We Can't Mess This One Up: AI, Schools, and What Comes Next

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Should schools ban AI or teach it? In September 2026, New York City banned student AI tools from pre-K through eighth grade, while the UAE, China, India, and Alabama moved to teach AI instead. Vicki Davis talks with two educators who use AI every day and think what we've all been teaching teachers about AI is already out of date.

Christie Cloud is an instructional technology facilitator in Harnett County, North Carolina, and a founding member of EduGuardians. Dave Hinrichs is Director of Digital Platforms and Pedagogy for Johnston County Public Schools. Together they wrote a chapter in The Educators' AI Guide 2027. They explain why you should stop worrying about prompt engineering and just talk to AI, why you don't always need the most powerful model, how agentic AI works, what tokens are, how to fact-check AI, why they avoid AI detectors, and how to talk with students about integrity when AI can make higher grades than they can.

Vicki closes with three takeaways, a heads-up for teachers who built custom GPTs, and a challenge you can try the next time you open any AI tool.

Show notes, the full transcript, and every resource mentioned: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/nextai

If this episode helped you, please leave a review wherever you're listening. It helps other educators find the show.


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