AI PD

There's a big difference between telling people how to use a tool and actually using it with them in the room.

A lot of professional development about AI goes something like this: slide deck, bullet points, "here are some tools you should try," applause, done. Staff leave informed but not equipped. They heard about AI. They didn't experience it.

I wanted to do something different.

Over two separate staff trainings this year, I used AI not just as the subject of the lesson — but as the engine that built the lesson itself. Then I invited staff into the process with me.

Here's how it went. First Whenever I post about AI my inner critic rages. It tells me that people will get mad at me about posting about AI. In addition it will tell me that I am a fraud. So you just need to rebel against the critic.

Training #1: From Fear to Framework — Understanding Where Your Staff Actually Is

Before I could teach my staff anything about AI, I needed to know where they were starting from.

So I surveyed them.

I asked honest questions about their comfort level, their fears, their assumptions. Then — and this is where the modeling began — I took those survey responses, uploaded them directly into NotebookLM, and had it analyze the data and generate both a slide deck and an infographic based on what my own staff had said.

Think about that for a moment. The training material came from the people sitting in the room.

When I projected those results, I didn't have to convince anyone the data was relevant. It was them. Their words. Their fears. Their questions. NotebookLM helped me turn raw survey responses into a polished, visual training tool in a fraction of the time it would have taken to build manually.

But I didn't stop at showing them what I had built. I showed them how I built it.

We made an infographic together. Live. In the room. I walked staff through the prompt, showed them the output, and demonstrated how to refine it. Then we ran a quiz — together — so everyone could interact with the content, not just watch it scroll by.

That's the shift I wanted to create: from passive observers to active participants.

The training wasn't about convincing staff that AI is good or bad. It was about giving them a real experience of what it feels like to use it responsibly, in service of students and school culture. The video below captures what we covered — and I've made it available for staff who couldn't attend or want to revisit it later.

🎥 Watch: Fear to Framework Staff Training 👉 https://youtu.be/bZkpE2Ej-k4

Training #2: The Phone-Free School Act — Legislation Meets NotebookLM

The second training had a different starting point: compliance.

California's AB 3216 — the Phone-Free School Act — was signed into law with a July 1, 2026 deadline for every public school, charter school, and county office of education in the state. My staff needed to understand what it requires, what it protects, and how it connects to the broader conversation about student mental health and wellbeing.

I could have printed out the legislation and read it to them. I didn't.

Instead, I uploaded the actual bill text into NotebookLM and let it build the training video I showed at the meeting — complete with key data points, research backing, and the human story behind the law. The result was a visually clear, professionally structured presentation that communicated the urgency and the heart of the legislation without drowning staff in legalese.

The data in that presentation is sobering:

• 97% of students use their phones during the school day

• The median usage time is 43 minutes per day — nearly an entire class period

• 72% of high school teachers report phones as a primary classroom disruption

• Research links excessive device use to lower test scores, anxiety, depression, and increased risk of cyberbullying

But AB 3216 isn't just about compliance. It's about creating space for students to be present — with their teachers, their peers, and the learning happening right in front of them. That's a Human-First value I already hold deeply, and this legislation puts it into policy.

Just like the first training, the video lives online so staff can watch it again, share it with families, or reference it as implementation moves forward.

🎥 Watch: Phone-Free School Act Staff Training 👉 https://youtu.be/lqUekapAT0o

The Real Lesson Underneath Both Trainings

I didn't build these trainings and then teach staff about AI separately.

The building was the teaching.

When staff watched me upload a document and generate an infographic in real time, that moment did more than any slide ever could. It answered the unspoken question in the room: Is this actually something I can do?

Yes. It is.

NotebookLM turned survey data into a training. It turned legislation into a video. It helped me meet my staff where they were, build something relevant to their reality, and model the process so they could begin to imagine doing it themselves.

That's what Human-First AI Leadership actually looks like in practice. Not AI replacing the educator. Not AI as a novelty. AI as a support structure — so the human in the room can do more of what only humans can do: connect, inspire, and lead.

If you're an education leader trying to figure out how to introduce AI to your staff without the eye rolls or the anxiety, start here: use it in front of them, for something that matters to them. The tool stops being abstract the moment they see it work.

Both videos are available now. Share them with your team. Use them as a starting point for your own conversations.

The transition is already happening. The question is whether we lead it — or just react to it.

When it comes to introducing something new — whether it's a tool, a practice, or an idea — what's the difference between informing your team and actually equipping them, and which approach do you default to?