Click here to see the results of my recent gen AI in K-12 education survey.
Around 200 K–12 teachers from across Australia and New Zealand shared how they’re actually using generative AI in their day-to-day work. It makes for some genuinely interesting reading.
You’ll discover which generative AI tools they’re using most, how they’re using them, whether they’re saving time, the level of support they’re getting, and plenty more besides.
If you would like me to run a similar survey for your school as well as some practical workshops, feel free to contact me via – https://timkitchen.net/ctl/
I recently finished reading The Next Word – AI & Learners, Dr Nick Jackson & Matt Esterman’s new book featuring the thoughts of student Amy Wallace on the effective use of gen AI tools in education.
The Next Word – AI & Learners challenges educators to stop asking whether AI should be allowed in schools and start asking what kind of learning really matters in a world where intelligent tools are everywhere. Drawing on research, classroom realities, and powerful student voice, the book re-frames AI not as a cheating threat or a passing trend, but as a learning partner that exposes long-standing cracks in assessment, curriculum design, and school structures.
One of favourite quotes from Amy …
So, here’s the challenge: instead of trying to catch students out, what if schools asked harder questions about the value of their assessments? What’s core and what’s fluff? What’s essential and what’s just tradition?
The book argues that AI hasn’t broken education, it has simply revealed how much schooling has prioritised compliance, performance, and busy work over deep thinking, creativity, and genuine understanding. For teachers and leaders, this is a call to shift focus from controlling learning to understanding how students learn, reflect, collaborate, and grow.
What makes this book especially compelling is its strong ethical lens and its inclusion of student perspectives, particularly through contributions from Amy. The book tackles hard questions around equity, bias, well-being, environmental impact, and the growing cultural disconnect between how students live and how schools operate. It urges schools to move beyond bans and surveillance, and instead prepare young people to use AI wisely, critically, and creatively as thinkers, problem-solvers, and ethical humans.
The Next Word – AI & Learners is not a “how-to” manual for tools; it is a deeply human guide for educators navigating the biggest shift in learning since the internet, reminding us that while AI may be the smartest presence in the room, wisdom, compassion, and courage still belong to us.
The 30th of November, 2022 became a landmark moment for both education and modern society. That was the day OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public as a free, large language model (LLM) and almost overnight, everything shifted.
LLMs had been around for a number of years prior to the launch of Chat GPT. They slowly grew out of decades of work in linguistics, statistics, and artificial intelligence. The big breakthrough came in 2017 with a new approach called Transformer architecture. Instead of looking at words one at a time, it allowed computers to understand how words relate to each other across whole sentences and paragraphs. This made it possible to train AI on huge amounts of text and helped it recognise patterns in meaning, grammar, and intent in ways that had never been possible before (Tucudean et al, 2024).
The secret behind the success of ChatGPT was that it was free and easily available via a browser. Teachers and students alike were drawn to what felt like the next big thing in technology. Suddenly, this new tool was being explored for writing and refining assessment tasks, generating lesson plans, images, songs, videos, quizzes, and streamlining everyday teaching work. What had once felt experimental or futuristic quickly became part of daily conversations in staff rooms and classrooms, signalling that something genuinely different, and potentially transformative, had arrived in education.
Almost overnight, ‘gen AI’ became a buzzword, but for many, it also felt like the latest threat to traditional approaches to schooling. What began as uncertainty and concern quickly turned into widespread curiosity and experimentation. Just over three years on, it’s not unusual to find dozens of gen AI tools being used regularly by both teachers and students to support learning, enhance assessment, help with planning, solve the creativity blank page issue, and problem-solve.
From COVID lock-downs to Gen AI
Those of us who were early adopters of computers in the classroom in the 1990s and advocates for 1:1 laptop programs were constantly fighting against a very traditional, slow to change, system. Even though digital technologies had been in schools since the mid 1980s, there was still a strong reluctance to change. It seemed as though just about every aspect of society (such as banking, shopping, communicating and being entertained) was centred around a digital device but education was still predominantly face to face with a focus on handwritten assessments. The interruptions to traditional classroom experiences caused by COVID lock-downs in 2020 & 2021 forced some quick changes when most teachers and students had to work digitally (many for the first time).
