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William Grube on Flipping AI From Threat to Superpower

Quick take

If you're still blocking ChatGPT, you're playing the wrong game. In this episode, William Grube of Groovy Education shows how to turn AI from a perceived threat into a daily teaching advantage — one that saves teachers time, levels up rigor, and makes cheating irrelevant.

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🏴‍☠️ BREAKING DOWN THE OLD RULES

In this episode, William challenges traditional education paradigms and shows how Ruckus Makers can lead the shift:

🧠 Key Insight #1: Design for Trust, Not Policing

  • What’s broken: Schools are using surveillance software to "catch" students cheating with AI, treating tech as the enemy.

  • The shift: Rebuild assessments around curiosity, context, and originality — like having students respond to local events or present their work live.

  • Impact: Makes cheating pointless. Encourages deeper thinking. Promotes student ownership.

🧠 Key Insight #2: Differentiate Without Burnout

  • What’s broken: Teachers waste hours adapting lessons to meet different learning needs — often sacrificing quality for speed.

  • The shift: Use AI to instantly align assignments to state standards, adjust for reading levels, and build accommodations (504/IEP).

  • Impact: Teachers get time back. Students get work that actually fits. Everyone wins.

🧠 Key Insight #3: Teach Tech Like It’s a Literacy — Because It Is

  • What’s broken: The only digital safety lesson most kids get is “don’t be online too much.”

  • The shift: Teach AI & media literacy by exploring how algorithms shape thought, how to verify sources, and how to disagree respectfully.

  • Impact: Students learn to think critically, not just click passively — which pays dividends in every subject and real life.

Ignoring AI in schools today is like ignoring the internet in 1995.

William Grube

📌 YOUR DO SCHOOL DIFFERENT CHALLENGE

Start using AI to lead differently — not later:

  • Tomorrow: Pick one assignment and make it AI-resistant. Add a personal, local, or in-class component students can’t fake.

  • This Month: Use AI to adapt a unit plan — align to standards, customize for reading levels, and build in scaffolded supports.

  • This Semester: Pilot a student-facing AI/Media Literacy sequence. Let students analyze the algorithm and present real insights in a live class debate.

CONNECT AND CONTINUE

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Podcast created by Danny. Audio engineered by Dragan. Show notes written by Christina. Email sent by Soniya

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