Edtech

The Future of Education in KSA: Setting Trails, Not Just Following Trends

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 12:50:32 +0000

As we approach GESS Saudi this September, the conversation around education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has never been more vibrant. Driven by the transformative goals of Vision 2030, the educational landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. With the Kingdom anticipating the need for approximately 1,200 new private schools by 2030 the demand for world-class educators is surging. However, as educational leaders navigating this boom, we must ask ourselves: “Are we merely filling vacancies and following the latest trends, or are we intentionally building lasting, thriving educational communities?”

Reflecting on my 17-plus years in education and my journey as a founding principal in this dynamic region, this question has come into sharp focus. The challenge we face is no longer just about attracting top-tier talent to a highly competitive market; it is about cultivating an environment where educators thrive, grow professionally, and ultimately, choose to stay. To achieve this, schools cannot afford to be passive participants in the Kingdom's educational renaissance. We must become trailblazers.

Setting Trails Over Following Trends.

In a rapidly expanding market, it is tempting to simply adopt the most visible global trends. But education is deeply contextual. What works in one region may not resonate within the unique cultural and community fabric of your own institution.

Instead of following trends, every educational institution must find the courage to set its own trail. This means clearly defining your school’s unique ethos, values, and long-term vision, and allowing those principles to guide every decision. When schools carve out their distinct identities, they contribute to a beautifully diverse educational market.

This diversity is precisely what will assist and elevate the future of recruitment and retention in Saudi Arabia. When the market offers a rich tapestry of distinct school cultures, educators are no longer just looking for a job; they are looking for an alignment of values. They are seeking a community where their specific pedagogical passions and cultural agility can flourish.

AI is a non-negotiable requirement in recruitment

As we define these unique school identities, we must also confront a universal truth: the students we are educating are already living in the future. They are digital natives who instinctively navigate an AI-driven world. Simply put, an educator cannot effectively teach a student who is lightyears ahead of them in technological fluency.

Therefore, Artificial Intelligence utilization is no longer a niche interest; it is an absolute must-have skill. This reality must fundamentally reshape our recruitment paradigm. When interviewing candidates, we must look beyond traditional academic qualifications. We must seek educators who are not intimidated by AI, but who embrace it as a transformative tool to enhance learning, personalize instruction, and streamline administrative tasks.

If a teacher views their role solely as delivering a static curriculum rather than facilitating dynamic, technology-integrated learning, they will quickly lose relevance. Recruiting educators who are technologically agile and forward-thinking is the only way to ensure our educational establishments remain at the cutting edge of global education.

Fostering a Culture of Growth

Recruitment is the spark that gets talented teachers through the door, but retention is the fuel that keeps them in the classroom. The international school sector frequently grapples with high turnover rates across the Middle East and around the world. This transience can severely disrupt student learning, effect school culture, and drain institutional resources. To combat this, leaders must fundamentally shift our focus from mere onboarding to sustained, meaningful professional development and genuine, structural care for our staff's well-being.

Retention strategies cannot be an afterthought; they must be deeply embedded in the school's daily operations and leadership mindset. Mentorship programs, collaborative planning sessions, transparent communication, and clear pathways for career advancement are essential components of this ecosystem. Crucially, this is where AI plays a dual role: not only must educators possess these skills, but schools must provide the ongoing training to keep those skills sharp.

The Catalyst for Excellence

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is the lifeblood of any thriving educational institution. In the context of Vision 2030, which places a strong emphasis on the professionalization of teaching standards, CPD is not a luxury; it is an absolute necessity. However, effective CPD goes far beyond mandated, one-size-fits-all workshops. It must be personalized, relevant, and directly applicable to the real-world challenges teachers face in their classrooms every day.

Empowering teachers through targeted, high-quality CPD—particularly in emerging areas like AI integration—directly translates to better outcomes for students. By fostering a culture of continuous learning, we not only enhance the quality of teaching but also signal to our staff that their professional journey matters deeply to us. When educators feel they are constantly improving, their expertise is trusted, and they are equipped to meet the needs of the modern student, they are far more likely to plant roots.

