In this episode of Teacher’s AI Café, Kane sits down with a Western Australian Digital Technologies teacher to explore what artificial intelligence is really doing to coding, classrooms, and professional judgment. From the frustrations of AI rewriting perfectly good code to the practical realities of rolling out Microsoft Copilot in a school setting, the conversation moves beyond hype and into lived experience. They touch on data privacy, age restrictions, staff professional learning, and the growing question of whether schools should commit to a single, trackable AI platform. At its core, this episode asks a critical question for educators: how do we embrace powerful new tools while ensuring that teacher expertise, responsibility, and discernment remain firmly at the centre?

00:00 Welcome to Teacher’s AI Cafe (what this show is about)

00:24 Meet David: his teaching & edtech journey

01:37 From coding hype to AI-assisted coding in class

03:29 Vibe coding reality check: refactoring, bloat & breaking changes

06:14 Will AI replace developers? The job-market debate

07:09 Private school AI rollout: early exploration, privacy & platform trials

09:55 Microsoft vs Google vs Apple: platform lock-in and the AI arms race

17:27 Copilot in school: age rules, blocking other tools & safety tracking

19:31 Staff PD wins & hilarious Copilot fails (Word doc image, “don’t want to talk”)

24:04 Using AI wisely: environmental impact and when not to bother

25:07 When AI Edits Go Sideways: Knowing When It’s the Wrong Tool

25:36 Can Copilot Actually Make a Decent PowerPoint? (Gamma vs NotebookLM)

27:26 Free vs Paid Copilot: Document Access, Exports, and Real-World Limits

28:25 School Rollout Plan: Termly PD, AI ‘Brews’, and a Monthly Newsletter

30:51 Students & Staff on the Same Platform (and the ‘Use Copilot’ Moment)

33:28 Advice for Teachers Starting with AI: Begin with What Your School Provides

35:27 AI for Health & Fitness: Great Ideas, Dangerous Overconfidence

42:38 Teacher Expertise First: Verification, Ownership, and Smart Classroom Use

45:02 Wrapping Up: Staying Critical, Hype vs Reality, and What’s Next

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In a bonus episode of Teacher’s AI Cafe, Kane reflects on attending a Career Connect event focused on AI and careers and shares disappointment that the session delivered few practical career insights. He summarizes guest speaker Alex Jenkins’ talk on generative AI and the future of work, including claims about AI’s potential global economic value, examples of AI-generated media, a Deloitte refund story, and demonstrations such as rapid website creation. Kane highlights Jenkins’ key point that AI is more likely to augment roles than replace them, but notes the talk lacked detailed discussion of which careers are being impacted and how. Kane also recaps a second speaker from the Public Sector Union discussing worker-centered AI adoption and reporting no reduction in entry-level jobs so far, while Kane argues many teen entry-level roles were already reduced through earlier automation like self-checkouts and ordering kiosks. He raises concern about reductions in graduate and internship opportunities as AI takes on tasks traditionally done by junior professionals, using law and software development examples (including Claude’s capabilities) to question how future experts will gain experience. The episode closes by inviting listeners’ perspectives, noting education is currently less threatened due to teacher shortages, and observing that much AI adoption is happening informally as “shadow AI” work.

00:00 Welcome to Teacher’s AI Cafe (and what this bonus episode is about)

00:23 Career Connect recap: expecting big AI insights for careers

01:44 Speaker 1 breakdown: Generative AI & the future of work (the highlights)

02:58 The key idea: job replacement vs job augmentation (co-pilot model)

04:50 Why the talk fell short: productivity isn’t a career roadmap

06:17 Speaker 2 (Public Sector Union): workers-first AI adoption + early findings

07:04 Entry-level work was already automated: self-serve, kiosks, mobile ordering

08:10 The real concern: shrinking graduate pathways and missing career guidance

09:33 When AI eats its own industry: Claude, law work, and coding jobs

10:27 Humans ‘in the loop’… but what happens to junior roles?

