looking, more accessible courses without needing technical design skills. The mix of templates, design controls, content tools, accessibility support, and AI-assisted creation makes it feel both practical and scalable for institutions managing lots of courses.”

Cidi Labs, UDOIT Advantage: The Course Accessibility Tool for Canvas

“UDOIT Advantage appears to be a very practical accessibility tool because it meets educators directly in Canvas and helps them fix issues without requiring technical expertise. The smart filters, scorecards, file remediation, and AI-assisted SpeedFIXIT workflow make it feel both efficient and meaningful for creating more inclusive courses.”

ClassLink Suite

“ClassLink Suite gives high school teachers the flexibility to customize the look, layout, and content of their classes to meet the needs of their students. We found this level of personalization helps create a more organized and engaging digital learning environment while giving students quick access to the resources they need every day.”

ClassVR, EduverseSTEM from Avantis Education

“The ClassVR Eduverse Module is the total package for bringing and scaling Virtual Reality use in schools. ClassVR has not only made the hardware and its management easy for schools to adopt and implement, but has also created a phenomenal software platform to complement this amazing system.”

Edmentum, Accelerating Student Achievement with Exact Path

“ExactPath by Edmentum is a really nice tool for taking assessment scores and standards from annual and quarterly summative assessment companies and projecting a unique learning path for students to improve their areas of deficiencies.”

Epson America, Epson PowerLite L370E 3LCD Laser Projector with 4K Enhancement

“The Epson PowerLite L370E is a strong, flexible projector for classrooms and shared spaces that need bright, large-scale visuals with minimal maintenance. Its brightness, laser lifespan, wireless connectivity, and easy setup tools make it a dependable upgrade.”

ExploreK12, Gizmos (ExploreK12)

“Gizmos offers interactive experiences for rich math and science learning, including simulations, real world cases to analyze, and investigations that lead to sense making from phenomena. If you want your students to grapple with open ended explorations, Gizmos is the perfect tool!”

FACIL'iti, FACIL'iti Talents

“This is a great solution. I myself have vision issues and when I tried the features for low vision it made websites much easier to read. I also like that it is free for end-users.”

Follett Software Facilities Schedules“Facilities scheduling is always challenging and having an integrated system with built-in workflows is very valuable for school districts. The schedule visibility to all stakeholders ensures this information is easily available to avoid conflicts. This product would be a great addition to administrative, maintenance, custodial, and security teams.”

Forward Edge, Edge U Badges

“The Edge U Badges platform provides hundreds of self-guided courses with microcredentialing. It combines flexibility, instructional relevance, and meaningful credentialing opportunities. Its greatest strengths are the depth of content and its ability to personalize educator growth while supporting district professional development goals.”

HamiltonBuhl USBC-A Smart-Trek

“The Smart-Trek USBC-A Headset is a smart classroom workhorse, especially because the built-in USB-C and attached USB-A dongle solve a real compatibility headache. It is not trying to reinvent the headset category, but the durability touches and school-friendly design make it feel very useful and easy to standardize.”

Kahoot!

“We've had great success with Kahoot! in our district as a way to increase engagement while giving teachers quick, meaningful feedback on student learning. Like any instructional tool, it's most impactful when it's part of quality instruction rather than a standalone activity, helping reinforce learning instead of simply becoming a game.”

Learning Genie, Curriculum Genie

“Curriculum Genie is a strong AI curriculum tool because it is built around actual K–12 needs, not just generic lesson generation. The student-centered planning, standards alignment, UDL support, differentiation, and teacher-approval model make it feel practical, responsible, and genuinely useful for saving time without compromising quality. I love the community-based curriculum as well.”

Learning.com, EasyTech Digital Readiness Platform with Integrated AI Literacy — Secondary Education 6-8

“EasyTech Digital Readiness Platform presents a well-conceived approach to digital literacy. It embeds AI literacy into a broader K–8 progression rather than treating it as a standalone topic. It uses sound pedagogy and a strong developmental sequence—from foundational digital skills to AI ethics and algorithmic reasoning.”

LEGO Education Computer Science & AI

“An excellent middle school STEM solution that effectively combines engineering, coding, and AI literacy. Its greatest strength is making emerging technologies tangible through LEGO's proven hands-on learning approach while providing teachers with a structured, scalable curriculum.”

LEGO Education Science

“The LEGO Education Science Kit 6-8 is a strong hands-on science solution that makes middle school concepts easier to teach, explore, and actually enjoy. Its biggest strength is combining curriculum alignment, inclusive design, and playful learning in a way that feels useful for both teachers and students.”

MagicSchool's MagicStudent

“MagicSchool for Students provides a safe, education-focused space where students can get support, ask questions, and brainstorm ideas. We found it encourages independent thinking while giving students guidance throughout the learning process, helping them build confidence rather than simply giving them answers.”

Medal of Honor Foundation, Path to Honor Expansion

“Path to Honor is a compelling character education platform that uses authentic stories from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society to engage students in ethical reasoning, civic responsibility, and personal reflection. Its greatest strength is grounding lessons in real people and real decisions rather than hypothetical scenarios, making discussions about values more meaningful. This is a beautiful resource for teaching character in deep ways.”

Merge, The all-new Merge 3D Platform: Empowering the next generation to explore, learn

“The new Merge 3D Platform is literally ‘out of this world’ and is one of the most innovative products in EdTech today! All of the great individual Merge Apps from the MergeEDU world are now on one platform, making them easily accessible. Now, you no longer even need a MergeCube to do MergeCube activities, thanks to the addition of A.I. and you can take any real-world object, even a drawing, and turn it into a 3D digital model or asset. This platform is amazing!”

Microsoft Learning Zone

“Microsoft Learning Zone is a powerful classroom-ready AI tool because it integrates lesson creation, live delivery, personalization, and formative insights, rather than leaving teachers to piece them together. Its real strength is keeping educators in control while making AI feel practical, responsible, and useful in the flow of teaching.”

Moravia Education, Inc., HP Robots - Otto

“HP Otto is a well-rounded educational robotics platform that takes students beyond coding by having them build, wire, and program a functioning robot. Its progression from physical assembly to increasingly sophisticated programming provides an authentic engineering experience. The modular, customizable robots will have students iterating and creating again and again!”

Otus

“Otus makes every step of the learning process more efficient for teachers, administrators, students, and families by using their portals that integrate grades, assessment scores, progress monitoring, and a full-fledged data warehouse. Their all-in-one platform, with integrated tools to gather, visualize, and act on student growth data, allows teachers and administrators to make decisions based on solid data that help students achieve significant growth and make strides toward reaching their full potential.”

ParentSquare Attendance Plus

“Attendance Plus is a highly relevant and thoughtfully designed addition to ParentSquare. Rather than an isolated attendance management product, it tackles chronic absenteeism within an established parent communication system. Its greatest strength is connecting data, intervention, and family engagement within a single platform educators already use.”

Pitsco Education LLC, Seeker

“Seeker is a very strong middle school robotics platform because it combines hands-on building, real sensors, career-connected challenges, and a smooth path from block coding to Python. The built-in simulator, web-based portal, and teacher supports make it especially classroom-ready, while the rover-to-robot flexibility gives it more depth than a basic coding kit.”

Play Piper LLC, Piper Robotics Expedition Set: Physical Computing for Engaged Classrooms

“The Robotics Expedition Set is a lot of fun, an approachable way to get students building, coding, and thinking like engineers instead of just using technology passively. Its strength is the hands-on progression from guided builds to creative problem-solving, though it feels more focused on STEM exploration than on being a broad, all-subject classroom tool.”

Plugable PS-10CC 10-Port USB-C PriorityShare™ Charger

“The Plugable PS-10CC is a 10-port USB-C charging station is a great way to revitalize old and outdated charging carts or caddies that have older style charging cables. Not only does it update the cables but it brings modern fast charging technology to these older carts and caddies and prioritizes which ports should charge faster than others.”

PowerSchool

“Our district uses Naviance, and we've found it to be a valuable resource for college and career readiness. After reviewing a number of platforms, we appreciated the depth of information it provides to help students explore their options, set goals, and make informed decisions about their next steps after high school.”

Reading Horizons Elevate

“I really like the combination of teacher-led direct instruction with the use of the software. Also, that the product is specifically designed to meet the needs of learners from a variety of age levels and not something that teachers need to adapt to.”

Samsung Electronics America, WAFX-P

“Not only does this new WAFX-P Interactive Panel by Samsung offer stunning, vibrant displays of life-like content for learning, but it is also amazingly versatile, accepting content from many curriculum companies and converting lessons created with other display brands and interactive software platforms. I especially like its AI Assistant capabilities, including Circle to Search, AI Summary, AI Quiz, and Live Transcript, which bring cutting-edge tools that are easy to use for teachers of all subjects!”

Securly

“This product is different from solutions that block or detect if AI is used for an assignment. It actively monitors and reports on usage and sentiment in a safe, compliant environment. It would make enforcing district AI policies easier.”

Senturo

“The creators of this product were very smart in creating something that it used alongside popular MDM and device administration tools. The lack of good geolocation tools has long been an issue and these tools seem to help a great deal. It's a great tool for anyone who has to manage a fleet of devices.”

SMART Technologies, SMART MultiStylus: Untethered Teaching & Interactive Learning Anywhere

“The SMART MultiStylus feels like a genuinely useful upgrade for teachers who want to stay mobile while still controlling the board and lesson flow. The combination of precision writing, air mouse control, programmable buttons, and fast battery-free charging makes it feel thoughtful, classroom-focused, and more innovative than a standard stylus.”

Thames & Kosmos, Robotics Workshop with micro:bit

“I like this product. It incorporates a well respected block coding language which facilitates learners who want to go further learn more advanced programming languages. The basic kit seems to have the sensors and components needed for a variety of lessons to keep learners engaged. Furthermore, there are many add-on components to extend its capabilities.”

TouchView Interactive ULTRA Series Gen 6: Secure, Future-Ready Collaboration for Every Learning Environment

“We really liked the TouchView Interactive ULTRA in our district. The seamless connection to our existing devices made it easy for teachers to get started, and its lightweight design made it simple to move between classrooms and learning spaces when needed.”

TouchView Companion Series: Portable Collaboration Without Boundaries

“I found the TouchView Companion Series to be a unique approach to projecting content, especially in small group learning environments. Instead of keeping instruction tied to the front of the room, it gives teachers the flexibility to bring content directly to students, creating more opportunities for collaboration and interaction.”

Vasco Electronics, Vasco Audience

“Vasco Audience feels like a very practical equity tool for schools because it makes multilingual communication easier to access without extra hardware, downloads, or complicated setup. The real-time subtitles, audio streams, custom glossaries, and pay-as-you-go model make it especially strong for family engagement, though its impact depends heavily on translation accuracy in live settings.”

ViewSonic IFP41 Series Interactive Displays

“The ViewSonic IFP41 Series Interactive Display is amazing! Not only is it priced right, but it offers wonderful functionality to laptops or desktop computers by bringing the power of touch to these devices, as well as additional viewing real estate. The ViewSonic IFP41 Series Interactive Display series also offers a suite of device management and monitoring tools provided by Google Workspace. Packed with an upgraded octa-core CPU and high-bandwidth DDR5 memory, as well as now offering 64-point multi-touch screen with palm rejection, this series features native 4K Ultra HD resolution and a 5,000:1 contrast ratio for vivid visuals, which places it as one of the most powerful IFP's on the market today!”

Vivi Live Captions: Real-Time Translation for Multilingual Learners

“Vivi Live Captions feels like a highly practical accessibility and language-support tool that fits naturally into classrooms instead of adding another awkward layer for teachers or students. The real strength is giving each student live translation on their own device, which makes the product feel both inclusive and genuinely useful for day-to-day instruction.”

Vivi Device Alerts: Cross-Platform Crisis Response

“Vivi Device Alerts feels like a strong, practical safety tool because it closes a real gap in school crisis communication: making sure staff actually see and acknowledge critical messages. Its value is especially clear for larger campuses, though its innovation is more in execution and accountability than in creating an entirely new category.”

Wayground

“This is a very well thought out integrated platform with features that are needed for today's challenges, like AI cheating and integrated data analytics.”

Higher Ed

Airia

“Airia is a practical platform for higher ed teams that need control over AI sprawl without slowing down innovation. The value lies in bringing visibility, security, compliance, and auditability into one place, rather than forcing institutions to stitch together separate tools.”

ASUS Computer International, ASUS ROG G700

“The ASUS ROG G700 Desktop is a serious powerhouse for esports, gaming, streaming, and creative work where performance really matters. It brings a strong mix of top-tier components, smart cooling, upgrade-friendly design, and premium ROG styling, making it feel built for both immediate impact and long-term use.”

BenQ, BenQ WDC15

“he BenQ InstaShow WDC15 is a polished, classroom-ready solution for making wireless presenting less frustrating and more dependable. Its biggest advantage is the mix of broad device compatibility, strong 4K performance, touchback control, and robust security, all without adding subscriptions or extra IT complexity.”

Copyleaks, Copyleaks AI Logic

“The AI Content Detector by Copyleaks comes at an incredibly opportune time in the Age of ChatGPT! This product is the first company to release an AI content detection product onto the market, supplying a solution for academic institutions to make more informed decisions surrounding generative AI use.”

D2L, D2L Lumi: Trusted AI for Higher Education

“This is a very good add-on product to the Brightspace solution. It has all of the features and controls needed for a modern higher ed learning environment.”