By Dr. Tamar Demetradze, Founding Principal and Educator

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Inspiring Minds in the AI Era

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 12:40:59 +0000

In recent years, artificial intelligence has become an increasingly influential part of educational systems around the world. As schools explore new ways to integrate technology into teaching and learning, the presence of AI in classrooms has grown steadily. This shift has encouraged educators, parents, and policymakers to reconsider how learning happens and how children can be best supported in a world where digital tools are becoming more prominent. While AI offers new opportunities for innovation, its impact is most meaningful when connected to a clear understanding of how children learn, think, and develop.

The early years of education remain one of the most critical stages for cognitive, emotional, and social growth. During this period, children’s brains form essential neural connections that support problem solving, communication, creativity, and curiosity. Introducing AI related experiences during these years is not about teaching children complex technologies, but about helping them explore ideas, observe patterns, and engage with tools that encourage active learning. When used thoughtfully, AI can become a supportive element that enriches children’s natural learning processes rather than replacing them.

Research in early childhood education highlights the importance of hands on exploration, sensory experiences, and meaningful interaction. These principles remain central even in the AI era. Before children can understand how AI works, they must first develop foundational skills such as observing, questioning, predicting, and making connections. Activities that involve simple robotics, pattern recognition, or interactive digital tools can support these skills by allowing children to experiment, test ideas, and see immediate results. Such experiences help children understand cause and effect, sequence, and problem solving — all of which are essential for later learning.

In early years classrooms, AI related learning often begins through guided exploration. When teachers introduce tools such as simple robots or age appropriate coding activities, children learn through observation, imitation, and experimentation. For example, a small programmable robot can encourage children to think about direction, sequence, and spatial awareness. As they give the robot instructions and watch how it responds, they begin to understand how commands lead to actions. These experiences strengthen cognitive development and support early computational thinking in a playful and engaging way.

One of the key benefits of integrating AI related activities in the early years is the development of language and communication skills. When children work together to solve a problem or complete a task, they naturally engage in conversation, negotiation, and explanation. A simple activity involving a robot or digital tool can prompt children to use vocabulary related to movement, direction, prediction, and reasoning.

Teachers can further support language development by asking open ended questions such as:

"What do you think will happen if we change this instruction?”

or

“Why do you think the robot stopped here?”

These questions encourage children to express their ideas, reflect on their thinking, and build confidence in communication.

Another important aspect of AI related learning is the development of persistence and resilience. When children experiment with digital tools, they often encounter mistakes or unexpected outcomes. These moments provide valuable opportunities for learning. By encouraging children to try again, adjust their approach, and explore alternative solutions, teachers help them develop problem solving skills and a positive attitude toward challenges. This mindset is essential not only for understanding technology but for lifelong learning.

AI related activities also support creativity and imagination. When children use digital tools to design, build, or explore, they extend their thinking beyond the physical classroom. For example, after exploring a simple AI tool that recognises shapes or colours, children might create drawings, build models, or engage in role play based on what they observed. These creative extensions allow children to connect technology with real world experiences, deepening their understanding and encouraging imaginative thinking.

In diverse and multicultural environments such as the United Arab Emirates, AI can also serve as a bridge for exploring different cultures, languages, and perspectives. Digital tools can introduce children to global stories, images, and ideas, helping them develop awareness and appreciation for diversity. When children see technology used in ways that reflect different cultures and experiences, they begin to understand that AI is not just a machine but a tool shaped by human creativity and values.

The role of the teacher remains central in the AI era. While technology can support learning, it cannot replace the human connection, guidance, and understanding that educators provide. Teachers help children make sense of their experiences, ask meaningful questions, and build confidence. They ensure that AI is used in developmentally appropriate ways and that learning remains rooted in exploration, interaction, and play.

