From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
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Saturday, August 22 I sent this Classroom Matters newsletter. Sometimes I share this on my blog, but if you want to get every newsletter, subscribe at www.coolcatteacher.com/newsletter.
Welcome back, educator,
So many are returning to school. The super busy schedule. Learning the new names. All the things. But I hope you enjoy it. Kids are great. It is easy to forget all of the great things about teaching amidst the exhaustion. I hope you remember the great things.
I had a former pastor who used to say, “blessed are the flexible for they will not get bent out of shape.” I adopted this as a quote I lived by for the last ten years and it helped me pace myself and remember what was important better.
In today’s newsletter, which I’m writing by hand here in the night – since I’m awake and I know you need ideas for the week ahead (whether you’re a principal or teacher), I want to have this ready to go on Saturday morning so you have time to put it into practice this next week.
Table of Contents
- Urgent information about AI image manipulation and AI Nude Deep fakes – and why I’m rethinking how we should handle student images. I want to give you the info you need to be reading and considering. (Plus the Take it Down Act went into effect over the summer and we should know about it.)
- Helping students. Boundaries, absenteeism, and how to help LD students self-advocate before they move on to college.
- On the radio/TV show. Two national Principals of the year and what kids actually say about screens (and some tips for parents)
- AI You Can Actually Use (and some warnings about trends on TpT and pushback on using student images with AI)
- Some new things to teach. Quantum computing for littles, using podcasts for transition time in elementary and more.
Sponsor
Today’s newsletter sponsor is Ellis, a program of the Children’s Health Council. Ellis is a free resource that uses AI to pull from a knowledge base of evidence-aligned content and trusted partners like CAST, CASEL, Understood, and others. (Not the “open Internet” like other tools.) This can help you with kids who are struggling with learning, behavior, or the emotional side of school (but not clinical advice). If you’ve got a student (or two) who you can’t stop thinking about, try it and see what it brings you. No personally identifiable student information is collected, and it is a much better place to start than “brainstorming” with your general purpose AI chat tool.
TRY: Ask Ellis – a tool to help figure out class situations with research based best practices.
Episode 971 · Sponsored
Free Teacher-Facing AI for Behavior and Learning
Natalie Tamburello, MPhil — Community Engagement Manager, Children’s Health Council
Most teachers reaching for AI to help a struggling student are reaching for the wrong kind of AI. Natalie explains what “teacher-facing” means in practice, and how to describe a student situation without typing anything that identifies the child.
Resources from this show
• Ellis — free, create an account and start with one student
• My AI Vocabulary List: I update these when new vocabulary words are used on my shows. The new words this time are: student-facing and teacher-facing AI, RAG, Prompt Scaffolding, wrapper, and PII Redaction.
• Spy the AI — the free vocabulary game I built (people are liking this one)
• CAST · CASEL · Understood — three of the content partners behind it
Listen and read the show notes →
The AI Slop Controversy
NBC covered the TpT controversy with “AI Slop” and it turned out it wasn’t nameless, faceless people who uploaded the content. This was after Lily Altavena, a reporter for Chalkbeat, broke the story on August 3. With the company claiming in a 2023 press release that 85% of PreK-12 educators in the US using TpT this is a big deal. Interestingly, when Chalkbeat asked one seller about AI use, they got a reply that the seller “reviews everything personally.” Then, the reporter posted the question she asked and got nearly identical language including the claim about reviewing before publishing. There’s a whole coaching industry teaching TpT sellers to “scale up with AI.”
Another school printed agendas for students that were apparently AI generated where Kentucky was labeled “Venecky” and Louisiana was “Lookoong.” (See the thread.) They sold them to parents for $10 each!
A Baton Rouge area school yearbook used AI generated photos for superlative pictures and received criticism. Meanwhile in Utah, the state board says parents can ask to opt their child out of AI tools. That said, it is part of the state’s AI framework, and not a statutory right and districts control this.
Warnings About AI Image Manipulation and AI Nude Deep fakes
I guess I wonder how that is even possible to “opt out of AI” but it needs to be something everyone is ready for as some parents don’t want their kids info being used to train AI. (Of course some of the same parents upload pictures to Facebook, which is, you guessed it, training AI.)
