AI in the Classroom - Daily

Dan Cogan-Drew
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AI in the Classroom – Daily helps educators make sense of AI without the hype. This daily podcast explores what responsible AI in the classroom really looks like for teachers, school leaders, and district administrators. Each episode translates the latest AI news, research, and policy debates into clear, practical insight — what's changing, why it matters, and what to do next. I use AI as a thinking partner in preparing each episode, because the best way to talk honestly about AI in education is to work with it openly. Co-Founder & Chief Academic Officer, Newsela dan.cogandrew@newsela.com

  1. 3d ago

    Why Tech Companies Are Making School AI Policy Worse

    In this episode we explore a consequential week for AI in education, and the growing tension between how quickly technology companies are putting AI into schools and how quickly school systems can decide what responsible adoption should look like. We examine new AI restrictions from New York City Public Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District, including why two of the nation’s largest school systems are taking such cautious approaches. We also look at the broader environment behind those decisions: Google making Gemini available to students by default, Anthropic expanding Claude into education, and the challenge schools face when powerful new technologies arrive before districts have had the opportunity to evaluate or intentionally adopt them. Topics covered: New York City’s restrictions on student AI useLAUSD’s decision to block AI on district devicesGoogle making Gemini available to students by defaultWhy “opt-out” AI adoption creates challenges for schoolsThe importance of keeping educators and administrators in the loop when new AI features launchAnthropic’s Claude offerings for teachers and administratorsStudent privacy concerns when educators upload information to AI toolsThe American Psychological Association’s guidance on children, adolescents, and education technologyThe launch of Responsible Technology and Education Have a story we should be following, or are you experimenting with AI in your classroom, school, or district? Reach us at podcast@newsela.com. Sources: https://apnews.com/article/zohran-mamdani-ai-ban-nyc-schools-647f6a968eea0399521b7934418b1aff https://www.k12dive.com/news/lausd-restricts-all-students-from-using-ai-tools/829612/ https://www.edweek.org/technology/schools-caught-flat-footed-after-google-makes-gemini-chatbot-available-to-all-students/2026/09

  2. 4d ago

    What NYC's AI Ban Leaves Unanswered

    New York City Public Schools has announced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI for grades K–8, a policy affecting roughly 600,000 students and one of the most significant moves yet by a major school district to put limits on AI in the classroom. In this episode we explore what NYC’s new AI policy gets right, where it may go too far, and the questions educators and district leaders should be asking as schools decide when and how students should use generative AI. Topics covered: • What NYC’s one-year K–8 generative AI moratorium actually does• NYC’s new Technology in Schools Coalition• The district’s limited high school AI pilots• Why AI literacy matters• Whether middle schools should have more flexibility to pilot AI tools• What “evidence of instructional impact” should actually mean• The role politics and the technology industry may play in shaping school AI policy• Why NYC’s decision could influence how other major districts approach AI Sources: https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/09/mayor-mamdani-and-chancellor-samuels-put-students-first-with-nat https://laist.com/brief/news/education/lausd-students-barred-artificial-intelligence-tools https://www.edsafeai.org/

  3. 5d ago

    When Students Turn to AI Instead of People

    In this episode we explore the relationship between AI use, belonging, and social connection among young people, and what two recent studies suggest educators should understand as students return to school. Drawing on research from the Rhythm Project and the California Partners Project, we look at why some young people are turning to AI for more than help with tasks. Topics covered:• The connection between students’ sense of belonging and their AI use• Why emotional vulnerability may predict higher-risk AI use• The difference between purposeful AI use and dependency on AI for emotional support• Why students who feel unwelcome in physical spaces may turn to AI chatbots more often• The lack of conversations between young people and adults about AI• Why teachers need to understand students’ out-of-school AI experiences• What schools can do to create stronger opportunities for belonging and human connection Sources: https://www.calpartnersproject.org/_files/ugd/2ceb15_fbca2279eb654ca1a91f2c10e756e6ab.pdf https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oGI3uxseNdfIc2Pms19TsKBQOB7wnJhV/view

  4. 6d ago

    How Should a First-Year Teacher Use AI?

