Jon Weldon

Educator at Awsaj Academy, a specialist school serving students with learning challenges in Qatar

[Google for Education @GoogleForEdu]

Your #GoogleClassroom experience just leveled up in a big way📈

✨#Gemini in Classroom for all educators
🧠 Track progress against learning standards
📚 Expanded content options in Read Along

…and so much more! Check out our blog for all of the latest⬇️ https://t.co/NvK8TUvBOZ

[Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher]

🎥 Just shared on YouTube 👉 Is AI making teachers lazy or liberating them to be more creative? 🤖✨ In this special ISTE/ASCD recap episode, discover why the "AI will replace teachers" narrative is dead wrong – and what's actually working in classrooms right now. You will get 7 hot topics from AI for creativity, lesson plans, and even how AI is helping students at Auburn University combat cybercriminals.

Note: I lost my voice after ISTE, so my son John Davis joins me for parts of this episode – proving that sometimes our best teaching moments come from unexpected challenges!

🎯 What You'll Learn:
Ai Updates: The Good, the Challenging, and the Practical
AI as a Creativity Amplifier with Dr. Sarah Thomas
Do AI Lesson Planners Measure Up? with Dr. Catlin Tucker
Cybersecurity Education Through Real-World Experience with Jay James from Auburn University
The Human Element - Why AI Can't Replace Teaching Relationships
My 6 Key Tools Highlighted from ISTE 2025
Instagram's School Safety Partnership - A Game Changer for Digital Wellbeing

💡 Key Takeaways from Our Expert Guests:
Dr. Sarah Thomas (Prince George's County Public Schools):

"AI, if you use it for productivity, actually frees up your time so you're able to shine and devote your creativity to your zone of genius."

Dr. Caitlin Tucker (Author, UDL Expert):

"Teachers are architects of learning experiences... if we think our value is being the expert at the front of the room, then it makes sense why people think AI could take over our jobs."

Jay James (Auburn University Cybersecurity):

"Education systems are like cities... perfect testing grounds for attackers, which is exactly why we need defenders who understand the environment."

📱 Breaking EdTech News from ISTE:

Microsoft Copilot now available for ages 13+ (with critical safety features)
Google Gemini launches for ALL ages (but there's a monitoring problem)
Apple's mysterious AI delay until 2026
Instagram's new anti-bullying program for schools

⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 Recap of ISTE and AI Tools
00:30 Microsoft Copilot for Schools Age 13 and Up
00:53 Google Gemini App for Students of All Ages and Gemini in Google Classroom
01:30 Microsoft PC's: NPU's and the Rise of the SLM
01:54 Microsoft's New Teach Module for Copilot Plus PC's
02:14 Remember: Evaluate the Best Uses of AI Tools
03:16 Innovative Tools and Technologies
03:51 Dr. Sarah Thomas: Interview on AI and Education
14:22 Dr. Katlyn Tucker: UDL, AI, and AI for Lesson Planning
32:30 Student Operations Centers (SOC)s at Auburn University with Jay James
47:03 ISTE Hallway Talk with Vicki Davis
47:31 Monitoring Concerns about Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini in Schools
48:18 Some AI Features Aren't Great for Teaching (Like the Worksheet Feature)
49:08 Apple OS 26
49:36 The AI "Hack" of Highlighting PDF's in Color
50:01 Perplexity Spaces as an AI Research Agent
50:43 Perplexity Launches Their AI-Powered Comet Browser
50:57 Apple Delays Full AI Implementation to 2026 (we think)
51:26 How Schools Need to Test AI and How to Do It
52:33 Instagram and ISTE Partner to Make Safer Schools
53:15 Use the Edtech Index to Help You as You Select Edtech Tools
53:24 New Instructional Supervision and AI Certifications
54:31 Innovative Tools from ISTE 2025
54:54 ISTE Top Tool #1: Brisk
55:12 ISTE Top Tool #2: Snorkl
55:47 ISTE Top Tool #3: Suno
56:03 ISTE Top Tool #4: Veo 3
56:14 ISTE Top Tool #5: Google Notebook LM
56:31 ISTE Top Tool #6: One Note Gets Study Upgrades

🚀 Resources Mentioned:

Everything is on the show notes at https://t.co/JmnLWtKfLE

💭 Let's Discuss:
What's your biggest AI fear in the classroom? Have you caught students misusing AI yet? What actually worked for you this year? Drop your thoughts below – I personally read and respond to comments!