When schools finally emerged from COVID lock-downs, there was a sense of hope that teachers would keep building on the increased access to digital technologies that had become part of their everyday work practice. Instead, almost the opposite happened. Many teachers, understandably exhausted by months of remote learning, were keen to step away from screens altogether, eager to return to familiar, face-to-face practices after being forced to rely so heavily on digital tools during lock-down.
For many teachers, the sudden and sustained shift to remote learning was exhausting, with studies describing heightened stress, increased workload, and a sense of having to “start teaching all over again” in unfamiliar digital environments. Prolonged screen time, constant videoconferencing, and what researchers describe as ‘technostress’ contributed to widespread digital fatigue and burnout. As a result, when face-to-face teaching resumed, many educators were eager to step away from screens altogether, not because they rejected technology outright, but because it had become so closely associated with crisis teaching, emotional strain, and survival rather than thoughtful, creative pedagogy (Bond, 2020).
Then Chat GPT happened and adoption of technology across most of the K-12 curriculum dramatically increased. Researchers have observed that “AI tools are flooding K-12 classrooms,” with solutions like ChatGPT widely adopted despite ongoing evaluation of their effects (Loeb, 2025). These trends suggest that Chat GPT’s emergence has coincided with (and arguably accelerated) a dramatic increase in technology adoption across the K-12 curriculum and a broader rethinking of schooling practice far greater than the adoption forced by COVID lock downs.
A change to teaching & learning
The rapid shift towards the use of a range of gen AI solutions has exposed a long-standing tension in education. For decades, schooling has largely centred on the final product, the exam paper, the test, the essay, or the polished project handed in at the end of a unit. But when gen AI tools can now produce highly convincing end products with very little student input, the spotlight has inevitably moved.
Increasingly, the real value lies not just in what students submit, but in how they got there, the thinking, decision-making, drafts, feedback, reflection, and growth that happened along the way. In many ways, gen AI has forced educators to pay closer attention to the learning process itself. A need in education that has been well over due.
Linking back to Benjamin Bloom
The rapid rise of gen AI tools in schools has quietly pushed educators back to something that had been sitting there all along: Bloom’s Taxonomy and its focus on how learning actually happens. Back in 1956, American educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom mapped out a series of learning stages that moved well beyond memorising facts for a test. Then, in 2001, those ideas were refreshed to better reflect a progression toward deeper thinking and creativity, rather than just recall (Kitchen, 2024).
Now, with gen AI able to produce polished essays, images, code, or presentations in seconds, the final product on its own tells us far less than it once did. As a result, teachers are paying much closer attention to the processes Bloom highlighted such as questioning, analysing, evaluating, creating, reflecting, and revising. The real value lies in how students plan their work, test ideas, make decisions, explain their thinking, and respond to feedback, not just in what they hand in at the end.
Used transparently and ethically, gen AI can actually strengthen this shift. It can support brainstorming, help students refine drafts, and encourage reflection on their thinking, making the learning journey more visible. In many ways, gen AI hasn’t made Bloom’s work outdated; it has reinforced its relevance. It is a timely reminder that deep learning isn’t best measured by a finished product, but by the growth, thinking, and decision-making that happen along the way.
Rethinking assessment
Well before gen AI entered classrooms, research on formative assessment and visible learning emphasised the importance of drafts, feedback, and reflection in supporting student growth. The landmark work of Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam demonstrated that formative practices such as peer feedback, iterative drafts, and metacognitive reflection have a significant impact on learning outcomes (Black & Wiliam, 1998). Similarly, the OECD has consistently argued that modern assessment must value problem-solving, reasoning, and learning progression, not just task completion, particularly in complex, real-world contexts where answers are rarely linear or fixed (OECD, 2023).
