Welcome to Classroom Perspectives on AI, where we attempt to find the signals in the noise when it comes to how teachers are thinking about and finding savvy and skeptical uses of AI in their practice. Want this newsletter in your inbox? Sign up!
I’ve been reading the news, and my understanding is that you need to use AI because it’s the future. Also, it might take your job. But it could transform our lives, from curing diseases to making much of the business of modern life easier to manage. If it doesn’t end all of humanity first. Just remember not to get left behind and start using AI. Great, ok. I’ll jot that all down in my little notebook!
This month, we have a conversation with a middle school English teacher who is on the front lines of utilizing AI in her practice; some interesting books and articles we’ve been reading; and a request for your AI-generated recipes. Read on!
A Conversation with Lynn Kellogg
EDITORS NOTE: Lynn and I had a conversation over Zoom during one of her prep periods recently. My plan was to use Zoom’s AI transcription feature to assist with collecting her thoughts, and then type those up here. However, my computer had a catastrophic failure and the recording/transcription was lost when my hard drive was unrecoverable. Let’s see AI fix that!!
Lynn and I ended up reconnecting over email. Responses have been condensed for brevity, lightly edited for clarity, and grouped by topic.
Thanks for taking the time to sit down with me. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your school? How did you get into teaching?
I started teaching in California, where I had a great mentor teacher that paved the way for me into the profession. I also taught in Tennessee before coming to Colorado. I’ve been at my current school in Aurora Public Schools for about 8 years now, and I’m also a PEBC Lab Host.
I love my students, they’re just lovely, they show up and want to learn things and they ask great questions.
How are you currently utilizing AI in your classroom practice?
AI is truly more of a support for me than for my students. I use it to develop annotation guides, to create both recall and comprehension quizzes for texts, to create explainer videos and podcasts that I use with students at the launch of a unit or as we head into a final project for a unit, and to differentiate writing assignments and supports for my students with IEPs, my multi-language learner students, and my students who struggle in English class.
Creating a differentiated worksheet for three or more different groups of learners in my classes used to take me hours. [With AI] I can put what I know about those groups of learners in Gemini or Notebook, with the learning goals, the text, the standards and have three or more worksheets, note-catchers, or whatever within several minutes. That is probably my best example of the time savings that goes in front of kids. They get quality supports that I have framed and then vetted, without me working for hours at home and being burned out from all of those volunteer hours.
In your experience, where have you identified the best uses for AI? On the flip side, what hasn’t worked as well as you would want it to?
My planning partner and I have found the best uses for AI are really in our planning and grading and what we present to students. We sometimes give students an editing and revising chatbot that we put all manner of guardrails on. I program that bot like a clone of myself so that the comments and feedback students get are like I am sitting next to them and giving them feedback on their writing. It is a much more efficient use of a class period than me trying to touch base with 20 to 30 people within the 45 minutes of worktime we get out of a 56 minute class.
I do worry about people relying on the AI to do the thinking for them. I am always the person in the process. I frame what I want from the AI; I proofread the output; I grade the essays; ultimately, I am the teacher and I feel my moral and ethical responsibility as that person, to my students.
We are shifting our use of technology with students this year, as a school. There are enough studies and mainstream discussion that support what we already knew, that students need that brain to pencil to paper connection for their thinking and writing skills. They just do not get that from typing on a computer. That does not mean we have thrown out AI at all, we are becoming more specific and selective in our use of it.
To that point, which is really important - what does responsible student AI use look like in your classroom, and how do you ensure it enhances critical thinking and metacognition?
We use MagicSchool with students, They have a built-in ethics course and guidelines and the ethics course is required before beginning to use their platform. I actually give my kids the choice on whether they want to use AI or not - the way I see it, they get to decide that. I’m here to make sure you know that this is a thing that isn’t going away, and I put specific parameters around what it will do.
For me, it comes back to old-school teaching and knowing your kids. Knowing them and being willing to have conversations with them when I think they have gone outside the bounds. Sometimes, I ask them to tell me why they wrote what they wrote and how it makes sense to the larger message they are trying to communicate. Sometimes, I let them know that I know they did not do the work and we discuss why and how they can fix the situation.