As AI continues to evolve, inspiring young minds requires a balanced approach that values both technological innovation and human development. By creating learning environments that integrate AI thoughtfully, encourage curiosity, and support active engagement, educators can help children develop the skills they need for the future. When children are given opportunities to explore, question, and imagine, they begin to see technology not as something that controls them, but as a tool they can understand, shape, and use creatively.

In this way, the AI era becomes not just a technological shift, but an opportunity to inspire confident learners, critical thinkers, and imaginative problem solvers — children who are prepared not only to use technology, but to contribute meaningfully to the world around them.

By Rahma Abudhais

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Educational Transformation in Saudi Arabia: Advancing Vision 2030 Through STEAM, Technology, and Sustainable Innovation

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:29:42 +0000

I remember the lesson clearly. I was teaching coordinate systems to fifth graders and I knew that the moment I drew the grid on the board, half the class would mentally check out. So I brought in the robots. I set up a physical grid on the floor, placed the robot at the origin, and asked the students to navigate it to different coordinates. What happened next was one of those moments you carry with you for your entire teaching life. They were out of their seats, arguing about directions, celebrating when the robot landed exactly where they predicted. The mathematics stopped being abstract and became something they could touch and own.

That lesson happened years before robotics was standard in any curriculum here. At the time, I was simply a Math teacher trying to make a concept come alive. Looking back, it was the beginning of a journey that has shaped everything I do now as a technology and innovation specialist working across schools in Saudi Arabia.

What Vision 2030 Feels Like From Inside a Classroom

There is a lot written about Vision 2030 from a policy perspective. What gets discussed less is what it actually feels like to be an educator living through the transformation. The honest answer is that it feels both exciting and demanding. Exciting because the appetite for change is genuine. Demanding because translating national ambition into daily classroom practice is complex work, and the educators doing it deserve more recognition than they often receive.

What Vision 2030 has done, in practical terms, is give educators permission to take risks. When I propose a new approach to a school leader today, the question is no longer whether innovation belongs in a Saudi school. The question is how can we implement it well and make sure it serves every student in the room.

Building Something That Reaches Every Learner

At One World International School in Riyadh, we built the ZeroOne Hub as a space where technology serves learning rather than the other way around. Our students come from many different countries and language backgrounds. Some are confident with screens; others learn better through physical, hands-on experiences. The hub is designed with all of them in mind, offering screen-free coding tools alongside digital platforms, visual programming environments that do not rely on strong English literacy, and virtual reality that gives students access to experiences they would never otherwise encounter. When your school community is as diverse as ours, inclusion is not a poster on the wall. It is a daily design challenge.

In 2025, OWIS became the first school in Saudi Arabia to receive Apple Distinguished School status. What I am proudest of is not the recognition itself but what it tells other schools across the Kingdom: that this level of commitment to technology-enhanced learning is possible here, with Saudi students, in a Saudi context.

The Work Nobody Talks About Enough: Supporting Teachers

The most important technology decision a school makes is not which platform to buy. It is whether the teachers who have to use it every day feel confident enough to actually try. A beautiful innovation lab that intimidates people will gather dust. A simple tool in the hands of a teacher who believes in it will change how thirty children experience learning.

Most of my work happens in conversations. The Islamic Studies teacher who wanted her students to feel Hajj and Umrah rather than just read about them. The Art teacher who took her class inside the Sistine Chapel through a VR headset and watched them fall silent looking up at the ceiling. The Math teachers I worked with to use robotics for drawing shapes before moving into algebraic thinking, where the robot's path literally becomes the equation. The Social Studies class that designed and 3D printed a sustainable city using AI design tools, making real decisions about infrastructure and community. One of my favourite projects of all: students programming robots to clean a surface mapped in the shape of Saudi Arabia, as part of our IB Sharing the Planet unit, thinking through routes, efficiency and what it means to take care of a place you belong to.

None of these teachers came to me asking for technology. They came asking how to make their subject matter more to their students. That is always the right starting point.