A criminal gang scraped one UK school’s website, generated 100+ sexual images of its pupils , and tried to blackmail the school. As a result, UK organizations warned parents to stop posting children’s photos publicly – lock the accounts down, limit who can see the images and review what is already up. Offenders are increasingly scraping ordinary photos to generate AI child sexual abuse material. (CSAM)
Thorn reported in March 2025 that 1 in 8 Teens know someone targeted by nude deepfakes. But only 30% of young people in an August 18, 2026 CNN article say their teachers are talking about how to use AI safely. In that same article, CNN reported that creating nude deepfakes is rampant among young people now. In the article Justine Carino, a psychotherapist based in New York’s Westchester County says if kids start talking about sexualized content in third or fourth grade, that’s your cue to have the conversation. Otherwise, by fifth grade, initiate the conversation yourself.” You might ask, but why so young?
A 2025 literature review of nonconsensual deepfake pornography and can give an overview if you’re looking for a place to start. The authors point out Liz Kelly’s concept of the continuum of sexual violence (1988) which McGlynn (2017) extended to include image-based sexual abuse.
Deeptrace, now Sensity AI, found that 96% of deepfake videos online were pornographic and that 99% of those target women. (This was a 2019 study but a 2023 study said it was still at the same level.) Many deepfake victims feel like they lose control over their own image. Additionally, there is a global rise in sextortion cases often done by organized crime. The 2025 review I cited earlier also points to the global rise in sextortion, much of which is run by organized criminal networks.
Some Legal Notes and Recent Laws on CSAM
I’m a teacher not a lawyer. I’m linking to current statutes and the FTC for you to read for yourself. Your district or school’s legal counsel is the right person to ask about your location.
Not free speech. This is serious. Educators and parents have got to stop and take a look at the facts and determine what is appropriate. That said CSAM is NOT a protected form of expression and is a federal crime in the US which prohibits “the knowing receipt, distribution, reproduction, or possession of CSAM – including computer-generated or digitally altered material that is indistinguishable from a real child.”
A new way to report it. The TAKE IT DOWN Act happened in 2025 and platforms must remove reported images and any known identical copies within 48 hours of notification from the depicted person. If a site doesn’t do it or respond, you can report it to the FTC here in the US and this went live May 19, 2026. https://takeitdown.ftc.gov
There’s a larger concern that if someone collects these on their phone in high school and then gets older and is caught with the material, they could end up being a registered sex offender for that. (We’re talking deepfake nudes, which is not the same thing as sexting although some schools lump them together. The student in the picture never took or sent it.)
Talk to kids. Again, can I say talk to your boys and your girls. Your girls, because likely their photos will be the ones manipulated without consent. Your boys, because if they possess those photos, it can be a criminal offense. Bigger picture though, the morality of such things is important to discuss. Right and wrong matter. And, when it happens (not if, sadly), your child knows to talk to you and doesn’t harm themselves with the stress of it.
My Take on Student Photos
OK so I know full well that Facebook and social media are big ways that schools are marketing and the emphasis on having happy kids at events and cool sports shots are all the rage. But we have to accept that if we choose to allow a child’s photo (or our photo) on the internet that it is easy to manipulate the photo.
I believe we will see many more parents opting out of school photos for this reason. You can also expect AI generated photos of kids will get pushback and this is definitely something administrators need to decide about for their classrooms. Although I did it in the first days of chatGPT, I would steer clear of doing it now knowing what I know now.
I know many parents who aren’t even posting newborn photos online.
That said, if we as teachers manipulate photos with AI, albeit for cute purposes, we’re also opening up those images for CSAM’s possibly. And if we do it without permission, what message are we sending? And if we post regular photos to any platform, we’re making it possible for others to manipulate those photos, even if we didn’t.
I think that soon schools will be forced into private platforms for their sharing perhaps on their own website with a login of some kind. I don’t know how we can share photos of the third grade field trip on Facebook or Instagram with the direction this is heading UNLESS legislation or social media companies step up and determine what to do. And yes, we’re supposed to be able to report it, but social networks are global. Someone from another country other than your own can take that photo, and while you can tell the social network to take it down, it can still be used and bought and sold.
We must protect our children. Right now, an image online is an image that can be manipulated. We need to be advocates and part of these conversations. RAINN has some prevention materials.
Ok, I know this is not a pleasant conversation but it is one we have to be having. And directly impacts if we’re going to let people manipulate photos of students in our schools. I know everybody thinks it’s cute but not everybody does and it could have long term repercussions. It isn’t just manipulation that is the problem, it is the posting of photos altogether. This is not an easy one.
Resources of the week.