Epson America, The LE-C1135 Epson 135-Inch All-in-One Direct View LED Display

“This is a very nice display. The use of Chip-on-Board technology ensures you get a quality image every time. The variety of AV ports and controls as well as the serviceable control box are great additions.”

Samsung Electronics America, WAFX-P

“Not only does this new WAFX-P Interactive Panel by Samsung offer stunning, vibrant displays of life-like content for learning, but it is also amazingly versatile, accepting content from many curriculum companies and converting lessons created with other display brands and interactive software platforms. I especially like its AI Assistant capabilities.”

TouchView Interactive, TouchView Interactive ULTRA Series Gen 6: Secure, Future-Ready Collaboration for Every Learning Environment

“We really liked the TouchView Interactive ULTRA in our district. The seamless connection to our existing devices made it easy for teachers to get started, and its lightweight design made it simple to move between classrooms and learning spaces when needed.”

Welcome to the July Edtech Show & Tell, in which our editors share some of the new edtech products that have caught our attention this month. These are not reviews or endorsements, but a showcase of education-friendly items, platforms, and more that we think might be noteworthy for you.

This month's new offerings, many of which are being showcased at ISTELive in Orlando, include financial literacy games, a remote presentation device, and a promising iOS app that turns students' notes into flashcards, quizzes, and games.

ASUS Education | Chromebox 6a, USB AI Accelerator

ASUS debuted the ASUS Chromebox 6a, its flagship ChromeOS compact desktop and the UGen300 USB AI Accelerator at ISTE+ASCD 2026.

Equipped with 14th Gen Intel Core 7 processors, the Chromebox 6a features Zero-Touch Enrollment, Google Admin console and the Titan C security chip. The ASUS UGen300 USB AI Accelerator is a USB edge AI accelerator for both classic and generative AI, delivering powerful, low-power local AI inference at the edge. Equipped with over 100 pre-trained models for rapid deployment, the UGen300 transforms standard devices into AI-ready tools.

Avantis Education | EduverseSTEM

Avantis Education, a provider of virtual and augmented (VR/AR) technology for schools, will give educators an exclusive first look at EduverseSTEM, its new immersive STEM solution at the ISTELive 26 conference June 28-July 1, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. The complete solution will be available to schools in time for the new academic year. EduverseSTEM, is a complete, immersive STEM ecosystem that combines ClassVR Xcelerate headsets, curriculum- aligned STEM content, classroom management tools and a Gold Standard Project-Based Learning Framework into one ready-to-teach solution for middle and high school classrooms.

BandLab For Education | 2 .0

BandLab for Education 2.0 music creation platform for schools is built to support the way music is taught and made today. Available at $2.50 per student per year, with free access for eligible Title I schools in the US and comparable support in other markets, 2.0 is designed to put professional music creation within reach of any classroom.

Cambium Learning Group | ExploreK12

ExploreLearning | Learning A‑Z today announced it is rebranding as ExploreK12, marking the next phase of its evolution as a unified organization serving educators across literacy, math, and science. Beginning with the 2026–27 school year, ExploreK12 is introducing a set of back‑to‑school enhancements for literacy, math and science, including strengthened assessments, expanded content, and new instructional supports that help educators monitor student progress and provide targeted support.

ClassDojo | Websites

ClassDojo Websites is a new school and district website platform designed specifically for K–12 systems. The platform automatically keeps school and district websites up to date by connecting directly to ClassDojo—the platform already used by millions of families and educators. ClassDojo Websites brings website management and district communications into one connected platform, reducing manual work while ensuring families always see accurate, consistent information. Post once, and it shows up everywhere. No double-posting, no stale pages, and no extra work for staff.

Coolmath Games | Financial Literacy hub

The new Financial Literacy hub is designed to replace abstract classroom explanations with games that require decision making in simulated financial situations. Users are dropped into scenarios where every choice has consequences. In games such as Investor Tower, players learn what it actually means to make money work for them, building an understanding of investing through progression and risk based decisions.

Coursera | Ollie

Ollie is an AI-powered microlearning app that delivers short lessons drawn from content by leading partners including AWS, Duke University, and Microsoft. Available to Coursera Plus subscribers, Ollie brings Coursera's university and industry content into a new learning experience featuring interactive practice and conversational AI support. Key features include: Short-form lessons; instant practice exercises; conversational AI support; and Flow Mode and Explore Mode for hands-free listening and topic discovery..

CTL | OPS All-in-One Desktop Computer with ChromeOS

Ideal for education, this solution leverages the power of ChromeOS for its built-in and proactive security and easy IT management via the Google Admin console. An AIO with ChromeOS enables IT directors to deploy the power of ChromeOS to desktops. You can create a singular, cohesive ecosystem that streamlines policies and configurations across all Chromebooks and AIO desktops with ChromeOS.

Dimensions | Citation Check

Citation Check is an API-based editorial tool that automatically detects self-citation in manuscript submissions, evaluates each instance, and returns a risk rating to support editors' decision-making before papers reach peer review. The tool is the latest addition to Digital Science's research integrity portfolio, alongside Dimensions Author Check – designed to help the research community uphold integrity and trust in the scholarly record.

Edlio | Edlio Agents

Edlio Agents are agentic workflows built into the Edlio CMS. Specialists with a defined area of expertise and the skills to handle complex tasks. These complete multi-step processes without needing to be micromanaged, so schools can get more done in less time within the same Edlio platform they are already using. Edlio Agents will be launching through the Edlio platform during the 2026-27 school year, starting this fall.

ELEGOO | Centauri Carbon 2 Combo

Elegoo’s Centauri Carbon 2 Combo is the best versatile/well-rounded option on a budget. It caters to beginners with its accessible price point (ranging from $449-489) and simplified user experience while also satisfying 3D printing vets because it doesn’t sacrifice speed, performance or hardware for its cheaper price tag. It’s fast at printing multi-colored items, stable while withstanding high temperatures, and has smart automations to make printing easy.

Epson | LE-C1 Series

The LE-C1 Series, powered by chip-on-board (COB) technology, is Epson's first all-in-one dvLED line. Offering high brightness of 600 nits and excellent high contrast performance, even in the brightest of spaces, the new LE-C1 Series includes the LE-C1135 135-inch and the LE-C1162 162-inch Full HD 1080p models, plus the LE-C14K135 135-inch 4K model for ultra-fine detail and comfortable close-range viewing.

Extron | DTP3 T 322 D

The DTP3 T 322 D is a two-input wall plate transmitter that sends USB-C and HDMI video, USB data, embedded audio, power, and control up to 330 feet (100 meters) over a shielded CAT 6A cable. It can provide up to 100 watts of USB-C power delivery to charge the connected device when used with the Extron UPI 100 Power Inserter.

iClever | QuietShield Q950 Kids ANC Headphones

The QuietShield Q950 Kids ANC Headphones have received the TÜV Hearing Care Protection Certification as well as the 2026 Red Dot Design Award for its child-centered design. Key features include an 80dBA safe-volume limit as per WHO recommendation, Hybrid ANC (up to 35dB noise reduction), Transparency Mode, Wear Detection, Bluetooth Audio Sharing, and up to 60 hours of battery life.

Logitech | Spotlight 2

The Spotlight 2 Advanced Presentation Remote supports: Natural teaching by helping educators move freely through any learning environment, without being tethered to a podium, desk, or screen; human connections as advanced digital highlighting, spotlighting, annotation and magnifying, and a physical laser pointer support presence and more direct interaction with students; and simplicity with purpose through haptic feedback.

Luxor Workspaces | CellGuard Phone Pouch

The CellGuard Phone Pouch is a signal-blocking storage solution designed to help schools enforce phone policies while keeping student devices secure and in their possession. The pouch is constructed from reinforced fabric designed for daily use and features a hook-and-loop closure that produces a loud, audible sound when opened, allowing teachers to quickly identify when a pouch has been accessed during instruction. A lockable D-ring allows schools or students to secure the pouch when needed.

Magewell | Director Plus

Director Plus is a broadcast-grade, all-in-one portable 4K production and presentation system for end-to-end live video workflows. Users can connect live AV feeds and media assets from a range of devices, networks, and third-party software platforms. With production features including telestration and instant replay, creators can produce visually engaging content for enterprise communications, education, podcasts and more.

NoteFren | NoteFren

NoteFren is an iOS study app that turns a student's own notes (handwriting, PDFs, audio) into flashcards, quizzes, and games in ~10 seconds, built around active recall rather than AI summaries. NoteFren uses scientifically proven methods including spaced repetition (SM-2 algorithm), active recall, and the Feynman method. These techniques are backed by decades of research showing 2-3x better retention compared to traditional study methods.

Philips | Signage 7000 Series

The Philips Signage 7000 Series is designed with a depth of 30mm for the 65” model and 28.5mm on all others, 60 per cent less deep than its closest Philips Signage counterpart – the Philips Signage 4050Q. The 43”, 50” and 55” models are 10 per cent lighter than their 4050Q size equivalents, and the 65” model weighs 20% less than its 4050Q comparison.

Photon Education | Classwise Student Engagement System

Classwise, a student response system from Photon Education made its official U.S. debut at ISTELive 26, June 28-July 30 in Orlando, Florida. Classwise combines formative assessments, game-based learning, and data-driven instruction in a single platform, providing with a larage library of lessons, educational quizzes and teaching resources, plus a classroom set of Classpad handheld controllers. Students engage in learning in a screen-free way, using the Classpads to answer questions and respond to prompts

Smart | MultiStylus and SoundLift

MultiStylus and SoundLift are two new classroom accessories designed to extend the SMART Board experience by supporting collaboration, accessibility and engagement in learning environments. The MultiStylus puts full board control in their hand wherever they are in the room — switch pen modes, advance slides, or activate the air mouse to control the board without walking back to it. SoundLift routes the teachers voice through the SMART Board's integrated speakers, so no separate amplifiers, mixers, or cabling is required.

Telycam | Explore 100, Explore 300 and Explore 500

Building on the hallmarks of the Explore family, these new models deliver outstanding image quality, precise focus, and smooth mechanical movement across a wide range of production scenarios. Ideal for sports broadcasts, corporate events, educational applications, and live production environments, the new launches reinforce Telycam's commitment to empowering professional productions with high-performance, reliable, and versatile PTZ cameras.

Vivi | Live Captions and Device Alerts

Live Captions is a new feature that converts speech into real-time captions and translations across classroom displays. It provides students with translations in their native language with just a single click. Vivi Device Alerts has been upgraded to extend emergency notifications to Windows, macOS devices, and Webapp. The feature includes location-based targeting, mandatory acknowledgment tracking, and a complete audit trail to support compliance reporting.

• Edtech Show & Tell

Watch above or listen/download below.

For years, the promise of AI in education has outpaced the evidence. But a new research project—funded by the Gates Foundation and anchored by researchers at the University of Virginia and the University at Albany, SUNY—is working to change that equation.

The AI for Advancing Instruction at Scale (AI2S) project, developed in partnership with edtech company Edthena, uses a multimodal neural network trained on thousands of hand-coded classroom videos to analyze both the audio and visual dimensions of math instruction. The result is a system that can classify teacher questioning patterns, assess cognitive demand, and detect student engagement—with an accuracy that rivals trained human observers.

Rather than generating a dashboard of metrics, the system guides teachers through a structured coaching cycle—helping them identify a focus area, review their classroom data in context, and build a concrete action plan. Edthena CEO Adam Geller frames the distinction plainly: "We're not trying to build teachers a Fitbit. We're trying to build them a coach."

Critically, all teacher video and feedback remains private to the teacher. The system does not use classroom data to train its models—an assurance that researchers say has been central to teacher trust and adoption.

Peter Youngs, professor at UVA's School of Education and Human Development, sees broader implications for district leaders who have long struggled with the cost and scale of instructional coaching. "If we can show that certain patterns of machine learning output are consistent with how a human would have rated an entire lesson, that could be a game changer—making the process more efficient for principals, teacher educators, and researchers alike," he says.

With districts in Texas, New York, and Virginia currently piloting the tool, the research team is collecting data on feedback quality, changes in teaching practice, and teacher trust. Plans are already underway to expand the methodology to reading and language arts instruction.

To learn more about the AI2S project and the research behind it, visit the University of Virginia's School of Education and Human Development, where Peter Youngs leads work on teacher learning and instructional improvement. To explore Edthena's AI Coach platform — the production tool built on the AI2S research — visit edthena.com. Districts interested in participating in the ongoing pilot can reach out directly through the Edthena site.

Critical thinking really can be taught, suggests a new study led by Michael Bishop, a professor of philosophy at Florida State University.

For the study, published earlier this year in the Journal of American Psychology, Bishop and his collaborators split 397 students into two groups. Students in one group took a critical thinking class while students in the second group did not. The students who took critical thinking saw significant advantages over the students who did not.

As Bishop and his co-authors note, “the results suggest that an appropriately designed critical thinking class can dramatically reduce four common biases in judgment and decision making: honoring sunk costs, inferring causation from correlation, ignoring regression to the mean, and overlooking opportunity costs.”

Bishop is currently working on a book about teaching critical thinking. He discusses some highlights from the study as well as his experiences teaching the topic to students.

Teaching Critical Thinking: Defining What Critical Thinking Is

Attempts to teach critical thinking frequently fail, Bishop says. He believes this is because most approaches don’t follow the proper steps to teaching the topic, the first of which is defining what it means for somebody to be a better critical thinker.

“A lot of people who try to teach critical thinking go wrong on this first step,” Bishop says. This is because Bishop believes common definitions of critical thinking often focus on the wrong things.