Artificial Intelligence and What Schools Need to Do Now

Students across Saudi Arabia are already using AI, often in ways their teachers have not yet had a chance to think through. The response cannot be avoidance. The question is not whether AI will be part of our students’ lives. It already is. The question is whether schools will help young people develop the judgment to use it well.

That means weaving AI literacy into subjects students are already studying, having honest conversations about when AI helps thinking and when it replaces it, and taking safeguarding seriously so students engage with these tools in ways that protect them. When I work with teachers on this, what I find is that once the initial anxiety settles, most educators are genuinely curious. They just need someone willing to think it through with them.

Sustainability Is Not a Theme Week

As School Sustainability Ambassador, I lead our UN SDGs in Action programme, and the most important lesson from that work is that sustainability only connects with students when it is real. In Saudi Arabia, that connection is not hard to make. Water, energy, food systems, environmental change: these are issues students here can see in their own lives. When they prototype solutions to local problems in the Fab Lab or code simple monitoring systems for a school garden, they are not just meeting curriculum objectives. They are beginning to see themselves as people who can contribute to solutions. That shift in identity is what we should be aiming for.

To Educators Who Are in the Middle of This

If you are a teacher or school leader trying to move things forward while managing everything else the job demands, here is what I want to say. You do not need to have it all figured out before you start. The robotics lesson I described at the beginning of this article was not part of a strategic framework. It was a teacher who cared about her students, trying something she believed might work.

Start there. Be honest with your colleagues about what you are learning. Find the people in your school who are curious and willing, and build from that point. The transformation Vision 2030 is calling for will not be delivered by policy alone. It will be built by educators, in classrooms, one lesson at a time.

By Omnia Mokhtar | Senior Instructional Specialist, Technology & Innovation, Middle learship Team, One World International School, Saudi Arabia

About the Author: Omnia Mokhtar is Senior Instructional Specialist for Technology and Innovation and IB PYP STEAM Coordinator and servre as Middle Leadership Team at One World International School, Riyadh, part of Global Schools Group. She holds dual Master’s degrees in Software Engineering and Education, is STEM and Apple Education certified, and is a PhD researcher at Cairo University focusing on technology-enhanced learning. She will be presenting at GESS Saudi Arabia on educational transformation and Vision 2030.

Connect: linkedin.com/in/omnia-mokhtar-62331171

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AI in Higher Education: Preserving Human Judgment, Care, and Context

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:20:51 +0000

Artificial intelligence is significantly changing the context within which educators operate. As universities and schools across the GCC region and globally adopt AI‑driven tools to support teaching and learning, enrollment, engagement and retention, the impact on students and their interaction with student support staff and educators is profound and in some cases alarming.

While technology continues to evolve at unprecedented speed, the fundamental mission of educators to support students’ academic, personal, and holistic success remains unchanged.

AI is already embedded in many aspects of student services and institutional operations across the region. As reported in Khaleej Times (Sircar, 25 February 2026), schools in the UAE are integrating AI into classrooms through supervised access, ethical prompting, and fact‑checking practices.

Beyond instructional use, AI‑powered systems are also employed to track student progress and support academic processes, a role that became particularly evident during periods when education shifted to remote learning models.

At the policy level, Qatar National Vision 2030 frames education as central to sustainable development through human capital formation, social cohesion, economic diversification, and environmental stewardship. MCIT’s National AI Strategy operationalizes this vision by prioritizing curriculum modernization, educator empowerment through AI-enabled tools, and research integration across higher education, supported by coordinated, cross-sector governance. Centralized oversight through an inter-ministerial AI committee has enabled coherent implementation, mitigating fragmented pilot approaches and supporting system-wide reform (Ahmed & Rezk, 2025).

Recent research on Saudi higher education highlights the growing role of artificial intelligence and big‑data analytics in supporting sustainable university development and data‑driven decision‑making. The study demonstrates that AI‑based predictive models can improve institutional planning, student support, and educational equity by enabling earlier identification of academic risks and more personalized learning pathways. However, it also emphasizes the importance of robust governance, capacity building, and data‑privacy safeguards to ensure responsible and effective implementation (Khan et al., 2025)

AI technologies are being applied to sensitive areas such as online proctoring and academic integrity assessment. While these tools can help maintain academic standards, their use emphasizes the need for careful governance and for student and educational affairs professionals to advocate for transparent, ethical, and student‑centered implementation.

