As the year begins, we are all thinking about the idea of building a classroom community. Although I am no longer at the K-12 level, I am reminded of the power of community as I| John Spencer
Every year, we hear news reports about the "summer slide," or the summer learning loss. Students arrive to school behind where they left off in May or June. This is a real challenge. But there's| John Spencer
Machine learning is changing our world in profound ways. It will impact the way we learn and the way we teach. In today's article and podcast, I want share a few big ideas on what| John Spencer
Throughout this summer, I've had the opportunity to lead professional development on ethical AI integration throughout the United States. In some cases, it's been a keynote and customized sessions. In other cases, it's been a| John Spencer
My friend George Couros once said, "If students leave school less curious than when they have started, we have failed them." I tend to agree. I've never heard of a cosmologist who says, "I'm done| John Spencer
When I was in middle school, one of my teachers called the entire class up to the front of the room. He held up a shiny golden disc in wild excitement. “This will change education forever,”| John Spencer
My son is weird. Not bad weird. Not socially awkward weird. Just weird. He sees the world differently. This last January he asked me if I would make him a graphic novel about a mutant| John Spencer
Project-based learning and design thinking have both become buzzwords in the educational landscape. But beyond the buzz, both PBL and design thinking have rich histories that span decades. Both approaches also offer practical frameworks for| John Spencer
The world is unpredictable. The corporate ladder is now a maze, which means our students will need to think divergently. In this article, we explore how to integrate divergent thinking into our everyday classroom practices.| John Spencer
When AJ Juliani and I co-wrote the book Empower, we focused on the ways that students could own the learning process. It's the core idea of shifting from being teacher-centered toward being more student-centered. We| John Spencer
When I was a student, I thought I was a top tier reader. My teacher didn't do numbers for our reading groups. She chose large cats. But I knew that it was better to be| John Spencer
The explosion of generative AI has created significant challenges and sparked new opportunities for our students. So, how do we decide when students should and should not use AI? In this article and podcast, I| John Spencer
If you're not familiar with ChatGPT, it is an Artificial Intelligence chat bot that answers questions. If you're thinking it's like Siri or Alexa or even Clippy (let's be real, Clippy was the coolest of| John Spencer
Helping K-12 teachers unleash the power of creativity through project-based learning & design thinking. Download your free PBL blueprint today!| John Spencer
Teaching has always been challenging, but right now it feels heavier. In this piece, I share a conversation with Mike, a fifth-grade teacher who’s feeling the weight of tech distractions, AI-written essays, student apathy, and| John Spencer
In classrooms across the country, something subtle but powerful is taking shape. Amidst the distractions, the surface-level shortcuts, and the pressure to speed everything up, I’ve seen students quietly shift from passive to active. They've| John Spencer
Three years ago, I stood in a high-tech lab at a technical university and stared at the giant flat screen monitor. The professor asked me, "Can you tell me which of these samples was generated| John Spencer
The future is unpredictable. So, when we try to design learning experiences that “prepare students for the future,” we have to recognize that we don’t always know what they’ll need. In this article, I explore the counterintuitive reality that the best way to prepare students... The post Why Deeper Learning Is a Critical Advantage in the Age of AI appeared first on John Spencer.| John Spencer
In my latest podcast episode, I interview Samantha Marsden, who shares how drama and improve strategies can help students gain creative confidence, improve their communication skills, and engage in iterative thinking. Her new book Acting| John Spencer
Content curation is a vital part of the creative process. In this blog post and podcast, we explore why curation matters and how we can help students learn how to engage in the curation process. Listen| John Spencer
A.I. is changing learning in profound ways. In this week's podcast episode, I interview Sal Khan from Khan Academy. He shares his thoughts on how A.I. will impact personalized learning and what they are doing| John Spencer
The Artificial Intelligence revolution is here. That might sound like hyperbole. After all, the world looks the same. The revolution didn’t arrive with Skynet and robots or with Blade Running cyborgs. It’s been subtle. Auto-correct| John Spencer
Over the last year, I've had the opportunity to work with educators who are incorporating generative A.I. into their classroom practice. Whether it's working with the pre-service teachers at my university or in working with| John Spencer
"What do you think all of this means for the future?" a friend asks. We'd been talking about ChatGPT for nearly an hour but suddenly it starts to hit closer to home. "I don't know," I| John Spencer
About a week ago, ChatGPT rolled out a major update to its image generation and suddenly my feed was flooded with AI-generated images in the style of Studio Ghibli. While the results are impressive (yes,| John Spencer
Cognitive atrophy happens any time we lose the ability to engage in a mental process due to inactivity. In a world of Artificial Intelligence, we need to be cognizant of the dangers of cognitive atrophy| John Spencer
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Eight students stood in line whispering to one another and fidgeting in excitement. A few of them had peeked into the windows to see what was new. One girl had a tiny notebook with a| John Spencer
Back in December, I showed ChatGPT to a friend of mine who is also a professor. "I'm not worried about AI in my humanities courses," she said. "Not at all?" She shook her head. "I know of colleagues| John Spencer