"One wrong answer is that a rational thinker uses good rules or rational methods," he says. "Or you might think a rational thinker is an expert debater." But he says these definitions of critical and rational thinking are incomplete. Instead, with students, he focuses on providing them with effective strategies for engaging more deeply and accurately with various topics.

“I think that, really, a rational thinker in the end, it's not somebody who wins a lot of debates or the person who's most well-informed about issues," Bishop says. "It’s somebody who asks helpful and fruitful questions. These are questions that tend to lead to better answers.”

Emphasizing that it's about learning the proper process, Bishop adds, “I’m not teaching them rules. I'm not trying to teach them to win debates. I want them to ask fruitful questions.” 

Implementing Critical Thinking Lessons

Once you define what critical thinking looks like, you have to accurately assess why your students are not asking fruitful questions.

Bishop says that often students can ask fruitful questions in idealized situations yet fail to understand the implications of these strategies in real-world scenarios. For instance, Bishop has a scenario he asks students about in which they have to imagine their country is going to war with an unfriendly country. Students are told that ultimately, the war will be beneficial for their country with rewards outweighing costs.

Putting aside the non-financial costs of war for the sake of this argument, most students say that going to war is a good idea. However, in giving this answer, they’re making a potentially costly assumption that becomes clear if they think about the problem another way.

Instead of going to war, Bishop asks students to imagine they’re given three envelopes and told they can have the contents of one of the three envelopes. If they look in the first envelope and see a $5 bill, they can stop the game then, and they’d be $5 richer than they were before the game started. But since seeing the contents of the other envelopes before making their decision is permitted, students realize that taking the $5 is a bad choice because there could be much more money in the other envelopes. 


Part of what Bishop tries to convey to students is that the envelope problem and the war scenario should be treated the same way. “When I argue that ‘Hey, we should go to war because it's going to bring us this benefit,' all of a sudden it's harder to see. It's harder to recognize.”

Critical Thinking in Different Contexts

The three-envelope and war example Bishop provides is a variant of the operational cost fallacy in which we tend to ignore the cost of pursuing alternative strategies — for instance, the benefits we miss out on by a course of action we could take instead of going to war. Each of these fallacies can take some time to understand and then implement in the real world.

This is part of why Bishop calls his strategies for overcoming these fallacies in real life "cheat codes.” Once students do the initial work to learn them, they tend to have more informed decision-making.

While this research focused on a handful of fallacies, Bishop says that teaching good critical thinking skills involves teaching additional fallacies and mistakes. For instance, another thing students should look for is confirmation bias. This occurs when people use good critical thinking when opposing ideas they disagree with, but throw all that out the window when examining their side of the argument.

This is so common that Bishop wrote a short ditty about it that serves as a quick and important critical thinking lesson all on its own. It goes: “Low standards for my views and high standards for yours/Make us bad thinkers, extremists, and bores.”

Blended learning is a teaching approach that combines both traditional in-class instruction with digital technologies for lessons, assessments, feedback and more. In other words, face-to-face teaching is supplemented and supported by online lessons and content.

The advantages of blended learning include flexibility, student engagement, and the ability to personalize lessons.

The following blended learning sites, many of which are fully free, provide a variety of features through which educators can implement their blended learning approach.

Best Sites for Blended Learning

FREEMIUM

Newsela
A multiple award-winning platform, Newsela includes ELA, social studies, and STEM topics, and is particularly strong for differentiated reading and current events. A 45-day free trial of premium Newsela is provided to educators with no credit card required. The free version, Newsela Lite, provides a new leveled article each week, standards-aligned skill-building activities, and access to the Binder to review student work.

Pear Deck Learning
From its beginning as a Google Slides add-on, Pear Deck has expanded to now offer three additional services: Pear Start, Pear Practice, and Pear Assessment. Pear Start offers more than 40 AI tools to save teachers time, while Pear Practice allows teachers to build, share, and assign practice sets for individuals or groups, and Pear Assessment enables formative and summative assessments and automatic grading. The original Pear Deck’s free educator plan offers generous features such as lesson creation, differentiated learning, Immersive Reader, and student participation controls. Each program provides a free account for educators and premium accounts for schools and districts. Well worth checking out.

Parlay
Parlay, a powerful platform for discussion and debate in classrooms, makes it easy for educators to sign up and explore its features. Create a new discussion (written or verbal), browse more than 7,000 discussion prompts, and select grades. Topics can be entered directly as text, or though a link or PDF. The output will feature everything needed for a productive classroom discussion, including learning goals, questions, and peer feedback instructions. Students can be invited via code, roster, link, or Google Classroom. Basic Parley Free for teachers includes up to six roundtables with 50 students per roundtable.

Kahoot
One of the oldest and best-known quiz game platforms, Kahoot offers millions of ready-made gamified quizzes as well as the ability to create your own. Kahoot offers four paid plans ranging from $36 to $228 per year. Kahoot’s free basic account for educators and others allows creating and hosting a limited number of games, as well as joining games and exploring public kahoots.

PREMIUM

Canvas LMS
A complete learning management system providing tools for course creation, grading, collaboration, and mobile learning. Canvas integrates with multiple other platforms, including Microsoft Teams, Nearpod, Google Assignments, Discovery Education, Skyward SIS, and Slate. Unfortunately, the popular Free-for-Teacher accounts are currently unavailable, as Canvas rebuilds the backend, aiming for a fall 2026 launch.

Starfall
Starfall’s easy-to-navigate site and modest membership cost makes it ideal for both home and education, while its gamified interface will engage young users. Aimed at preK-5 students, Starfall’s games are research-based, standards-aligned, and cover reading and math topics from rhyming to factor pairs. While they don’t offer a free trial, each topic provides one or two free games for interested users to try. Education accounts are modestly priced at $70-$355 annually for individual teacher, classroom, or school accounts, and include student access on campus and at home.

IXL
Offering a comprehensive, skills-based K-12 curriculum, the award-winning IXL platform also includes diagnostic, assessment, and analytics tools for language arts, math, science, and social studies. Unlike many other such sites, IXL permits generous exploration of skills and lessons without joining. A full, free 30-day trial is offered for educators.

WeVideo Classroom
Designed for education, the video-editing platform WeVideo Classroom includes a wide range of built-in tools for video editing and export, and the ability to upload and integrate text, audio, image, and other files. Teachers can create classes, add multimedia assignments and projects, and provide feedback. Webcam, screen recording, templates, interactive videos, storyboarding and podcasts, and more are all part of the WeVideo ecosystem. Free seven-day trial with no credit card required.

FREE

Khan Academy Kids
This educational app for kids aged 2-8 has earned a five-star rating from the independent nonprofit Common Sense Media. Friendly animal characters and the gamified interface create a welcoming and engaging atmosphere for kids to learn early literacy and math skills, as well as to explore the natural world. Teachers can assign lessons and track progress in the app, which is 100% cost- and ad-free.

CK-12
A robust education nonprofit that started by providing open source digital textbooks in 2008, CK-12 has steadily added digital teaching resources for the past 10 years. Their products include new AI teaching tools and agents, customizable, interactive digital textbooks and science simulations, PLIX (Play-Learn-Interact-Explore) interactives, and much more. A wide range of subjects and grades are covered, from K-5 science to college algebra to adult education. Integrates with Google Classroom, Canvas, and Schoology.

OpenStax
From Rice University, OpenStax claims to be the world's largest publisher of free, peer-reviewed digital textbooks. Although I can’t confirm that claim, I can attest to the diversity of K-12 subjects for which digital textbooks are provided. OpenStax’s textbooks are written by experts in their fields, peer-reviewed, and standards-aligned. Digital books can be viewed online or downloaded as PDFs. A free educator account with your school email is required for full access. Available in English, Spanish, and Polish.

TEDEd
Not only does TedEd offer a wide range of educational videos, it also offers lessons built around these videos. Even better, educators can customize video lessons according to their teaching goals or upload their own video as a lesson foundation. Each lesson includes questions as well as a discussion forum.

Nowcomment
A free collaboration platform that allows for the discussion and annotation of online documents, Nowcomment offers an easy signup process and a fairly intuitive site. Teachers can upload documents, create private groups of students, and invite them to add comments. Files accepted for upload include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, image, video, copy-and-paste from HTML, and text entry. For security and privacy, only invited users can comment on documents and private groups are not searchable by search engines.

iCivics Education
Top-notch collection of K-12 civic and social studies games, lesson plans, simulations, mystery-themed curriculum units, and more, iCivics Education allows educators to assign games, monitor student progress, and manage classes in one place. Integrates with Google, Clever, and other single sign-on solutions.

Khan Academy
A free learning platform that allows teachers to create and manage classes, assign courses, and monitor student progress, Khan Academy now also features Khanmigo Tools, free AI-powered tools for education. Courses include math, test prep, ELA, science, social studies, computing, professional learning, and more.

Prodigy
Fully free for teachers, schools, and districts, the game-based Prodigy platform gives educators the ability to create classes, assign lessons, monitor student progress, and identify learning gaps. Students play math and English learning games as individuals or in teams. Integrates with Google, Classlink, and Clever.

The rapid evolution of AI is fundamentally transforming the educational landscape, offering unprecedented opportunities alongside new responsibilities. This recent two-part webinar series was designed to guide education leaders through this shift, moving from the "what" of cutting-edge innovation to the "how" of workforce preparation and the "why" of data security.

It featured two sessions:

The Cutting Edge: New Features from Top AI Solution Providers: This session explores the most impactful new features from industry-leading AI solution providers that support curriculum, lesson planning, streamlining administrative tasks, and more.

The Integrity Infrastructure: How to Ensure AI Solutions are Safe: This session dives deep into the architecture of safety, exploring how leading AI providers are prioritizing student data privacy and institutional security.

Watch on demand here

The Cutting Edge: New Features from Top AI Solution Providers

The recent Tech & Learning EdTech to Watch Virtual Playground featured lightning round demonstrations of three influential educational technology tools: Brisk Teaching, Copyleaks, and Inquire.

Hosted by Tech & Learning’s Christine Weiser, the event highlighted how generative AI is being leveraged to enhance curriculum management, ensure academic integrity, and facilitate deeper learning through project-based instructional design.

Brisk Teaching

Presented by Content Marketing Manager Elisabeth Bostwick and Manager of Curricular Solutions Architecture Whitney Noel, Brisk Teaching is an AI education platform designed to assist teachers with creating materials, providing feedback, and adapting instruction directly within existing Google and Microsoft tools.

Brisk Teaching’s central focus is Curriculum Intelligence, which ensures AI-generated outputs align with district priorities and high-quality instructional materials, mitigating the risk of misalignment.

The platform's "Brisk Brain" is built on two foundations:

• District Guidance: Content-agnostic priorities such as instructional focuses and a Portrait of a Graduate.
• Curriculum Libraries: Resources mapped directly to a district’s high-quality instructional materials.

“Brisk works where you do,” said Bostwick. “You can always leverage the extension to open up over top of anything that you are creating. You can see how easy it is to open the extension right over top of any YouTube videos, docs, web pages, slides, and more.”

The Curriculum Intelligence framework ensures generated resources, such as lesson plans and assessments, are aligned to state standards and district-level goals. A forthcoming feature, Planning Mode, will facilitate dynamic conversations between teachers and Brisk, suggesting district instructional strategies based on student needs.

For differentiation, Brisk offers student-facing tools such as Boost activities and a Tutor that apply customizable guardrails and scaffolds. This helps maintain "productive struggle" while meeting diverse learner needs through multi-language support, speech-to-text, and read-aloud functionality.

For curriculum directors, Brisk provides the benefit of one secure AI layer across all adopted curricula, saving time and capacity by customizing static core materials with district priorities. Brisk is safe and secure, adhering to COPPA, FERPA, and GDPR compliance.

Copyleaks

Senior Solutions Engineer John Michael Perla demonstrated Copyleaks, an academic integrity platform designed to guide students in the responsible and ethical use of generative AI. It integrates directly into the LMS environment, such as Canvas.AI Detection and Customization.

Copyleaks’ AI detection settings are customizable by the school—a top-down approach—with three levels available:

• Level One: Detects content copied directly from LLMs with no modifications.
• Level Two (Default): Identifies submissions in which minor edits were made to the LLM-generated text.
• Level Three (Strictest): Designed for high usage of LLM-modified content, including content generated with sophisticated prompts or evasion tools.

“Within Copyleaks, you can also customize the plagiarism settings,” said Perla. “So if you want to pull in data, we can identify content from the entire Internet, which is like seven billion web pages. We could also create a private cloud hub for your school, which will be all your school's data, in one cloud repository.”

A key differentiator for Copyleaks is its use of logic to explain the AI detection score, preventing instructors from relying solely on a percentage. This logic is provided through two patent-pending tools:

• AI Source Match, which identifies specific web pages or articles that the LLM used as a reference to generate the student's submission.
• AI Phrases, which detects phrases used with high frequency by AI tools.

Copyleaks is a top-tier partner with Canvas and D2L, and also integrates with Moodle, Blackboard, Brightspace, Schoology, and Sakai.

Inkwire

Dr. Julianne Ross-Kleinmann of Ulster BOCES demonstrated Inkwire, an early-stage, project-based learning (PBL) AI tool that supports deeper learning and accelerates authentic instructional design.

Inkwire consists of two main components:

• The PBL AI Copilot, which helps educators design PBL experiences aligned to state standards
• The Portfolio Platform, through which students can capture and showcase evidence of their learning.

“What stood out for us is that Inkwire is focused specifically on teaching and learning and not just a generic AI tool letting educators figure it out on their own,” said Ross-Kleinman. “Instead, it helps teachers think intentionally about authentic learning experiences.”

