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Boosting Student Engagement with Delightex Edu: Creating, Exploring, and Learning in 3D with AI

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

In collaboration with Delightex Edu, recap of our livestream insights!

What happens when we give students opportunities to move beyond consuming content and instead become creators, designers, storytellers, and problem-solvers? How can we combine augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), coding, and artificial intelligence (AI) to support learning across grade levels and content areas?

These were some of the questions we explored during our recent livestream. I was joined by two fantastic educators, Deann Poleon, a former high school English teacher, now a technology integrator and children’s book author, and Marie-Eve Lapolice, a pedagogical advisor and former high school art teacher from Quebec, Canada. We also heard from Iain Cook, an educator in New Zealand!

Having used Delightex Edu, formerly CoSpaces Edu, for nearly nine years in my Spanish and STEAM classes, I have seen firsthand how it can help students build confidence, creativity, and essential skills for future success.

Moving Students from Consumers to Creators

I have always emphasized the importance of moving students from consumers to creators and innovators. Delightex Edu provides an interactive environment where students can design 3D worlds, create games, build simulations, develop stories, and use coding to bring their ideas to life.

Deann described Delightex as a “sandbox for students to show how creative they can be.” She explained how students from fourth grade through high school have used it for game design and projects across the curriculum. Marie-Eve emphasized its accessibility, explaining that students can begin with simple drag-and-drop creation, modify existing projects, or incorporate coding as they gain confidence.

Flexibility in learning matters. Not every student has experience with coding, and not every teacher has used immersive technologies. Having multiple entry points allows students to build knowledge while exploring something new.

Learning Through Collaboration and Creativity

One of my favorite parts of the conversation was hearing about Deann, Iain, and Marie-Eve’s projects.

Marie-Eve shared an incredible art project in which students recreated works by Kandinsky using Delightex Edu and the MERGE Cube. Students explored dimensions, structure, space, and artistic expression while transforming two-dimensional artwork into immersive experiences. Initially, students worked independently. Later, Marie-Eve redesigned the project for teams of two and noticed a difference in what students created. “Working in teams really allows them to make things that are a lot more elaborate.” Students had to communicate, make decisions, share responsibilities, and collaborate throughout the creative process.

Another fascinating project involved students developing imaginative stories and displaying their creations using Merge cubes attached to headbands. It was a unique combination of storytelling, artistic design, and wearable technology.

Iain, an educator from Dunedin, New Zealand, shared a demonstration of an innovative Puzzle Box Project that he developed with students. It began as an interactive puzzle cube that students could explore in augmented reality, with different puzzles and clues on each face. Students researched puzzle mechanics, designed challenges, and took ownership of different parts of the cube.

Iain explained, “The feedback from students was that we’d really love this to be multiplayer.” Because the platform did not yet offer its current Multiplayer feature, they developed a Duo Box experience with two connected cubes. Clues discovered in one cube could be needed to solve puzzles in the other, requiring students to communicate and work together. As Iain explained, “You have to work together in partnership to open up both cubes.”

This shows how student feedback can inspire innovation and how collaboration becomes an essential part of both the design process and the learning experience.

Making Content Come to Life

Deann shared a sixth-grade science project where students researched elements from the periodic table and created interactive atomic models using MERGE Cubes. They included information about protons, neutrons, electrons, and other characteristics, with some adding audio explanations

Another project involved students studying longhouses. Rather than creating traditional shoebox dioramas, they created immersive environments representing structures, food, crops, daily life, and cultural details. Students had to research the content and decide what belonged in their creations.

I shared experiences from my Spanish classes in which students used randomly assigned characters, songs, and other elements to develop stories narrated in the past tense. They created immersive scenes, collaborated, recorded audio, and brought their stories to life.

Students remember the content because they are actively involved in constructing and demonstrating their understanding.

New Possibilities with AI and Multiplayer

Delightex Edu continues to evolve with features that expand the possibilities for learning. AI-generated 360-degree environments through Skybox enable students to design immersive backgrounds using prompts. Marie-Eve shared her excitement about creating these environments directly within Delightex Edu rather than using a separate platform.

AI Buddies also introduce opportunities to design interactive characters that respond to learners, support storytelling, and guide exploration. Students can experiment with prompting, dialogue, and character behavior while developing AI literacy.

The Multiplayer activity adds opportunities for shared exploration and problem-solving. Students can enter a virtual environment together, interact, and complete challenges in real time.

These features offer opportunities to integrate creativity, communication, coding, critical thinking, and responsible AI use while keeping learning goals at the center.

Getting Started Without Feeling Overwhelmed

For educators new to immersive learning, one question often comes up: Where do I begin?

Deann recommended exploring the lesson plans available. She highlighted the Floor Is Lava and Seek and Find Rollercoaster lessons because they provide students (and teachers) with step-by-step guidance for learning the basics.

Marie-Eve offered equally practical advice: “I would say to start small. You don’t need to go into coding right away.” She reminded educators that they do not need to know every feature or have all the answers. Students can discover solutions, share what they learn, and become resources for one another. (Ready to get started? Use my promo code for more! DXRACHELLED)

Bringing New Ideas into the Classroom This Fall

As we move further into the school year, it is a great time to introduce something new, revisit classroom routines, and offer students opportunities to apply what they have learned. Delightex Edu gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding through designing, building, exploring, and creating.

The goal is not technology for the sake of technology. It is to provide experiences that help students develop curiosity, confidence, creativity, collaboration, and the skills they need for the future.

Five Creative Projects to Try with Delightex Edu

Fall is a great time for exploring changes in nature, connecting learning to communities, reflecting on progress, and creating new challenges. These activities can be adapted based on student interests, available time, and curriculum goals.

Ready to get started? Use my promo code for more! DXRACHELLED

1. The Changing Seasons: An Interactive Nature Walk

Grades: K–3

Subjects: Science, Literacy, Art

Students create a virtual park, forest, or neighborhood that shows seasonal changes. They can include trees, animals, weather, and interactive information about how living things respond to changes in temperature and daylight.

Creative extension: Older students can add animations that transform the environment from summer into fall, or develop a guided tour for younger classmates.

2. Design a Sustainable Fall Festival

Grades: 3–8

Subjects: STEM, Mathematics, Environmental Science, Social Studies

Students design a virtual community festival that focuses on sustainability, accessibility, and responsible resource use. They must consider transportation, recycling, food waste, and energy use.

Creative extension: Use CoBlocks to build interactive challenges in which visitors make decisions about environmental impact.

3. A Virtual Museum of Untold Stories

Grades: 5–12

Subjects: History, Social Studies, Language Arts, Art

Students research lesser-known historical figures, community leaders, or events and create interactive museum exhibits. Each exhibit includes researched information, images, narration, and objects that represent the topic.

Creative extension: Organize a virtual museum tour where teams explain their work and answer classmates’ questions. Students could feature a person or event connected to their local community.

4. Explore the World: Autumn Across Cultures

Grades: 4–12

Subjects: World Languages, Geography, Cultural Studies

Students research how different regions experience autumn and explore seasonal foods, traditions, agricultural practices, and daily life, then create immersive environments representing authentic cultural information.

Creative extension: Add narration or interactive conversations in the target language. Students can compare seasonal experiences in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and examine why autumn occurs at different times of the year.

5. Create a Future-Ready Classroom

Grades: 3–12, adaptable for higher education

Subjects: STEM, Digital Citizenship, Design Thinking, SEL

Students design their ideal learning environment for the future. They consider how technology, AI, flexible learning spaces, accessibility, collaboration, and wellness can support different learners.

Creative extension: Students present their environments and explain how their designs support meaningful learning rather than simply adding more technology. Classmates can explore the environments and provide feedback.

These projects are opportunities for students to practice academic skills while developing creativity, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Teachers can begin with a simple scene and gradually introduce coding, interactive characters, AI features, or collaborative activities. Students can also revisit their creations throughout the school year, adding new information or improving their designs as they develop new skills.

The most important part is creating opportunities for students to take ownership of their learning, share ideas, experiment, and discover what they are capable of creating.

Ready to get started? Use my promo code for more! DXRACHELLED at Delightex Edu.

Watch the livestream here: Livestream.

About Rachelle

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher. Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is an edtech consultant, presenter, attorney, author, and teacher of Spanish and STEAM: Emerging Technology. Rachelle has a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Doctorate in Instructional Technology. Rachelle’s focus was on the need for professional development for educators, specific to Artificial Intelligence. Rachelle specializes in Artificial Intelligence, AI and the Law, AI and Healthcare, Cybersecurity, and STEM. She has more than 8 years of experience teaching and presenting on AI in her classroom, as well as working with educators worldwide.

Rachelle recently served as the Grant Coach for an initiative through ISTE+ASCD and Pinterest. Rachelle worked with a Task Force from 12 districts in the United States and assisted with policy revision, professional development, and the design of digital wellness resources for students, educators, and families.

Rachelle provides professional development related to AI policy and implementation to school districts, universities, and organizations. She also presents and provides keynotes on AI at state, national, and international events and in schools. Rachelle also provides AI training for other industries, including business, healthcare, and legal fields.
Rachelle is an ISTE-certified educator and recipient of the ISTE Making IT Happen Award and several Presidential Awards for volunteer service to education. Rachelle received the EdTech Trendsetter Award from EdTech Digest in 2024 and 2026.

She is the author of ten books, including “What the Tech? An Educator’s Guide to AI, AR/VR, the Metaverse and More! and “How to Teach AI: Weaving Strategies and Activities Into Any Content Area.” She has written curricula and courses on AI for all levels.

She is also a blogger for Defined Learning, EdTech K12, Edutopia, Getting Smart, and Tech & Learning. She is the host of the ThriveinEDU podcast, ISTE’s Learning Unleashed podcast, and The Lift by Amazon on BAM Radio Network. Contact Rachelle for your event! Check out her website: https://rachelledenepoth.com/

Image featuring Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth with her name, social media handle, and a selection of her book covers displayed along with a brief description of her roles as an educator, author, attorney, and consultant.

Do Dedicated Digital Tools and Platforms Really Save Educators Time, or Just Create More Work?

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

Guest post by Tessa Dodson

Digital tools have become part of everyday education, supporting everything from lesson delivery and assessment to student records, communication and reporting. For educators, these tools can reduce repetitive work and contribute to admin time reduction.

The amount of time you save depends on how much of your current workflow is manual, especially across scheduling, reporting, billing, payroll, and coordination. However, adding more software to your workflow does not automatically create more time. The real benefit depends on choosing tools that address specific needs and fit the way you already work.