In many cases, technology is created within cultural contexts that differ from those of its users, potentially introducing biases that impact data generation and the strategies used to support learners. While AI can enhance administrative functions and identify potential risks, it cannot interpret emotional cues, lived experiences, or cultural context, limitations that are particularly significant for English Language Learners. Effective advising and counseling therefore rely on human judgment, empathy, and culturally responsive engagement, as student affairs professionals contextualize data, engage students in meaningful dialogue, and design appropriate interventions. These human competencies remain essential, especially in diverse and global education contexts such as the GCC.

Therefore, it is critical to involve all stakeholders in the early stages of adopting new technologies to address their needs and challenges, as the ultimate goal of technology is to support the institution rather than create barriers or additional complications.

Institutions must recognize that technology alone does not guarantee improved outcomes. Ongoing professional development is essential to help academic professionals understand emerging technologies, apply them ethically, and use them critically rather than unquestioningly. As digital literacy, data interpretation, and cross‑functional collaboration become increasingly important, core values such as care, advocacy, and student‑centered practice remain non‑negotiable.

AI is not only changing tools; it is reshaping professional roles. Educational leaders are increasingly expected to be data‑informed leaders who can translate insights into action, collaborate across academic and administrative units, and contribute to institutional effectiveness and accreditation efforts.

It is of utmost importance for educators to preserve professional judgment and relational practice in an increasingly data‑driven environment. Student development is not linear, nor is it purely academic. Cultural context, mental health, family expectations, financial pressures, and identity all shape a student’s experience in ways that no algorithm can fully capture.

Rather than replacing human connection, AI should free professionals from administrative overload, allowing more time for high‑impact, relationship‑based work. The challenge lies in ensuring that institutions adopt technology in ways that reinforce, rather than compromise, this balance.

These ethical considerations continue to shape how AI is implemented across institutions.

One of the most pressing questions facing higher education today is not whether we will adopt AI, but how and why. When innovation is pursued without intention, it risks prioritizing efficiency over equity, speed over care, and automation over understanding.

Educators have a critical leadership role to play in asking the right questions: Does this technology improve access or create new barriers? Does it support student agency or reduce students to data points? Does it enhance our ability to care for students, or does it distance us from them?

The future of educators in a high‑tech AI era is not about choosing between technology and human connection. It is about integrating the two thoughtfully, ethically, and strategically in service of student success. AI has the potential to transform how we support students but only if guided by professionals who understand that data gains meaning through relationships, context, and care.

As we navigate this evolving landscape, the role of educators is more vital than ever: to support inclusive practices, advocate for responsible innovation, and ensure that, at the heart of every technological advancement, the student remains the central focus.

By Miriam Khalil

References

Sircar, N. (2026, February 25). Supervised access, ethical prompts and fact‑checking define how UAE schools are integrating artificial intelligence into classrooms. Khaleej Times.

Ahmed, A. M., & Rezk, L. M. (2025). *Charting Qatar’s AI‑enabled learning agenda: Policy vision, strategic investments, and early outcomes*. University of Oxford.

Khan, M. A., Rehman, A., Shah, A. A., Abbas, S., Alharbi, M., Ahmad, M., & Ghazal, T. M. (2025). Navigating the future of higher education in Saudi Arabia: Implementing AI, machine learning, and big data for sustainable university development. *Discover Sustainability, 6*, Article 495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01388-2

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GESS Talks Webinar 48: Saudi Essentials: Exploring Opportunities in the K-12 Education Sector in Saudi Arabia

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:50:34 +0000

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Why Access to AI Isn't Enough

Tue, 26 May 2026 11:22:32 +0000

Last term, I assigned an informative essay. Two of my weaker students submitted work within hours — polished, structured, completely written by AI. They had copied full essays without learning anything. A third student, equally struggling, spent the week with me. I showed him how to outline. I had him use AI to generate ideas, then choose which ones were his. He refined sentences with AI's help, but wrote them himself. By the end, he had a real essay and real skills.

