I'm excited to share that I will be a keynote speaker at the Teach Forward Summit, a free, virtual event bringing together 1,000+ teachers from leading schools across the US and Canada to explore what great teaching looks like today.

I'm exploring when technology helps, when it doesn’t, and how we know the difference — and focusing on something teachers already do well: making thoughtful judgment calls.

The Teach Forward Summit is happening September 22nd–24th, every day from 3:00 to 5:00 PM ET. You can see the full agenda and register here.

A PD certificate will be provided for attendance, and session recordings will be shared following the event.

📚 New AI resources this week

1️⃣ Microsoft, AFT, UFT Set Precedent for District AI Governance (via Government Technology) — Microsoft and two major teachers unions created a new set of contractual protections for AI use in schools, including restrictions on using student and educator data to train models.

2️⃣ Utah District Reports Critical Thinking Boost Amid AI Deployment (via K-12 Dive) — Jordan School District analyzed nearly 14,000 student-AI interactions and reports gains in critical thinking and higher-level reasoning after intentionally positioning AI as a “thought partner” rather than a content generator.

3️⃣ Measure Ed Tech by More Than Screen Time, American Psychological Association Says (via K-12 Dive) — The APA argues that schools should look beyond raw screen-time minutes and instead consider what students are doing on devices, what the technology is replacing, and whether it supports or undermines learning.

Last week’s poll: How do you use AI to analyze data?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Processing PDFs and spreadsheets with NotebookLM (17)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Using the built-in AI analysys from specific edu AI apps (4)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Feeding PDFs and spreadsheets to tools like ChatGPT (7)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Anonymizing school/classroom data to get insights (5)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Other ... (3)

NotebookLM: I still remove all PII, even with the added safeguards provided by Google Workspace for Education and Gemini Notebook. It's hard to remember that this is all subject to an open records request and should not be traceable to any one individual. — K. Fergason

School/classroom data: I use Claude to analyze data to look for trends, instuctional gaps, strengths, opportunities for growth. — T. Stoner

Other: I’ve been very cautious about connecting anything with student data to AI even within our protected enterprise account. However, AI has been invaluable at teaching me how to use pivot tables and advanced formulas in Excel to draw actionable meaning from large amounts of data. — T. E.

NotebookLM: I greatly prefer the "walled garden" nature of Gemini Notebook along with the Studio features I can easily create from the data analysis I'm doing. I also, love how I can selectively choose which data sources I need for any given analysis. Notebook is a very powerful and easy to use tool for getting as much info. from the data as possible. — C. Sussex

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🗳 Poll: How to handle AI pushback

Usually, we have a multiple-choice poll here with clickable links. But with the creation of the Ditch That Textbook online community, it seems like a better place to have discussions than this.

I’d LOVE for you to jump into our discussion about this post here — and share your thoughts, tips, agreements and disagreements.

❌ Addressing AI concerns and pushback

A few months ago, a teacher approached me during a tech workshop I was leading at her school.

She said, “We have some students who are really concerned about the impact of AI on the environment and on their work. They are refusing to do work if AI is involved. Have you heard about this? Do you know anyone else who is going through this?”

Honestly, it's something that I'm hearing more and more. And rightfully so. I think lots of us have growing concerns about a variety of aspects of AI.

There's a lot to be worried about! And because this is such new technology for so many of us, when we see threats from things that we don't totally understand, it's easy to get even more concerned.

It's not just students that are concerned. Teachers talk about their unease about the impact AI is having on learning and student thinking. Community members show up to school board meetings and the front office with questions and honestly, as leaders, if we don't have our own concerns, maybe we're not paying close enough attention.

So, what can we do? What should we do?

Here are some thoughts and suggestions I've been sharing.

But one important point to keep in mind (that I’ll elaborate on in a moment):

The loud dissenting minority doesn’t always represent the majority. (Sometimes it does, but not always.)

What else you would add? Share your thoughts in this discussion in our DTT online community.

Usually there's a reason that the concerns exist. Even if it's born out of half truth or rumor, where there's smoke, there's usually fire.

It's encouraging for people to hear leaders say, “I'd like to learn more about this. Let me do a little digging and get back to you.” It keeps you (the leader) from being put on the spot. And it's also disarming to hear when a leader is willing to invest some of their own time in a cause that's important to you.

Plus, if you take the time to learn, you'll be growing your own AI literacy … and it will help you be better prepared for similar future conversations.

When people address you with concerns, sometimes the AI that they are describing isn't the AI that the district is using … or even the kind that you are imagining. With a class of technology as broad as artificial intelligence, asking some clarifying questions can make sure that everyone's on the same page.

Also, when people express concerns about artificial intelligence, broad discussion generally isn't all that helpful. It's fair to worry about AI stealing our jobs or hurting our critical thinking skills. But if we want to do something about it, the more specific we can get, the better solutions we will find.

I've been leading discussions and presentations about a different AI topic for about 3 years now — AI and academic Integrity. When I first started, I was afraid that teachers would be angry and blame me and erupt into fiery arguments that didn't lead anywhere.

In those 3 years, I have been part of some heated discussions. But many times, I found that teachers just need to say their piece. They need someone to listen to them. To empathize with them. To validate that their concerns are real.

I have lots of suggestions when it comes to AI and academic Integrity. But I don't have easy quick solutions.

It's probably the same way for you. If students or teachers or community members voice concerns about something related to AI to you, one of the best things you can do might be to listen. Help them understand that you are concerned as well and that you want the best for the school, the community, and our world.

Let's be honest. People make suggestions to school leaders all the time. If we took all of their suggestions, our decisions would be all over the board and would totally lack cohesion.

After some time, lots of us in leadership positions get a little bit skeptical and hardened when people tell us what we should do.

But an open mind can do wonders, especially with something as emergent as new technology.

Even if someone comes to us with concerns or suggestions that don't seem very well developed, there's a morsel of truth and lived experience in all of it.

Even if you are able to enact some very minor change based on the feedback of others, they will feel seen and heard and validated.

Let's get something straight. AI companies are having a significant impact on the world. The concerns about how resource intensive they've become are valid. There's a significant cost in water availability, carbon footprint, energy use, and impact on communities through data centers.

This isn't to minimize those costs, but I've also come to realize something else. Modern life is resource intensive. In addition to the impact of AI, there are lots of other things that burn through our resources at an unhealthy pace. Air travel. The meat producing industry. Even paper production — the thing lots of folks want to turn to when moving away from AI — has a huge carbon footprint.

Especially for students, this can be a great exercise in research and critical thinking. How do these different industries stack up? What's the impact of a single query to an AI model? When they talk about water consumption, what does that really mean?

When people understand the true costs and the fuller picture, it helps them to make better decisions.

Sometimes, when disagreement comes in, especially when it's loud, it's easy to want to make quick sweeping changes.

We've seen examples of schools and districts that want to quickly try to ban technology or screens or artificial intelligence based on some angry community feedback.

Usually, the loud vocal minority doesn't always represent the majority. (Sometimes it does!) This is why quick overreactions can be so destructive.

If you get pushback, seek out trusted voices. Seek out perspectives that are different than yours. Try to get in touch with people in a variety of roles and backgrounds. If you get a representative sample that seems to side with those concerns, then maybe it's time for action.

How have you responded to pushback? What are your best tips and strategies? If you were challenged about decisions related to AI, what would you do?

Share your thoughts in our DTT online community discussion here.