🎙️ About Cool Cat Teacher Talk:
Join award-winning educator Vicki Davis for weekly discussions about what really matters in the classroom. With 900+ episodes of her weekly podcast (the 10 Minute Teacher) and 7M+ downloads, we're building a community of educators who believe in the nobility of teaching.

📧 Weekly Newsletter: [https://t.co/zCFo2joTJH]
🎧 Podcast: [https://t.co/GEP9J0tiwY]
📱 Social: @coolcatteacher everywhere

#AIinEducation #ISTE2025 #EdTech #TeacherPD #CoolCatTeacher #EducationPodcast #EdChat #Cybersecurity #UDL #GoogleEdu #MicrosoftEdu #TeacherLife #ProfessionalDevelopment #EducationTechnology #TeachingStrategies https://t.co/tSsRbR2kCw

[Monica Burns, Ed.D #EdTech #ISTELive #ASCDAnnual @ClassTechTips]

📚 AI chatbots like Claude and Gemini are great for teachers.
🛠️ Each tool supports teaching in different ways.
🔗 Grab tips and explore them all https://t.co/qsJYoB203D

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

AI natives vs AI immigrants: https://t.co/QOxzdVNmDT

[Sami Gold @souljagoyteller]

The cognitive dissonance here is stunning

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

@TouchlineX Lol Spain

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

@SuppressedNws Coward

[Bilal Nasir Khan @BilalNasirKhanI]

I will do price prediction for $IP (Story Protocol).
Stay tuned

[UNITACS 🌮🦄 @UNITACS]

In the very first days of Ordinals, @HollanderAdam inscribed a unicorn taco that his then 6 year old daughter had drawn as Ordinal #5557.

A year later there are more than 70 million Ordinals on Bitcoin.

Adam's daughter has now created a 100+ trait generative taco collection that will be inscribed on Bitcoin as children of the OG taco parent.

UNITACS are coming soon 🌮

Like, RT & Comment your Ordinals address below to be considered for the Tacolist ✍️

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

@POTUS @VickerySec Failure to support Palestine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

@NeriOxman Allah!

[Barsee 🐶 @heyBarsee]

4. Research - https://t.co/LCKX1r3p3C

AI where you can ask any questions in plain English and it automatically generates answer in data form.

As if you have your own personal research/data analyst.

[Barsee 🐶 @heyBarsee]

If you're not using AI, you're falling behind in 2023.

Use these 13 new AI websites to get more done and reduce work hours:

[Barsee 🐶 @heyBarsee]

12. https://t.co/SGUZzQeJiO

Creators and Musicians are going to love this.

It's ChatGPT-4 for Music and editing.

This is the craziest music tool I've seen so far 👇

[Alice Keeler @alicekeeler]

10 Outdated Teaching Techniques
https://t.co/OQ4CxCO1FG #edtech

[Alfie Kohn @alfiekohn]

Amid confident predictions that kids will use AI (specifically, ChatGPT) to cheat on writing assignments, I thought I'd repost my review of research on what really makes cheating more likely - and why it matters how "cheating" is defined in the 1st place: https://t.co/3yGfHftUfS.

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

@Justin_D_Martin @HebzDONTlie @nytimes I think it’s not an abnormal practice. The Senegalese drumming section, for example, is supported by the Senegal government

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

@_S7l8 @Justin_D_Martin I have to agree. I appreciate what you do but you know you were asking for trouble

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

@piersmorgan Finally! Piers Morgan saying something useful 👏👏👏

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

@AlansariSalman @vikingtemedor @Justin_D_Martin @marcowenjones The other thing to keep in mind is that Qatar is simply playing the market of globalized capitalism. They pay slightly more that each expat’s home country. I get paid a bit more than if i was in the US. A Bengali manual laborer gets paid more than he would in Bangladesh…

[Jon Weldon @jbweldon]

.@Justin_D_Martin @marcowenjones my brother just got turned back at JFK because his 8 month old didn’t have a hayya card. Had been planning this trip for almost a year