Same tool. Same assignment. Completely different results.

The problem is not access to AI. My students all have it. The problem is what they do with it — and that depends entirely on the guidance they receive.

How Teachers Guide the Process

Some capable students already know this instinctively. They use AI as a thinking partner: for structure, feedback, refinement. They learn from it. But weaker students, the ones who need support most, often use it as a shortcut. They do not develop their writing skills. They become dependent. The invisible gap widens.

This is why teachers must intervene. I do not simply allow AI in my classroom — I teach students how to use it. When assigning an informative essay, I model the entire process first. I show them how to brainstorm using AI, how to select and organize their own ideas, how to draft their own sentences, and how to use AI only for refinement and feedback. I demonstrate each step. Then I have students practice with me watching. I give immediate feedback. I correct misuse. Over time, students learn to see AI as a support tool, not a replacement for thinking.

The difference is dramatic. Students who receive this guidance become more independent, not less. They develop actual writing skills. They understand structure. They can organize their thoughts. They learn to revise. By contrast, students left to figure out AI on their own often give up and let the tool do everything. They submit work, but they have learned nothing. The skill gap between these two groups grows wider with every assignment.

This is the invisible gap. It is not about access. It is about guidance.

The Role of School Leadership

But this cannot happen at scale without school leadership. Without clear policies and professional development, teachers are left guessing. Some students get guidance. Others do not. Some teachers understand how to integrate AI meaningfully. Others ban it or ignore it. The inconsistency is the problem.

Leaders must move beyond simply permitting AI and instead establish clear expectations. This means providing targeted professional development so teachers know how to teach with AI, not just teach about it. It means creating guidelines that distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate use. It means monitoring outcomes to ensure that AI is actually supporting learning, not replacing it.

Leadership must also ensure that AI use is aligned with the school's vision and learning goals. If a school values critical thinking and independence, then AI must be taught in ways that support those values. If a school claims to prioritize equity, then leadership must ensure all students receive the same quality of guidance, not just the ones whose teachers happen to understand AI well.

Without this direction from above, schools end up with fragmented approaches. One teacher structures AI use carefully. Another allows students free rein. One class develops skills. Another produces dependency. The students who suffer most are the ones who need support — the weaker and less motivated ones who lack the instinct to use tools wisely.

The Bigger Picture

The core issue is simple: access to a tool does not equal understanding how to use it well. A student with access to AI but no guidance is like a student with access to a library but no instruction in research. The tool is there, but the skill is not.

This is why the role of teachers is not diminished by AI — it is transformed. We must now teach not just content, but wisdom about how to use powerful tools. We must model good practices. We must correct misuse. We must help students develop judgment about when to rely on AI and when to rely on themselves.

Similarly, school leadership must recognize that AI integration is not a technical problem. It is a pedagogical problem. It requires clear thinking about what we value, what skills we want students to develop, and how we ensure all students benefit equally. Without this clarity, AI will widen existing gaps. Students from homes where parents understand AI will thrive. Others will fall further behind.

Conclusion

The future of education is not defined by technology. It is defined by how we choose to use it — and whether we are willing to do the work of teaching students to use it well. Access to AI is necessary, but it is not sufficient. What matters is guidance. What matters is structure. What matters is teachers who understand their role, and leaders who create the conditions for that role to succeed.

When schools approach AI this way, it becomes a genuine tool for learning and independence. When they do not, it becomes a tool for dependency and inequality. The choice is ours.

By Mahmoud Amer
English Teacher

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Beyond the EdTech backlash

Tue, 26 May 2026 10:23:38 +0000

There’s a growing narrative in education right now: people are questioning whether technology’s growing role in schools, especially with AI now front and centre, has gone too far. You don’t have to scroll far to find voices reminiscing about ‘better times’, when students ‘learned more’ with textbooks, pen and paper.