The design process utilizes the High-tech High Graduate School of Education kaleidoscope framework, which is customizable to a district's own instructional frameworks. Teachers can input a design idea, upload files, and then ask the AI to generate core project elements such as essential questions, launch ideas, and assessment types.

The output is a "one-pager report" that includes learning goals, including state-specific standards, competencies (which can be aligned to standards such as Portrait of a Graduate), and a day-by-day or calendar-view plan.

Inkwire is designed for teacher collaboration, allowing educators to co-design interdisciplinary projects. The portfolio section is crucial for assessment, as it can house student work and artifacts, supporting statewide initiatives by following students as they move between schools and tracking seals of alignment.

The Integrity Infrastructure: How to Ensure AI Solutions are Safe

Tech & Learning’s second "EdTech to Watch" webinar, hosted by brand manager Christine Weiser, explored responsible AI integration in K-12 education. The event showcased a pair of product solutions–TrekAI and Lightspeed Systems Insight–and emphasized the importance of safety, governance, and personalized learning. Attendees got to see demos of both tools and ask questions, and then were treated to a discussion of vetting AI tools from AI consultant Greg Bagby.

TrekAI

TrekAI functions as an on-demand, Socratic tutor for students. Designed to replace chaotic or unvetted AI usage, it serves as a "walled garden" that provides students with a supervised "learner's permit" experience.

“We're just handing the keys over to our students, and we're just kind of like, ‘Okay, just go figure this whole AI thing out,’” said Erin Burchik, Chief Growth Officer for TrekAI. “ChatGPT and other platforms kinda feel like this chaotic, overwhelming, unsafe interstate. And I don't know about you, but when I taught my kids how to drive, we started on back roads and parking lots. We didn't go straight to the interstate. And so we want to advocate for the time that students are in your care, you give them an environment to learn how to navigate this new world of AI safely.”

TrekAI aligns with district standards and curriculum, resisting plagiarism by guiding students through problems rather than providing instant answers. It is FERPA and COPPA compliant to protect student data privacy. It also includes social-emotional alerts that notify counselors and administrators if student interactions indicate risks such as self-harm or violence.

Another offering, Trek Adventure, is a hyper-personalized literacy tool that transforms standard curricula into choose-your-own-adventure books. By integrating specific educational standards (such as math concepts involving fractions) into the narrative, the tool reinforces classroom learning while keeping students engaged. It offers accessibility features, such as dyslexic-friendly fonts, and provides teachers with insights into student reading progress, making it a practical tool for guided reading rotations and literacy blocks.

“Almost all of our team are former educators, so when we're building out new products like Trek Adventure, I think about my sixth grade science class when I was a teacher for fifteen years,” said Joe Edlhuber, account executive, “I would have used Trek Adventure every week during my guided science rotation. It's really practical, not just fluff tech. It is really something that teachers should be using and students wanna be using every week.”

Lightspeed Systems

Insight from Lightspeed Systems provides districts with total visibility into their digital ecosystem, allowing administrators to identify exactly which AI tools are being used, by whom, and for how long. Given that schools often struggle to manage the hundreds of apps present in their environment, Insight’s analytics hub helps identify usage trends and distinguish between productive AI engagement and potential misuse.

“What people find is whether you've built an approval system or not, AI is already in your environment,” said Sergio Villegas, former educator and current regional sales manager for Lightspeed Systems. “What we need to be able to do is answer questions better. So our dashboard is gonna show you everything.”

Insight also offers automated monitoring of vendor privacy policies, alerting districts of changes in terms to ensure ongoing compliance.

Lightspeed Alert automates safety monitoring by analyzing student interactions in real-time. It focuses on identifying concerning behavior, such as indicators of self-harm or violence, across AI platforms and web activity. When an incident occurs, the system shows evidence—including screenshots and transcripts—to administrators, allowing for rapid, human-led intervention.

“This is kind of the wrap-around story of why having a consistent ecosystem matters because these systems need to talk to each other,” said Villegas. “It's hard for schools because we're all being tasked with too much on our plate and not enough people and resources to do it. So having a single ecosystem that can surface information, that can let you search deeper, that can automatically notify you, is important.”

By connecting directly to student information systems, the tool ensures that school staff can reach out to families or take appropriate action quickly, moving schools away from reactive, "he-said-she-said" scenarios.

Strategic Context: The AI Vetting Framework

To complement these tools, AI specialist Greg Bagby outlined a strategic roadmap for vetting AI technologies.

“Before adopting any tools, districts should ask this question: What problem is it solving?” Bagby said. “Is this a tool with clear goals for tech that we need to support? Is it gonna give personalized feedback? Is it for lesson design, assignments, tutoring? And who's gonna benefit from this tool? Is this for the teachers, the students, the school leaders ? We need to have all this in mind before we start jumping into tools because we have access to many, many tools, and why not understand the why before we jump in.”

Bagby said that districts should avoid working in silos and instead form inclusive task forces that include stakeholders from IT, curriculum, and, crucially, students.

Bagby’s framework underscores that AI must prioritize human-in-the-loop oversight, cultural bias testing, and rigorous data privacy agreements. He concluded that because AI technology evolves daily, district policies should be viewed as living documents, requiring constant dialogue to ensure they remain safe and reflective of the current learning environment.

“Just make sure that you avoid vendors who won't disclose how student data is being used and how AI is being trained,” Bagby added. “If it's using the student data to be trained on, that's one of those things that we wanna make sure that we always step away from and be cognizant of.”

Watch above or listen/download below.

Cybersecurity has topped CoSN’s annual State of EdTech report for at least eight consecutive years. For Jeff Carlson, Head of Education Strategy and Advocacy at Clever, that streak is not a failure of imagination — it’s an honest reflection of how hard the problem actually is.

“Even if you’ve solved one thing, there’s another thing,” Carlson said during this week’s Tech & Learning podcast conversation. “K-12 has become one of the most targeted industries for cyberattacks, and the threats keep evolving.”

Clever, which provides single sign-on and rostering services to between 75 and 80 percent of U.S. schools — both public and private — has watched that threat landscape shift in real time. What once centered on credential theft and unauthorized access has expanded to include third-party vendor vulnerabilities, with Carlson citing an eightfold increase in two years of districts worrying about attacks on vendors that then cascade into school systems. The data at risk is not just administrative: it includes student health records, special education documentation, and mental health communications.

“The biggest concern we hear from tech teams is that student data is going to be released,” said Carlson, who spent time as a special education teacher before moving into ed-tech strategy. “You’ve got health data, comments going back and forth about mental health challenges. That’s not just a technical problem.”

The arrival of AI has added a new layer of complexity. Carlson described a moment that has become familiar to many district leaders: waking up to find that an app updated overnight and now includes student-facing AI features no one vetted or approved. His advice is pointed — focus on enabling AI for educators before enabling it for students, prioritize tools built specifically for K-12 over consumer products retrofitted for classrooms, and establish clear data minimization standards that apply whether or not a vendor calls itself an AI company.

“We’re pretty quickly moving from having AI companies to just companies that are using AI,” Carlson said. “We used to have internet companies. Everybody has a website now. We can’t assume that just because somebody hasn’t told you they’re using AI that they’re not.”

For district leaders feeling overwhelmed, Carlson’s closing message was direct: take a breath, communicate openly with families and staff before a crisis forces the conversation, and treat AI governance as an ongoing dialogue rather than a policy set once and forgotten.

“The best thing you can do with fear is try to understand where it’s coming from,” he said. “And see how you can get over it one step at a time.”

Recent data from the 2024–25 school year continue to illustrate the persistence of academic achievement gaps for K-12 students. In response, headlines have blamed "screen time" and the purported detrimental effects of technology for much of this decline. From EdWeek to the New York Times, articles have presented a gross oversimplification; the story is more complicated.

Digital tools and programs present schools and systems with more durable, sustainable strategies to accelerate learning. During the 2024–25 school year, FullScale (formerly The Learning Accelerator) funded and evaluated 10 innovations through the Accelerating Adoption Network — six edtech tools, three programs, and one microschool model — each designed to scale promising, technology-enabled, evidence-based solutions.

Through this initiative, we learned about the complexities that emerge when evidence-based tools meet reality at scale.

3 Critical Lessons About Scale

The Accelerating Adoption Network sought to evaluate how these innovations scaled in terms of breadth, depth, and durability, as well as the impact on student learning, using a combination of teacher surveys, leader focus groups, and student outcome data (e.g., standardized assessments or course grades).

While the networks successfully scaled their breadth — expanding across 33 states, 130 sites, and impacting more than 3 million students — the depth and consistency of implementation varied significantly both across and within schools. Consequently, though student outcomes showed improvement over the course of the school year, the gains were not statistically significant. Regardless, most educators reported durable changes to instruction, with 62% reporting that the innovation positively influenced their instructional practices and 82% indicating that they wanted the work to continue.

The networks scaled, but the more interesting question is how. Three core learnings from the evaluation point to barriers that successful scaling need to overcome:

1. Implementation incoherence: The timing of the rollout, competing interventions, infrastructure challenges, or lack of consistency between the innovation and school or district priorities led to variation in implementation.
2. System conditions: Teachers largely found the innovations beneficial and easy to use, but system conditions such as from insufficient devices and bandwidth to competing tools and unclear expectations influenced implementation.
3. Research and evaluation infrastructure: Data-sharing agreements and institutional review processes, combined with rigid study designs, prevented agile and responsive decision-making, and limited our ability to gather interim data or revise research questions based on reality.

Despite current narratives about “screen time” and edtech efficacy, the Accelerating Adoption Network produced evidence of successful scaling. The included innovations reached more students, demonstrated growth on academic outcomes, and led to teachers making durable instructional changes, but this evidence is incomplete.

Evidence-Based Is Necessary, But Not Sufficient

Successful scaling depends on more than just having a high-quality, evidence-based tool. It requires a set of system conditions to be in place.

In our work with the Accelerating Adoption Network, we identified five interrelated elements that enable scaling. These cut across contexts and roles, offering actionable guidance for funders, policy-makers, and system-level decision makers.

• Strategic Alignment Before Adoption: Decision-making and conversations about edtech should begin with instructional strategy, not procurement. Clearly communicate how an innovation advances priority goals, what it replaces, and what it deprioritizes.
• Protected Time and Instructional Coherence: Make explicit decisions about when, where, and for whom an innovation should be implemented, not just used, and how it connects to curriculum, pacing, and instructional goals.
• Implementation Capacity: Build implementation capacity deliberately at multiple levels, ensuring educators have access to timely coaching, technical assistance, and leadership support within sites, while establishing routines that surface implementation patterns across sites.
• Enabling Infrastructure and Operational Readiness: Before scaling, ensure schools have reliable access to devices and connectivity as well as technical support.
• Continuous Improvement and Learning: Use formative data such as usage patterns, educator feedback, and interim student indicators to guide adjustments throughout implementation rather than waiting for end-of-year results.

Scale requires conditions that go beyond individual tools to include broader system readiness. As funders, policymakers, and leaders take an ever more critical look at the efficacy of edtech, the focus should include both selecting strong innovations and creating the conditions that allow educators and systems to learn, adapt, and improve over time so that the field can move beyond isolated successes and toward durable, equitable learning for more students. To do so, before adopting or scaling a new tool, it is critical to first ask these three questions:

• How does implementation of this tool fit coherently into our context?
• Do the necessary system conditions exist to ensure successful implementation?
• What research and evaluation needs to occur to support continuous improvement and to determine whether the tool achieves its intended outcomes?

Back in 2010, my school district embarked on the first-of-its-kind (in Texas at least) one-to-one device roll-out. The device du jour at the time was the Apple iPad. While billed as a consumer device, its price point (back then 16GB went for $499) and ease of use made it an intriguing option for education. Sure, there were no real ways to manage it back then (I don’t think the phrase MDM had even been invented yet), but the increased access to our students was a major bonus as we stepped deeper into the 21st century.

The next year, Google decided to enter the market and introduced its own education-inspired device, the Chromebook. These devices were a little more robust than the previously attempted cheap laptop market (anyone remember those little “netbooks”?). While those initial models didn’t offer the touch-screen benefit of an iPad, they did have a better price point (around $299) and could be managed through the Google Admin Suite.

Where Apple tried to distance itself from comparisons, spouting its design and creativity-first belief, it was inevitable there would be a standoff. “Creativity is nice and all, but what about state testing?!” the people would shout. “What about a keyboard!?” the masses would cry. Add to that the nearly $200 in savings and the ability to manage, and it's no wonder why the iPad would lose out to its keyboard cousin. According to Ed Week’s Market Brief report, the Chromebook overtook the iPad in terms of preferred educational student device sometime in 2014.

While myself and many other tech leaders waited for Apple’s response, the ChromeOS market continued to dominate, fueled even more by a global pandemic and quick access to funds (ESSER) for devices.

“The One” Arrives

As of 2025, ChromeOS currently dominates the global education market with a 60% adoption rate. Apple’s response? It lowered the price of the iPad, but schools still needed third-party MDM systems to manage all the intricacies of these devices.

Flash forward to this year. Now fully 17 years since the debut of the iPad, Apple has re-entered the education market with its 13” Macbook named . . . Neo. Apparently this isn’t a nod to the mercurial Keanu Reeves character from The Matrix, but rather to convey a sense of “fun, friendly, and fresh.” According to Meriam-Webster, “neo” is a prefix defined as new, recent, or different.

Whatever the reason, the announcement on March 4, 2026, sent shockwaves through the education market. Its price for education buyers? $499 – the same as those first iPad2s I bought way back when. So after all these years, Apple is back.