The Growing Role of Digital Tools in Education

Digital tools have become a regular part of classroom work, with educators using them across different areas of teaching and learning. According to findings from the 2024 Speak Up Research Project, 75% of K-8 teachers reported using digital tools weekly to differentiate learning experiences. The study also shows how essential digital learning resources have become. Students identify two-way communication tools and online learning platforms among the digital resources they find effective for learning.

The role of technology in education has grown as schools and educators respond to a changing learning environment. Students bring different expectations around digital access and interaction, while teachers manage increasingly varied demands.

On a larger scale, educational institutions continue to modernize how they support teaching and learning. As these needs converge, digital tools have moved from an occasional classroom aid to a more established part of education.

How Digital Tools Can Improve Efficiency

Pew Research Center found that 84% of U.S. K-12 teachers do not have enough time during their regular work hours to complete multiple tasks. Their daily schedules often include grading, lesson planning, paperwork and answering work emails. With so many responsibilities competing for educators’ time, digital tools can help reduce repetitive work and make everyday tasks easier to manage.

Economic pressures further underscore this need. As schools navigate constrained budgets and broader financial headwinds affecting families and communities, the efficiency gains from automation become increasingly critical. Research shows that total household debt is now at an all-time high of $17.7 trillion, making resource efficiency a practical necessity rather than an optional improvement.

The right software can deliver time savings and efficiency gains through workflow automation. However, the results depend on how well the platform aligns with an individual’s or institution’s needs.

To identify a suitable tool, consider these key areas:

  • The tasks you want to improve: Start with the parts of your workflow that take up the most time. Look for opportunities to automate repetitive steps, simplify manual processes or bring related tasks into one place.
  • The people who will use it: Think about who needs access to the platform and what each person needs to accomplish. A tool that works well for one role may create complications for another.
  • How it fits your existing workflow: Consider how the platform will work alongside the systems and processes you already use. Adding another tool may create more work if you need to duplicate information or switch between multiple platforms.
  • The return on investment: Compare the time, effort and costs of your current process with the improvements you expect from the new platform. A tool that removes several repetitive steps from a daily workflow may offer a stronger return than one with a longer list of features that you rarely use.

Explore Tools That Match Your Educational Needs

Different types of education software address different parts of your workload. Looking at the specific functions you need can help you narrow your options and find tools that fit your day-to-day responsibilities.

Lesson Planning and Curriculum Management

Teachers often spend hours writing curriculum from scratch, managing standards alignment, formatting units, and ensuring multilingual support. This work pulls time away from actual instruction. When curriculum writing falls to multiple teachers or departments, maintaining consistency becomes a manual, time-intensive task.

Curriculum management platforms automate this administrative layer. They handle standards tagging, assessment formatting, and accessibility requirements in the background, letting teachers focus on instructional design.

Danbury Public Schools uses Trellis for curriculum writing. Administrators who spent 90 minutes reviewing a unit now finish in 15 minutes. Teachers cut writing time for a full course from 80 hours to about 30 hours, with the platform also managing standards alignment and accessibility.

These platforms also help ensure curriculum quality and consistency. By automating the administrative work, teachers aren’t rushed to finish units, and department leaders spend less time reformatting and aligning submissions across the board.

By reclaiming hours each week, these tools can help you redirect time to actual instruction, meaningful feedback, and student engagement.

Auto-Grading Tools

Auto-grading tools help reduce the time you spend assessing written work by handling parts of the initial grading process. They can apply a consistent system across submissions and generate initial feedback for you to review. A central platform also gives you a starting point for each student’s work without requiring you to begin every assessment from scratch.

A Spring 2026 field study examined how educators at two West Texas school campuses used CoGrader, an AI-powered grading and feedback tool, in their classrooms. One high school English teacher went from spending 10 to 15 hours grading a full class set of essays to about five minutes with the tool. Teachers also had more time for student conferences and felt more willing to assign writing.

CoGrader also supports rubric-based assessment, helping teachers apply their criteria across student submissions. Its translation feature gives educators another way to provide feedback to multilingual learners.

Auto-grading tools can also quickly process large batches of assignments, multiple-choice tests or programming code, providing faster, more consistent insights into student performance. That said, auto-grading works best for objective assignments, like multiple choice, short answers with clear rubrics, or coding problems with definitive outputs. Subjective work like essays or open-ended responses should still rely on teacher judgment, since these tools provide more of a first pass rather than a final grade.

Learning Management Platforms

Learning management platforms organize course materials, assessments, student information, and learning data within a single hub. They can help reduce the need to maintain separate documents while giving you easier access to information when you need to make instructional decisions.

Otus, a student learning and data platform, worked with the Gravette School District in Arkansas to help educators manage student growth data in a more centralized way. Before using the platform, teachers relied on individual spreadsheets, paper records, and Google Docs to track student growth. After adopting Otus, educators could create standards-linked assessments and access assessment data in near real time.

The platform also gave teachers a clearer view of student performance across different assessments and helped them identify areas where students needed additional support.

By bringing assessment information into one place, Otus reduced the need to piece together data from multiple sources when reviewing student progress.

A learning management platform can also scale as your program grows, without requiring you to introduce a new system for every increase in learners.

Build a Smarter Digital Workflow

Time savings from software come from automating routine tasks, reducing manual work, and streamlining everyday workflows. Before switching, compare the time, effort, and costs of your current process with the specific tasks the new platform could streamline. The best fit is a platform that simplifies your workflow and gives you back time for higher-value work.

About Tessa

Tessa Dodson is the Senior Writer of Classrooms.com, where she researches and covers educational policy, professional development, teacher support systems, and integration challenges that K-12 and higher education institutions may face. She aims to research and provide actionable insights for students, educators, school administrators, and other leaders.

About Rachelle

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher. Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is an edtech consultant, presenter, attorney, author, and teacher of Spanish and STEAM: Emerging Technology. Rachelle has a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Doctorate in Instructional Technology. Rachelle’s focus was on the need for professional development for educators, specific to Artificial Intelligence. Rachelle specializes in Artificial Intelligence, AI and the Law, AI and Healthcare, Cybersecurity, and STEM. She has more than 8 years of experience teaching and presenting on AI in her classroom, as well as working with educators worldwide.

Rachelle is currently serving as the Grant Coach for an initiative through ISTE+ASCD and Pinterest. Rachelle works with a Task Force from 12 districts in the United States and assists with policy revision, professional development, and the design of digital wellness resources for students, educators, and families.

Rachelle provides professional development related to AI policy and implementation to school districts, universities, and organizations. She also presents and provides keynotes on AI at state, national, and international events and in schools. Rachelle also provides AI training for other industries, including business, healthcare, and legal fields.
Rachelle is an ISTE-certified educator and recipient of the ISTE Making IT Happen Award and several Presidential Awards for volunteer service to education. Rachelle received the EdTech Trendsetter Award from EdTech Digest in 2024 and 2026.

She is the author of ten books, including “What the Tech? An Educator’s Guide to AI, AR/VR, the Metaverse and More! and “How to Teach AI: Weaving Strategies and Activities Into Any Content Area.” She has written curricula and courses on AI for all levels.

She is also a blogger for Defined Learning, EdTech K12, Edutopia, Getting Smart, and Tech & Learning. She is the host of the ThriveinEDU podcast, ISTE’s Learning Unleashed podcast, and The Lift by Amazon on BAM Radio Network. Contact Rachelle for your event!

Image featuring Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth with her name, social media handle, and a selection of her book covers displayed along with a brief description of her roles as an educator, author, attorney, and consultant.

From Learning Gaps to Personalized Next Steps: What We Explored with Kira

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

In collaboration with Kira Learning

I was excited to host a recent livestream, “Kira: Turning Learning Gaps into Personalized Next Steps,” with Courtney Morgan, Kira’s Director of Learning Strategy. During the session, we discussed an important question that educators ask: How can we use what we learn about students to provide meaningful and personalized support while making the work more manageable for teachers?

As a longtime educator of languages and STEAM courses, I enjoy trying new ideas in the classroom, especially when it comes to using AI. Courtney is a former math and computer science teacher who taught for nine years and understands the challenges that can come with. Our conversation focused on classroom realities and included live demonstrations, authentic reflections, and engagement and excitement from educators joining us from around the world.

Seeing the specific need

For anyone who had not yet heard of Kira, Courtney introduced Kira as a platform that connects planning, lesson delivery, assessment, and next steps. Teachers can create lessons with AI, import existing materials, or build manually. Students can complete activities on the platform with an AI tutor enabled by their teacher. There are so many exciting possibilities for using Kira in the classroom.

But the part that really caught everyone’s attention was what happens once students complete the work. Courtney showed how lesson questions connect to standards and the skills within them. Through Student Atlas and Class Atlas, teachers can explore individual student learning needs and patterns across a class.

Courtney explained, “There might be skills that relate to that standard that they’re doing well with, and there might be others that they’re struggling with.” And this distinction matters. While a score can let us know that a student struggled, we also need to understand where they had difficulty so we can adjust our instructional strategies.

For the demo, learners had completed lessons on ratios and geometry proofs. The results showed different areas of need, which exemplified exactly what educators see as they review student work.

Moving from information to action

Differentiation takes time. As a language educator teaching multiple levels alongside a STEAM course, I know how much time is involved in creating resources to meet different students’ needs.

During the livestream, I asked which part takes the most time: identifying learning needs, creating resources, or checking whether the support worked. Courtney described the trade-offs that teachers make. Spending more time on one part can leave less time for another. But then she demonstrated a potential way to connect those steps. Using Class Atlas, Courtney asked Kira to create an individualized lesson for each learner focused on their biggest area of growth. She specified interactive activities that could be completed in about 25 minutes.

When Courtney opened one of the generated lessons, it addressed an issue in her earlier response: she had said that she multiplied without fully explaining her reasoning. The follow-up included a recap, a worked example, and additional practice.

In this example, we could see how the information about a learning gap better informed a specific next step. Courtney also explained that subsequent work feeds back into the learner’s profile, giving teachers updated evidence to refer back to when deciding what should come next.

Keeping the thinking with students

Geometry proofs brought out a personal connection for me. I shared that I struggled with them in high school before learning how to study and work through the process. Watching Courtney’s demonstration, I thought about how helpful those supports could have been back then for me, but how impactful they will be for students and teachers now.

Courtney showed how the lesson moved through scaffolded activities such as marking given information, matching reasons and statements, and writing on a digital whiteboard. Courtney demonstrated how the tutor can also interpret handwritten work.