I’m also working to set up an evening to educate caregivers about how we are using AI with and in planning for students. We are not trying to hide anything and it is important that caregivers see that. I am happy to engage in discussion and demonstrations and letting parents play with the software like their kids do. We may not all agree on its use but I am confident in my own ethical use of technology. It is important to me that the people who entrust their kids to me know where I am coming from and my philosophy around using these tools, as well as holding on to things like reading entire novels and writing with paper and pencil.
Last question - I want you to think about the future of your classroom and what it could look like 6 months or a year from now. What is your definition of optimal teaching and learning with AI?
I want my students to build learning stamina and curiosity and a lot of that growth has to come without technology. There is almost no way I can think to answer this that is innocuous. I honestly can only control what happens in my four walls and that will always be me trying to find interesting and engaging ways for students to think and struggle through that thinking to find their innate value. I know what is happening in the world and at least some of the consistent, age old challenges they will face. I want to send them into that, being able to face, tackle, and embrace everything that comes at them.
I think the future is taking advantage of the advancements that get computers away from kids but allow teachers to use AI much more effectively on behalf of kids.
What We're Reading
How to AI: Cut Through the Hype. Master the Basics. Transform Your Work, by longtime Wall Street Journal technology columnist, Christopher Mims.
What is this book about? The book is structured around real-life use cases sourced from Mim’s reporting, weaving stories from different industries and a history of the development of AI - giving a window into how to expect this technology to show up in our professional and personal lives in the next 5-10 years (think “embedded into more and more software we use” vs. “we’re doing asteroid mining now”).
Who is this book for? Anyone looking for a practical and introductory guide to AI. This is an interesting read from an educator's lens in terms of understanding of how AI might look in the world that teachers are preparing students to enter, and what skills will be important to master in the future.
- Speaking of the world of work, I really liked this piece from Scott LaBand, President of Colorado Succeeds, on the delicate balancing act facing school systems between setting boundaries and guidelines around AI use, and how to focus on the durable human skills that students need to succeed after graduation - and how there is a shared responsibility between the education and professional sectors to figure this out together.
- Finally, the New York Times has a great series of articles taking a national perspective on AI in classrooms. I particularly liked this article from last month on teaching writing in the age of AI, with lots of great insights from experts on “writing as an essential technology for thinking.” This newsletter writer approves. In full transparency, While I don’t use AI to write this newsletter, this is definitely a part of my process:
Skeptic's Corner
New polling data continue to demonstrate our conflicting feelings about technology in schools in the age of AI. Chalkbeat recently covered two national polls of parents who support the use of technology in classrooms, although “to what end” is the bigger question.
In PEBC’s home state of Colorado, a recent poll on a wide range of AI topics indicated that 75% of respondents were not comfortable with their local school district incorporating AI into how it educates students:
What might help explain these numbers - 2026 doesn’t feel much different than 2025, at least not yet. Denverse, an online and print magazine devoted to Denver arts and culture, ran a piece in October of 2025 titled How Are Local Teachers and Students Dealing with AI in the Classroom? It’s interesting to take a fresh look at the article about a year after it was published and recognize that many of the same dynamics and concerns from both teachers and students that were front of mind in 2025 are more or less the same today. [Link may require a Substack account or subscription to access]
I’m going to dig more into this data and discussion in future editions of the newsletter - what is driving this sentiment, and what needs to change? If you have a perspective to share, feel free to be in touch!
- Just for fun: AI apocalypse brackets are the new fantasy football.
Learning together
Send me your AI recipe tips! One way I can find AI useful is in taking the infinite and making it tangible. I love to cook, and while sometimes I’m following trusted recipes from one of my well-loved cookbooks, a lot of the time I’m just riffing based on what I have in the kitchen. While I’m certainly an amateur, I have pretty high favorability in my priority demographic (my wife, occasionally my kids; they are unpredictable in the data).
Since there can be so many different techniques or cuisines that could be incorporated into a dish, finding new recipes to try seems like an AI use case I might find enjoyable. So how about it - tell me how you’ve used AI to help you cook. Has it helped you divine any recipes you go back to again and again like your dog-eared copy of Smitten Kitchen? Give me your tips and any other feedback you have on the newsletter.
