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Moviemaking in the classroom isn't the fun thing you do at the end of the year — it's how Jessica Pack gets to know her students on day one. The 2014 California Teacher of the Year and author of "Moviemaking in the Classroom" shares the exact projects she uses in the first two weeks of school to lift student voice, build creative confidence, and weave in generative AI the right way. You can use it now or next school year as you plan ahead this summer! I want to give you lots of ideas for what you can do in your classroom with moviemaking!   In this episode, you'll learn: Two day-one projects that turn new students into whole people (using the book "The Best Part of Me" and the "I Am" poem) How to introduce generative AI through Adobe Express and build "AI citizenship" from the start Why growth over grades helped her long-term English learners blossom How to balance high-tech and low-tech so creativity — not the tool — stays ...

Data-driven schools aren't about spreadsheets — they're about seeing students. AJ Juliani led 150 educators in building AI-powered data dashboards using Claude Code, no coding required. Victoria Setaro introduces the framework of cold data vs. warm data that will transform how you use every number in your school. And Dr. Deborah Dennie, NASSP 2026 National Principal of the Year finalist, shows what a decade of data-driven leadership looks like when it's done with heart. In this episode, you'll  learn: How non-coders built custom AI data dashboards that replaced expensive vendor tools  The critical data privacy steps every school must follow when using AI Victoria Setaro's cold data vs. warm data framework  for making data actionable How Dr. Dennie uses attendance, discipline,  and climate data together — not just test scores Creative incentive strategies that actually work  ( classic car shows, Miss Maryland! ) Why collaborative planning time is th...

Dr. Sarah Thomas says AI is a creativity amplifier — a tool that gives teachers back their time so they can do the work only humans can do. In this episode of the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast, Dr. Sarah Thomas — founder of EduMatch and a Regional Technology Coordinator — reframes artificial intelligence as a creativity amplifier rather than a replacement for human thinking. We talk about what she actually automates, how to use AI ethically with students, and why staying pro-human matters more than ever. In this episode, you'll learn: Why AI works best as a creativity amplifier that frees up your time The "big rocks" to protect first: COPPA, FERPA, and student data (PII) How to move teachers from fear to confidence with AI The 80/20 rule for verifying AI output — and the "find the lie in AI" classroom game Why a robot will never replace the relationship at the heart of teaching Full show notes and links: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e937 If this ep...

Four STEM teachers. Four trips that changed students forever. From Panama to the UK to MIT to DC. When a student does real science in a real place, STEM stops being abstract. Miranda Grabowski's biology class planted mangroves in Panama. Angela Cannava's biomed students ran a live DNA fingerprinting experiment in London. Karen Spencer's seventh graders toured MIT and Harvard in Boston. Edith Cortez's eighth graders from Laredo, Texas competed at science museums in Washington DC. In every story, something very cool happens: students look up at the scientists and engineers in the room and realize — "I could do this for a living." In this episode, you'll learn: - How to align a STEM trip to what you're already teaching in the classroom - What happens when a student's classroom finally connects to what scientists actually do - Why taking students to see real labs, real campuses, and real professionals changes what they believe is possible - How ...

Are we being honest about what AI is really doing in our classrooms? Two leading thinkers say the conversation most of us need to have isn't happening yet. MIT's Justin Reich and philosopher Dr. Christian Miller join Vicki Davis for Season 6's Big Picture Conversations series, exploring one of the most pressing questions in education today: What does honesty about AI actually look like — in research, in classrooms, and in ourselves? In this episode, you'll learn: Why the AI in education research base is thinner than most people realize — and what teachers should do in the meantime (hint: become a micro-experimenter) Why domain knowledge matters more than ever when students use AI — and how handing off cognitive work too early may shortcut the learning that matters most What The Homework Machine podcast found when it interviewed 90+ teachers and 30+ students about what AI is really doing in K-12 classrooms What 30 years of research on honor codes can teach us a...

Jean-Claude Brizard, President and CEO of Digital Promise, joins Vicki on this Thought Leader Thursday episode of the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast. From his beginning teaching incarcerated youth at Rikers Island, where he met a young man his own age who couldn’t do basic math, to leading a global nonprofit that’s reshaping how teachers and developers co-create AI tools — Jean-Claude shares why he’s been in education for 38 years and counting. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why teachers must be “crew, not passengers” on AI How Digital Promise is co-creating with teachers to extend a science-of-reading platform for multilingual learners How Gen AI is letting students talk to the “average Americans” history forgot — including a Georgia housewife who captured seven British soldiers Why mitigating AI bias requires educators in the room from the start How to spot certified tech versus “shiny object” fluff Full show notes, transcript, and resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e935 ...