It’s certainly a story that attracts clicks. After all, research over the past two decades, including work highlighted by Jonathan Haidt in The Anxious Generation, shows a steady decline in test scores – particularly in America’s NAEP data and with similar trends elsewhere. The start of this data timeline happens to coincide with the first appearance of social media and smartphones. So it’s natural to assume that as these digital devices arrived, this is when learning outcomes began to suffer.

“EdTech” isn’t one entity

When we talk about EdTech, it’s a general term, taking in everything from apps that help pupils practise maths and phonics, right through to the Wi‑Fi systems that keep classrooms connected.

The media often implies that all EdTech is bad simply because young people are struggling to manage their personal device use. The issue isn’t the technology itself though, but more how it is used.

It’s agreed that the technology in some schools is poorly implemented and that can cause problems like distraction or over‑reliance. But there are countless examples of schools using digital tools to support long‑term gains in literacy and numeracy. Simple generalisations such as “EdTech doesn’t work” make it far too easy for decision‑makers to cut funding on the grounds that the school can’t afford it or that it doesn’t have any significant value for students.

It’s all about the skills

The bigger and, arguably, more complex issue is the deficit in digital skills. Students (and adults) are brilliant at consuming content, but less confident when it comes to creating, collaborating or thinking critically about what they see and share.

Consistent, high-quality digital citizenship skills are needed as a matter of urgency in an online environment where young people can be subject to all kinds of harms and deepfakes. An ideal situation would be for digital citizenship skills to be taught by every teacher in every subject, in every lesson, instead of it being relegated to a short-term standalone activity once a week.

Social media and wellbeing

It’s patently obvious that social media affects young people’s mental health – they even tell us this themselves. Young people struggle to regulate their screen time, but where did they learn to be online all the time? With adults constantly glued to their phones at home, it’s unrealistic to expect children to just automatically be able to self‑regulate. This is as much about parents learning how to deal with their own screen addiction and being conscious of what they are modelling to their children, as it is about school policy.

Of course, there should be stronger controls around social media. Platforms must be compelled do more to restrict harmful content – and there should be real consequences when they fail to do so. But blocking everything isn’t the solution; young people are nothing if not resourceful. The long‑term solution lies with digital citizenship teaching and learning in schools, discussing and practising how to live thoughtfully, safely and productively online.

And now there’s AI…

AI has reignited the whole tech-use debate, exacerbating screen time just when we were finally, as a global society, starting to move towards limiting it via smartphone and social media bans (not the solution, by the way, but a topic for another time). AI’s creep into classrooms, workplaces and the rest of our lives has made the old questions about using EdTech in school and at home feel almost outdated in a really, really short time. It’s not going away. It’s reshaping our world faster than we can legislate for – and employers are already expecting people to be fluent in its use.

It’s clear that we need to help students understand and use AI responsibly and creatively. Avoiding it might feel safer but, in truth, it leaves children less prepared for the real world.

What’s next?

Digital education in an ideal world should be focusing on quality and skills. So, for instance, investing in quality digital tools that genuinely support learning, training teachers and leaders to use technology purposefully, and building digital citizenship and ethics into the curriculum. In addition, there’s a pressing need to help parents set healthy digital habits at home.

Building digital confidence has to be the way forward, as the world revolves around technology. Equipping young people with digital skills for the world they’re already living in now is a priority, for their own safety, wellbeing and future prospects. There’s really no time to waste.

By Al Kingsley MBE – EdTech author, Chair of Hampton Academies Trust, CEO of NetSupport

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GESS Talks Webinar 47: Classroom Innovation Labs: How to Pilot, Test & Evaluate New EdTech Before Full Adoption

Fri, 15 May 2026 14:11:49 +0000

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Practical AI in Education: Supporting Teachers, Strengthening Learning

Thu, 14 May 2026 10:40:50 +0000

Whenever a new technology enters education, it is often met with a familiar mix of excitement and concern. This happened with calculators, personal computers, the internet, and smart applications. In each case, educators worried that technology might weaken students’ thinking, reduce effort, or lower the quality of learning. Over time, however, one lesson became clear: the impact of any technology depends not on the tool itself, but on how it is used.