The question isn’t whether the Neo is a good device, but if the conditions that doomed the iPad’s educational takeover have changed enough for Apple to finally win.

Unlike 2010, Apple enters back into a market that is highly volatile on multiple fronts. Education funding is in disarray and we are in the midst of “the Great Edtech Backlash” in which families are insisting that schools crack down on screen time. Some, such as LAUSD, are complying with their own guidelines, but the truth is, the device market in education is ever-fragile at the moment. Heck, even the new villain in Toy Story 5 is an educational tablet device called a Lilypad.

It’s at this moment when Apple decided to reengage with the education market. While timing isn’t great, some schools are already starting to put in orders for Neos for their students. Kansas City Public Schools recently purchased more than 4,500 of the budget-friendly Macbooks and now proudly claim to be an “all-Apple district.”

While KCPS have placed their flag firmly in the ground with the Neo, other schools are looking at how to stretch their limited funds. Some have said that replacements are starting to run low, a combination of less funds and greater supply chain issues due to global tariffs and trade disputes. Unlike previous Chromebook refresh cycles, the tariff-related pricing volatility and procurement uncertainty are forcing technology leaders to place orders earlier or get more creative around their deployment schedules and scope.

Helping To Stretch Dollars?

We can sometimes be a victim of the latest new, shiny object in education, but given the current landscape I mentioned above and our previous forays into student device deployments, it's wise for technology leaders to take a more cautious approach this time around. Procurement of the Neo doesn’t seem to be an issue yet, even though early demand has surpassed expected supply.

Apple also seems to be addressing the MDM issue. While they do have their own Apple School Manager platform, they also have partnered with Jamf to develop a more seamless approach to deploy, track, and maintain devices. They are also touting the longer shelf-life of their devices, which I have experienced first hand.

Typical Macbooks can last as long as 8 years, which dwarfs the 3-5 years many Chromebooks typically last (dependent on the model type). While modern Chromebooks can now receive up to 10 years of ChromeOS updates, most school districts still budget for replacement after approximately 4-5 years because of physical wear and tear, battery degradation, and student use patterns. Will the Neo have the same issues? Not if it keeps with Apple’s previous track record.

In an era when educational funding is short, anything schools can do to stretch dollars may be enough to put Neo on top. One of the hidden benefits of our iPad one-to-one program was that after we had used them for 4-5 years, we could still sell them at a decent rate to recoup some of our costs. Based on the historical performance of MacBooks and other Apple hardware in secondary markets, there’s no reason to believe the Neo will be much different.

The true cost of a device isn’t necessarily what you pay on day one; it’s what the device costs after accounting for its value at the end of its lifecycle. If your $350 Chromebook is worth almost nothing in four years but your $499 Neo can be sold for $200, which device actually costs the district less?

Gearing Up For The Head-To-Head Battle

The aforementioned “Total Cost of Ownership” is a conversation schools should be having anyway, but one that Apple feels it will win out on in the long run. That and the same argument it made during the launch of the iPad.

For the everyday student tasks, both devices do pretty well. Whether it’s accessing the Learning Management System (LMS) or writing and researching online, both devices handle that without much difference. Chromebooks excel at using Google’s suite of tools (not a shock there), but struggle when you start getting more involved in creative pursuits. Activities such as video editing, podcast production, music creation, graphic design, and software development are areas in which the Neo leaves the Chromebook in the dust. And . . . it can handle state testing! (Sarcastic cheers of rejoice.)

Of course, none of this matters if districts can’t absorb the additional upfront cost. A superintendent facing budget cuts may have a hard time convincing a school board to spend $499 today in order to save money four or five years from now. Even with the Total Cost of Ownership argument.

On paper, both devices make compelling arguments. The Chromebook wins on familiarity, price, and ease of management. The Neo counters with longevity, creativity, resale value, and Apple’s growing AI ambitions.

But spec sheets don’t tell the whole story.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to put both devices through the kinds of tasks students actually perform every day. Writing, research, video creation, coding, offline work, state testing, battery life, and yes–the inevitable moment when a student manages to have 47 browser tabs open at once. Since I already mentioned The Matrix, I would be remiss if I didn’t put both devices through the paces with AI-empowered functionality, too.

In some ways, the bigger question isn’t which device is better, but which one makes more sense for schools to infinity and beyond (yes, another Toy Story reference). And after spending the last fifteen years watching Apple and Google trade punches in the education market, I’m not entirely sure I know the answer yet.

We’ll find out together.

Watch above or listen/download below.

About two-thirds of U.S. districts and states have some form of AI policy in place. The other third is, as Sasha Luks-Morgan puts it, the wild west. And even many of the policies that do exist, she argues, aren't doing what they're supposed to do.

Luks-Morgan is a policy analyst at SchoolAI, a K-12 AI platform they say is built around teacher visibility and student engagement, and she spends her days meeting with districts across the country helping them figure all this out.

In this conversation with Tech & Learning, she offers a clear-eyed framework for where AI policy in schools stands — and what it's going to take to move it forward.

Her three-pillar framework for any district starting from scratch: understand how your students and teachers are actually using AI right now; lock down student data privacy and personally identifiable information; and address academic integrity in a way that keeps students in the driver's seat of their own learning rather than offloading cognition to a machine.

"Systems only move as fast as the humans in them," she says. "That's the starting point."

She also draws a sharp distinction between two policy philosophies that often get conflated. Acceptable use policies, she says, are essentially lists of prohibitions. Responsible use policies are something different — these model good behavior, explain the reasoning behind expectations, and treat students as participants in the process rather than subjects of it.

On the vendor side, she is equally direct: the edtech industry has not taken enough responsibility for making tools work in ways that support good policy. SchoolAI's response is a free policy-writing service — available to any district, partner or not — in which a member of the team will sit with administrators, hear their concerns, and draft or revise a policy document they can take to legal counsel and implement.

"Bad policy is worse than no policy," she says. "We really want to see districts succeeding."

She also addresses district scale: the fundamentals — student privacy, ethical use, data governance — apply universally, from a 108-student K-8 district in the Mid-Atlantic to New York City Public Schools. What changes is implementation, committee structure, and who carries the weight. In small districts, that often means one superintendent or tech director holding the entire AI portfolio alone.

Her advice for the path forward: review your policy annually, build teacher expertise so your bench runs deep, and accept that the technology will always outpace the paperwork. The goal isn't to catch up but to stay close enough to matter.

Since AI came onto the scene, a lot has changed with it while some recurring themes have sustained. AI continues to act as a broad tool that provides remarkably imperfect productivity.

While significant cautions abound assuming its reliability, understanding AI’s usefulness while recognizing its limits makes my day as a principal more efficient AND effective. This brought me to consider what a typical day looks like for me using AI tools to offload administrivia.

With so many options, I wanted to break it down for your use. I don’t expect to use all these tools everyday, but try a few and walk away liberated, with more time and availability for students, staff, and parents. That’s a win for everyone.

I start my day thinking about rising concerns by my faculty over religious opt outs, based on a Supreme Court decision this fall. They were receiving template emails people find online (hilarious when they forget to replace ‘student name’ with their child’s name). My nervous teachers want guidance, so I use AI to clearly and comfortably provide them with direction:

DOE Memo Converted To Slides (Time spent: 8 minutes)

I google my state's DOE guidance on handling parental opt outs and find a state memo that is a great antidote for insomnia. It is the standard boring, lengthy legalease. I add the link to Gemini and select canvas mode.

What I like is it follows my prompt to be pleasant and supportive. The slide deck gets me “mostly there,” my common phrase for AI giving me a terrific start that I edit, ensuring my voice is present. I then export the slides and edit as needed.

This process takes me under 10 minutes, during which I transform a dry, boring memo into a meaningful presentation for my faculty. This would have taken about an hour analog-style, so I get back 50+ minutes to be present for my school community!

Text-To-Email Blast To Parents (Time spent: 5 minutes)

Principals are mediums of communication, and often, are expected to funnel information into a digestible explanation, even when that information is shared in fragmented bursts, as it typically is.

Next on my list is a field day announcement. I need to communicate to ensure everyone is prepared for our big day of events. My physical education teacher sends me this text (at right).

It is timely, but to stop and rewrite it in a cohesive format will take time I often don’t have during a busy day. (Time that is better spent outside my office as improvement doesn’t happen there but in classrooms.)

I copy and paste the phys ed teacher’s text with a simple prompt: Convert this into a message for parents of our school, Central elementary for our field day.

The output is thorough, better than I expect, done in about a quarter the time it would normally take. Better, to get all this into a 140-character text message, I prompt from the output, “140 characters” and voila! This way, parents get an email and a text, increasing the likelihood they see it. All from a single text message!

Letter Of Recommendation (Time spent: 7 minutes)

I can write fast but when I get asked to write letters of recommendation, these all happen within weeks of each other. Drafting a good letter with fidelity takes time. This is the next task on my list.

For this, I have the requester send me their resume, copy it into my chat, and prompt the AI to write a letter of recommendation based on the information–2 minutes!

The other 5 minutes is me editing, revising, removing those weird AI words, and most importantly, adding a sentence or two about something I know personally regarding the candidate. What took a half hour now takes a quarter of the time, and the quality is sound.

Email Summary and Reply (Time spent: 5-10 minutes)

Every principal gets the dreaded email that is seven pages long, often emotional and hard to decipher. It is nearing lunch time and I need to get through it fast!

Typically, I prompt the AI to summarize the email, and then reply in a tone that is kind but firm, or whatever is necessary. This is a big time saver! I am not glued to my laptop, reading and rereading run-on sentences to find the essence of a message buried deep. AI does a great job of siphoning this off and producing a quality reply. Onward!

Sensitive Guidance (Time spent: 5 minutes)

Speaking of emotional challenges, every principal has gotten a charged call or email from a parent upset that a school official called the Division of Child Welfare. This is my next task, after lunch.

While school personnel are compelled by strict legal guidelines, parents see it as a personal attack on their parenting. Understandable. I didn’t get this one right the first time, and have to add my state specifics, as well as the tone: sensitive, understanding, pragmatic, etc.

What is produced is excellent. I am provided references to the legal obligation, integrated with an ideal tone. I edit it, print it, and show the parent. Its well-organized format helps me work through the document, and the parent expresses acknowledgement of my understanding.

Picture Of Calendar Events Added To My Calendar (Time spent: 3 minutes)

My day has to have some fun mixed in, right? It’s mid afternoon and I think of that dentist post card for my next visit that I always lose.

I just take a picture and prompt Gemini to add it to my google calendar. This works with Copilot users, too. Even better, I can use it with an email with a series of meetings or events, or my Penn State football schedule from this ugly screen capture–and instantly, I have 12 events (games) added. That’s fast and reliable!

NotebookLM for navigating lengthy documents (Time spent: 3 minutes)

My day is almost over and I spent most of it out of my office because of the AI tricks above. Next, I decide to check on a contract question.

I head over to Google’s NotebookLM, into which I upload a pdf of the teacher contract, and ask how many minutes of pupil contact time a teacher can have. Boom, 287 minutes with the link to the direct reference!

This is priceless for the administrator who often gets questions and different interpretations of contract language. Time-saver, and response can be within the spirit of contracts.

A few more AI time-savers that I have embraced, but not all on the same day, include PD planning, form feedback, and evaluation feedback referencing our evaluation model. I estimate a few hours saved daily–not minutes–and my school wins when I’m present!

Note: Much of the information I use with AI may contain names or other personal data, so I am sure to remove any of that before prompting.

We’ve all been here. A speaker steps to the front of the room at a conference, workshop, school event, or leadership meeting, and everything stops. The screen is dark. The audio does not work. No one knows the WiFi password. Someone calls for “the tech person.” The device goes to sleep. The audience waits while everyone acts as if this is just part of the program.

It should not be.

Every event space, from classroom to boardroom, should have a dedicated presentation station with a device that belongs to the room. Not the speaker. Not the organizer. Not whoever remembered to bring the right adapter.

The presentation station should be part of the space, the same way the projector, screen, microphone, lights, and chairs are part of the space. When people walk into a room to learn, present, or lead, the basic setup should already work.

The BYOD Presenter Model Is Broken

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) presenter model turns every speaker transition into a new technical gamble with a different laptop, adapter, audio setting, sleep setting, software update, notification popping up at exactly the wrong time, etc.

That is not a presenter problem, but a room design problem.

A well-run event space should not depend on every speaker plugging in, pairing, restarting, authenticating, and hoping for the best. The better model is simple: one room device, many speakers. Get the device working before the event starts, keep it working throughout the program, and stop making every presenter start from scratch.

That means the host provides a presentation station that is already connected, tested, and ready. The WiFi, browser, display, audio, and shared materials should be checked before anyone is standing in front of the room. The device should not go to sleep mid-session or require a password no one in the room knows.

As I shared in Presentation Checklist: 5 Ways to Prepare for Presentations, presenters have preparation to do, but the device setup belongs to the host. The presenter should be focused on the message, not on troubleshooting the room.

Put The Materials In The Cloud, Not Someone’s Laptop

Speakers should submit materials ahead of time and access these through a shared agenda with a short, easy-to-type link. The room device opens the agenda, each speaker clicks their own materials, and the event moves on.

I have been writing about digital agendas for years. In Anatomy of a Killer Agenda and 7 Benefits to Ditching the Paper at Meetings + Events with a Great Agenda, I explain how a strong agenda keeps links, materials, and next steps in one place. The same logic applies here. Put the work in the agenda, and put the agenda on the room device.