11:33 Bigger ripple effects: pricing, business models, and quality of service

12:15 Wrap-up: your thoughts, education’s outlook, and the ‘shadow AI’ reality

An (AI) tutor for every student | Alex Jenkins | TEDxPerth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7GYCBDS7zM

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Kane from the Teacher’s AI Cafe shares a weekly tech update dated February 16 focused on incremental AI platform changes relevant to teachers. He highlights Claude expanding its free tier with features like direct file creation, calendar and email integrations, customizable skills, and improved conversation handling without ads, raising questions about how AI tools will be funded in education. He notes Grok’s organizational changes, growing market share through integration with X, and the importance for schools of acceptable use policies and careful consideration of data given Grok’s reliance on X content. For OpenAI/ChatGPT, he mentions renewed growth, increased engagement with the Codex coding assistant, expectations of upcoming model updates, and the move toward targeted advertising for some user tiers and its implications for student access. He also points out a new ChatGPT browser feature that lets users save prompts to a dropdown menu. He discusses the broader trend of easier switching between AI systems, including Gemini’s ability to import chats from other assistants, which can help preserve context for student projects. Finally, he notes universities are adapting to students using AI for decisions like choosing where to study, reinforcing the need to integrate AI literacy into curriculum and career counseling, and he references a disappointing AI-themed Career Connect event and plans for a bonus episode.

00:00 Welcome to Teacher’s AI Cafe (What You’ll Get From This Channel)

00:23 This Week’s AI Tech Update: What Changed (Feb 16)

00:39 Claude’s Free Tier Gets a Big Upgrade (Files, Calendar, Skills)

01:33 Grok + X: Growth, Controversy, and School Data Policies

02:32 OpenAI/ChatGPT: Codex, Model Updates, and Ads Coming In

03:25 New Workflow Feature: Save Prompts in ChatGPT’s Browser

03:50 Platform Switching Trend: Import Chats Between Assistants

04:37 Universities & AI: Students Using Deep Research to Choose Where to Study

05:36 Why AI Literacy Matters + Bonus Episode Tease (Career Connect)

06:02 Wrap-Up: The Week’s Theme—Access, Continuity, and Staying Ready

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In this episode of the Teacher's AI Cafe, host Kane, a teacher and parent, discusses the OECD's latest report on digital education and its implications for 2026. The report emphasizes that AI and digital tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in classrooms globally. Kane highlights the critical questions the report raises about the role of technology in education, the importance of maintaining professional judgment, and the risks associated with data, bias, and de-skilling. He underscores the need for teachers to take an active role in shaping how AI is implemented to ensure it supports rather than replaces their expertise. Additionally, the report stresses that investments in digital tools must be accompanied by investments in teacher capacity to avoid potential pitfalls.

00:00 Introduction to Teacher's AI Cafe

00:26 Exploring the OECD Digital Education Report

01:02 Current Classroom Technologies

01:48 The Role of Teachers in Digital Education

04:00 Challenges and Risks of AI in Education

09:28 Governance and Data Ethics

12:59 Conclusion and Future Outlook

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In this episode of the Teacher's AI Cafe, Kane, an experienced teacher and parent, discusses recent AI developments relevant to educators. The focus is on OpenAI's new subscription model, ChatGPT Go, its pricing, and how ads in the cheaper plans may impact student use. Kane also touches on advancements in AI coding tools like Codex and Claude Opus, highlighting their potential in teaching computer science. Additionally, he reviews new features such as GR's video generation and Gemini's chat history import, stressing the importance of understanding and selecting the right AI tools and tiers for school environments. Kane concludes with advice on integrating AI as a team member in the classroom.

00:00 Introduction to Teacher's AI Cafe

00:20 Weekly Tech Update Overview

00:38 Chat GPT's New Direction and Subscription Plans

02:09 AI in Coding and Computer Science Education

03:54 New AI Tools and Features

05:11 Key Takeaways and Conclusion

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*Recorded online, so at times the audio is not to the usual standard.

In this special episode, Kane welcomes Julie, a seasoned career practitioner with a background in IT, to discuss her journey in incorporating AI into her teaching practices. Julie shares her experiences working with indigenous students, using AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot to enhance their career readiness and educational equity. The conversation also explores practical uses of AI in grant writing, lesson planning, and professional development, emphasizing the transformative potential of AI in creating a more equitable educational environment. Julie offers valuable advice for teachers looking to integrate AI into their workflow and highlights the importance of embracing this technology for the benefit of students and educators alike.

