Weekly Inspo Vids - Week Twenty Six
Howdy folks,
I hope everyone is well this week. I’d love to say I am, but the bug that’s been slowly sniping colleagues and students finally got me. I’ve only missed one day, but we’ll see how it plays out over the weekend.
Not sure why this year’s cold and flu season has hit with an extra punch. So many people have been totally flattened by it that my nephew’s private school simply closed for three days. I didn’t even know that was an option?! Are we allowed just to waive the white flag? If so, I may be on board …
This week’s video is just adorable and a celebration of teacher and student creativity alike. I love it.
And this week’s Emailable PD very practically gets at when to use AI in the classroom and when to put it off. I like that it doesn’t label it as “good” or “bad,” but rather as “useful” or “dangerous.” I think you’ll find it very interesting.
And again, while I do use AI to help compile research, copy, and such for the PD, I stopped using it in my personal messages here some time ago. I call that out because I’ve been convinced lately that keeping things imperfect is going to become more and more important.
Case in point: My department occasionally funds micro-grants for different school programs. I recently received a request from a colleague that was pure ChatGPT. And, let me tell you, I almost couldn’t read it. While the grammar was exceptional and the formatting was crystal clear, it just felt soulless. And I knew I wouldn’t read anything that I couldn’t already predict, so I basically auto-deleted it.
Now, I totally get that AI does so much more than generating content, but that’s my main beef these days.
I’ll be talking about this a lot more soon, because I want to start focusing more on the very human side of education. The imperfect, the messy, and the flawed. Because that’s real. And I predict that someday soon, in addition to seeing labels on products that are “Certified Organic” or “Third-Party Tested,” we’re going to start seeing labels like “100% Human Generated.”
Of course, I could be totally wrong. I guess we’ll see.
Cheers,
Mike
Senseless Survey
Just for fun!
Weekly Video
Use in staff newsletters, encouraging emails, etc.
Teacher turns first graders’ drawings into real hats
Possible Caption: Their faces are priceless.
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Weekly Quote
“Don’t listen to anyone who doesn’t know how to dream.”
Liza Minnelli
Weekly Emailable PD
Use in staff newsletters, emailable PD messages, etc.
Suggested Email Body:
This week is an invitation to reconsider what it really means to learn.
As AI tools become more accessible, it is easy to focus on efficiency and polish. Students can produce stronger essays faster than ever. But new research highlights an important distinction: producing writing is not the same as retaining thinking.
This week’s resource explores recent studies, including a 2025 MIT brain imaging study, on how AI use affects cognitive engagement and recall. The findings are clear. When students outsource the heavy lifting of thinking, learning does not stick. When AI is used strategically, especially after independent effort, it can strengthen outcomes.
As schools continue navigating AI implementation, this brief offers research-backed guidance on what skills are worth protecting and how to keep students as the primary authors of their ideas.