The tutor was providing “support without giving away the answers.” And this is important to keep in mind and to also share with students when they are using AI. It should be an assistant rather than answering the questions. This is an important instructional goal that I share with educators and ask them to consider whether AI is used as support to help students think, practice, and explain.

Another highlight was learning about the progressive reveal setting that lets students move through steps gradually. For students, having a worked example is helpful, but being able to process it in more manageable pieces makes it more useful for their learning experience.

Confidence is part of the learning process

Another favorite of mine is using Kira’s ChatPods, which Courtney described as discussion-based activities.

In my language classes, students often hesitate to speak because they are afraid of answering incorrectly or mispronouncing a word. With Chatpods, students have a space to practice a conversation and receive guidance that helps them feel more prepared to participate. I have had students who were reluctant to raise their hands completely pivot and start contributing to class, and even help classmates. Those moments matter to me. Participation, confidence, and a willingness to try are what we hope to help students build along with content knowledge.

Courtney connected using the ChatPod to a very familiar classroom need. Teachers can work with a small group while other students have access to guided practice through the Chatpod that the teacher has set up for them. The value is in how the teacher uses that support to create more opportunities for learning and connection.

Start with one classroom challenge

There are a lot of options available! My recommendation is always the same. “Pick one thing to start with.”

Choose a concept students struggle with, a resource that takes hours to differentiate, or a discussion where learners need more practice. Explore how Kira can support that work, review what it creates, and use student responses to guide your next decision.

During the session, Courtney also introduced You Ask, Kira Builds, an invitation to submit a challenging lesson idea for possible selection and development by the team. This will be fun for the team to see what educators need, and then, of course, Kira will build it! Check out the previous sessions here!

Revisit the recording, choose one learning need, and try a focused next step. Then share what you notice: What helped students? What did you adjust? What would you try next? Those classroom experiences are how we learn together, and we would love to learn from you!

About Rachelle

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher. Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is an edtech consultant, presenter, attorney, author, and teacher of Spanish and STEAM: Emerging Technology. Rachelle has a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Doctorate in Instructional Technology. Rachelle’s focus was on the need for professional development for educators, specific to Artificial Intelligence. Rachelle specializes in Artificial Intelligence, AI and the Law, AI and Healthcare, Cybersecurity, and STEM. She has more than 8 years of experience teaching and presenting on AI in her classroom, as well as working with educators worldwide.

Rachelle is currently serving as the Grant Coach for an initiative through ISTE+ASCD and Pinterest. Rachelle works with a Task Force from 12 districts in the United States and assists with policy revision, professional development, and the design of digital wellness resources for students, educators, and families.

Rachelle provides professional development related to AI policy and implementation to school districts, universities, and organizations. She also presents and provides keynotes on AI at state, national, and international events and in schools. Rachelle also provides AI training for other industries, including business, healthcare, and legal fields.
Rachelle is an ISTE-certified educator and recipient of the ISTE Making IT Happen Award and several Presidential Awards for volunteer service to education. Rachelle received the EdTech Trendsetter Award from EdTech Digest in 2024 and 2026.

She is the author of ten books, including “What the Tech? An Educator’s Guide to AI, AR/VR, the Metaverse and More! and “How to Teach AI: Weaving Strategies and Activities Into Any Content Area.” She has written curricula and courses on AI for all levels.

She is also a blogger for Defined Learning, EdTech K12, Edutopia, Getting Smart, and Tech & Learning. She is the host of the ThriveinEDU podcast, ISTE’s Learning Unleashed podcast, and The Lift by Amazon on BAM Radio Network. Contact Rachelle for your event!

Image featuring Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth with her name, social media handle, and a selection of her book covers displayed along with a brief description of her roles as an educator, author, attorney, and consultant.

Infographic with focus areas for part IV

Beyond the Tools: Part IV

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

What Becomes More Human as AI Becomes More Capable?

In the first three parts of my “Beyond the Tools” series, I focused on the people and decisions behind responsible AI implementation. I explored why human readiness matters more than simply adopting new tools, what students should still be able to do independently, and how schools can build trust through transparency, communication, thoughtful vetting, and shared responsibility. In Part III, I focused specifically on how trust is built across the school community and why trust is essential for meaningful AI implementation. But once those foundations are in place, another question emerges, one that goes beyond implementation and gets to the heart of education itself.

The conversation around artificial intelligence often starts with capability.

  • What can AI do now?
  • What will it be able to do next?
  • Which jobs will change?
  • Which tasks will become automated?

Those are important questions.

But we should also be asking another one:

As AI becomes more capable, what becomes more important about being human?

Preparing students for an AI-shaped future cannot simply mean teaching them to use more AI or any technology. It also means helping students develop the human qualities that become even more valuable as technology becomes more capable.

Knowledge Still Matters, but So Does Judgment

Students will have access to more information than any generation before them. But access to information is not the same as understanding.

AI can produce options, but humans still have to decide.

AI can summarize perspectives, but humans still have to evaluate them.

AI can recommend a course of action, but humans still have to consider the consequences.

And this is what makes human judgment incredibly important.

Our students need opportunities to make decisions, explain their reasoning, defend their choices, reconsider them when needed, and take what they have learned to decide what happens next.

Curiosity Matters

There are many concerns about how AI may affect essential skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. AI makes answers easier to obtain, which makes asking good questions even more valuable.

We have to spark curiosity. Students who remain curious will be better prepared to explore possibilities that a generated answer may not provide. They will ask themselves:

  • Why did this happen?
  • What is missing?
  • What if we tried something different?
  • Whose perspective is not represented?
  • What problem should we actually be solving?

AI may help us investigate those questions, but the questions themselves begin with human curiosity. Curiosity can help students look beyond the first answer. Empathy helps them consider the people affected by the answers they find and the decisions they make.

Empathy Matters

AI can simulate conversation. It can generate supportive language. It can analyze patterns and identify trends.

But genuinely understanding another person requires more than the production of an appropriate response.

Students need opportunities to listen carefully, learn about and recognize perspectives different from their own, and understand how decisions may affect other people.

They need opportunities to:

  • listen with intention
  • recognize another person’s perspective
  • collaborate with people who may think differently
  • navigate disagreement respectfully
  • consider how decisions may affect individuals and communities

These qualities matter in our classrooms today, and as we continue to see the increased presence and use of AI, these qualities will matter even more in workplaces and communities.

Technology may help us communicate more efficiently, but empathy requires something more human: attention, perspective, connection, and care.

Human understanding also helps to shape creativity. The best ideas are not just new. They are meaningful, useful, and responsive to real needs.

Creativity Matters Differently

We have seen the many ways that AI can create. But even with all of its possibilities, it does not make human creativity irrelevant.

I’ve given it some thought and think perhaps creativity may become less about producing something entirely from scratch and more about imagining possibilities, dreaming big, directing ideas, combining perspectives, evaluating options, improving what already exists, and making meaning.

Students will need to ask themselves:

  • Is this idea interesting?
  • Is it useful? Why or why not?
  • Does it solve the right problem?
  • Does it reflect what I actually think or believe? Why or why not?
  • What could I create that is valuable or meaningful for someone else?

AI may help with generating possibilities, but students still need to be able to decide for themselves which ideas are worth pursuing and why they matter.

Creativity still requires human purpose. And purpose requires choice, and this is where agency becomes essential.

Agency May Matter Most

Continue reading on LinkedIn and subscribe to my newsletter!

I would love it if you would subscribe to my ThriveinEDU newsletter and follow my podcast and YouTube channel to check out some interviews and other learning opportunities.

If Your Organization Is Beginning This Work

I help schools and other organizations (law firms, healthcare professionals, business owners) implement AI responsibly through policy guidance, professional learning, and classroom-ready strategies grounded in both instructional practice and legal insight.

My sessions focus on helping teams:

• understand what AI can and cannot do

• recognize responsible-use considerations

• build confidence using emerging tools

• align implementation with organizational priorities

If your school, district, or organization is beginning conversations or looking to dive in and learn more about AI policy, professional learning, or responsible implementation, I’d welcome the opportunity to support your next steps through leadership workshops, keynote sessions, or strategic planning partnerships.

Preparing people is what makes AI implementation successful. Contact me via bit.ly/thrivineduPD or email Rdene915@gmail.com for my training and speaking services.

Infographic with focus areas of part 3 of the series

Beyond the Tools: Part III

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

How Do We Build Trust Around AI?

In the first two parts of this series, I explored how successful AI implementation depends primarily on human readiness and shared leadership. I also focused on the importance of defining what core capabilities students must retain independently. Building on those foundations, Part III focuses on how schools can foster trust across the entire community so that AI implementation is transparent, intentional, and human-centered.

As schools continue to integrate artificial intelligence, the conversations focus on purpose, capability, and whether or not we should use it. Some questions that come up often focus on specific tools and include:

  • What can the tool do?
  • How can educators use it?
  • How can students use it?

These are valid and common questions. But answering them does not guarantee successful AI implementation. Successful implementation depends on something much harder to build and much easier to lose: trust.

Students need to trust educators.

Families need to trust schools.

Educators need to trust leadership.

Schools need to be able to trust the tools they adopt.

And everyone needs enough understanding to recognize that AI itself should never be trusted without thorough investigation, ongoing evaluation, and reflection.

Mutual Transparency Builds Shared Trust

Over the past year, through my work with ISTE+ASCD and Pinterest, one word surfaced repeatedly in conversations with students, educators, families, and school communities: transparency. I have emphasized that transparency must be a shared responsibility, regardless of a person’s role in education. Educators want to know:

  • Did the student use AI?
  • Did they disclose it?
  • Did they cite it?

Those are reasonable expectations. But I’ve also listened to students, and they are asking important questions. They want to know:

  • Are their teachers using AI, and how?
  • Are educators using it to generate feedback?
  • Are schools using it to analyze information?
  • Are tools collecting student data?
  • What happens to information entered into a platform?

Students should not be expected to practice transparency in a system that is not transparent with them.

Trust works both ways.

This need for mutual openness extends beyond the classroom walls and applies equally to how schools engage with families.

Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Practice for Families

Through conversations with educators and student focus groups across the country, I noticed a recurring disconnect. Information about AI use, screen time, and cell phone expectations was not always communicated clearly between school and home. Families also need clear and consistent information.

A lengthy AI policy may satisfy a school district requirement, but it does not necessarily help a parent understand what is happening with AI in a classroom.

Families need access to clear answers to practical questions such as:

  • What AI tools are students using?
  • Why are they being used?
  • What student information is being collected?
  • How are tools vetted?
  • What expectations apply to student use?
  • What happens when those expectations are violated?
  • Who do families contact with questions?

