Matt Paige and EdTech veteran Todd Brekhus discuss how generative AI, like past technologies (calculators, the internet, Google), is being used by students to shortcut homework and why the key issue is redesigning education to deepen learning rather than trying to stop AI use.
Brekhus contrasts the internet’s access-to-information shift with generative AI’s content-creation shift, arguing educators were caught flat-footed and need awareness, tools, and curriculum changes.
He emphasizes empowering teachers first through personalization driven by frequent, granular measurement and data that informs instruction, moving beyond latent end-of-year testing toward mastery-based feedback loops and more embedded, contextual assessment.
They explore maker-style, collaborative learning enabled by AI and “vibe coding.” Brekhus describes Renaissance’s internal AI upskilling and Renaissance Intelligence, which unifies data from 20 acquisitions into an AWS/Snowflake backbone to deliver a unified UX, recommendations, and trusted, standards-aligned, classroom-personalized instruction.
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Key Moments:
- 01:23 Homework Shortcut Reality
- 04:21 Kids Adopt First
- 05:27 Internet Era Lessons
- 12:00 myON Unlimited Reading
- 16:05 Personalization Starts Teachers
- 21:53 Trusted Data And Measurement
- 26:07 Mastery Model With AI Assist
- 27:44 AI Should Challenge Learners
- 28:42 Rethinking Assessment Loops
- 31:21 Data Driven Skill Insights
- 33:50 Connecting Learning to Purpose
- 36:02 Vibe Coding for Teachers
- 37:29 Future School Makerspaces
- 40:33 Balancing Creation and Effort
- 41:39 Renaissance AI Transformation
- 44:40 Agentic Dev and Legacy Systems
- 48:21 Renaissance Intelligence Platform
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