This is not about being fancy but reducing failure points. If the only copy of a presentation is trapped on one speaker’s personal laptop, the event is more fragile than it needs to be. If that laptop will not connect, loses power, needs an update, or has the wrong setting, the whole room pays the price.

Access Matters, Too!

A shared agenda also makes the event more accessible. Participants may need to open slides on their own devices, use screen readers, translate text, enlarge content, follow links, or review materials later. That does not happen easily when the content lives only on one presenter’s machine.

In Checklist for Accessible Teaching & Presenting, I explain why digital materials, microphones, links, and accessible design matter. A presentation station does not solve every accessibility issue, but it removes one unnecessary barrier: the idea that access depends on whatever device the speaker brought.

A QR code can help, but it should not be the only way. As I wrote in QR Codes in Education: Use with Care, Not Just Because They’re There, QR codes are useful when they reduce friction. They become a problem when they create one more barrier. Use the QR code, but also provide a short link for anyone who cannot or does not want to use a phone camera.

The goal is not to look high-tech; it is to make access simple.

What Every Presentation Station Should Include

A strong presentation station should have:

• A dedicated room device connected to the display and audio
• Stable internet already connected
• No unknown password barriers
• Settings adjusted so the device does not go to sleep during the event
• Easy access to the agenda and all presentation materials in the cloud
• A browser ready for commonly used platforms such as Google Slides, PowerPoint online, Canva, YouTube, and shared documents
• Sound, camera, microphone, and screen sharing tested in advance
• Accessibility features available, including captions when possible
• A backup plan that does not require switching to random personal devices
• A designated person responsible for checking the setup before participants enter the room

Use this checklist as the standard operating protocol for successful presentations.

The Bottom Line

A presentation station should belong to the space, not the speaker.

When the room is ready, presenters can focus on their ideas, participants can focus on learning, and hosts can run events that feel smooth, professional, and welcoming. The fix is not complicated: provide a reliable room device, stable internet, accessible cloud-based materials, and settings that support the event instead of interrupting it.

Get the room ready. Put the presentation station in place. Make the materials easy to access. Then let the speaker do what they came to do: connect with the audience and deliver a message worth hearing.

“We have been on this planet for a very long time and we've evolved,” says Kimberly Zajac, a speech language pathologist at Norton Public Schools in Mansfield, Massachusetts. “Society changes with time. Communication has always been a basic human right. Too often we put the onus of the work onto the wrong people to be able to access, engage, and be part of the community and what's happening in this world.”

Zajac aims to end this burden by smoothing the road for all students using technology and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. She has developed a replicable model for integrating Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) as an inclusive practice, providing comprehensive professional development and embedded coaching, ensuring that all educators—not just special education staff—are equipped to support students with complex communication needs. This dismantles systemic barriers, creating a learning environment in which students who have been historically marginalized are given the tools to thrive academically and socially.

Zajac, who was recently recognized with a Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award for this and other efforts, shares her “Guide to Preparing for Title II Accessibility Requirements” as well as tips for those interested in creating the best program possible.

An Evolution in Education

“The work I do around accessibility and inclusion and communication in tandem with policy that we've gotten from the DOJ with the ADA Title II and the WCAG guidelines really elevates this idea that we need to take a long, hard look at what we're doing and how we're doing it,” Zajac says. “We need to redesign that to be more accessible and eliminate the barriers in order to evolve as a human race.”

As communication continues to evolve alongside technology, Zajac suggests it was “a ripe time” to learn about the new developments and new ways to support students with their alternative and augmentative communication needs, and to fill in any gaps. Collaborating with district leadership, Zajac and her team did a survey and came up with a five-year plan to build capacity and elevate access and inclusion through communication from pre-K to 12 plus.

“We were able to articulate and apply to grants on a local level, which were well received,” Zajac says. “We received a significant amount of funding locally and at the state level to not only purchase hardware and software, but also to invite professional development and coaching, which is really the glue to helping things turn into actions and experiences for our students and their families.”

This effort brought positive results for everyone.

“The stewards along that path — the teachers, the stakeholders, the parents — are all in it together to bring our learners into the future and make sure their full capacity is realized,” Zajac says. “The point is that it takes a village. The stakeholders are far, wide and vast — they bring valuable individual-lived experience to the table that creates connection and benefits the learners we serve.”

5 Reasons Digital Accessibility Is Important Beyond Compliance

• One in Five People Have a Disability - Actions help more than you think.
• Legal Risks - ADA complaints, costly investigations, and lawsuits with private right of action.
• Educational Barriers - Digital inaccessibility means students with disabilities cannot access the same education.
• Reputational Damage - Non-compliance signals that equity is not a true district priority.
• Universal Design Benefits All Learners - Accessible design principles — captions, clear contrast, keyboard navigation — improve the learning experience for every student, not just those with disabilities.

How Implementation Looks in the Classroom

Zajac hasn’t reached the end of her five-year plan and is realizing it to be just the tip of the iceberg.

“We've experienced a wonderful transformation,” she says. “We have seen increased use of alternative and augmentative communication processes, systems, devices, strategies and assets within a great number of classrooms in our target range of pre-K to 12. It's making significant impact in the way that students are able to be engaged in and included in all aspects of their day.”

Zajac is seeing improvements in academics as well as in social-specific areas, ranging from circle time to snack time, lunch time extending into extracurriculars. Increasing inclusivity into these social-centered elements of a school day are critical to giving all students a sense of belonging.

“I just can't say how important it is that we inspire educators and families and stakeholders at scale to think about learners from the margins as we develop our systems and policies,” she says. “It's a human process to have blind spots. It's impossible not to have them, but that's where the stakeholders come in. Lived experience can inform who might have accidentally been excluded. You can then move forward with policies and strategic system approaches that do honor all the voices that should be represented.”

This has led to more participation from students, who are more eager to contribute to the conversation. Students who do not face communication issues are also curious and interested about how the technology works.

For example, Zajac says, “I was in a group this morning that included one of my non-speaking students who uses an iPad to support the expressive communication element of his participation. Every single student involved in the activity was choosing to utilize the iPad in addition to their verbal communication. Each time a student reached for the iPad, the non-speaking student’s smile grew bigger.”

The 5-Step Compliance Plan

• The Audit Comprehensive review of all digital properties to understand scope.
• The Roadmap Timeline to bridge gaps; prioritize high-leverage systems first.
• Procurement Reform Update RFPs to include accessibility requirements for all vendors.
• Staff Training Build internal capacity so accessible content is created from day one.
• Documentation Record all actions; publish a public accessibility statement online.

Zajac feels one of the most important things we need to establish for students in schools today is that when they arrive, they feel like they belong there—that they are seen, that they are heard, and that there are more things in common among their classmates than there are differences.

“We've known about UDL in the past, but there hasn't been this call to action for the tools to actually have features that make it possible for teachers to design, deliver, and execute the end goal with the student,” Zajac says, adding there's nothing more exciting than seeing it coming together.

“Today, my student— his face just lit up when other students were choosing to use the iPad,” Zajac says. “It hit me, ‘Oh my goodness, he feels so comfortable here. He's letting his emotions out.’ That's that ‘sense of belonging’ indicator. There is no finish line. You just have to commit to that dynamic ongoing process. But we're doing things right when students can let their guard down and be who they are in the space.”

Compliance, Whose Responsibility Is it? Know Your Role

• IT & Technology System configuration, assistive tech support, platform audits.
• Curriculum & Instruction Accessible lesson plans, screen-reader-friendly materials.
• Procurement Vetting vendors for WCAG compliance before purchase.
• Special & General Ed Aligning classroom tools with individual student needs.
• Leadership Steering the cross-functional team; accountability to the board.
• Families & Community Providing feedback on real user experience.

Tools They Use

• Google Gemini
• Glint by NerChat
• Lightspeed
• Everyway
• Canva

Educational technology teams are often evaluated based on uptime, system reliability, ticket closure rates, and, of course, cybersecurity compliance. Those metrics matter. Schools and universities depend on secure, stable digital environments to support teaching, learning, and operations. Yet, many IT departments unintentionally overlook the most critical metric that directly shapes trust in technology services: customer experience and usability.

When faculty, staff, students, or families contact an IT help desk, they are not simply engaging with a technical system but interacting with people. They almost certainly have a problem and often feel frustrated or rushed for time because they need a piece of technology for a meeting or a class. The tone, responsiveness, empathy, and professionalism displayed during those interactions often determine whether users see the IT department as a collaborative partner or as a barrier to getting work done.

Technology support in education is ultimately a service profession. When I used to hire frontline IT staff, the customer service orientation was what I looked for, as technical skills can be taught. Developing customer service skills is much more difficult.

The Human Side of Technical Support

Educational institutions increasingly rely on technology for every operational and instructional function. Learning management and student information systems, classroom presentation tools, cloud storage, multifactor authentication, and digital assessment platforms have become foundational infrastructure.

At the same time, many educators and staff members are under significant pressure, so when systems fail or access becomes difficult, frustration escalates quickly. In those moments, customer service matters as much as technical expertise.

A help desk interaction may only last a few minutes, but it can influence a user’s perception of the entire institution. Small gestures of professionalism and courtesy make a measurable difference. For example, many institutions now require users to verify their identity through live video before account recovery or password reset procedures can occur.

Security concerns make these processes understandable and often necessary. However, if an IT staff member asks a user to turn on their camera and display identification, basic professionalism suggests the support staff member should activate their own video feed. The interaction should feel reciprocal and respectful.

Turning on a camera, introducing oneself, and explaining the process helps establish trust and transparency. Such actions are simple examples of customer-centered thinking.

Courtesy Is Not Optional

In many educational environments, IT departments unintentionally adopt cultures focused primarily on compliance and enforcement, rife with rigid policies, transactional processes, and impersonal communication. This can result in users avoiding support interactions, faculty members delaying the reporting of problems, students disengaging from required security processes, and staff members creating risky workarounds.

Effective IT support teams understand that professionalism includes patience, clarity, and empathy. Users do not always understand technical terminology, nor should they be expected to. An educator struggling with multifactor authentication during class preparation is not primarily concerned with the underlying architecture of identity management systems; they simply need to regain access quickly so they can teach.

Ultimately, support interactions should minimize stress rather than increase it.

Simple practices can significantly improve service quality:

• Introducing oneself to the customer.
• Explaining why a security procedure is necessary
• Using plain language rather than excessive technical jargon; however, don’t talk down to the user
• Providing realistic timelines for resolution
• Sending routine satisfaction surveys, as nothing is more frustrating than getting an email saying a ticket has been closed when the problem has not been resolved.
• Designing support procedures around user workflows rather than institutional convenience

Educational institutions often speak about relationship building in classrooms and student services. The same philosophy should apply to technology support.

Cybersecurity Must Support the Mission

Cybersecurity threats facing schools and universities are real. Ransomware attacks, phishing attempts, credential theft, and data breaches continue to affect educational institutions nationwide. IT leaders are correct to prioritize strong security controls.

However, institutions sometimes implement security practices that significantly impair usability without meaningfully improving protection. In 1755, Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

IT leaders need to consider this concept when tightening security to the point that it is difficult to use the system being protected. Balance becomes essential. As my favorite university registrar has been known to say, he builds systems that address the needs of 90% of the students and faculty. One of the reasons he is my favorite is that he understands there needs to be enough flexibility in systems to address the needs of the remaining 10%.

If security measures or any institutional processes become excessively burdensome, users predictably seek ways around them. Faculty members may store passwords insecurely. Staff may rely on unofficial tools. Students may disengage from institutional systems altogether. Ironically, overly rigid environments can create additional vulnerabilities.

Edtech exists to support learning, communication, research, and organizational effectiveness. Functionality cannot become secondary to process or systems. This requires IT leaders to ask difficult but important questions:

• Does this security process genuinely reduce risk?
• Is the burden on users proportional to the threat?
• Have we designed this procedure from the perspective of the end user?
• Are we building trust or creating frustration?
• Would reasonable people view this process as respectful and transparent?

Strong IT organizations understand that security and usability are not opposing concepts. Effective security should integrate as seamlessly as possible into the user experience.

Leadership Sets the Tone

Leadership shapes customer service cultures; they do not emerge accidentally. If institutional leaders reward only ticket closure counts and compliance metrics, staff members naturally focus on speed and enforcement. If leaders instead emphasize professionalism, communication quality, and relationship building alongside technical competence, they support cultural change.

IT leaders should regularly review support practices through the lens of user experience. Mystery shopper exercises, satisfaction surveys, and direct feedback sessions with faculty and students can provide valuable insights into how support interactions are actually perceived.

Technical expertise alone does not automatically produce strong customer service skills. Help desk professionals should receive training in communication, conflict management, accessibility, and customer interaction strategies just as they receive technical training. In educational settings, especially, technology teams should remember that every interaction contributes to institutional culture. At the end of the day, users rarely remember the specific technical details of a support ticket but how they were treated.

As noted earlier, Benjamin Franklin famously warned against trading essential freedom for temporary security. The digital world presents a similar challenge. Educational institutions must protect systems and data while still preserving accessibility, usability, transparency, and trust. Technology support should help people accomplish their work, not create unnecessary obstacles to it.

Watch above or listen/download below.

More than 550 students from the United States, Estonia, Taiwan, and Thailand descended on the University of Wisconsin-Madison last month for the 2026 World KidWind Challenge — and for KidWind founder Michael Arquin, the event was proof of something he’s believed since 2009: give kids a wind turbine to build and they will find a way to get there.

“Despite my best attempts to kill it, it keeps going,” Arquin said with a laugh during this recent Tech & Learning podcast conversation.