The clearer those answers are, the less likely uncertainty is to turn into mistrust.

Trust Requires Vetting

There is also a tendency to focus on what an AI tool can do before asking what happens behind the scenes.

Schools need processes for examining privacy, security, accessibility, age requirements, data use, contracts, and instructional purpose before adopting AI tools.

An impressive platform does not necessarily mean it belongs in a classroom, and this is why collaboration matters.

  • Technology teams understand infrastructure.
  • Educators understand instructional purpose and classroom context.
  • Administrators understand organizational priorities.
  • Legal and privacy professionals understand risk.
  • Students and families understand how decisions affect them.

No single perspective is enough. Trust grows when people understand not only what decisions are being made, but how and why those decisions were reached.

Questioning the Output: Why Blind Trust Fails

There is another form of trust students need to understand:

  • AI outputs should not automatically be trusted.
  • A confident answer can still be wrong.
  • A polished response can still contain bias.
  • A citation can still be fabricated.
  • An image can look authentic and still be synthetic.

Students need practice questioning, verifying, and evaluating information rather than simply accepting it. Ask:

  1. Where did this information come from?
  2. Can I verify it?
  3. What perspective may be missing?
  4. What assumptions are being made?
  5. Does another reliable source agree?
  6. What evidence supports this response?

Those habits are part of AI literacy, but they are also part of broader information literacy.

Build a Culture, Not a Compliance Checklist

Trust is not created by publishing an AI policy.

Continue reading on LinkedIn and subscribe to my newsletter.

I would love if you would subscribe to my ThriveinEDU newsletter and follow my podcast and YouTube channel to check out some interviews and other learning opportunities.

If Your Organization Is Beginning This Work

I help schools and other organizations (law firms, healthcare professionals, business owners) implement AI responsibly through policy guidance, professional learning, and classroom-ready strategies grounded in both instructional practice and legal insight.

My sessions focus on helping teams:

• understand what AI can and cannot do

• recognize responsible-use considerations

• build confidence using emerging tools

• align implementation with organizational priorities

If your school, district, or organization is beginning conversations or looking to dive in and learn more about AI policy, professional learning, or responsible implementation, I’d welcome the opportunity to support your next steps through leadership workshops, keynote sessions, or strategic planning partnerships.

Preparing people is what makes AI implementation successful. Contact me via bit.ly/thrivineduPD or email Rdene915@gmail.com for my training and speaking services.

The Science of Learning and Implementation

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

Guest post by Cherry-Anne Gildharry

Change Agent I Designer I Coach I Educator of 33 Years I

“In all my years as a professor of this Postgraduate Teaching Program, I have never had someone use knowledge gained from this course and the related professional development (PD) sessions offered at the university level in such meaningful, innovative, and excellent ways to create a teaching portfolio and lesson plans with ongoing reflective implementation structures. Cherry-Anne, I am extremely impressed by your excellent learning portfolio and the meaningful lessons that you implemented throughout this course” – this is a summary of my professor’s message to me in 2001 when I pursued my Post Graduate Diploma.

Whether I am designing learning for students, teachers, and leaders or engaging in professional learning, my creations and implementations have always been aligned with the four powerful elements of the science of learning and implementation: neurodesign, plasticity, connectivity, and continuity. These elements have guided my effectiveness and success as a teacher, department chair, teacher mentor, school-based and district- level coach, a virtual instructional coach, and a professional learning designer, developer, facilitator, and change agent.

I received an A in Teaching Practice in 2001 for my designs and implementation; a grade that numerous colleagues said I would never get because my professor had not given an A in many years to Post Graduate Diploma in Education (DIPED) students. My professor was extremely impressed by my work and encouraged me to attend professional learning workshops in the U.S. to gain additional strategies because of my passion for learning and implementing at extremely high levels.

My first visit to the U.S. was in 1988, when I went to New York on a one-month vacation, but even at that time, the exchange rate was high, which increased in 2001, making professional learning workshops in the U.S. extremely expensive for me to attend. However, I sent my dream out into the universe and willed it into reality, as advised in the book, The Secret, which I was introduced to in 2006.

With 15 years of teaching experience in Trinidad and Tobago and a track record of success, I applied to teach in the U.S. in April 2007. After meeting many criteria to become a teacher in the U.S.and attending an interview scheduled in the Bahamas, where I taught a full lesson that incorporated strategies gained from my postgraduate professional learning opportunities, I was offered a teaching job the next day. So, bet your bottom dollar, I was ready to gain ideas and excel at implementing strategies attained from professional learning.

My very first professional development session in the U.S. was in August 2007, when I attended a district math workshop that shared how to connect the use of Texas Instruments calculators to math concepts. A birthday candle lab was referenced for collecting data when teaching the topic of Scatter Plot. Of course, I took extensive notes and documented my implementation action plans, which materialized into a final for now learning products using assessment techniques that I am accustomed to from my country of origin. I have attended numerous professional learning sessions since then, and I have had numerous opportunities to individually facilitate professional learning, with an ongoing focus on growth in each design I develop.

I am immensely thankful for the opportunities to attend and facilitate workshops in the U.S. So, to pay it forward, the following parts of this article provide a deeper dive into the Science of Learning and Implementation strategies I learned and used, specifically connected to the four powerful elements: neurodesign, plasticity, connectivity, and continuity.

Infographic titled 'Applying the Science of Learning to Professional Learning' with four sections: Neurodesigns, Plasticity, Connectivity, and Continuity, each outlining principles for enhancing professional learning based on neuroscience.

Neurodesign- Minimize Cognitive Load and Maximize the Working Memory

It is important to focus on the elements of neurodesign to minimize cognitive load and ensure that learners are not overwhelmed or burned out when designing and implementing professional learning.

  • Create designs that focus on content specificity to maximize human brain processing and long-term working memory.
  • Minimize cognitive load and information overload to prevent overwhelmingness and ensure that information is sent to long-term memory.
  • Incorporate designs and principles such as visual hierarchy and others that support the neuroscience of how the brain processes information and what it is naturally drawn to.

When content is overwhelming, the amygdala, the system responsible for routing information based on your emotional state, takes over and sends information to the reactive brain, thus blocking it from entering the prefrontal cortex. The reactive brain responds to information instinctively instead of through thinking.

Professional learning designs and implementations must ensure that information is channeled to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) instead of the reactive brain, because the PFC is responsible for cellular changes that produce long-term neural networks. Unfortunately, “the prefrontal cortex is actually only 17 percent of your brain; the rest makes up the reactive brain” (Willis, 2009).

Designs that tightly pack content onto slides and have too many slides make learners overwhelmed and burned out. We must use profound neurodesign principles that focus on:

  • Organizing and delivering content to provide specificity, clarity, precision, connectivity, simplicity of design, consistency, and calmness for learning.
  • Including elements that the brain is naturally drawn to, such as:
    • Varying sizes of shapes and text.
    • Consistent fonts, themes, colors, and style.
    • Distinct guiding titles and guiding arrows.
    • Contrasting colors and icons.
    • Chunked and well-spaced text.
    • Clutter-free slides with white space that improve readability.
  • Adding relevant pictures and images and allowing them to profoundly communicate a thousand words.
  • Using visual hierarchy or infographics in which content is prioritized, and the importance is shown to guide users through a seamless and aesthetically appealing flow that hooks and deepens learning.

Is your professional learning design using neurodesign principles to ensure that information is sent to the prefrontal cortex, which is only 17 percent of the brain?

Plasticity- Heighten Neurogenesis and Neuroplasticity to Promote Enduring Learning

The Science of Learning and Implementation places significant emphasis on plasticity, more specifically, neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, when designing professional learning. To grow new neurons, strengthen neural connections, and develop high-level executive functioning skills, we must implement the following essential practices and ideas:

  • Create professional learning that promotes neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. If not, information is shared, but enduring learning does not take place.
  • Design rigorous learning opportunities that fire and wire neurons together, provide repeated activation, and allow for frequency and recency of ideas to strengthen neural synapses.
  • Include tasks that require participants to engage in writing and other science of learning styles to grow new neurons and strengthen neural networks.

It was once believed that the brain did not have the ability to grow new neurons, but this belief was disproven in 1960 by Joseph Altman and replaced with the belief of neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons. Neurogenesis is understood to be a lifelong process; adults can grow new neurons. The concept of neuroplasticity, or brain plasticity is the brain’s ability to develop stronger structures and networks; it dates back to 1890.

Once information enters the prefrontal cortex, it is transmitted to short-term memory by synapses and neurons. If the information is deemed important, then and only then is it sent to the hippocampus and afterwards to the neocortex for long-term storage. It is not at all automatic that information is transferred to long-term storage.

So, how do we develop new neurons and fire and wire neurons together to strengthen neural networks for long-term storage when we design professional learning?

  • Neurodesign components explored in the neurodesign section must be a number one priority to ensure content is sent to the pre-frontal cortex and the process of neuroplasticity is heightened.
  • Use it or lose it: Repetition is key in strengthening neural networks. Repetition here does not relate to rote memory and step-by-step memorization, but to repetition of in-depth and profound ideas that help learners generate long-term connections for retrieval and application. Active engagement is critical!
  • Create larger and stronger networks of neurons by seamlessly incorporating and blending multiple research-based strategies that connect ideas from slide to slide and within slides.
  • Ensure that learners are not passive recipients but instead are given numerous and extensive opportunities to be active participants. Learners must be given time to work on high-level tasks and create high-level learning products.

Is your professional learning design firing and wiring neurons together and developing strong neural networks so that information is deemed important and sent to the neocortex?

Connectivity – Connect to Different Regions of the Brain, Pedagogy, and Andragogy

A focus on the power of connectivity when creating professional learning designs is extremely crucial if we want learners to generate excellent learning artifacts and continuously apply learning at a high level. Connectivity strengthens neural connections and heightens learning.

  • Cognitive content and tasks must be designed to ensure multiple regions of the brain connect and communicate in order to strengthen neural synapses and complex neural networks.
  • Learning must connect to adult learning principles to increase the opportunities for new neurons to be generated and stronger neural networks to be formed.
  • Knowledge gained must be interconnectedly applied and implemented to deepen learning and strengthen neural connections.

To significantly improve connectivity, it is essential to ensure the implementation of the following science of learning practices.