In practical terms, schools are responding by redesigning assessment tasks requiring annotated drafts, design journals, digital portfolios, version histories, reflective commentaries, reflective podcasts, oral explanations of thinking and video reflections. Many teachers now also ask students to document how AI tools were used, what prompts were tried, what outputs were rejected, and how ideas were refined, turning AI from a shortcut into a thinking partner. This aligns with guidance from Education Services Australia (ESA), which encourages schools to focus on transparency, ethical use, and student reflection when integrating gen AI into assessment design (Australian Framework for Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Schools, 2023).
The gen AI evolution has exposed an over-reliance on the end product in traditional schooling. It has accelerated a necessary correction, pushing educators to value growth, judgement, and decision-making as core learning outcomes. Both the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority and the OECD note that future-ready learners must be able to explain how they think, adapt feedback, and justify choices, skills that cannot be meaningfully assessed through a single artifact alone (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2022).
Gen AI has forced education systems to confront a truth long overdue: authentic assessment has always been about the journey, not just the destination.
Invite Tim Kitchen to your school …
With more than three decades in education, including 23 years in the classroom and 13 years as Adobe’s Senior Education Specialist for Australia, New Zealand & South East Asia, Dr Tim Kitchen now runs CTL – Creative Teaching & Learning, an education consultancy supporting schools to implement safe, ethical, and creative AI practices that strengthen teaching and learning.
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.
Bond, M. (2020). Schools and emergency remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A living rapid systematic review. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 15(2), 191–247. Online available (January 2026) https://zenodo.org/records/4425683
Kitchen, T. (2024). The Best Way to Learn is to Make – Creativity in a Gen AI World. Mammoth Learning
Tucudean G, Bucos M, Dragulescu B, Caleanu CD. 2024. Natural language processing with transformers: a review. PeerJ Computer Science 10:e2222. online available (January 2026) https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-cs.2222
Tim’s book
The Best Way to Learn is to Make – Creativity in a Gen AI World
This book draws together Tim’s understanding of future directions in technology as well as his deep understanding of what students need in our classrooms. It is essential reading for all teachers (Dr Helen Hughes).
On Thursday 27 November 2025, I had the pleasure of doing the opening keynote address at DigiCon in Melbourne, a fantastic conference jointly run by ACMI and DLTV. It felt a bit like coming home. I bumped into so many familiar faces, people I’ve known since my days as the inaugural VP of DLTV and VP of VITTA.
At the same time, it was wonderful meeting a whole range of new educators, all buzzing with ideas and just as passionate as ever about strengthening digital literacy and creativity in their classrooms.
A real highlight was spending some time with the lovely Paula Christopherson, who was recognised as a Life Member of DLTV. Seeing her honoured for her dedication and contribution over so many years was truly special.
With Paula ChristophersonWith Catherine Newington from ACS
There was a lot of interest in my book and a number of teachers has purchased it previously and shared how much they enjoyed reading it.
I would like to thank the conference committee and especially Jacqueline Manison, the current President of DLTV for inviting me.
On Saturday 1st November, a wonderful group of media and arts students from St Philip’s Christian College in Newcastle visited the Adobe Sydney office as part of a city experience camp.
The aim of this event was to spend 4 hours getting to know more about Adobe Premiere Pro to help prepare the students for a range of media projects and for a future life of video communication.
Learning Adobe Premiere Pro is a great way for students to build powerful communication and video literacy skills. In today’s world, video is one of the most engaging ways to share ideas, tell stories, and make an impact — and Premiere Pro gives students the tools to do just that. As they plan, film, edit, and produce their own videos, they learn how to communicate clearly, think critically about visual storytelling, and collaborate creatively. These are skills that go far beyond the software — they’re essential for success in any modern career.
It was a pleasure to work with Adobe Creative Education (ACE) Belle Holliday-Williams (Leader of Student Media) at St Philips to make this experience possible for her students.