How did I write these? So, my content on my blog I write and vet the resources. I do have my Claude Cowork tool go through my blog and summarize and pull what I consider my most useful resources from the show for the newsletter as printed below. It writes the html and I edit it in coderunner and paste the html blocks in below when I’m done. As with everything, I read it all. Sometimes people see something formatted like below, which looks like Claude Cowork, and immediately assume it wasn’t written by a human. I’m responsible for everything in this newsletter. Do I make mistakes, yes. But if it is here, it is because I recommend it and if you find a mistake, email me! I love to learn and get better!
AI Conversations for Teachers and Admin
Vibe coding, companies and nonprofits are moving towards teacher-facing AI, and what principals are saying about effective AI implementation.
Episode 966
Vibe Coding with Gemini: Build Your Own Classroom Tools
Alice Keeler, Google Developer Expert for Google Workspace, creator of 37 Google-approved add-ons
Alice built a Sheets add-on in two days that collects no student data, and makes the case that building your own beats signing up for a pile of outside products. The show notes walk a beginner through building a Gemini Gem, with a copy-paste prompt that checks a lesson plan against a standards PDF you attach.
Resources from this show
• Educator AI Assistant – free Sheets add-on, collects no data
• Alice’s shared Gem site – ready-made Gems to try before you build one
• Edugems – Eric Curts’ free library of teacher Gems
• Gemini for Teachers Quick Start Guide: free, with 10 starter prompts
• Getting Started with Vibe Coding: step by step (not Chromebook compatible)
Listen and read the show notes →
Episode 968 · Sponsored
Keeping the Teacher at the Center of Classroom AI
Todd Brekhus, chief product officer at Renaissance, creator of the myON literacy platform
For twenty-five years we sent the struggling kid to the back of the room with headphones on and called it personalized learning. Todd argues for personalized teaching instead, and explains why they chose not to ship student-facing AI: a fast answer interrupts the productive struggle where the learning happens.
Resources from this show
• AR BookFinder– free, no login, look up any book’s level
• Focus Skills: free, the highest-leverage skills for your grade
• What Kids Are Reading: free annual report by grade level
• Where AI Meets Learning Science: free whitepaper
Listen and read the show notes →
Episode 973
Principals and AI: 7 in 10 Are Already In
Ronn Nozoe, CEO, National Principals Association
Only 18% of principals said they feel very confident leading AI this school year, and seven in ten are already in the middle of figuring it out. That gap is the whole conversation. Ronn’s advice to teachers is specific: go to your principal privately, not in a faculty meeting, and offer to help.
Resources from this show
• Episode 973 discussion guide (PDF): free, made for a staff meeting
• AI Guidance for Schools Toolkit – free editable guidance, staff deck, parent templates
• CoSN AI hub – free maturity tool and a one-page “our AI approach”
• Common Sense Media AI hub – free AI literacy lessons, grades 6 to 12
• State AI guidance – 30 states, including Georgia
Listen and read the show notes →
New Things to Teach
Two shows for the part of you that still wants to try something you have never taught before.
Try This Tomorrow
Take a penny and a paper plate into class and teach superposition. Spin the penny on the plate. While it spins it is neither heads nor tails, and the moment you slap your hand down it becomes one. That is a measurement, and five-year-olds get it. Dr. Nneka McGee’s full unplugged lesson plans are in the show notes below, no computer required.
Episode 967
How to Teach Quantum Physics to Littles (and Older Students Too)
Dr. Nneka McGee, founder, Muon Global; former middle school math teacher and chief academic officer
Quantum computing today, she says, is roughly where AI was nine years ago, which means waiting for the breakthrough means waiting too long. She teaches superposition, entanglement, and coherence with objects already in your room. The post includes two written-out unplugged lessons and a terms list mapped to the federal framework.
Resources from this show
• QuanTime: free K-12 quantum activities, one class period each
• National Q-12 Education Partnership: all free
• QISE K-12 Framework : what students should understand by grade band
• QCaMP: teacher camp at Sandia National Laboratories, with a stipend
• AI and Learning Differences (PDF): free Stanford report, Dr. McGee was project lead
Listen and read the show notes →
Episode 969
Who Smarted? Why Human-Made Kids’ Media Still Beats the Bots
Jerry Kolber, creator of Brain Games for Nat Geo and Brainchild for Netflix
He built two hit science shows and then moved his team off screens entirely. Teachers use the podcast at transition times, after lunch or between subjects, pausing at the built-in quiz question every three or four minutes so students answer out loud. One caution: the free public feed carries adult-targeted ads, so get the educator version first.