  • Personalize learning by focusing on goals. Your learners have prioritized goals and learning outcomes, so learning designs must provide opportunities for learners to focus on their goals during the learning session and create learning artifacts that align with them.
  • Include brain-related learning styles and multiple sensory designs that the brain is naturally drawn to (not the myth of fixed learning styles). Some of these are visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Ensure that both the left and right hemispheres are involved in learning to strengthen neural connections.
  • Provide learners with choice to meet their needs and have relevance for learning. Both adults and young learners need to see the relevance for learning and choose tasks that are relevant to their needs, goals, and experiences.
  • Incorporate writing into learning sessions. Writing deepens connectivity; “the process of creative formulation and physical writing lights up a whole lot of the human brain. Language, cognition, memory, visual processing, planning and control, and the ability to make associations between unrelated concepts all come into play” (This Is Your Brain on Writing, n.d.).
  • Learning designs must incorporate the connectedness of all pedagogical strategies to show how these can be used concurrently. Use flowcharts or infographics to communicate the big picture. Too often, strategies are shared in isolation, but this goes against the science of learning and implementation theories.

Do your learning designs use pedagogical and andragogical principles that connect both regions of the brain to develop long-lasting neural connections?

Continuity – Optimize Brain Pruning and Mature Complex Processes

Excellence in designing professional learning is not a one-time situation. Instead, it is a dedicated journey of ongoing creations, metacognition, and revisions. Learning does not stop at a PL session; it has only just begun. Continuity is key in the science of learning and implementation.

  • Continuity is an active process of recursion that impacts brain convolution and results in mature complex processes, integration of ideas, and high cognitive creations and implementations.

The science of learning and implementation stresses the importance and need for continuity for brain functions such as pruning, recursion, and brain convolution to take place to impact excellent and enduring learning. How can we promote continuity of learning after the professional learning session?

  • Time must be carved into the learning design for participants to reflect on their goals and learning artifacts and develop an implementation timeline with steps for ongoing revision.
  • Young and adult learners need to understand the principles behind having a growth mindset. Develop a simple framework for learners to complete and focus on ways to deal with setbacks during implementation. Here are two examples of growth mindset initiatives I developed from scratch and spearheaded: SAGE Growth Conversations and the GROW Growth Mindset Framework. Teachers were asked to collaborate with me after I created a framework, timeline, and artifact.
  • Incorporate self-learning activities that develop self-directed and autonomous learners.
  • It is said that emotions are closely related to the brain and learning. How can you tap into your participants’ emotions to make a lasting impact for high-level continuity? I have used images, questions, videos, stories, and more to promote connectivity.

Knowledge gained from professional learning can easily be forgotten or lost if we do not incorporate strategies that ensure continuity.

How are you designing professional learning to guarantee continuity?

As a unique autodidactic learner from the age of three and a half years old, I have always been riveted in my purpose, goals, and my innate passion for learning and continuously applying knowledge gained. My wife, Melanie Gildharry, an educator turned business analyst, is blazing trails and creating excellent products at extremely high levels in the business world. Like me, she is also an autodidactic learner who follows a heutagogy learning model and has a deep-seated passion for learning and creating.

When I analyze the common principles, traits, and mindsets we share from attending and presenting professional development, it narrows down to the four science of learning principles of neurodesign, plasticity, connectivity, and continuity. For us, even when these elements were not incorporated into PL sessions we attended, we ensured that our learning products included them. No professional learning session is ever wasted for us!

Professional learning attendees, the onus is also on you. Your learning artifacts and implementation steps must focus on neurodesign, plasticity, connectivity, and continuity, even if these are not present in your professional learning sessions.

It is important to remember that “Knowledge is not power until it is applied” ~ Dale Carnegie. However, know that there will be failures in the journey of applying the science of learning and implementation to design excellent professional learning and create learning artifacts, but always remember the profound and inspiring words of Albert Einstein:

  • “Failure is success in progress”
  • “You never fail until you stop trying”
  • “The only sure way to avoid making mistakes is to have no new ideas”
  • “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them”

Keep in mind, professional learning designs in the U.S. are used as exemplars for learners around the world. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that we continue to incorporate the science of learning and implementation principles into professional learning designs to generate exceptional learning sessions.

Let’s lead professional learning designs that focus on The Science of Learning and Implementation elements.

References

Ford, D. J. (2011, July 20). How the Brain Learns – Training Industry. Training Industry. https://trainingindustry.com/articles/content-development/how-the-brain-learns/

Neurogenesis and Neuroplasticity: Similarities and Differences. (n.d.). http://Www.re-Origin.com. https://www.re-origin.com/articles/neurogenesis-and-neuroplasticity

Understanding Brain Connectivity: How Our Minds Develop and Adapt. (2020). Brainbalancecenters.com. https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/blog/understanding-brain-connectivity-how-our-minds-develop-and-adapt

What Is Neurodesign? | Built In. (2024). Built In. https://builtin.com/articles/neurodesign

About the Author Cherry-Anne Gildharry

I have a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, a Master of Science in Education, and a Graduate Certificate in Instructional Coaching. I have 33 years of experience in education, and counting, and I have taught math in Trinidad and Tobago, North Carolina, Iowa, and Texas.

Throughout my career, I have held numerous roles, such as a High School and Middle School Math Teacher, Department Chair, and Teacher Leader. I have also served as an Algebra 1 and Geometry Lead Teacher, Workshop Creator and Facilitator, and Marzano’s Demonstration Teacher. Additionally, I served as a School-Based and District Coach, Leadership Coach and Collaborator, Learning Design Strategist, Virtual Instructional Coach, Professional Development Auditor, and Professional Development Content Creator.

I have a track record of success both as a teacher, curriculum designer, school-based and district-level coach, and virtual instructional coach. In North Carolina, 100% of my Algebra 1 and Geometry students achieved passing scores for consecutive years using tasks I designed from scratch. As an instructional coach, consultant, and change agent, I have coached teachers in North Carolina, Iowa, Texas, and Teach for America teachers to attain similar track records. I currently help develop courses for teachers and coach teachers in various states across the United States.

I am a lifelong and self-driven learner and educator with a growth mindset and an undeniable passion for education. I am beyond blessed to be married to the woman of my dreams; a former Chemistry teacher, technology coach, E-Learning Designer, and Curriculum Manager turned Business Analyst, and a lifelong learner and educator. Together, our energies drive our success, philosophies, dedication, career, and family goals even more. We are work-life balance advocates. We believe in working extremely hard but intentionally setting time aside to recharge and rejuvenate!

About Rachelle

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher. Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is an edtech consultant, presenter, attorney, author, and teacher of Spanish and STEAM: Emerging Technology. Rachelle has a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Doctorate in Instructional Technology. Rachelle’s focus was on the need for professional development for educators, specific to Artificial Intelligence. Rachelle specializes in Artificial Intelligence, AI and the Law, AI and Healthcare, Cybersecurity, and STEM. She has more than 8 years of experience teaching and presenting on AI in her classroom, as well as working with educators worldwide.

Rachelle is currently serving as the Grant Coach for an initiative through ISTE+ASCD and Pinterest. Rachelle works with a Task Force from 12 districts in the United States and assists with policy revision, professional development, and the design of digital wellness resources for students, educators, and families.

Rachelle provides professional development related to AI policy and implementation to school districts, universities, and organizations. She also presents and provides keynotes on AI at state, national, and international events and in schools. Rachelle also provides AI training for other industries, including business, healthcare, and legal fields.
Rachelle is an ISTE-certified educator and recipient of the ISTE Making IT Happen Award and several Presidential Awards for volunteer service to education. Rachelle received the EdTech Trendsetter Award from EdTech Digest in 2024 and 2026.

She is the author of ten books, including “What the Tech? An Educator’s Guide to AI, AR/VR, the Metaverse and More! and “How to Teach AI: Weaving Strategies and Activities Into Any Content Area.” She has written curricula and courses on AI for all levels.

She is also a blogger for Defined Learning, EdTech K12, Edutopia, Getting Smart, and Tech & Learning. She is the host of the ThriveinEDU podcast, ISTE’s Learning Unleashed podcast, and The Lift by Amazon on BAM Radio Network. Contact Rachelle for your event!

Image featuring Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth with her name, social media handle, and a selection of her book covers displayed along with a brief description of her roles as an educator, author, attorney, and consultant.

Murder, Mystery, and Machine Minds: AI-Powered “Whodunits” for the Classroom

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

Guest post by: Renee Dawson | Middle School Special Education Teacher | Atlanta, GA @dawsonedtech | #AIinEDU #whodunit #middleschoolteachers

What if your next standards-based lesson felt more like a crime scene investigation than a worksheet, and your students were actually excited to complete the activity for the lesson? With AI chatbots and generative image tools, you can transform traditional content and learning activities into immersive “whodunit” experiences that hook middle and high school students while reinforcing critical skills.

At its core, a classroom whodunit is a structured problem-solving activity. Students analyze clues, apply content knowledge, and eliminate possibilities to determine the culprit, location, and weapon. The twist? AI can now help you generate the entire experience, completely aligned to the current state standard you’re teaching, in minutes.

Start with your standard, not the story. Choose a specific learning objective, such as: identifying types of symbiotic relationships, solving integer operations, or analyzing textual evidence. Then prompt your favorite AI chatbot to build a mystery scenario that embeds those concepts into clues. For example, if your standard focuses on integer operations, each clue might require students to correctly solve a problem to eliminate a suspect. A correct answer could reveal: “The suspect was seen at a temperature of -5°C, but your solution shows the crime occurred at +3°C. This suspect is not the murderer.”

The power of this approach lies in how clues are structured. Each question should act as a gatekeeper, allowing students to eliminate one of three categories: suspect, location, or weapon.

AI chatbots are great for generating these layered clue systems. You can ask for 8–12 clues that vary in difficulty, include misconceptions, or scaffold learning. For differentiation, you might prompt the AI to create leveled versions of the same mystery.

For example, in a science classroom studying ecosystems, a clue might read: “The crime scene shows evidence of a parasitic relationship. Which suspect studies organisms where one benefits and the other is harmed?” Students must apply vocabulary knowledge to eliminate suspects who specialize in mutualism or commensalism. Each correct interpretation moves them closer to solving the case.

Once your narrative and clues are generated, generative AI tools can bring the mystery to life visually. You can create realistic or stylized images of:

  • Suspects (for example, “a nervous-looking botanist in a greenhouse”)
  • Locations (for example, “a dimly lit school laboratory with overturned beakers”)
  • Weapons or objects (for example, “a cracked test tube labeled with a chemical formula”)

These visuals dramatically increase engagement, especially for visual learners and students who benefit from contextual cues. They also make your activity feel more like a game or digital escape room rather than a traditional assignment.