On Friday, 31 October, I had the pleasure of joining the 50th anniversary celebration of the Careers Advisors Association of NSW & ACT at their annual conference in Sydney. It was a fantastic event at the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park, with around 500 careers advisors, partners, and vendors all coming together to mark this special milestone.
The delegates included teachers from Government, Catholic, and Independent schools across NSW and the ACT, along with career development professionals from a range of sectors. Their work plays such an important role in education — helping young people make sense of their options when it comes to study, training, and future careers.
I was invited to the event as an author and education consultant. My session wasn’t focused on Adobe’s education solutions this time, but rather about the key skills students will need to thrive in the future — a topic that really connects with the work of careers advisors everywhere.
I also had the chance to do a book signing and loved chatting with so many passionate educators who are deeply committed to helping students discover their paths.
It was an absolute pleasure to deliver the opening keynote at the Victorian It Takes a Spark! STEM Conference, held at The Knox School in Melbourne on Thursday, 23 October 2025. The event brought together approximately 520 students and teachers from over 20 schools across Victoria, creating a vibrant and collaborative atmosphere.
This inspiring conference is held annually in Victoria, Western Australia, and Queensland. I was also fortunate to lead a workshop at the WA event in Mandurah this past September.
What sets It Takes a Spark! apart is its unique focus on both educators and students. Throughout the day, participants engaged in a range of interactive sessions including a Digi-Design Mini Workshop, a Problem Solvers Design Challenge, and keynote presentations. Teachers also had the opportunity to attend exclusive Mini Masterclasses and networking sessions, which featured Adobe Creative Educator Level 1 and 2 micro-credential courses.
I would like to thanks Dr Adrian Bertolini for inviting me to be involved.
The 2025 Adobe Educators’ Conference was a live and on-demand professional learning event run by the ANZ Adobe Education Team aimed at K-12 & Higher Ed teachers with a focus on encouraging creativity in the teaching & learning process with the use of a range of Adobe applications.
Just over 4,000 teachers viewed the Conference site in anticipation of this event with hundreds registering to watch sessions live or on-demand.
Most of the workshop/presentation sessions were run and moderated by Adobe Creative Educator (ACE) Leaders and Innovators.
Conference opening video
Opening plenary session
K-12 Keynote 1
Improving Student Outcomes with Adobe Express for Education with Therese Adams (Global Adobe Edu Team)
HED Keynote 1
Future-Ready Learners: Embedding Digital and Transferable Skills in Tertiary Education with Cherie Diaz (Western Sydney University)
K-12 Keynote 2
An AI Odyssey: Navigating the Future of Education with Brett Salakas (HP Education Ambassador)
HED Keynote 2
Storytelling as a Skillset: Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Digital Fluency in Action with Manuela Franceschini (Adobe Senior Business Developer – Education)
93% agreed that the overall quality of this event was excellent.
95% agreed that the content of this event met their expectations.
93% agreed that they will be able to apply much of what they learned in their work.
Highlights (key comments)
The Adobe session was definitely well presented, engaging, and very informative. The presenters explained concepts clearly, and I learned valuable strategies that I can apply in my work. Overall, it was a great and inspiring online session.
All the sessions that I attended were very well-presented with hands-on demonstrations and plenty of interaction.
The range of seminars covering range of creative digital elements that can be applied in a classroom – so inspiring – love the mini workshops and useful links provided
Other comments
This is a brilliant initiative which brings like-minded educators of the future together to learn and share ideas.
Thank you very much appreciate being able to attend and be inspired
The information gathered from both sessions will enable me to effectively help my students use Adobe Express and support my colleagues through teaching and knowledge sharing.
I needed this PL to give my teaching some more flavour and to answer some of my concerns about AI
About 30 educators from South Australia traveled to the spectacular Adelaide Botanic High School for the Adelaide Adobe Content Creation Seminar on Tue 30th September.
Lachlan Mooney from the SA Department for Education set the scene by sharing some of the work they have been doing to link digital technologies to pedagogy. This aligned nicely with Molly Turner’s introduction about the value of working with Adobe Express in K-12 & in the TAFE sector.
