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- NewsEdSurge22 Jul 2026
We Must Stop Using AI to ‘Level-Down’ Our Students
This article argues that using AI to simplify texts for students, a practice known as text leveling, reduces the richness of literature and prevents students from engaging in effortful thinking. Instead, teachers should scaffold access to complex texts rather than dumbing them down. The author cautions against the temptation of AI shortcuts in education.
Original abstract
<p>No one would remember the line, “Keep being good and special, Ponyboy. Don’t change.” It just doesn’t hit the same as <a href="https://www.sehinton.com/"><u>S.E. Hinton’s</u></a> classic line, “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.” </p><p>Many English teachers, myself included, would consider it an atrocity to diminish this canonical line in literary history to such sterile and lifeless simplicity. Students deserve a better reading experience than that. Yet this is just what happens when teachers decide to level a text down to a student’s “instructional level” rather than scaffolding up their access to a complex text. </p><p>In my own district, just two years ago, educators raved about a new AI tool that helps teachers level text and encouraged the department to spend thousands of dollars on it. When I first heard about it, I admit, I was dazzled. The most time-consuming and work-intensive part of teaching for me has always been differentiating for the small percentage of kids who just don’t get it the first, second, or even third time you teach something. </p><p>This program was going to do it all for me, but the caveat was that it would also do all the thinking for the kids. When we keep kids from actually doing work that requires effortful thinking, they don’t learn anything at all. </p><p>While <a href="https://www.thereadingleague.org/compass/policymakers-and-state-education-agencies/"><u>many states</u></a> are passing legislation that focuses on the Science of Reading, moving districts away from programs that promote text leveling, many edtech companies are promoting this practice through their newest AI models. In our world of quick and snappy AI solutions, the leveled text shortcut is all too easy to take, but we should not give in to temptation. </p><h2>The History of Text Leveling</h2><p>The practice of teaching students at their “instructional” level has a long, storied history leading back to the founding colonies. If that sort of history interests you, I
- PaperLanguage Teaching Research22 Jul 2026
AI-Assisted Digital Storytelling in EFL Teacher Education: A Qualitative Case Study of Digital and Multimodal Literacy Development
Bessie Mitsikopoulou
A qualitative case study examined how EFL student teachers used generative AI tools (text-to-image, video editors, speech synthesis) to collaboratively design digital stories. Analysis of 69 reflective papers found that algorithmic limitations prompted students to become critical designers of meaning, with the human element remaining essential for narrative coherence.
Original abstract
This qualitative case study explores how English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers engaged with generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in the collaborative design of digital stories within an advanced undergraduate course in 2024. During the semester, participants critically evaluated and applied various AI applications, such as text-to-image generators, automated video editors and speech synthesis tools, to support different stages of multimodal story production, including script drafting, visual design, audio narration and video editing. Drawing on a corpus of 69 reflective papers (approximately 75,000 words), the study examines how student teachers integrated visual, auditory and textual elements to achieve multimodal cohesion and narrative coherence. The analysis focuses on participants’ practices and strategies for aligning modes, maintaining consistency across media, and adapting to the constraints of AI-generated content. Findings indicate that the project’s primary pedagogical significance lay not in technical efficiency but in the productive ‘friction’ generated by algorithmic limitations, which led participants to move beyond passive tool use and become critical designers of meaning, demonstrating sophisticated multimodal awareness. While AI supported rapid content generation, the human element remained the narrative’s essential ‘emotional glue’, ensuring affective resonance and coherence. Overall, the study suggests that experiential engagement with AI-assisted composition may enable future educators to move beyond functional skills and develop into critically reflective architects of digital narratives.
- NewsEdSurge22 Jul 2026
What Does AI Cost When We Skip the Work?
This EdSurge podcast episode discusses the enduring value of a college degree and writing skills in the age of AI, featuring guests who argue that the benefits of these experiences—such as personal growth and deep learning—cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence.
Original abstract
<p>Every few months, another headline declares the college degree dead. <strong>This Week with EdSurge</strong> examines what still holds up when artificial intelligence moves fast, through two guests who are both defending something slow against something fast.</p><h2>A Four Year Degree in the Age of AI</h2><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/author/rita-finkel--9b5e61f9-c70d-441e-b13a-0c1a116d3d60"><u>Rita Finkel</u></a>, co-president of the Armory Foundation and director of the Armory College Prep program, argues that a college degree was never just about a technical skill. She says the data tells a different story than the headlines suggest, and that the value of a degree comes from something artificial intelligence cannot replicate.</p><h2>The Fourth Essay</h2><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/author/cobretti-williams"><u>Cobretti Williams</u></a> of the <strong>EdSurge</strong> Voices of Change Fellowship makes a similar case for writing. He talks about the beauty in imperfection, and how a fellow's fourth essay reads nothing like the first, growth that only comes from doing the work yourself.</p><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/podcasts"><u>Listen to the episode</u></a>.</p><h2>Stories Mentioned in This Episode</h2><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2026-05-28-why-college-degrees-matter-in-the-age-of-ai"><u>Why College Degrees Matter in the Age of AI</u></a></p><p>by Rita Finkel</p><p><a href="https://www.edsurge.com/collections/edsurge-voices-of-change-writing-fellowship"><u>EdSurge Voices of Change Writing Fellowship</u></a></p><p>by EdSurge</p><p><strong>This Week with EdSurge</strong> is a weekly podcast from <strong>EdSurge</strong>. Subscribe to the <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/newsletters"><u>EdSurge newsletters</u></a> for more news and analysis on education and technology.</p><p> </p>
- PaperOpenAlex — TESOL research20 Jul 2026
Teaching with Technology, Leading with Values: ELT Teachers and the Future of AI in Education
Senem Zaimoğlu
This paper explores how ELT teachers can integrate AI in education while upholding humanistic values, emphasizing the need for value-driven leadership in technology adoption.