Unraveled Teacher

AI Isn’t Going Away, But the Classroom Has Changed

A few years ago, my biggest concern about classroom technology was distraction.

Students were checking notifications, opening unrelated tabs, and finding creative ways to avoid doing actual work. Then generative AI arrived, and suddenly the conversation changed. Today, many teachers are facing a new reality: students can generate answers, summaries, essays, discussion responses, and even study guides in seconds. Whether you’re teaching World History, English, Science, or another subject, you’ve probably wondered:

How do I know what students actually know anymore?

At first, I found myself trying to stay one step ahead of the technology. I redesigned assignments, experimented with detection tools, and searched for ways to prevent AI misuse. Eventually, I realized I was asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, “How do I stop students from using AI?” I started asking: “What kinds of learning experiences make AI less relevant in the first place?”

The Problem Isn’t Just AI

To be clear, I am not anti-technology. Some of my favorite classroom activities involve tech. Students LOVE digital escapes for a challenging review. And, I use technology every day (heck, I’m sitting at my laptop writing this blog post right now!), and my students use and need to understand technology. AI tools can be useful when used appropriately. But AI arrived in classrooms that were already struggling with a different issue: excessive screen dependence.

Many teachers have noticed the same patterns:

• Students are less willing to read longer texts.
• Attention spans seem shorter.
• Collaboration often happens through shared documents rather than face-to-face discussion (not to mention the nefarious deleting on shared docs that results in students fighting)
• Device issues constantly interrupt instruction.
• Missing chargers, dead batteries, and internet problems consume instructional time.

Research suggests these concerns are not merely anecdotal (I mean, teachers have known this, but more research is backing up what we already knew). Recent OECD analyses of PISA data found a relationship between excessive digital device use at school and lower academic performance, while moderate and purposeful technology use produced more positive outcomes. The issue is not technology itself but rather it is how often and how intentionally it is used. UNESCO has argued that technology should be used in classrooms only when it clearly supports learning outcomes and should complement instead of replace face-to-face instruction. The organization’s Global Education Monitoring Report also highlighted evidence that simply having a mobile device nearby can negatively affect student attention and learning (again, we already knew this).

The question is not whether technology belongs in schools. The question is whether we have become too dependent on it.

New Patterns in the History Classroom

As AI became more accessible, I noticed a pattern. Assignments that were easiest for AI to complete were often the assignments producing the weakest learning outcomes anyway.

• Generic worksheet questions
• Basic summaries
• Vocabulary definitions
• Simple online research tasks
• Discussion posts completed independently

Students could finish these assignments quickly, but many struggled to discuss the content in class afterward. The issue isn’t dishonesty. The issue was that students were increasingly able to bypass the thinking process. History education isn’t just about producing answers. It is about analyzing sources, evaluating evidence, discussing perspectives, and constructing arguments. Those skills develop through practice and not through generated responses.

The Shift: More Human Learning, Fewer Screens

Rather than trying to create increasingly AI-resistant assignments, I began incorporating more activities that naturally required students to think, discuss, move, and collaborate. Seriously, if you can get students out of their seats, it pulls them away from feeling like they need to check a phone or a Chromebook. Sitting and screens go hand-in-hand!

Here’s some examples of activities that work:

Primary Source Stations

Students rotate through historical documents, images, maps, and artifacts while discussing their observations with classmates.

Historical Debates

Students must defend positions using evidence and respond to opposing arguments in real time.

Escape Challenges

Teams solve historical problems and complete tasks together. The learning happens through discussion and reasoning rather than searching for answers online. (In this kind of gamified experience, it’s also easier to set the “rules” of no phones and computers, since the game takes students “outside” of your typical day-to-day classroom experience.)

Gallery Walks

Students interact with visual sources, timelines, and historical claims while moving around the room.

Collaborative Reading Activities

Instead of reading alone on a screen, students annotate, discuss, and analyze texts together. This seems obvious, but a physical copy of whatever you want students to read is just necessary for any chance of retention.

Could students still use AI outside of class? Of course. But the most important thinking is now happening in the classroom.

What the Research Says About Engagement

In 2025, a government-commissioned study in the Netherlands found that schools implementing mobile phone restrictions reported improved student concentration, stronger social interactions, and in some cases improved academic performance. Approximately three-quarters of surveyed high schools reported better focus among students.

Other education systems have moved in similar directions. In 2026, the Australian state of Victoria announced limits on classroom screen use in secondary schools, emphasizing more discussion, hands-on learning, and teacher-led instruction.

These policies do not suggest that technology is bad. Instead, they reflect a growing recognition that students benefit from opportunities to learn both with and without digital tools.

A New Approach to AI in Education

Instead of trying to “beat” AI,

I focus on creating learning experiences where students must:

• Discuss ideas
• Defend arguments
• Analyze evidence
• Collaborate with peers
• Explain their reasoning
• Engage with primary sources
• Participate actively in class

Those are skills AI can support, but not replace.

When students are debating the causes of the French Revolution, analyzing a primary source from the Cold War, or working together to solve a historical mystery, the value comes from the interaction itself. The learning is happening in real time.

Over the past several years, I’ve built a collection of printable World History activities designed specifically for classrooms that want meaningful engagement without relying on student devices.

Inside my Zero Screens World History Membership, you’ll find:

• Printable escape challenges
• Primary source activities
• Historical readings
• Scavenger hunts
• Sub plans
• Collaborative learning resources

The goal isn’t to eliminate technology completely. It’s to help teachers create classrooms where students are actively thinking, discussing, and learning together. If that sounds like the kind of classroom you’re trying to build, I’d love to have you join us.