AI also stands for Accessibility and Inclusion #withSchoolAI

This is the fourth or fifth version of this blog post I have written, erased, and started over again. I do not know why this such a pain for me to write, but it is a struggle. One of the things I am doing is writing this without any tools to help me fix anything. That means I will have to go over all of this and proofread and catch anything on my own. For those new to The Nerdy Teacher, I am a dyslexic learner and struggle with processing and communication ideas at times. My typing often struggles to keep up with my thinking. It can be very frustrating. I wanted to feel this frustration though. I wish more educators out there would do this. 

How quickly we forget what it was like before spellcheck was a standard part of our writing lives. Is it cheating to use a spellchecker? How much time would you be spending on extra proofreading of your assignments, lesson plans, worksheets, etc.? Think about that for a second. Spellcheck makes writing more accessible and inclusive for everyone. You do not need an IEP or 504 plan to benefit from these assistive technology. However, there are teachers out there that want to block AI in their classroom. That AI has a double meaning thought. Artificial Intelligence and Accessibility and Inclusion. Blocking the first one, blocks the other as well. 

I have been on both sides of the fence now that I work in edtech. I spent years looking for ways to make learning more accessible and used a wide variety of tools over the years. One of the last ones I did use was SchoolAI. I saw how I could create Spaces that would allow my students to get the support when they needed it, how they needed it. That is what is key here. I did not create a tool that just helped out a couple of students. I created a Space that was able to help all of the students when they needed the help. They might not think they need the support, but it was there for them when they needed it. I made design lessons more accessible and inclusive by giving students access to Spaces that could help them form their ideas and process the approach they were going to take to accomplish the assignment. New technology can be scary, but that does not mean everything scary should be blocked. I thought we had dealt with this approach over a decade ago with YouTube. 

Working on the SchoolAI side now for over a year, I have been so lucky to work with a team that is dedicated to making sure our platform supports all learners. Not just neurodivergent students AND educators, but ANYONE that needs a little extra help. That is what is so important to think about when it comes to exploring what accessibility and inclusion looks like in your classroom, school, or district. When decisions are being made, are the most vulnerable students be considered? When we remove access to tools that some learners depend on, who is benefitting? 

There is so much nuance to the discussion of using AI in the classroom. AI is becoming backed into so many different tools that any district will be hard pressed to find an edtech tool that does not have an AI feature. I'm not even suggesting that schools dive in without due diligence. I want people to think about all learners when they do the the due diligence. 

I am lucky to be at a company that has made access and inclusion an important part of what we do to help teachers make school awesome every day for every learner. I'd love to hear how others are exploring the new trends in edtech and how access and inclusion is part of the conversation. 

SchoolAI x Breakout EDU For The Win

 I am super excited to share this really cool collaboration between SchoolAI and Breakout EDU. 

January 26 - 30 is Data Privacy Week. SchoolAI and Breakout EDU take data privacy very seriously and thought it would be fun to team-up and create something to help students understand the importance of keeping their data safer and secure. Dot and Witty have come together to create an amazing game and reflection Space for all teacher to use with their classroom. 

Witty and Dot: Digital Detectives is a free digital privacy game from Breakout EDU with an added reflection activity from SchoolAI. Students become digital detectives, solving puzzles about phishing scams, password safety, and protecting personal information.

How it works:

1. Play the free Breakout EDU game with your class

Play The Game

2. Debrief with Dot in a SchoolAI Space

Start The Space

P.S. Free accounts required at both Breakout EDU and SchoolAI.

You can find more information on the SchoolAI landing page. 

I think this is a fun way to explore data privacy and have students reflect using a SchoolAI Space so a teacher can see how the students understood the material covered in the game. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Hugs and High Fives, 

Nick

Adobe Podcast + SchoolAI

Super excited to share this smashup of SchoolAI and Adobe Podcast. Adobe launched their podcasting tool that we have all been waiting for and I thought creating a Space to allow for students to create scripts would be a wonderful addition. I am going to walk you through the steps on making this work and provide examples along the way. 

Step 1: Create a SchoolAI Account

It is free and you have access to all of the amazing things you need to run this Space with your students. 

Step 2: Remix the SchoolAI Space I created

By remixing the Space, you are making your own copy of the Space and can make any changes to the prompt that you want that could offer student more or less support depending on the expectations you have for the assignment. 

Step 3: Launch the Space and share the join link with your students through your LMS or having students scan the QR Code. 

Here is an example of what the conversation can look like for a podcast for The Catcher in the Rye after a back and forth conversation. Dot was able to summarize the conversation into a single script. I acted as Holden and was able to answer the questions posed to me by the podcast host. 

Dot: Welcome to our show. I’m Dot, your host. Today’s episode features a conversation with Holden Caulfield about his feelings on society. This episode is a classroom learning activity exploring a character’s voice and perspective.

Dot: You often call people "phony." Can you describe what "phoniness" looks like to you and why it bothers you so much?

Holden: It is pretending to be something you are not or like things only because other people like something. It's annoying that other people don't see through this crap. Being who you are matters more than anything. My brother Allie was always himself and he was better than everyone, even me.

Dot: Do you feel society pushes people to hide who they really are, and how does that shape your view of the world?

Holden: Going to the stupid school and being surrounded by those fakes and the school makes them that way. The school acts like they serve the best food on parent day, but it is garbage the other days. We do not stand a chance if the school keeps churning out phonies.

Dot: What, if anything, gives you hope that people can be genuine — are there moments, places, or people that make you believe society isn't all fake?