The 2026 World KidWind Challenge drew 125 teams of 4th–12th graders competing across wind turbine and solar home design categories. Teams were scored on four dimensions: turbine or solar home performance, a presentation before a panel of judges, an “Instant Challenge” requiring on-the-spot problem solving, and a timed Knowledge Test on clean energy concepts.

The structure is deliberate, Arquin says, because clean energy careers are not only for engineers. “There are lots of careers in the energy space that are non-STEM related,” he says. “We’re trying to tell kids: yeah, you might like the engineering side, but you might like the design part, or the communication side.”

For Morgan Berkgren, a physics teacher from Oakley, Kansas, that message landed years ago. Berkgren, who attended graduate school for biology before being handed a physics class in a small Western Kansas district, discovered KidWind around 2018 and built what became one of the program’s most celebrated multi-team programs.

This year she brought four teams to Madison — one middle school squad, the Twisted Sisters, and three high school teams, Power Breeze, Spirit Winds, and Sea Breeze — all competing in the open home-built generator division for the first time. “I looked at them and I’m like, 'Dude, I went to school for biology,'” Berkgren says. “And they’re like, 'Yeah, Ms. Berkgren, but we want to go to the next level.'”

Teachers and coaches interested in bringing KidWind into their classrooms can get started at kidwind.org. KidWind offers funded virtual workshops and will ship a starter kit directly to educators. Local and regional challenges run throughout the school year, with top teams qualifying for the World KidWind Challenge each spring.

Arquin’s advice for anyone on the fence: “Just start. You’re going to learn a lot along the way — and so will your students.”

For Lauren Harwood, becoming Director of Instructional Technology and Operations at

Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District in Massachusetts has truly been a homecoming.

“My dad was a science teacher here for 40 years, and in the summer while my mom was at work, I was always with him when he'd come in,” Harwood says. “So, I would be roller skating in these hallways in the summer! It's just such a part of my life.”

And it even continues to be, as in addition to supporting the district she grew up in, her oldest daughter teaches science in the classroom across the hall from where her dad's classroom was.

Still, returning had its bumpy moments. At Harwood’s previous position, she had been a “one-man band” tech director at an agricultural school, which meant she was constantly on call and responsible for resolving any and all issues. Changing that mindset has been a work in progress.

“One of the hardest parts for me in the transition was not jumping up to fix everything because I now have people to do that,” she says, adding that the rural district of 2,600 students poses a mixed bag of new challenges, from coordinating route changes with bus companies and learning about HVAC systems. “I now get to learn something new every day and I enjoy that.”

Harwood, recently recognized by Tech & Learning with an Innovative Leader Award, has focused her energy on three primary areas: creating an AI strategy for the district, expanding its CTE programs, and boosting security and communication.

AI Strategy

Under Harwood’s leadership, DR (as the district is known) has taken a stance against immediately blocking AI sites, choosing instead to focus on teaching students and staff how to use AI responsibly.

“We need to make sure that we're teaching responsible use and that we're teaching respect for it,” she says. “Just because you ask ChatGPT a question, you need critical thinking skills when you look at the response. You still need to know how to find the answers. You can't just assume it can do your work for you.”

Like many districts, vetting and finding the right AI tools and platforms also continues to be a challenge.

“That's what drives us when we're looking at tools, you know, ‘How good is it?’ ‘How can we learn to use it in a mindful way?’” Harwood says. “Being mindful of how we're using it is probably the biggest key. Keeping in mind that potentially everything that it spits out is incorrect. I do think there's a lot of misunderstanding around that. Like, people think, ‘Oh, this is what AI told me, so this must be right.’ And it's not always.”

That includes being constantly vigilant and aware as AI continues to be added to tools that have been already vetted, which requires making sure that security and data privacy is always part of district-wide education efforts.

AI is also a focus during the district’s “DReam Seminars,” PD events featuring teacher-led sessions on using tools such as Brisk AI and Google Gemini, as well as external training on appropriate tool use.

CTE Program Expansion

Harwood is also helping to spearhead expansion of the district’s recently reimagined career and technical education (CTE) program, which is going to include three new career tracks: medical assisting, criminal justice, and culinary arts.

“When our freshmen go through exploratory, they do that for the first half of the year. They try all the different programs and then if they find one that they would like to continue in, they do so,” says Harwood. “This year, 100% of the kids that went through exploratory stayed in a program, so the retention is growing.”

Harwood has also been involved with upgrading all the support tech. For example, the engineering track recently received new computers, monitors, 3D printers, and projectors, which the engineering students used to design the spaces for the new tracks, a hands-on exercise that included real-world implications.

“We had a blizzard and they lost a week of school and they came back in and they said to the engineering teacher, ‘Are we going to get an extension on our deadline?’ And she said, ‘No, this is real. We need these plans,’” says Harwood. “And they did them and they presented them and they were so creative!”

Harwood was involved in the district’s recent purchase of VR headsets for the medical assisting track, which students use to learn how to draw blood.

“The software requires them to go through all of the steps–washing your hands, putting on your gloves,” says Harwood. “It’s not real, but it's also not like just, ‘Oh, I'm looking at it in a textbook, I'm watching a video.’ They're practicing it even though it's virtual. And it's pretty powerful.”

Security and Communication

Like all school districts, cybersecurity remains a priority for DR and Harwood. The district employs various security measures, including multifactor authentication, but understands that no system is foolproof.

“We've all learned that, sometimes the hard way,” says Harwood, who adds that she is constantly discussing potential issues with teachers and staff. “We do provide PD on scams as they come up, but a lot of times if I see a new phishing scam that's going around, something I know people are going to fall for because if it's almost catching me, it's definitely catching others. So I'll send out an email and illustrate what's happening.”

In addition to stressing constant vigilance and educating staff on how to look for warning signs, such as incorrect email addresses in scams, and noting that even large companies such as Cloudflare and Amazon Web Services can experience attacks, Harwood focuses on being engaging with her cybersecurity messaging. “I do try to do it with a little bit of humor like or or just make them a little more personable so people know when I send an email, maybe they want to read it or see what dumb things she's going to say now,” she laughs.

'Make The Most People Happy'

Ultimately, Harwood sees technology as a tool that should empower teachers and students. “It's not that we should be working toward supporting it,” she says. “It should be supporting us.”

She also emphasizes the need to be transparent with everyone as to the “why” behind any edtech or PD she implements.

“I get a lot more buy-in when I say, ‘This is why I would like you to do this, and when I am buying it or trying to do something with a new tool,’” she says.

For example, she cites the recent implementation of a communication platform. She created a committee of teachers and administrators from every school, vetted numerous tools, and then as a group decided on one. Consequently, those who participated in the process were able to go back to their colleagues and champion buy-in, which supported a successful implementation.

“You've always got resistance,” Harwood says. “And those people might come around or they might not. You can't please everybody. And I think in my career, I've finally had to learn that I can't make everybody happy, but I'll try to make the most people happy that I can.”

Tools They Use

• ParentSquare
• Apptegy/Thrillshare
• Google Education Suite
• Aspen SIS
• Open Architects
• Operations Hero
• Lexia
• ST Math
• Wonders
• Renaissance
• Brainpop
• Noodle Tools
• Edpuzzle
• Kahoot
• IXL
• CrisisGo
• Verkada

Education budgets are tightening, screen-time debates are intensifying, and AI has dominated every industry headline. How can today’s education companies break through the noise?

One word: relationships. As in humans talking to humans. And listening to humans. In a crowded marketplace, the vendors who survive and thrive are those who stop pitching and start partnering.

This theme is at the heart of Tech & Learning’s EdExec Summit, taking place in Chicago September 10-11. While the agenda will focus on the key components of developing a strategic plan–including sales, marketing, research, and compliance–what makes this event different is the opportunity for education company executives to have deep conversations with their buyers and create meaningful relationships.

To offer a sneak peek into these conversations, Tech & Learning has partnered with the Ed-Tech Leadership Collective to present an Industry Briefing that will explore how current market pressures are fundamentally reshaping how districts choose—and stay with—their vendors.

Event Details

• Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026
• Time: 2:00 PM ET
• Registration Link: Secure Your Virtual Seat Here

What You Will Learn

By attending this briefing, education executives will gain actionable insights on how to align their strategies with district realities:

• Understanding District Priorities: Discover how current district challenges directly shape their buying decisions and partnership expectations.
• The Relationship Pivot: Learn how to transition your sales approach from cold, transactional outreach to value-driven, relationship-focused engagement.
• Network Maximization: Strategies to leverage your current district successes to build organic exposure across peer networks.
• Pilot Programs with Purpose: How to structure pilots that deliver clear ROI and cultivate long-term partnerships rather than forcing a heavy, upfront investment.
• Flexible Commercial Models: Creative ways to think about pricing, packaging, and budget alignment in a tight economy.
• Proving Impact: Why vendors must demonstrate measurable, high-quality outcomes rather than superficial engagement metrics to retain district business.

Featured Speakers

Hear directly from the leaders who make the purchasing decisions:

• Joe Ayala | Director of Information Technology, Santa Clara Unified School District, CA
• Trina Reaves | Director of STEM and Innovation, Clayton County Schools, GA

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR NOW

Join us for this conversation on June 16 to learn how your company can become an indispensable district partner, and in Chicago on September 10-11 for the Tech & Learning’s EdExec Summit to meet one-on-one with buyers and put those relationship-building strategies into practice.

• Navigating the ESSER Cliff: Why Education Company Leaders are Heading to the 2026 EdExec Summit

It is graduation season, which also means it is time to remind busy school leaders and administrators about what families actually remember most. Families may appreciate the speeches, decorations, music, and venue, but what they truly care about is the moment their student walks across the stage and hears their name announced properly. That is what they record on their phones, celebrate with relatives, and fondly look back on years later.

Recently, an Arizona community college faced intense backlash after an AI-powered system reportedly malfunctioned during commencement and skipped several graduates while reading names. Too quickly, the conversation shifted toward blaming “AI system failure.”

No, I see this less as a technological issue and more as a failure in school leadership and planning. And candidly, if this critique sounds harsh, it is because this feels like such an avoidable and unforced leadership error. No one should have been asking AI to handle this responsibility in the first place.

The reason this failure resonated so strongly is because commencement is not simply an operational event, but a milestone centered on recognition, dignity, and belonging. Names carry culture, history, sacrifice, and identity, particularly for multilingual families, immigrant families, and first-generation graduates whose educational journeys often represent years of perseverance and hope.

Pronunciation is part of inclusion as names matter. Culturally responsive leadership includes taking the time to learn and say names correctly. That is why this responsibility should receive more care, not less.

Using AI to Support, Not Replace, People

Schools spend months preparing commencement ceremonies. Leaders rehearse speeches, coordinate seating charts, organize music and photography, and carefully plan countless operational details. Yet somehow in the example cited above, the reading of student names was treated as a task that could simply be handed off to automation. Even more troubling was the apparent absence of a meaningful backup plan.

Every experienced administrator understands that technology can fail, which is exactly why safeguards and human oversight should have been built into the process from the start. Graduation season is not the time to experiment with new AI systems in ways that directly impact students and families.

Ironically, AI could have supported this process in far more thoughtful ways without replacing people. Institutions could have used AI tools to:

• Help announcers practice difficult pronunciations
• Review student-submitted recordings of their names
• Identify names that may require additional preparation
• Support multilingual pronunciation coaching
• Give human announcers more confidence and accuracy before the ceremony

This is the kind of AI use education should embrace: technology that supports people rather than replaces them.

The best uses of AI in education should help educators and leaders become more thoughtful and prepared. Instead, too many organizations are using AI to distance themselves from the moments that deserve the greatest care. In the process, schools risk damaging traditions and violating the rightful expectations families bring to these ceremonies.

Ultimately, this was leadership failure rooted in poor judgment, poor planning, and the mistaken belief that a deeply personal moment could be outsourced to automation. Graduation did not fail because of technology, but because leaders failed to protect the experience students and families deserved.

Due to a technical issue, this podcast is only available in audio format, which you can "watch" above or listen to/download below.

Kris Hagel has a blunt take on the state of educational technology in his district — and probably yours. "Ed Tech Got Away From Us—and It's Kind of Our Fault" is the title of a talk he delivered at a conference the same afternoon he sat down with Tech & Learning. It's also a pretty accurate summary of where a lot of districts find themselves right now.

Hagel—a K-12 CIO with 25-plus years in education and CoSN Board Member— returned from this year’s convention energized by two conversations dominating the hallways: the screen time debate and the growing interest in districts using AI to build their own edtech tools. Both, he says, are wrapped in fear—from parents, from teachers, and from edtech vendors watching their clients start to build around them.

His prescription for the fear? Communication, transparency, and a hard look in the mirror. Hagel's Washington State district of nearly 10,000 students is in the middle of a deliberate pullback from what he describes as a pandemic-era "whatever works" posture toward technology—one that left his team with thousands of approved apps and no clear rationale for most of them.

"I look at our catalog of approved edtech apps and I'm like, 'oh my gosh, that is way too many things,'" he says.

Working alongside his chief academic officer, Hagel has begun re-establishing what purposeful technology use actually looks like in a classroom. He is also planning a district-wide transparency report, using AI to aggregate and synthesize usage data across grade levels and share it publicly with families.

On the parent communication front, Hagel credits ParentSquare as a key partner, citing its ability to route messages to different constituent groups in whatever format they prefer — app, text, phone, or push notification.

"You've got to get out there in front of it and tell the story," he says. "Once you tell those stories, parents get behind it."

