Quick Thought: Rethinking AI With Less Hype, More Meaning

When AI first came out, I was intrigued. I started thinking of ways to use it creatively to help me. Ways to boost engagement. Ways to support learning. I was the guy making presentations with titles like “10 Ways to Use ChatGPT in Class” or “5 Ways to Increase Engagement with AI.” And those were useful—at the time.

But we’re past that now.

AI is here. It’s constantly evolving. It’s inevitable. Students will use it. So I’ve been trying to use it with them—not just for me. I’ve been using MagicSchool to help kids generate ideas, model how to write prompts, and get personalized feedback. I’ve shown them how to paraphrase AI-generated content instead of copying it. I’ve trying to show them to to analyze the content AI spits out. I’ve used Class Companion to give them feedback on writing, hoping they’ll read it and revise.

Some do.

Some don’t.

Some use it to improve. Some copy and paste. Some avoid it entirely and insist on thinking for themselves. Some don’t engage at all. It’s like a mini snapshot of society—some are all-in, some resisting, some just watching.

The real question now is: How do we use AI meaningfully? How do we turn it into a thought partner—not a shortcut?

Here are two ways I’ve started doing that in class:

Use AI to Practice the Process, Not Just Produce the Product
One of the most effective ways I’ve used AI in class is to treat it as a starting point, not the final product. I have students use AI to generate a response, then paraphrase it in their own words, critique what’s missing, and decide what they’d keep or change. This process helps them engage with the content, reflect on their own thinking, and develop stronger writing and reasoning skills. Whether it’s analyzing a historical event or building an argument, the focus is always on using AI to support the learning—not replace it.

Evaluate the Feedback Itself
One thing I do regularly: students create a slide summarizing their thinking, screenshot it, and upload it to MagicSchool. AI gives feedback, but here’s the key—they don’t just revise based on it. They evaluate it. Was it helpful? Confusing? Did it miss the point entirely? This makes feedback a thinking task. It gives students the power to decide what advice is worth using—and what isn’t. They’re not blindly following directions; they’re making choices. That’s real learning.