00:00 Introduction and Special Guest Welcome

00:45 Julie's Career Journey

01:45 Transition to Regional School

02:27 Understanding 'Leafy Green' Schools

03:20 Engaging Indigenous Students

04:36 Using AI in Career Education

08:16 Building Confidence Through Mock Interviews

11:59 Addressing Equity with AI

14:10 AI in Professional Practices

16:13 A Coffee Meeting Leads to Big Opportunities

16:39 Successful Grant Applications with AI Assistance

17:43 Empowering Students with Technology

19:53 Art Projects and Community Engagement

21:49 AI in the Classroom: Challenges and Opportunities

27:35 Practical Tips for Teachers Using AI

31:34 Embracing AI: Final Thoughts

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In this episode of the Teacher's AI Cafe, Kane shares practical AI strategies for educators to reduce workload and stress. Key updates covered include OpenAI's retirement of certain models and the launch of Prism for scientific writing, Claude's extension of MCP apps, Copilot's expanded chat insights, and new AI-driven initiatives in Google Classroom for India. Additionally, the episode discusses the high-cost AI-driven Alpha School and its impact on educational outcomes. Kane invites listeners to share their experiences and offers to conduct interviews with educators.

00:00 Introduction to Teacher's AI Cafe

00:20 AI Tech Update for Educators

00:46 Model Changes in Chat GPT

01:49 Introduction of Prism by OpenAI

02:46 Claude's New MCP Apps

03:36 Copilot's New Features

04:21 AI Initiatives in India

05:26 AI Driven School Model

07:56 Conclusion and Call for Feedback

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In this episode of the Teacher's AI Cafe, Kane, a teacher and parent, explores using Notebook LM to create educational resources from scratch. He guides us through the process of converting a PDF on Hitler's rise to power into a variety of teaching tools, such as lesson sequences, quizzes, flashcards, mind maps, infographics, and video overviews. Kane shares his successes and challenges, including issues with slide deck generation, and provides an honest assessment of Notebook LM's capabilities and limitations. He also discusses the benefits of using AI to reduce teacher workload and improve classroom resources.

00:00 Introduction to Teacher's AI Cafe

00:23 Starting a New Project with Notebook LM

01:05 Creating Resources from Existing Materials

02:46 Generating Lesson Plans and Questions

04:27 Creating Summaries and Study Guides

07:45 Exploring Mind Maps and Quizzes

08:46 Generating Flashcards and Infographics

17:40 Challenges with Slide Decks

19:08 Reviewing Outputs and Final Thoughts

24:07 Conclusion and Recommendations

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In this episode of Teacher's AI Cafe, host Kane provides a comprehensive update on recent AI developments relevant to educators. Key topics include Google's AI advancements in Google Classroom and Chrome OS, OpenAI's new education initiatives announced at the World Economic Forum, and Anthropic's teacher-centered training program. The episode highlights the integration of AI tools to enhance teaching efficiency and classroom management, with discussions on specific features like Gemini's prompt customization and ChatGPT's age prediction capabilities. The episode concludes with an inspiring example from an Indian school's innovative use of AI to educate students about democratic values.

00:00 Introduction to Teacher's AI Cafe

00:23 Weekly AI Tech Update for Educators

01:09 Google's AI Advancements in Education

02:37 OpenAI's Educational Initiatives

04:27 Anthropic's Teacher-Centered Approach

05:48 Innovative AI Use in Indian Schools

06:49 Conclusion and Upcoming Episodes

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In this timely episode of the Teacher's AI Cafe, host Kane discusses practical strategies for preparing for the new school year using AI. Joined by Kayla, a popular guest and science teacher, they explore how AI tools can streamline their workload, enhance feedback, and reduce stress. Kane shares his process of leveraging AI to organize and update resources for classes he hasn't taught in years, while Kayla discusses her approach to utilizing AI for lesson planning and improving the quality of teaching materials. They also delve into the benefits of AI for formative assessments and discuss personal experiences with various AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Notebook L. The episode provides insightful tips on integrating AI into educational practices to save time and improve teaching efficiency.

00:00 Introduction to Teacher's AI Cafe

00:20 Preparing for the New School Year

01:41 Using AI to Organize Resources

03:52 Challenges and Solutions in Resource Management

05:05 Innovative Teaching Strategies

11:21 Backward Planning for Effective Teaching

17:35 The Importance of Literacy and AI in Education

18:47 Identifying and Correcting Syntax Errors

20:54 Improving Prompts for Better AI Responses

23:18 Creating Visual and Interactive Learning Resources

28:43 Utilizing Google Forms and Gemini for Quizzes

33:44 Reflections on Teaching Strategies and Tools

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