To streamline your workflow, you can pair tools strategically. Use a chatbot to generate the storyline, character descriptions, and clue questions. Then copy those descriptions into an image generator to create matching visuals. Finally, organize everything into a platform you already use to create a slide deck, digital form, or even a digital escape room, where students can interact with clues, track eliminations, and submit their final answers. I enjoy creating an introduction video that students either watch in their group or I play on my interactive board to help set the scene and get them excited for the activity. To get them moving and release some of their energy, consider hiding the clues around your classroom or throughout a hallway to add a scavenger hunt aspect to the activity.

Another advantage of AI-generated whodunits is how easily they support iteration. You can quickly revise a clue for clarity, swap out a standard, or regenerate an entire mystery with a different theme (school, space station, historical setting) while keeping the same academic focus. This flexibility is especially valuable for reteaching, enrichment, or standardized test preparation.

Of course, the teacher’s role remains essential. AI can generate content, but you ensure alignment, accuracy, and appropriateness for your students. Review each clue for misconceptions, adjust language for readability, and consider adding discussion or reflection components. For instance, after solving the mystery, students might explain how specific evidence helped them eliminate each suspect, reinforcing both content knowledge and reasoning skills. Another component I often add at the end of my science whodunits is to have the students complete a CER (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning) activity on the learning objective or standard using information from the clues in the activity.

When you use AI tools to your advantage, you can create whodunits that turn learning into an experience. Students aren’t just answering questions, they’re investigating, debating, and thinking critically. Plus, as they work to crack the case, they’re also mastering the standard you set out to teach.

AI-Powered Whodunit Teacher Quick Guide

Step 1: Start with Your Standard. Choose a specific learning target. One skill per mystery works best.

Step 2: Prompt the AI for a Mystery Scenario. Ask the chatbot to generate:

  • A short backstory (crime + setting)
  • 3–5 suspects, locations, and/or tools
  • 8–10 clues tied directly to your standard

Step 3: Design Elimination-Based Questions Ensure each clue leads students to eliminate:

  • One suspect, OR
  • One location, OR
  • One key object

Step 4: Generate Visuals (Optional but Powerful) Use an image generator to create:

  • Suspects (character portraits)
  • Locations (crime scenes)
  • Key objects (weapons/tools)

Step 5: Build the Activity Organize in:

  • Google Slides (interactive clues)
  • Google Forms (self-checking)
  • Escape room format (locks + codes)

Step 6: Add a Reflection Have students explain:

  • How they eliminated options
  • Which clues were most important

Sample AI Prompts:

Science: “Create a whodunit mystery for 7th-grade students where they must identify types of symbiotic relationships (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism) to solve the case. Include 4 suspects, each with a scientific specialty, and 8 clues. Each clue should require students to correctly identify a relationship type in order to eliminate one suspect, location, or object. Include clear answers and explanations.”

Social Studies: “Create a whodunit mystery for 8th-grade students set in a historical context where students must use geographic clues (landforms, climate, or region characteristics) to determine where an event took place. Include 4 locations and 8 clues. Each clue should require students to apply geographic reasoning to eliminate one incorrect location or suspect. Align to the following 8th-grade social studies standard listed below.”

Math: “Create a classroom whodunit mystery for 6th-grade students where solving integer problems helps students identify the culprit. Include 4 suspects and 8 clues. Each clue should involve integer operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or absolute value). A correct solution should allow students to eliminate one suspect, location, or weapon. Include an answer key and step-by-step solutions.”

Language Arts: “Create a whodunit mystery for 6th-grade students where students must analyze short passages and identify themes or use textual evidence to solve the case. Include 4 suspects and 8 clues. Each clue should include a short paragraph on a 3rd-4th grade reading level and a question requiring students to infer themes or cite evidence, allowing them to eliminate one suspect, location, or object. Include sample answers and reasoning.”

Sample Introduction Video to one of my whodunit activities for 6th grade math:

AI-generated images from some of my classroom whodunits:

Images generated using Microsoft Image Generator

About Rachelle

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher. Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is an edtech consultant, presenter, attorney, author, and teacher of Spanish and STEAM: Emerging Technology. Rachelle has a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Doctorate in Instructional Technology. Rachelle’s focus was on the need for professional development for educators, specific to Artificial Intelligence. Rachelle specializes in Artificial Intelligence, AI and the Law, AI and Healthcare, Cybersecurity, and STEM. She has more than 8 years of experience teaching and presenting on AI in her classroom, as well as working with educators worldwide.

Rachelle is currently serving as the Grant Coach for an initiative through ISTE+ASCD and Pinterest. Rachelle works with a Task Force from 12 districts in the United States and assists with policy revision, professional development, and the design of digital wellness resources for students, educators, and families.

Rachelle provides professional development related to AI policy and implementation to school districts, universities, and organizations. She also presents and provides keynotes on AI at state, national, and international events and in schools. Rachelle also provides AI training for other industries, including business, healthcare, and legal fields.
Rachelle is an ISTE-certified educator and recipient of the ISTE Making IT Happen Award and several Presidential Awards for volunteer service to education. Rachelle received the EdTech Trendsetter Award from EdTech Digest in 2024 and 2026.

She is the author of ten books, including “What the Tech? An Educator’s Guide to AI, AR/VR, the Metaverse and More! and “How to Teach AI: Weaving Strategies and Activities Into Any Content Area.” She has written curricula and courses on AI for all levels.

She is also a blogger for Defined Learning, EdTech K12, Edutopia, Getting Smart, and Tech & Learning. She is the host of the ThriveinEDU podcast, ISTE’s Learning Unleashed podcast, and The Lift by Amazon on BAM Radio Network. Contact Rachelle for your event!

AI in Education vs. AI Education, Part V

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

Rethinking Learning and Assessment in the AI Era

Throughout this series, I have focused on the distinction between AI in education and AI education, the importance of moving from policy to practice, and the steps schools can take to build more intentional and responsible systems around AI.

But another question continues to come up in conversations with educators:

What happens to teaching and assessment when students have access to AI?

AI can brainstorm, summarize, explain, revise writing, solve problems, generate examples, create images, and produce polished responses in seconds. If it can complete part of an assignment, or sometimes most of it, we need to ask a more important question:

What are we actually assessing?

The focus should not simply be on whether students can produce a finished product. It should be on whether they understand, can explain, apply, evaluate, and think independently. Throughout this series, I have focused on the distinction between AI in education and AI education, but as I started winding down the short series, I recognized another question that continues to come up in conversations with educators:

What happens to teaching and assessment when students have access to AI?

I have heard it frequently, and it is a question that deserves attention because AI is powerful. It can brainstorm, summarize, explain, generate examples, revise writing, solve problems, create images, and produce responses within seconds.

So my thoughts are that if AI is able to complete part of an assignment, or potentially most of it, as educators, we need to really consider what it is that we are assessing. The answer should not be whether a student can produce a finished product (focus on process over product), but whether they understand, can explain, can apply, can evaluate, and can think on their own.

Start With the Learning Goal

Before deciding whether students should use AI, educators need to identify the instructional purpose of the learning experience.

  1. What should students know?
  2. What should they be able to do?
  3. What thinking should they demonstrate?
  4. What skills are we trying to develop?

Once those questions are clear, it is easier to decide what role, if any, AI should play in our instruction.

If the purpose of an assignment is to assess a student’s ability to organize and communicate their own ideas, then using AI to generate the response may interfere with the learning goal. If the purpose is to evaluate sources, revise weak arguments, compare perspectives, or improve a draft, AI may have an appropriate supporting role.

Instead of asking only, Can students use AI? I think a better question is:

What role should AI play in this particular learning experience?

Assess the Thinking, Not Just the Product

For many years, I was focused on the tools and final products to evidence learning. Whether it was an essay, a presentation, a project, or a worksheet. But now that we are in the AI era, we have to reconsider those final products. A final product does not always provide enough insight into what a student actually understands. We know that students may create great representations of their learning via final products, which they did without the use of AI, however, we may want more evidence of their learning along the way. Those products still matter, but in an AI era, we may need more evidence of the thinking behind them.

Some examples may be to ask students to provide:

  • drafts
  • annotations
  • reflection questions
  • process journals
  • checkpoints
  • revisions
  • explanations of decisions
  • demonstrations of how they reached their conclusions

These are not new strategies, but they are increasingly becoming more important, especially with AI. If the purpose of an assignment is student thinking, then the learning experience needs to make that thinking visible.

Decide What Role AI Should Play

One of the most important instructional decisions educators can make is determining the appropriate role of AI in an assignment.

In Part III, I shared an AI-use continuum that schools and educators can use as a starting point.

AI use may be:

  • not permitted
  • permitted with educator approval
  • permitted with disclosure
  • encouraged for a defined purpose
  • intentionally embedded in the assignment

I believe that the same continuum becomes especially useful when we think about assessment.

For example, AI might not be appropriate during an assessment designed to measure independent writing skills. We want students to develop student agency and be independent thinkers.

But AI could be intentionally included in an assignment that tasks students with critiquing an AI-generated response, identifying errors, comparing perspectives, or improving a weak argument. Even taking five minutes to have ChatGPT or any other LLM generate inaccuracies around a concept and then tasking students with critically evaluating it will make an impact on their learning.

Students might use AI to brainstorm ideas, but are still expected to create and defend the final product themselves. Being able to demonstrate learning, make thinking visible, and grasp the concepts and content they need to be successful, are essential.

Another idea is for students to partner with AI to receive feedback, rather than answers, and then explain which suggestions they accepted, which they rejected, and why. An activity like this really helps students to build those critical thinking and digital discernment skills. We always want to connect back to the learning goal and align with our instructional purpose.

Build in Evidence of Student Thinking

One of the best ways to preserve student ownership is to create opportunities for students to explain their thinking. It does not need to take a lot of time. It is possible through simple questions and activities. Some examples are to ask students:

  • Why did you make this choice?
  • How did you arrive at this conclusion?
  • What evidence supports your answer?
  • What did you change during the process?
  • What did AI contribute? What did you contribute?
  • What did you disagree with?
  • What did you verify? How?
  • Are you able to explain this without the use of AI?

These are just some of the guiding questions that can promote visible thinking and help students become more aware of their own learning process. Metacognition comes into play here.

For example, instead of asking students only to submit a final essay, educators might ask them to submit an outline, a short draft, be transparent about where they used AI, explain a revision they made, and briefly defend their final argument.

Here are some content area examples:

Science: Students might compare an AI-generated explanation with a verified source and break down and discuss where the response is incomplete or inaccurate.