    In this episode we explore what thoughtful AI use looks like through the eyes of a first-year teacher preparing to enter the classroom. We speak with Stefanie Stoj, a recent Wesleyan University graduate and Teach For America corps member who is beginning her career teaching seventh-grade ELA in the South Bronx. Stefanie shares how she used tools like ChatGPT and Claude during summer teaching and lesson planning. Topics covered: How a first-year teacher is preparing for her seventh-grade ELA classroomUsing AI to anticipate student misconceptionsUsing ChatGPT and Claude as lesson-planning toolsWhere AI can save teachers time without replacing professional judgmentThe risk of gradually outsourcing more thinking to AIWhat Stefanie learned about AI use as a college studentBalancing efficiency with the individual needs of studentsHow new teachers can develop their own judgment while working with AI Source: https://www.sbecacs.org/

  5. Aug 31

    When does using AI improve cognition?

    In this episode we explore when AI can actually improve cognition, and when it risks doing the thinking for students. Building on Dr. Philippa Hardman’s work on cognitive offloading, we examine what separates productive AI use from simply handing cognitive work over to a machine.  Topics covered: When AI use can improve cognitionThe difference between using AI as a collaborator and using it as a substitute for thinkingWhy AI should “critique, never complete”The debate over which tasks can safely be offloadedHow learner motivation changes the risks of cognitive offloadingPractical design principles for using AI without undermining the learning itself Source: https://drphilippahardman.substack.com/p/how-to-design-around-cognitive-offloading

  6. Aug 28

    Google and Khanmigo Go Back to School

    In this episode we explore three stories shaping the conversation around AI in education, and a common thread running through all three: AI alone isn’t enough. We look at how Khan Academy and Google are evolving Khanmigo beyond the original vision of a student-facing AI tutor. We also examine the idea of AI as an “arrival technology,” technology that entered schools before districts had time to build the policies. Finally, we dig into new research from OpenAI examining what happens when students use ChatGPT alongside explicit critical-thinking instruction. Topics covered:• How Khanmigo is evolving away from a student-facing AI tutor• Google and Khan Academy’s new AI-supported classroom capabilities• The challenge districts face when students already use AI outside approved school systems• OpenAI research on ChatGPT combined with critical-thinking instruction• What these developments mean for teachers and district leaders Sources: https://openai.com/index/what-students-gain-from-chatgpt-critical-thinking-training/ https://www.marketscale.com/industries/education-technology/k-12-ai-spending-is-moving-from-classroom-apps-to-vetting-policy-and-proof https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/education/khan-academy-back-to-school/

  7. Aug 28

    When Does AI Start Doing the Thinking for You?

    In this episode we explore the growing concern around cognitive offloading, what happens when students hand too much of the thinking over to AI. Drawing on recent research highlighted by Dr. Philippa Hardman, we examine an important distinction: AI itself isn’t necessarily the problem. What matters is when and how it enters the learning process. Topics covered: What cognitive offloading actually meansHow AI-generated feedback can narrow thinking when it arrives too earlyWhy deadlines, grades, and output-focused assignments can encourage students to outsource thinkingHow unstructured AI use can increase cognitive load rather than reduce it Source: https://drphilippahardman.substack.com/p/how-to-design-around-cognitive-offloading

  8. Aug 26

    AI Didn’t Eat My Homework (But It Helped)

    In this episode we explore how schools can embrace AI without losing sight of what education is actually for. We sit down with Chris Lehmann, founder and principal of Philadelphia’s Science Leadership Academy (SLA), an inquiry-driven, project-based school built around five core values: inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, and reflection. Our conversation examines how those values are shaping SLA’s approach to AI—and why decisions about what students can outsource to AI ultimately require schools to be much clearer about what they want students to learn and become. Topics covered: How SLA’s inquiry-driven, project-based, caring model shapes its approach to AISLA’s approach to AI, citation, and plagiarismHow AI can support students during long-term projects and senior capstonesWhat students should—and shouldn’t—outsource to AIHow technology, algorithms, and information overload are changing what students need from schoolsWhy AI forces educators to reconsider the deeper purpose of schoolHow schools can preserve student thinking, agency, and human relationships as AI becomes more capableSource: https://2027.educon.org/

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AI in the Classroom – Daily helps educators make sense of AI without the hype. This daily podcast explores what responsible AI in the classroom really looks like for teachers, school leaders, and district administrators. Each episode translates the latest AI news, research, and policy debates into clear, practical insight — what's changing, why it matters, and what to do next. I use AI as a thinking partner in preparing each episode, because the best way to talk honestly about AI in education is to work with it openly. Co-Founder & Chief Academic Officer, Newsela dan.cogandrew@newsela.com

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