Holden: My sister Phoebe is the best person I know. She is going to make a difference in the world. That is one of the reasons I cried when I saw her on the merry-go-round. I wish I could be young again and live my life over. I am very sad about growing up and wish that I did not have to. It's probably why I ended up the way that I did.

Dot: That was Holden Caulfield on society — his frustrations, his longing for authenticity, and the small, human moments that give him hope. If this episode were produced, we might open with soft piano under my intro, use a brief soundbed between questions, and close with a quiet swell as Holden mentions the merry-go-round.

Dot: Thanks for listening. If you’re working on this script, tell me any wording changes, an extra question, or if you want me to add sound cues, music suggestions, or a shorter version for a class podcast. If you're happy with it, we’re finished — great work bringing Holden’s voice to life.

Perfect

Great — glad you like it. What would you like to do next? Pick one:

• Save the script (I’ll format it nicely for download).
• Add sound cues/music suggestions.
• Create a short promo (30–45 sec) version.
• Make one wording change.

promo

Great — I’ll make a 30–45 second promo for the episode. Do you want the promo to:

1. Focus on Holden’s anger at "phoniness" (dramatic, intense),
2. Focus on Phoebe and hope (gentle, emotional), or
3. Mix both (balanced)?

Reply 1, 2, or 3.

3

Here’s a 30–45 second NPR-style promo with a balanced focus on Holden’s anger at phoniness and hope from Phoebe. Read it aloud with calm, conversational pacing and light piano under the voice; add a soft swell at the end.

[Soft piano intro — 3 seconds]

Dot (calm, warm): This week on our show — Holden Caulfield on the messiness of growing up.

Dot (slightly sharper): "They're all phonies," he says — the schools, the people, the whole lot of it.

Dot (gentle): But then there’s Phoebe — his little sister, the one thing that makes him believe people can be real.

Holden (voice clip): "She is going to make a difference... I cried on the merry-go-round."

Dot (warm): A short, honest conversation about anger, loneliness, and the small moments that keep us human. Tune in to hear Holden Caulfield on society.

[Music swell, then fade — 3–5 seconds]

Tag (soft): Subscribe to our classroom podcast for the full episode.

Would you like a version timed precisely to 30, 35, or 45 seconds, or a script formatted for recording with exact pauses and sound cues?

What is awesome about this is that the user can pause and think about the answer to the question being asked and go back to the source material to verify their answers. The Space is built to not provide the answers to the questions. The more you work on the prompt of the Space, the more specific it can be on the type of support it can provide to the students. 

This is a very short podcast interview, but it was really easy to build. Here is a screenshot and if you want to take a listen, you check out the template I created for it here. 

This is something I would love to bring together in ELA classes. Allow students to think about their characters and how they might respond to the questions that the podcaster might ask them. They would need to be able to dive deep into the text and make sure their answers matched the tone and personality of their chosen character. There are many students who are not comfortable getting in front of a class or on camera, but are fine recording their voice. This is another way to engage students and provide an option for those students who need them. 

I recommend that you try out the smashup between SchoolAI and Adobe Podcast in 2026!

Let's Talk about Accessibility and AI #HourOfAI #withSchoolAI

If you are new to my site, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Nicholas Provenzano and I am a neurodivergent learner. I went undiagnosed until college. I am dyslexic, have ADHD, manage anxiety, and battle depression. I have slowly learned these things about me over the course of 20+ years and they have profoundly influenced who I am as an educator. I mean, who the heck chooses to me an English teacher when they are dyslexic? This guy!

Now you know a little about me, I hope you have a better understanding of why I am such an advocate for accessibility for all learners. I came to age as a teacher during the great technology movement in the early 2000s. Google made the teacher's edition of the textbook a non-factor and wikipedia became the bane of every teacher's existence when it came to citations. early adopters did their best to calm the nerves of tech directors and admins, but the need to ban the unknown was too strong. I sat in meetings begging to have YouTube unblocked, to have access to Google Docs, and other early tech because I know how powerful it could be in my classroom. Block now and hope nobody asks was the standard in many schools and districts across the country. I understand the urge, but these tactics ALWAYS impact the most vulnerable students in our classroom. 

Block AI because it is just used by students to cheat and not learn anything. That is the typical thought when I hear people discussing AI in the classroom. My main issue with this is that most people do not know that AI is used in many popular applications. For example, Grammarly is an amazing tool for students that support accessibility. It is a tool that I wish I had access to as a student. I probably would not have felt so dumb if I had something, anything, that would have guided and helped organize my thoughts. Grammarly also uses AI as part of the application. Does this mean that Grammarly should be banned in the classroom? Who is exactly being punished by doing this?

Have you done a Google search lately? The first thing that pops up is a Gemini answer to your search. Does this mean Google is now banned in all schools? Who is punished if this happens?

The reality of blindly banning things is that the students who benefit the most from edtech tools are the students who are hurt the most when they are banned. These tools are designed to help students share what they know. Is it possible that some students use technology to do the work for them and are not learning? Yup. How is this different than the students breaking out their home edition of Encyclopedia Britannica?

Working for an AI company now has not stopped by advocacy for accessibility for students. To be honest, it has only ramped it up. AI can be used to help so many of our students who feel that education is just out of their reach. By finding the right tools, helping students understand how to use them to support their learning, and making sure the maintain access is what accessibility is all about. Taking a UDL approach to you classroom even makes the use of these tools advantageous to all of your students. 

I hope you take a moment and think about any policy that takes something away from students and ask who is really going to benefit and who is going to be hurt by making this decision. There is plenty of room for nuanced conversations, but let's have them before we start banning and blocking. 

Hugs and High Fives, 

NP