Math: Students could analyze an AI-generated solution to a problem and explain whether the reasoning is correct.

Social Studies: Students could compare how AI explains the same historical issue from varying perspectives.

World Languages: Students might evaluate an AI translation and explain where meaning, tone, or cultural context changes and where there might be misunderstandings.  I have done this with my own students.

In learning, the final product still matters, but so does the process that produced it.

Productive Struggle

AI can make many tasks faster, but faster does not always mean better for learning. An additional concern is that because AI can produce answers so quickly, students will not experience productive struggle.  Students need opportunities to think through difficult problems, experience uncertainty, make mistakes, revise, and discover that their first idea is not always their best one.

If AI removes every challenge, it may also remove part of the learning.

I have explained to my own students about the importance of productive struggle. When they question me, I tell them that they need time to think through a difficult problem, to experience uncertainty, to make mistakes, to revise, and sometimes realize that the first idea is not always the best one.

If we rely on AI too much, it takes away the challenge and may also take away some of the opportunities for learning. And for this reason, completing things quickly and efficiently should not always be the goal in education. I’ve tried to convey that sometimes the process matters more than the speed. Sometimes finding the answer when working alone builds confidence. Sometimes struggling with a sentence or solving a math problem helps students develop the skills of resilience, collaboration, and student agency.

I consider this in my work and ask educators to consider which struggles are unnecessary barriers for students and which are essential parts of learning. We know that AI can help remove barriers, but pushing it further, it should not remove every challenge for students.

From AI Efficiency to AI Dependency

One of the biggest concerns I see developing is not simply whether students are using AI, but whether they are becoming overly reliant on it.

There is a difference. Think about the difference between using AI efficiently and relying on AI to do the thinking. Efficiency means selecting and using a tool or even a strategy to support a learning task while still maintaining ownership, judgment, and understanding. But on the other side, overreliance or dependency happens when students become unable or unwilling to complete the task without the tool.

Students need our guidance. In my work this past year with schools across the country, this is what I have heard from them. They want us to help them develop awareness and develop a checklist that they can work through to understand when they should and shouldn’t use AI. Some questions they can consider are:

  • Could I do this without AI?
  • Did AI help me think, or did it do the thinking for me?
  • Am I able to explain this in my own words?
  • Did I verify the information? How can I?
  • What decisions did I make? (not the AI)
  • What did I actually learn, and can I explain it to another person?
  • Would I still understand this if the tool were unavailable?

Questions like this will help students build more than AI literacy skills. They will build self-awareness, which is important because we know that responsible AI use is not just about knowing how to use a tool, but it is also about knowing when to use it, how much to rely on it, and when to step away from it.

Assessment is Evolving

Concerns came right away. “The kids are going to cheat.” “It’s the end of assessments as we know them.”  But AI does not mean we need to throw assessments aside. I believe that it means we have to be very clear about what we are assessing. Sometimes students ask simple questions. For example, as a Spanish teacher, can I give them the English word and have them match it with the Spanish word? But with AI, I have been thinking through this more. Here are my thoughts:

If we are assessing recall, there may be times when AI should not be available.

If we are assessing reasoning, students may need to explain their process.

If we are assessing creativity, students may need to show how their ideas developed.

For research skills, students may need to verify sources and defend why they trust them.

There are a lot of things to consider in our work as educators when it comes to AI. If AI is intentionally part of the learning experience, then evaluating how students use AI may itself have to become part of the assessment. I present these questions in sessions that I do and when talking with student focus groups. I ask them:

  1. Did you question the output?
  2. Do you recognize limitations?
  3. Can you identify bias?
  4. Are you able to verify claims?
  5. Can you make decisions about what to use and what to reject?

Students need to develop these skills because they are important, especially when considering their preparation for a successful future.

Where AI in Education and AI Education Meet

Throughout this series, I have focused on AI in Education and AI Education. Now, in this fifth and final part (I think), is where the distinction between them becomes especially important.

AI in education asks what role AI should play in the learning experience: whether students should use it, when, for what purpose, and under what expectations.

AI education asks whether students understand what AI is doing: whether they can evaluate its output, recognize limitations and bias, verify information, and make responsible decisions about its use.

Assessment brings both together because educators must evaluate not only what students produce, but also the thinking, judgment, and learning that led to it.

Students should not only demonstrate that they can use AI. They should demonstrate that they can think with it, think beyond it, and think without it when needed.

My Final Thoughts

Now that we have so many possibilities available because of AI, it does not make the learning process less important. It hopefully makes it more important and leads us to be more intentional in our instructional planning.

Educators have always been responsible for designing learning experiences that help students develop knowledge, skills, confidence, and independence, all of which will lead to future success.

AI challenges us to be more intentional and design learning experiences that make students’ thinking visible. We need to guide students to recognize the difference between using AI for enhancement versus replacement. And something that I’ve heard more frequently is not trading the efficiency that AI can promote for dependency on AI.

I think we are past whether or not AI belongs in education. It is here. Research and predictions for future work show that it will continue to be in demand. So as educators, we must prepare our students and ourselves to use it ethically and responsibly. We have to stay focused on how we can use it so it does not result in the loss of essential skills like critical thinking, productive struggle, reflection, creativity, and human judgment that make learning truly authentic and meaningful.

How we do this is an important question to consider as we continue moving forward in an AI-shaped world.

Thanks for reading this series and for the feedback.

Please subscribe to my ThriveinEDU newsletter to stay informed. And contact me for more information.

If Your Organization Is Beginning This Work

I help schools and other organizations (law firms, healthcare professionals, business owners) implement AI responsibly through policy guidance, professional learning, and classroom-ready strategies grounded in both instructional practice and legal insight.

My sessions focus on helping teams:

• understand what AI can and cannot do

• recognize responsible-use considerations

• build confidence using emerging tools

• align implementation with organizational priorities

If your school, district, or organization is beginning conversations or looking to dive in and learn more about AI policy, professional learning, or responsible implementation, I’d welcome the opportunity to support your next steps through leadership workshops, keynote sessions, or strategic planning partnerships.

Preparing people is what makes AI implementation successful. Contact me via bit.ly/thrivineduPD or email Rdene915@gmail.com, for my training and speaking services.

Article content

AI in Education vs. AI Education, Part III

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

The First 5 Steps on the Roadmap for Moving Forward

In Part I, I explored the difference between AI in education and AI education and why both are essential if we want to prepare students for a rapidly changing world.

In Part II, I focused on the gap between policy and practice and introduced six areas that schools and districts should address as they move from conversation to implementation:

  • Establish clear, shared expectations
  • Invest in educator readiness
  • Teach AI literacy intentionally
  • Align AI use with digital wellness
  • Engage stakeholders
  • Review, measure, and adjust

Now, we have to consider how schools actually begin this work. In this part of the series, I will share the first five steps of the roadmap moving forward.

There is no single plan that will fit every school or district. Community needs, resources, policies, student populations, and levels of readiness will vary across school systems within states and across the country.

Given the pace at which AI is advancing, schools should not wait until they have every answer to every question asked. They just need a starting point, a shared process, and a willingness to learn and adjust along the way. And to be successful, they need to be involved in thoughtful and consistent conversations.

Having the Right People at the Table

AI implementation should not be the responsibility of one person, department, or leadership team. I have said this many times when presenting at conferences and working with school districts. AI implementation requires multiple perspectives.

In the past year, schools that have formed an AI Task Force and included members from different backgrounds and roles in education have had the most success.

School and district task forces should include:

  • classroom educators from varying grade levels and content areas
  • students
  • families
  • school and district leaders
  • curriculum and instructional technology staff
  • special education and student-support representatives
  • data privacy, cybersecurity, or legal personnel
  • community or workforce partners

Having members from each group leads to a more thorough evaluation and a deeper understanding of AI from different perspectives.

Educators understand classroom realities. Students understand how AI is being used. Families can ask questions, express concerns, and support needs.

On the tech side, technology and legal professionals can help address privacy, security, contracts, age requirements, and compliance with relevant laws. School leaders can connect the work to curriculum, professional learning, communication, and long-term planning.

Connecting these voices creates a stronger foundation for decisions and helps prevent policies from being created in isolation. And it does not require a large task force to be impactful. The goal is to make sure the people affected by the decisions have a meaningful role in shaping them.

Here are the steps that I recommend for schools. During my workshops, speaking events, and writing, I try to help build out policies and systems that will have an impact.  I also expand on each of these and create interactive experiences to help educators and students, develop skills and become more knowledgeable about AI and responsible use of it.

Step 1: Understand What Is Already Happening

Before schools write new policies or purchase new tools, they need to understand their current status.

Students and educators may already be using AI in a variety of ways, including:

  • brainstorming
  • lesson planning
  • generating questions
  • summarizing information
  • creating drafts
  • translating text
  • producing images
  • providing feedback
  • researching ideas
  • completing assignments

Some uses may be appropriate and productive, while others may raise concerns about privacy, accuracy, bias, academic integrity, or overreliance. My work with AI and the law addresses these concerns.

Schools cannot create effective expectations without first understanding what is happening. Over the past year, sitting with student focus groups, moderating panels, and visiting classrooms have all helped me to gain additional insights into what schools look like in an AI era.

Schools need to know where confusion exists, what educators need, what students already understand, and where gaps in guidance may be creating risk. The information gathered should guide the next steps.

Step 2: Define Shared Principles

Before writing detailed rules, schools should identify the principles that will guide AI use. These principles provide a common foundation across classrooms and grade levels, even when specific expectations vary. Common and shared language around AI is essential.

Possible shared principles might include:

  • Human judgment remains essential.
  • Learning remains the priority.
  • AI should support thinking rather than replace it.
  • AI use should be acknowledged when appropriate.
  • AI-generated content should be evaluated for accuracy, bias, and relevance.
  • Technology use should align with student well-being and instructional purpose.
  • Access and expectations should be equitable.

These principles can help educators make decisions when a new tool, classroom scenario, or student question arises. And they are especially important because schools cannot anticipate every possible use of AI. A policy can provide boundaries and shared principles that help people make responsible decisions within those boundaries.

Step 3: Create Clear Expectations for Use

One of the most common challenges educators face is determining when AI use should be allowed. The appropriate role of AI depends on the learning goal, the age of the student, the type of assignment, the information being shared, and the amount of independent thinking required. Schools may benefit from creating an AI-use continuum. For example:

AI Use Is Not Permitted

Students are expected to complete the task independently because the goal is to assess their individual knowledge, thinking, or skill.

