AI might be education’s most patient assistant
đź’ˇ THOUGHT
The most patient tutor in history never needs a coffee break.
A 5 year old with infinite curiosity meets a virtual tutor with inexhaustible patience:
The most patient tutor in history never needs a coffee break (but it also can’t give a hug).
Is this the future of education?
đź“Š TREND
Will AI Flip the Role of the Classroom Teacher?
In the original meaning, the idea of the “flipped classroom” meant teachers assigning videos to watch at home, reserving class time for discussion and help with homework.
Though it was never adopted in mainstream schools, flipping the classroom makes sense as a way to deliver knowledge more efficiently while providing personalized support.
However, AI is now giving the classroom an even bigger flip.
“If you are a professorial-style teacher, you will be out of a job. If you are a facilitator, it will enhance your practice,” says Jonathan Bergman, one of the pioneers of the original flipped model. “Teachers who view themselves as the ringleader of a circus will get a boost from AI.”
Instead of watching pre-recorded videos, students are already learning concepts from AI tutors that adapt to their pace and questions (as Andrew Wilkinson noted above). In the future, teachers might become “learning architects” rather than just content deliverers – guiding discussions, designing real-world projects, and helping students apply what they’ve learned. Classrooms might be redefined as spaces for human connection and real-world application.
⚒️ TOOL
Microsoft Reading Coach
Microsoft just released a free game-changing AI reading tutor, available on both web browsers and as a Windows app. As your child reads aloud, the AI listens and adapts, identifying which words are challenging and weaving those words into future practice.
Instead of just reading pre-made texts, your child can be the story director – choosing characters, settings, and reading level to generate their own personalized stories. When kids help create the story, the theory goes, they’ll be more invested in reading it. As they read aloud, Reading Coach tracks their progress, offers gentle support, and celebrates when they master challenging words. Reading Coach is also more suitable for kids under the age of 13 and comes with parental controls.
You can access it for free here. The only catch is you need a Microsoft account, and we’ve been trying to recover our password since Skype was still a thing.
(QUOTE) OF THE DAY
“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.”
Mark Van Doren
That’s all for today!
– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)