July 29, 2026

Vinyl, Pencils, and Life Without AI

This week, two educators arrive at the same question from very different directions. Nathan Kraai, Director of Innovation and Design Thinking at The Fenn School, explains what a trip to the record store taught him about artificial intelligence and learning. Court Shuller, a middle school English teacher and EdSurge Voices of Change fellow, joins from ISTELive in Orlando to talk about what their classroom has already decided about AI. Together, they ask what should still take real effort when a shortcut is only a click away.WHAT YOU'LL LEARNNathan Kraai connects the resurgence of vinyl records to what he calls a signal about how people are actually responding to AI, drawing on Jane McGonigal's trends versus signals framework from her book Imaginable.Nathan also explains why watching 9th graders wrestle with capstone speeches, despite having AI tools that could draft a polished version in seconds, left him hopeful rather than worried.Court Shuller, a National Board Certified educator and reading specialist, discusses how their district in New Jersey has responded to AI by returning to pencil and paper.Both guests weigh in on what students should still be required to do themselves.STORIES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEHow a Vinyl Record Resurgence Helped Me Understand the Future of AI in Education by Nathan KraaiWe Must Stop Using AI to ‘Level-Down’ Our Students by Court ShullerSTAY CONNECTEDSubscribe to EdSurge newsletters at edsurge.com.Find the latest education news at edsurge.com/news.Follow EdSurge on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.HOST AND CONTRIBUTORSHost: Ira ApfelFeaturing:Nathan Kraai, Director of Innovation and Design Thinking, The Fenn SchoolCourt Shuller, Middle School English Teacher and Reading Specialist

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