AI Use Requires Educator Approval

Students may use AI only after discussing the intended purpose with the educator.

AI Use Is Permitted With Disclosure

Students may use AI for specific parts of the process but must explain how it was used.

AI Use Is Encouraged for a Defined Purpose

AI is intentionally used for brainstorming, comparison, feedback, revision, simulation, or another identified learning goal.

AI Use Is Embedded in the Assignment

Students are expected to interact with AI, evaluate its output, identify limitations, and reflect on its role in their work.

This type of continuum gives educators more flexibility and helps students understand that responsible use depends on context. The expectation should always connect to the purpose of the learning experience.

Step 4: Prepare Educators Through Practical Professional Learning

Educator readiness is one of the most important parts of implementation and it was the focus of my doctoral research two years ago.

Teachers should not be handed a policy and expected to figure out the rest on their own. They need time to explore, ask questions, test tools, and express concerns. Educators need opportunities to examine questions such as:

  • What is the learning goal?
  • How might AI support the learning?
  • How might it interfere with the learning?
  • What should students be expected to do independently?
  • What privacy or safety concerns exist?
  • Would another approach be more effective?

Having conversations and addressing questions like these will help educators build confidence and consistency.

Step 5: Teach AI Literacy Across the Curriculum

AI education should not only be addressed in a computer science class. AI literacy should be developed across subjects and grade levels. Some examples are:

  • In language arts, students might compare a human-written passage with an AI-generated one and analyze voice, evidence, and credibility.
  • In social studies, they might examine how bias appears in responses about historical events.
  • In science, students might verify an AI-generated explanation against trusted scientific sources.
  • In math classes, students might evaluate whether an AI-generated solution is correct and explain where the reasoning succeeds or fails.
  • In world language classes, students might compare AI translations and identify where meaning, tone, or cultural context is lost.

With activities like these, we can teach students how to question, evaluate, and make decisions about the use of AI and its accuracy.

These first five steps provide a practical starting point for schools and districts working to move from uncertainty to intentional action. By bringing the right people together, understanding current AI use, defining shared principles, creating clear expectations and common language, preparing educators, and building AI literacy across the curriculum, schools will establish a stronger foundation for responsible implementation. But the work does not end here.

In Part IV, I will continue the roadmap by exploring how schools can connect AI use with digital wellness, communicate clearly with students and families, and create an ongoing process for reviewing, measuring, and adjusting their approach.

Subscribe to my ThriveinEDU newsletter to stay informed.

If Your Organization Is Beginning This Work

I help schools and other organizations (law firms, healthcare professionals, business owners) implement AI responsibly through policy guidance, professional learning, and classroom-ready strategies grounded in both instructional practice and legal insight.

My sessions focus on helping teams:

• understand what AI can and cannot do

• recognize responsible-use considerations

• build confidence using emerging tools

• align implementation with organizational priorities

If your school, district, or organization is beginning conversations or looking to dive in and learn more about AI policy, professional learning, or responsible implementation, I’d welcome the opportunity to support your next steps through leadership workshops, keynote sessions, or strategic planning partnerships.

Preparing people is what makes AI implementation successful. Contact me via bit.ly/thrivineduPD or email Rdene915@gmail.com, for my training and speaking services.

Article content

Learning Together in Immersive Worlds: Exploring Multiplayer in Delightex Edu

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth Leave a comment

In collaboration with Delightex Edu.

I started using Delightex (formerly CoSpaces Edu) many years ago in my STEAM and Spanish classes. I dove into creating projects and finding options and opportunities for students to explore and have fun learning. For more than 9 years, I have used Delightex Edu with my students and have been continually awed by the platform’s enhancements.

Each year, a variety of new features are added to the already robust platform. What I love about it is that the new features spark curiosity, inspire creativity, and, most importantly, give students more ownership of their learning. The loss of these skills is a concern in the rapidly advancing technological landscape in education. Delightex continues to open up more opportunities for educators and students to leverage technology in meaningful ways. Earlier, they added the AI features and AI buddies, and now there is Multiplayer!

With the new Multiplayer activity, students and teachers can enter the same virtual Project and explore, communicate, and solve problems together in real time. Multiplayer has been a game-changer for my students and for educators who explore it! It is a great opportunity to engage students and promote digital citizenship and the appropriate, responsible use of technology.

For years, I’ve spoken about the need to move students from consumers to creators to innovators. With Delightex Edu, students do more than view and interact with stagnant digital content. Students create and collaborate to design interactive environments, dive into coding experiences, narrate and bring their stories to life, and create immersive worlds for themselves and others to explore. Multiplayer is a game-changer because it adds a whole new dimension, transforming students’ individual creations into shared learning experiences others can enjoy! And when that happens, it is so much more meaningful for learning.

Individual Exploration to Shared Experience

In a Multiplayer Project, teachers launch a live session, and then they become the host. Delightex Edu generates a join link and a session code that can be shared with the class. Students can choose a personalized avatar and enter the same virtual environment as their classmates. When they do this, they can explore, interact, complete challenges, and learn together.

Does it take a lot of time? No. It is easy to get started. Teachers can set up a Multiplayer Project directly or select Multiplayer when creating an Assignment. The technology itself is exciting, but the true value lies in the learning design. Multiplayer is not simply about interacting as avatars in the same digital space. Rather, it is an innovative option that creates opportunities for discussion, negotiation, shared decision-making, peer teaching, problem-solving, and reflection. It fosters the development of essential skills for students.

Why Multiplayer Learning Matters

Research has consistently demonstrated the value of active learning. Studies have shown that active-learning approaches improve student performance. Collaborative learning also creates academic, social, psychological, and assessment benefits because learners work together toward a shared goal or outcome.

Immersive learning environments also increase engagement by giving learners a sense of presence within the experience. In my own classroom, I’ve seen greater engagement, motivation, time on task, and more positive learning experiences. It is important to always focus on the learning target itself and then design the experience leveraging the technology in purposeful ways. This distinction is important. Multiplayer should be connected to clear learning goals. Perhaps students need to gather evidence, explain concepts, solve a challenge, evaluate competing ideas, or create something collaboratively. The virtual environment becomes a space for meaningful interactions rather than feeling like a digital field trip that lacks a clear learning purpose.

Ideas for Early Elementary Classrooms

For younger learners, Multiplayer Projects can emphasize exploration, communication, vocabulary development, and simple problem-solving.

Students might enter a virtual community and work together to identify important places such as a school, library, hospital, fire station, or park. They can discuss what happens in each place and how community members help one another.

To build literacy skills, students could explore the setting of a familiar story, identify characters and objects, and retell events in sequence. A teacher-created AI Buddy could serve as a story character, narrator, or guide, asking age-appropriate questions, and this is a great way to help students understand how to use AI safely to enhance learning.

For math, students could complete a shape hunt, sort virtual objects, compare quantities, or follow directional clues through a maze. In science, they might visit a habitat and identify what different plants and animals need to survive.

At this level, teachers can model digital citizenship by establishing expectations for movement, turn-taking, communication, and helping classmates.

Ideas for Middle School

As students become more independent, Multiplayer can support increasingly complex collaboration. In science, groups might explore a solar-system exhibition, identify planetary characteristics, and work together to solve a sequence of clues. They might investigate an ecosystem or enter a model of a cell and explain the function of each structure.

Social studies students could tour a virtual museum, analyze artifacts, compare civilizations, or participate in a simulation where they assume the role of a historical figure or community member. Rather than just reading about an event, students can explore different perspectives and discuss how decisions affected various groups.

Language arts students might enter the setting of a novel, examine visual clues, interview AI-powered characters, or solve an escape room based on plot, theme, vocabulary, and textual evidence.

World language students can practice asking for directions in a virtual city, ordering food in a restaurant, describing their surroundings, or completing a collaborative cultural scavenger hunt.

Ideas for High School

Students can use Multiplayer Projects for simulations, debates, design challenges, and role-based learning.

A government or civics class could simulate a town council meeting, a legislative hearing, a courtroom proceeding, or an international summit. Students could enter the environment with assigned roles, examine evidence, question one another, and negotiate a solution.

Science and career-technical education students could complete safety inspections, analyze environmental conditions, investigate virtual crime scenes, or troubleshoot a simulated workplace problem. Health science students might explore an anatomical model or practice communicating with an AI Buddy designed to represent a patient.

In literature and history, students could build and lead virtual exhibitions. Rather than submitting a traditional presentation, teams could design an environment, curate primary sources, create interactive characters, and guide visitors through their interpretation.

Creating the Future of Learning Together

The future of education is not simply about giving every student access to more technology. It is about creating opportunities for students to think, communicate, design, question, and solve problems together. Focusing on the learning goals and then adding in various methods and tools to reach those goals.

Delightex Edu’s Multiplayer feature brings these goals into a shared, immersive environment. Whether students are navigating a maze, exploring the solar system, touring a virtual museum, practicing another language, or solving a real-world challenge, they are actively participating in the learning process.

They are not just watching an experience unfold. They are inside it, learning together and building skills that will lead them to a successful future.

About Rachelle

Dr. Rachelle Dené Poth is a Spanish and STEAM: What’s Next in Emerging Technology Teacher. Rachelle is also an attorney with a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law and a Master’s in Instructional Technology. Rachelle received her Doctorate in Instructional Technology, with a research focus on AI and Professional Development. In addition to teaching, she is a full-time consultant and works with companies and organizations to provide PD, speaking, and consulting services. Contact Rachelle for your event!

Rachelle is an ISTE-certified educator and community leader who served as president of the ISTE Teacher Education Network. By EdTech Digest, she was named the EdTech Trendsetter of 2024, one of 30 K-12 IT Influencers to follow in 2021, and one of 150 Women Global EdTech Thought Leaders in 2022.

She is the author of ten books, including ‘What The Tech? An Educator’s Guide to AI, AR/VR, the Metaverse and More” and ‘How To Teach AI’. In addition, other books include, “In Other Words: Quotes That Push Our Thinking,” “Unconventional Ways to Thrive in EDU,” “The Future is Now: Looking Back to Move Ahead,” “Chart A New Course: A Guide to Teaching Essential Skills for Tomorrow’s World, “True Story: Lessons That One Kid Taught Us,” “Things I Wish […] Knew” and her newest “How To Teach AI” is available from ISTE or on Amazon.

Contact Rachelle to schedule sessions about Artificial Intelligence, AI and the Law, Coding, AR/VR, and more for your school or event! Submit the Contact Form.

Follow Rachelle on Bluesky, Instagram, and X at @Rdene915

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