The new Adobe Express classrooms features was highlighted within an overall tour of Adobe Express and the teachers were encouraged to explore some of the various features that were most relevant to them.
Molly ran a session on Express Classrooms and I ran a session on animation & video with Adobe Express. The the teachers were given time to apply this new knowledge and create some resources that they could use in the classroom next term and throughout 2026.
The teachers all worked through the requirements of achieving the Adobe Creative Educator s(ACE) Level 1 & 2 micro-credential.
Feedback highlights
Getting some more in depth instruction for creating videos and adding layers.
Learning about all of the new tools within Adobe Express. The way that we can animate characters, create more powerful presentations, it was all brilliant!
Being able to create a video and use the animate tools
Seeing the practical applications of systems was the biggest highlight.
Presenters were helpful
Obtaining my ACE level 2 Badge
Getting to actually work on the video while we learned
Making my own projects that I can see being useful in my work and for personal interest. Getting an accreditation was a bonus too.
Overall content was great . Especially the website for presentations will use this in my role.
All activities were great and useful.
Wonderful seminar
Getting to know the hidden features
Other feedback comments
Thank you for coming to Adelaide! It was great to be able to attend a session in person and to learn about all of the new amazing updates and offerings from Adobe Express.
I really appreciate that the program was not necessarily targeted towards people with no prior knowledge of Adobe systems.
Bring Dr Tim Kitchen back to Adelaide for another F2F session for TAFE SA lecturers.
Thank you for your expertise.
Want more!
Great day, thanks so much for your time and efforts. Would love to see more like this in the future.
I used Adobe education products a while ago (maybe 5 years ago) … this has renewed my interest in the Adobe education suite again. Thanks.
I really enjoyed the session and having time to play with the different features.
Gallery
Special thank you to the staff at Adelaide Botanic High for kindly offering the use of their facilities.
On Friday 26th September, 2025 a fabulous group of teachers (TAFE & K-12) from around the Brisbane area took part in Adobe’s first ever Content Creation Seminar hosted at TAFE QLD, Southbank. This was part of the 2025 Adobe Educators’ Conference.
This was an opportunity for teachers to join a hands-on day of creativity with Adobe Express and build curriculum-aligned, multi-modal content that fuels digital literacy and fluency – setting students up for success in learning and life.
Molly Turner from the Adobe Edu Team set the scene at the start of the session linking Adobe Express solutions to the Australian Curriculum as well as TAFE priorities.
With expert guidance from ACE-Leaders/Innovators Erin Raethke, Nalin Naidoo as well as Adobe Edu team members Al Briggs, Molly Turner and myself, the teachers were shown how to use Adobe Express to create curriculum-aligned resources that spark curiosity, build digital literacy and fluency, and set students up for lifelong success.
Being able to easily add an Auslan interpreter and captions to a video. It was much simply than other platforms that I’ve tried.
I really liked learning about classrooms and the guided activities
It was great getting a refresher of the tools learned in the ACE Level 2 training.
Seeing Adobe Express
Discovering the new updates every time I get into Adobe Express.
Time to explore and people more knowledgeable than me to ask!!
Appreciated the time to immerse into Adobe Express
Improving knowledge of tools
Just the support- I did not feel inadequate or stupid – I am confident to take this back to my classroom.
The handson aspect of the workshop – experiential learning is everything! Jumping into Adobe express and trying this out.
Having already done the Adobe Educator Level 1 training, it was great to extend my skills. Top highlight: adding captions to videos and importing existing presentations to make them better in Adobe Express
Working through the guided activities with help.
Other feedback comments
Thank you for a great day.
Great holiday opportunity
Looking forward to next learning opportunity
Great work all
Please do a presentation at the Queensland Art Teachers Association conference in July 2026 in Brisbane.
Thanks so much team!
The templates provided by Molly and video examples were great examples I could incorporate in classroom activities.
Dr Tim Kitchen 