He also draws a distinction that more district leaders would do well to internalize: consumer technology and education technology are not the same conversation. Conflating them, he argues, is a big part of how fear takes root — and how trust erodes. The average student, he noted, spends roughly 70 minutes per day on a device in school. Not six hours! Seventy minutes — mostly purposeful.

That number alone, he says, changes the tenor of almost every parent conversation.

In their new vision for public schools, Randi Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are right: students need more active, human, hands-on learning. They need projects, movement, collaboration, civic engagement, career-connected experiences, and chances to tackle real problems.

That is the strongest part of the AFT’s 10-point plan. The emphasis on career and technical education (CTE), experiential learning, and preparation for the future of work deserves attention. If we are serious about preparing students for modern careers, students need learning experiences that reflect the tools, practices, and expectations they will actually encounter beyond school.

The 10-point plan’s name, “Devices Down, Eyes Up, Hands-On,” may sound appealing, especially to adults exhausted by distraction, low-quality screen use, and Big Tech overreach. The problem is that it aims at the wrong target. Devices are not the enemy of active learning. Passive, drill-and-kill learning is.

A drill-and-kill worksheet on a Chromebook is still a worksheet. A lecture with a slide deck is still a lecture. A multiple-choice test on a screen is still a multiple-choice test. Technology did not create passive learning. In many cases, it exposed how much passive learning was already there and made it easier to scale.

Not every lesson needs a device. Rather than considering whether screens are up or down, the better questions are: what are students doing, why they are doing it, and whether the tool helps them learn, create, connect, solve, or demonstrate understanding.

The AFT plan includes several worthwhile ideas: stronger privacy protections, independent research, limits on manipulative technology, more hands-on learning, and adequate public school funding--all of which is important. But when the frame becomes “devices down,” schools risk confusing a management strategy with a learning strategy.

While the plan’s name is misguided, it is worth looking at each of the 10 points directly. Some parts are right, some need a better frame, and others would create the opposite of what our students and schools actually need.

What follows is where the plan gets it right, where it falls short, and why “devices down” is not the path to meaningful learning.

Point 1. No screens for pre-K through second grade

The AFT calls for no screens for students in pre-K through second grade unless there is a compelling reason, such as support for a student with special needs.

The instinct is understandable. Young children need play, language, movement, stories, relationships, manipulatives, exploration, and hands-on learning. They do not need to spend large parts of the day watching videos or completing low-level digital tasks.

But “no screens” goes too far. A child passively consuming content is not doing the same thing as a child using literacy tools to hear a story, build vocabulary, practice phonics, illustrate writing, translate a word, enlarge text, or share a recording with family. Those are different experiences and policy should treat them differently.

Accessibility should not be treated as an exception or afterthought. Some students read, write, listen, speak, translate, caption, enlarge text, dictate, or produce work more effectively with digital tools. That includes students with disabilities and multilingual learners, but it also includes students who may not have a formal accommodation. A policy that says “no screens unless you have special needs” can unintentionally stigmatize the students who benefit from access.

The standard should be higher than “screen or no screen.” Screens should be purposeful, adult-guided, developmentally appropriate, and never allowed to crowd out human interaction, play, movement, stories, and hands-on work. That is more demanding than a ban. It requires educators and policy makers to consider thoughtful choices.

Point 2. No student-facing AI in elementary schools

The AFT also calls for no student-facing artificial intelligence in elementary schools, supervised AI use for older students, and a ban on social companion chatbots for students under 16.

Most would agree that social companion chatbots do not belong in elementary schools. Schools should not help companies simulate relationships with children. But banning all student-facing AI in elementary school is too broad. There is a difference between a child forming an emotional attachment to a chatbot and a teacher using an AI-supported tool for translation, accessibility, vocabulary support, feedback, or differentiated practice under supervision.

There is also a difference between using AI to avoid thinking and using AI to strengthen thinking. Responsible AI use should start with the learning goal, not with the tool. Teachers need to help students understand when AI supports learning and when it gets in the way.

Young children should not be using AI freely. However, that does not mean they should learn nothing about AI or never encounter an AI-supported learning experience. They need age-appropriate digital and AI literacy: this includes what responsible and appropriate use is, how it should be questioned, and how to think critically before tools are placed in front of them without context.

Avoidance is not preparation. Guardrails, judgment, and age-appropriate instruction are.

Point 3. Redesign schooling around active and career-connected learning

This is where the AFT plan is strongest. Active learning, project-based learning, experiential learning, and career-connected learning should be at the center of the conversation.

If students are bored, distracted, and disengaged, the answer is not simply removing devices. The answer is to design learning worth paying attention to..

This matters most in CTE. Students preparing for healthcare, media, construction, design, engineering, business, computer science, culinary arts, public service, or green energy will not enter device-free workplaces. They will use digital tools to research, design, diagnose, communicate, manage projects, analyze data, create media, document work, collaborate with teams, and solve problems.

If we say we value career-connected learning while making “devices down” the default, we are sending mixed messages. Modern CTE requires meaningful technology use. Students should not just learn about careers, but practice with the tools of those careers in authentic ways.

Every lesson does not need a screen. But when a device helps students do the work more authentically, collaboratively, creatively, or effectively, putting it away makes no sense.

Point 4. Build literacy, numeracy, and civic engagement

Students need strong literacy, numeracy, and civic engagement. But “devices down” is not how students build those skills for the world in which they live.

Students need to read deeply. They also need tools that support vocabulary development, translation, accessibility, feedback, publishing, and access to high-interest texts at different reading levels. Learning to write in a world with AI, or using a strong digital reading platform well, is not the same as random screen time.

Students need number sense. They also need opportunities to explain their thinking, use data, create tutorials, and learn from one another. When students create a video explaining a math concept, they are not just answering a problem. They are making their thinking visible.

Students need civic knowledge. They also need to understand how algorithms, misinformation, surveillance, platforms, AI, and online communities shape public life. Digital citizenship is civic education now. It cannot be treated as an extra lesson after something goes wrong.

A device-down approach does not teach students how to evaluate information, protect their privacy, manage their digital footprint, communicate responsibly, or participate thoughtfully in online spaces. Schools should recognize students are in these spaces.

Point 5. Focus on well-being

The AFT is right to connect learning with student and family well-being. Students do not learn well when they feel unsafe, unsupported, isolated, anxious, sleep-deprived, or disconnected from school.

But well-being is not simply a screen-time issue. If students are struggling, schools should look at schedules, relationships, homework loads, sleep, movement, food insecurity, school climate, mental health support, family communication, social media, and the habits students are developing in digital spaces.

Digital well-being belongs in the curriculum, not just in the device policy. Students need to understand how notifications affect attention, how platforms are designed to keep them engaged, how to protect their privacy, how to communicate respectfully, when to disconnect, and when a face-to-face conversation, movement, rest, or quiet focus is the better choice.

A ban can make adults feel as if they acted meaningfully while leaving the deeper issues untouched. The goal should be healthier learning environments and healthier digital habits, not simply less device access or fewer minutes with screens.

Point 6. Protect academic freedom, intellectual property, and educator judgment

Educators should not be handed technology because a vendor made a good pitch. They also should not be blocked from safe and useful tools because policymakers are scared. Academic freedom matters. Teachers should have the professional judgment to decide how their students learn best. That includes the ability to choose when a digital tool supports learning, when it gets in the way, and when a mandated curriculum or platform is not serving their students well. A district-approved tool is not automatically good instruction. A required platform is not automatically the right fit for every learner, lesson, or classroom.

Educator judgment should be central, but teachers should not be left alone to evaluate every app, platform, privacy policy, accessibility claim, AI feature, and instructional promise. That is not sustainable, and it is not fair.

Schools need trusted public-facing reviews, privacy ratings, accessibility information, safety indicators, AI risk assessments, and quality signals that help educators make better decisions before tools reach students. Common Sense Media, ISTE+ASCD, Digital Promise, and similar organizations have all contributed pieces of this infrastructure, but the work is fragmented, unstable, and unevenly known.

Teacher judgment matters most when it is supported by reliable information and respected in practice. The answer is not to tell every educator to vet everything alone, but to build stronger, transparent systems that help educators understand risk, quality, accessibility, privacy, and instructional value, while still trusting teachers to make the final instructional call for the students in front of them.

Point 7. Establish a gold standard for AI safety and privacy

Schools should demand strong safety and privacy protections from AI providers. Companies that cannot meet those standards should not serve K-12 education.

Student data should not be the price of participation. Schools should know what data is collected, how it is used, who has access to it, how long it is retained, whether it is used to train models, and what happens when a tool is discontinued or sold.

This is where clear standards matter. Schools need transparent contracts, strong data rules, parent communication, accessibility review, bias testing, security review, educator training, and ongoing monitoring. They also need the will to say no to tools that do not meet the standard.

Safety and privacy standards should not become a back door to blanket avoidance. The right response to risk is governance. If AI is going to affect the future of work, schools need to teach students how to use it safely, ethically, and critically. That starts with adults making informed decisions before tools are placed in front of students.

Point 8. Create an independent research consortium

There needs to be independent research on AI, screens, and educational technology, research that is not funded by the industries selling the products. Schools have been flooded with products that make big promises and provide thin evidence. Too often, districts are left to figure out impact on their own while vendors move on to the next sale.

Some useful work already exists through organizations such as Common Sense Media, ISTE+ASCD, Digital Promise, and the EdTech Evidence Exchange. Again, the issue is that this work is scattered, unevenly used, and not always connected to the decisions schools make every day.

The research questions also need to improve. “Are screens good or bad?” is too shallow. We should be asking which kinds of screen use support learning, which kinds undermine learning, for which students, at what ages, under what conditions, with what teacher support, and for what goals.

Passive consumption and active creation should not be treated as the same thing. A student scrolling through entertainment content is not doing the same work as one using a device to interview a community member, analyze data, produce a podcast, translate materials for a family audience, or document a science investigation. That is why the goal should not simply be more research. Educators do not need another disconnected report that treats all screen use the same. They need trusted evidence they can actually use to make better decisions about tools, teaching, and learning.

Point 9. Adequately fund public education

Public schools need adequate funding. That includes staffing, facilities, professional learning, mental health supports, libraries, arts, athletics, career pathways, accessibility tools, modern infrastructure, and technology that works.

It also includes the basics too many people skip over: reliable WiFi, adequate bandwidth, devices that function, enough technical support to keep systems running, and clear guidance on how to use educational technology well. It is not enough to hand schools devices and platforms and then blame teachers when the infrastructure, support, or instructional guidance is not there.

Too often, schools are told to prepare students for the future while being funded for the past. That is especially damaging for CTE. Students need access to current tools, not outdated simulations of work. They also need educators who have the training, support, and time to use those tools in ways that strengthen learning rather than digitize old assignments.

The AFT is right to warn against AI and vouchers becoming another excuse to defund public education. But this is also why the “devices down” frame is risky. Wealthier families will still provide access, tutoring, devices, AI tools, enrichment, internships, and networks outside of school. If public schools pull back from teaching students how to use modern tools well, students with less access outside school lose the most.

That is not equity. That is retreat.

Point 10. Tax Big Tech

The AFT calls for a tech tax on Big Tech earnings and some business operations to address harms and disruptions caused by technology and AI.

A real argument exists for that. Technology companies have profited enormously from public attention, public data, public infrastructure, and public institutions. If their products create costs for schools, workers, communities, and the environment, they should not get to externalize those costs while public systems clean up the mess.

But a tech tax should not become a substitute for better education policy. If money comes from Big Tech, it should support public-interest goals: independent research, educator professional learning, privacy enforcement, accessibility, digital citizenship, AI literacy, CTE infrastructure, and public accountability.

It should not become another funding stream that sends public dollars back to the same companies with minimal oversight.

The better frame is purpose first

The AFT is right about a lot. More hands-on learning. Stronger privacy protections. More scrutiny of Big Tech. Better protection for children from manipulative platforms and simulated relationships. A renewed insistence that education is human work.

But “devices down” is the wrong goal. It makes the device the problem when the deeper issue is often learning design, adult guidance, infrastructure, privacy, safety, and support.

Devices can distract students. Notifications distract. Poorly designed platforms distract. So do boring lessons, unclear tasks, weak relationships, irrelevant assignments, and classrooms where students are asked to comply rather than think.

Removing the device may solve an immediate classroom management problem, but it does not prepare students to manage attention when the device comes back. And it will come back. In college, at work, in civic life, in relationships, and in nearly every modern career, students will need to focus, create, communicate, and make good decisions in technology-rich environments.

Students need explicit practice with digital well-being, attention management, purposeful tool use, and knowing when technology helps and when it gets in the way. They need to learn when to close the screen, when to use it, when to silence notifications, when to collaborate face-to-face, when to use AI, when to question it, and when to do the thinking without it.

Sometimes devices should be down. Students should discuss ideas face-to-face, build with their hands, play outside, conduct experiments, write privately, make art, and listen to one another without a screen in sight.

Other times, devices should be up. Students should use them to research, create, collaborate, publish, translate, document, code, communicate, design, get feedback, and solve problems.

The goal is not more technology or less technology, but better learning, healthier habits, and students who know when and how to use the appropriate tools to think, create, communicate, collaborate, and solve problems.

Welcome to the June Edtech Show & Tell, in which our editors share some of the new edtech products that have caught our attention this month. These are not reviews or endorsements, but a showcase of education-friendly items, platforms, and more that we think might be noteworthy for you.

This month's new offerings include online tutoring, HD/4K projectors, payment collection solution, ad-free streaming educational platform and more.

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