In this edition, I'm serving up my favorite recipes for making AI work in your classroom, not the other way around. Because here's the thing: AI is just an ingredient. YOU are the executive chef of your classroom's creations.

From vibe coding interactive visuals for your students to teaching discernment through Chopped-themed challenges, this issue is all about giving you the ingredients and recipes to cook up something meaningful for your learners.

No Michelin stars required, just curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to experiment.

🍳 Vibe Coding is Your Sous Chef: Create Custom Interactives

🍽️ Tastings from FETC: Session Resources and Tools-To-Watch

✈️ Pop-Up Kitchen: Five Days in San Antonio

👨🏽‍🍳 The Main Course: Teaching Discernment

🧠 Stock Your Pantry: Learning Opportunities

🍳 Vibe Coding is Your Sous Chef: Create Custom Interactives in Minutes

We discussed in a previous issue how to use ​Canva AI to vibe code interactive learning activities​. I think this is one of the most powerful uses of AI in education right now, so I want to dig deeper.

Think of vibe coding like having a sous chef: AI helps you prep the ingredients (the code), but you're the one designing the dish (the learning experience). You decide what goes on the plate.

I took this concept to middle school teachers in North Carolina last week. I had way too much fun creating examples for them! I want to share some examples with you. I am going to share them a full blog post. But lucky you! Since you get the LindyHoc newsletter, you don't have to wait on my slowness!

Examples:

Hopefully these examples inspire you to log into Canva and hit that "Canva AI" button. Below each example is the prompt I used:

This was for a Catholic school, so this one I integrated specifically into their social studies and religion standards:

Video: Want To Make Your Own?

Here is a video on how to create your own custom visuals and interactives using Canva AI:

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🍽️ Tastings from FETC

Thank you to everyone who came to my sessions! If you couldn't make it to FETC, I'll bring a little bit of the conference to you with my session resource page. Browse away!

My tool-to-watch: ReframeXR

I've had ReframeXR on my radar for a while but finally got to experience it firsthand in the FETC expo hall. It's ​mixed reality​: students wear headsets but see the actual physical world around them. You place 3D models, activities, and visuals in your real classroom space, then students interact with those digital elements to bring learning to life. The teacher controls everything and can jump into any student's experience to support them.

✈️ Pop-Up Kitchen: Five Days in San Antonio

I've barely recovered from FETC and I'm already on a plane today to TCEA in San Antonio. Five days. Five sessions. One panel. All in the ​Learning.com​ room.

Here's the lineup in room 216AB:

I sat down with Dr. Kelli Erwin to talk about why Learning.com's digital literacy curriculum is the missing piece of the technology puzzle that all schools need. If you have any interest in teaching kids how to be thoughtful citizens in a world where technology is literally the infrastructure of our lives, you don't want to miss this conversation:

🧵 Plus: Crafting Community at the Bracelet Table

The friendship bracelet making kit was a massive hit at FETC, so it's coming back for round two in San Antonio.

Turns out it's incredibly cathartic to pause in the middle of conference chaos and just... make something. Just hands, beads, and real conversations with people you might not have stopped to talk to otherwise.

I love the juxtaposition: we're surrounded by technology, talking about technology—and here we are with the most analog, hands-on creation possible. That balance? That's exactly what our students need too.

Come make bracelets with me in San Antonio:

Learning.com room 216AB Monday: after both of my sessions, 10:30 and 4:30 Friday: in between my sessions, 9:30-11:00 MobileMind booth 1872: Tuesday 10:00-close

👨🏽‍🍳 The Main Course: Teaching Discernment

The more conversations I have with educators and students about AI, the clearer it becomes that there's one skill that matters more than any prompt or tool:

DISCERNMENT.

Knowing when to use AI. When NOT to use AI. Which tools serve your purpose. What ethical use actually looks like.

My favorite way to teach this? My Chopped: AI Stars lesson plan. I've updated it with a "recipe card" reflection activity where students document their AI use while creating their "dish." That reflection? It's where the real learning happens.

🧠 Stock Your Pantry: Learning Opportunities

New podcast episodes:

• ​The Joy Is REEL: Bringing Video and Calm to Classrooms with Erika Sandstrom​
• ​Teaching with Machines: AI Fluency with Merissa Sadler-Holder​​
• ​Learning.com and the Missing Piece: Teaching Kids How to Be Citizens in a Tech World​

New videos:

• ​How to Create Curipod Lessons​
• ​How to Create Curipod Lessons from Slides you have already created

More learning with LindyHoc:

• ​Shift Into the Gray: I had a great conversation with one of my favorite education rockstars, Cate Tolnai, on her podcast!
• ​Math Behind the Machine: Finding Real World Math in AI Literacy​: Explore the real math powering today’s AI tools. In this free course, I break down AI concepts into classroom-friendly examples that help students connect algorithms to real-world math. Create a free Fobizz account to access the course. You will even receive a certificate upon completion.
• ​NCCE 2026: Join me in Seattle in a few weeks. NCCE is THE place to be in the PNW!

Remember: your classroom doesn't need a Michelin star. It just needs a chef willing to experiment, adjust the recipe, and serve something real. The best part? You already have everything you need in your pantry.

Keep cooking!

Lindy Hockenbary K–12 EdTech Advisor she/her 406-853-2661 ​lindyhoc.com​