• Hands-on PD with AI tools that support differentiation, creativity, and student voice
• Classroom coaching and co-teaching to bring AI strategies to life in real time
• Collaborative lessons that foster critical thinking, peer feedback, and joyful learning

What does it look like when technology, creativity, and pedagogy come together in real classrooms? This week, I had the privilege of spending time in the field, supporting Tulare County teachers and students at Sequoia Union Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary—and let me tell you, it was a blast!

Professional Learning with Purpose: Sequoia Union Elementary (K–8)

We kicked off the week with a dynamic day of professional development at Sequoia Union Elementary, where the teaching staff explored some of the latest AI-powered tools designed to elevate instruction and support student learning.

Our session covered a powerful lineup:

• Diffit’s Books Feature – using licensed access to popular novels and literature, Diffit allows educators to create engaging learning materials around the entire book or a specific range of chapters. From vocabulary lists to comprehension questions and reading guides, it’s a game changer for novel studies.
• Canva’s Text-to-Video – this tool transforms simple text prompts into short, 5-second silent video clips that visually bring words to life. It’s especially helpful for English learners, supporting vocabulary development and comprehension—perfect for teaching multiple-meaning words like blocks (city blocks, toy blocks, building blocks) through clear visual context.
• Adobe Express’s “Animate Your Character” – students and teachers can choose from a variety of avatars and backgrounds, then record voiceovers to bring their scenes to life. This makes it a fantastic tool for listening and speaking tasks, storytelling, or practicing presentation skills in a low-pressure environment.
• Brisk Teaching’s Podcast Tool – an engaging pre-reading strategy that turns text from Google Docs or Slides into podcast-style audio. It’s a great way to activate background knowledge and build context before diving into the reading.
• SchoolAI’s Teacher Tools & Student Spaces – educators can create custom spaces where students get AI-powered feedback on writing, chat with historical figures, or interact with content-specific tutors. All student conversations are teacher-monitored, with built-in guardrails for safety and language use.
• Quizizz AI – teachers can quickly generate reading comprehension activities that mirror the structure and rigor of state assessments. The passages and questions support targeted practice while keeping students engaged through interactive formats and real-time feedback.

There were lots of “aha!” moments as teachers imagined new ways to use these tools for differentiation, engagement, and student reflection.

In the Classroom: Roosevelt Elementary

The classroom visits at Roosevelt built on PD sessions I facilitated just a week earlier, offering a powerful glimpse into how quickly and meaningfully these tools can impact instruction. Working side by side, the teachers and I co-planned and co-taught lessons that aligned directly with their current goals and student needs.

In a 6th grade classroom, students paired up for SBAC math prep using Quizizz. Each duo shared a Chromebook and a whiteboard, with one student guiding their partner through the problem on-screen while the other worked it out on the board. They discussed each question and agreed on an answer before submitting—then switched roles. This collaborative structure sparked rich math conversations, deepened conceptual understanding, and fostered meaningful peer-to-peer feedback in real time.

Students also engaged with a custom Zeus-themed chatbot built in MagicSchool. They crafted questions based on their mythology unit, interacted with the bot, and evaluated its responses—practicing critical thinking and inquiry along the way.

During a one-on-one coaching session in a 4th grade classroom, the teacher and I explored ways to enhance literacy instruction using AI tools. Together, we co-planned a lesson that began with a short informational text on desert animal adaptations, generated in MagicSchool. I demonstrated how to convert the text into audio using Luvvoice to provide a listening option for students. We then used Quizizz AI to create comprehension questions and embedded them into a Quizizz Lesson alongside the audio. To extend the experience, we incorporated Quizizz Passages for deeper reading practice and used Brisk to generate a podcast-style pre-reading activity—all tied to the same topic. The result was a multi-modal literacy experience designed to support comprehension, engagement, and accessibility.

In another 6th grade classroom, the Quizizz math prep mirrored the earlier structure—shared devices, collaborative problem-solving, and partner role-switching. The teacher, with coaching support, designed a creative twist using MagicSchool: a custom chatbot that played the role of a student struggling with equations. Students practiced explaining each step of the problem to the bot. If their explanation was unclear or incorrect, the bot provided feedback; if accurate, it responded with a new challenge. This approach gave students a meaningful opportunity to reinforce their understanding by ‘teaching’ the content—a very powerful way to learn.

This week was a clear reminder that when educators embrace tech tools with intention, the results are powerful: engaged students, thoughtful instruction, and joyful learning. If you’re curious about bringing AI into your own classroom, these tools are a great place to start. Let’s keep the conversation going—what AI tool has you excited lately?

This blog post was drafted with the help of ChatGPT to help organize and flesh out my recap of edtech support at Tulare County schools this week. I also used NotebookLM to generate a deep dive audio overview—perfect for those who want to listen and learn on the go.