Resources from this show
• Who Smarted?+ educator subscription : free and ad-free with a school email
• The episode archive: browse by topic to match your unit
• Common Sense Media review: age rating and content flags
• ASHA listening benchmarks : free, what is typical by grade
Listen and read the show notes →
On the radio and TV show
Two full Cool Cat Teacher Talk episodes posted, and both come with a discussion guide you can take straight into a staff meeting.
Cool Cat Teacher Talk
Kids and Screen Time: What Kids Actually Say
Betty Ray, founder and director of Boss Battle Labs · Lawrence C. Harris, youth speaker and teen author · Patty Tucker, director of Jump Start Bridge
Three angles on screens and connection: Betty’s red, yellow, green Signal Check system for earning device privileges, Lawrence on noticing the student who is always “fine,” and Patty on free classroom bridge as a screen-free way to build cooperation. The show notes include a five-question staff meeting guide and a six-question version for the dinner table.
Resources from this show
• Betty Ray’s free resources — the Signal Check downloads
• Jump Start Bridge — free workbooks, teacher manual, and playing supplies shipped to you
• The Luddite Club — student-started flip-phone clubs, 30+ chapters
• ACBL Teachers’ Lounge — support, stipends, and textbooks for teaching bridge
• The discussion guide — in the show notes, staff version and family version
Watch, listen, and read the show notes →
Research Note
Nearly 74% of teens say they feel happy at least sometimes when they do not have their phone, and 72% say they feel peaceful. From a survey of 1,453 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17, conducted September to October 2023. Pew Research Center
Cool Cat Teacher Talk
Leading With Love: Two National Principals of the Year on What Actually Works
Amanda J. Jamerson, 2026 National High School Assistant Principal of the Year · Sonia E. Ruiz, 2026 National Middle Level Principal of the Year
Ask either of them how they did it and they use the same word. Amanda walks through the restorative framework behind a 69 percent drop in office discipline referrals over three years, and a phone policy that held because the adults stayed consistent. Sonia wrote belonging into the school improvement plan and threw out the Likert scale in favor of survey questions her students wrote.
Resources from this show
• Center on Multi-Tiered System of Supports — free tiered-support resources
• What are restorative practices? — the background behind Amanda’s framework
• Check & Connect — student engagement intervention inside MTSS
• AJAM the Advocate — Amanda Jamerson’s site
• Part One: Who You’re Becoming — with Ronn Nozoe and Muriel Summers
Watch, listen, and read the show notes →
Cool Cat Teacher Talk airs on 13 FM radio stations and 13 public access television markets across the United States and the United Kingdom. This fall we are adding eight more FM stations and three more TV markets, including our first markets in Canada.
Coming this fall
Radio: WPPM 106.5 Philadelphia · KPFT 90.1 Houston · KEDM 90.3 Monroe, Louisiana · KCNP 89.5 Ada, Oklahoma · KOOP 91.7 Austin · KSSZ 93.9 Columbia, Missouri · KTAL-LP 101.5 Las Cruces · AccessNow Radio 91.3 Regina, Saskatchewan
Television: PhillyCAM in Philadelphia · MetroEast in Portland, Oregon · AccessNow TV, reaching more than 110 communities across Saskatchewan
Philadelphia, Portland, and Saskatchewan launch the week of September 21. When every launch is complete that will put the show on 21 FM stations and 16 television markets in three countries.
You can also watch or listen anytime on the Cool Cat Teacher Talk page, on YouTube, or in your favorite podcast app.
I know that there is so much going on and things are so busy, but I do hope you take a moment to be still this weekend and rest. I hope these resources help you focus on what is important. The discussion guides are crafted for leadership teams. I want what I share with you to be something you can apply tomorrow.
OK it is late – like 2 am late – and I have a wedding shower to help do tomorrow so I think it is time to wrap it up. I don’t usually stay up this late but I fell asleep on the couch way too early and woke up thinking about the things I have been studying this week that you need to know about. I just couldn’t rest. I hope you know that it isn’t an easy season right now, but that makes teaching more important than ever. Thank you for working to educate today’s students and thank you for reading about what matters in the classroom.
I remain joyfully in your service,
Vicki
PS. If you haven’t tried it already and need a seating chart, work with the seating chart generator from Taskade.
Thank you so much for subscribing to my Classroom Matters Newsletter and for subscribing to my 10 Minute Teacher podcast Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Pandora | Spotify | YouTube | Audible and the weekly one-hour talk show YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Audible | IHeart Radio
The post 📸 AI Photos and Deepfakes, Quantum for Littles, and Real Help for Behavior appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
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