Artificial intelligence is no different.

Today, educators are asking important questions. Will students rely on it too much? Can it be trusted? What about hallucinations, academic integrity, and data privacy? These concerns are valid and should not be ignored. But they should lead us toward thoughtful adoption, not rejection. The mission of education has not changed. We still aim to develop understanding, skills, values, and human potential. What is changing is the way we design learning, support students, and respond to the growing demands on teachers.

AI should be viewed as a professional support tool. It is not here to replace the teacher’s humanity, judgment, or emotional intelligence. It is here to reduce routine workload, expand possibilities, and help teachers focus more deeply on what matters most: learning.

One of the greatest practical advantages of AI in education is time. Teachers spend significant time preparing lessons, creating activities, drafting documents, building assessments, and responding to administrative demands. AI can help generate first drafts, suggest different ways to explain a concept, simplify texts, create question variations, and propose interactive learning activities in a fraction of the time.

This is not about cutting corners. It is about reclaiming human energy and redirecting it toward the parts of teaching that matter most: mentoring students, facilitating discussion, responding to misconceptions, and building meaningful connections.

I experienced this personally during a sudden shift from in-person to online teaching caused by heavy rain. With very little time to prepare, I needed to redesign my lesson for a virtual environment almost immediately. Using AI tools, I was able to generate suitable content, adapt the lesson for online delivery, and prepare interactive activities within minutes. The class, delivered through Microsoft Teams, became one of the most engaging sessions I had taught. What could have been a rushed and limited lesson turned into a well-structured and highly interactive learning experience. That moment showed me that AI is most powerful not when it replaces the teacher, but when it helps the teacher remain responsive, flexible, and effective under pressure.

Beyond saving time, AI can also support one of the most important goals in education: personalisation. Students do not all learn at the same pace, in the same way, or with the same confidence. Yet teachers are often expected to deliver one version of content to a diverse classroom. AI can help address this challenge by supporting differentiated instruction. It can adjust reading levels, generate examples at different levels of complexity, propose alternative explanations, and create practice tasks that match different student needs. In this way, AI becomes a force multiplier for the teacher, enabling more responsive learning experiences.

A particularly promising development is the rise of guided AI tutors built on trusted course materials. Unlike generic AI chatbots, these tools can be grounded in approved references such as teacher handouts, course notes, and selected learning resources. This reduces hallucinations and improves reliability. More importantly, such tools can be designed not to give direct answers, but to guide students step by step, encourage reasoning, and support independent problem-solving.

In one course-based implementation, an AI tutor built on trusted reference materials supported students throughout the semester. It helped clarify concepts, answered practical questions about assessments, and guided students through their thinking instead of simply providing answers. Because the teacher could review student interactions, the tool also became a source of immediate insight into misconceptions and an opportunity for targeted support. This highlights an essential point: effective educational use of AI does not mean giving students shortcuts. It means designing the tool in a way that protects learning, encourages thinking, and keeps the teacher involved.

At the same time, we must be honest about the limits. Teachers rightly worry about inaccurate content, academic misuse, data privacy, and the weakening of human interaction. These are not side issues; they are central to responsible implementation. That is why AI outputs should be treated as drafts, not final products. Every generated response still requires review, verification, and alignment.

By Abdullah Alfuraiji

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1 month 3 weeks ago

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Inspiring Minds in the AI Era

Thu, 14 May 2026 09:02:24 +0000

Teachers can further support language development by asking open ended questions such as:

"What do you think will happen if we change this instruction?” or
“Why do you think the robot stopped here?”

These questions encourage children to express their ideas, reflect on their thinking, and build confidence in communication.

By Rahma Abudhais

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1 month 3 weeks ago

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