FallEdCon26 live poll · Monday, October 12, 2026
AI in our schools: what educators told us
During FallEdCon26, educators from across Marquette and Alger counties answered a live poll about AI in schools. Twelve figures, one finding each, with every number behind them.
- responses
- 4,383responses
- questions
- 12questions
- answers per question
- 219–428answers per question
- no personal information collected
- Anonymousno personal information collected
At a glance
Four numbers that stood out
66%
answered “We have a policy?” when asked to sum up their district’s AI policy
59%
ranked “students skipping the thinking” as their single biggest concern
42%
use AI more than a year ago, while 14% still use it zero times, on purpose
58%
say whether AI polish is OK depends on what the assignment is meant to teach
Questions 2 and 3
How it feels right now
One word, then one metaphor. Uncertainty leads the words, and the two most-picked metaphors are both about losing the learning.
Figure 1 n = 391
Uncertainty leads, and negative words outnumber positive ones three to one
In one word: how do you feel about AI in schools right now?
- 42% Negative131 answers
- 45% Unsure or neutral138 answers
- 13% Positive40 answers
Negative
bad
18
scary
13
no
8
overwhelmed
7
ugh
6
gross
5
hate
5
worried
5
Also: concerned 4 · nervous 4 · overwhelming 4 · skeptical 4 · terrible 4 · apprehensive 3 · confused 3 · confusing 3 · sad 3 · scared 3 · yuck 3 · cheating 2 · disgusted 2 · dislike 2 · ew 2 · eww 2 · frightened 2 · lazy 2 · negative 2 · nope 2 · uncomfortable 2 · unnecessary 2 · unsettled 2 · yikes 2
Unsure or neutral
unsure
35
cautious
13
meh
13
mixed
12
conflicted
8
okay
8
tool
8
iffy
6
Also: eh 5 · indifferent 5 · interesting 4 · uncertain 4 · depends 3 · fine 3 · ok 3 · mid 2 · questionable 2 · unknown 2 · resource 2
Positive
helpful
21
useful
9
hopeful
2
love
2
optimistic
2
potential
2
future
2
Figure 2 n = 398
61% picked a metaphor about losing the learning
AI in the classroom is most like…
A GPS: it gets you there, but you stop learning the route
34%136
A shortcut that skips the learning entirely
27%108
A confident intern: fast, helpful, and sometimes flat wrong
25%101
A calculator: someday we’ll all just use it
13%53
Questions 1 and 10
AI use and tools
Use is rising for 42% of respondents, and ChatGPT is the clear default. One in five has no preference or has not started.
Figure 3 n = 397
Use is up for 42%, while one in seven abstains on purpose
Compared with a year ago, your own use of AI has…
Gone up
42%166
Stayed about the same
35%138
Still zero, on purpose
14%56
Gone down
9%37
Figure 4 n = 428
ChatGPT is the default at 51%; 21% have no preference or haven’t used AI
Which AI assistant or model do you prefer using?
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
51%220
No preference / I haven’t used AI yet
21%89
Gemini (Google)
18%79
Other
3%14
Claude (Anthropic)
3%13
Grok (xAI)
1%5
Microsoft Copilot
1%4
Le Chat / Mistral
1%3
Meta AI / Llama
0%1
DeepSeek
0%0
Questions 4 and 5
Teaching tasks and student work
Comfort is high for preparation and low for anything that judges a student. On student use, the room's answer is “it depends.”
Figure 5 n = 308
Comfortable with prep work, not with judging students
Which of these would you be comfortable using AI for?
Creating practice questions or quiz versions
66%203
Making leveled versions of a reading
57%176
Drafting a letter of recommendation
38%116
Drafting an email to a family
37%114
Giving feedback on student writing
11%33
Assigning a final grade
2%7
Figure 6 n = 407
“It depends” beats a yes or a no: 58% tie it to what the assignment teaches
A student brainstorms and outlines an essay on their own, then has AI polish the writing. That’s…
It depends on what the assignment is meant to teach
58%236
Not their work
34%137
Fine, as long as they say they used it
7%27
Fine. That’s how writing works now.
2%7
Questions 9 and 12
Concerns
“Students skipping the thinking” was ranked first by 59% and averaged a rank of 1.8. Nothing else comes close on either measure.
Figure 7 n = 219
Skipping the thinking is the top concern by a wide margin
Rank your biggest concerns about AI in schools
Students skipping the thinking
59%130
1.8
Cheating and academic honesty
14%31
3.0
Environmental cost (energy and water use)
14%30
4.1
Wrong or made-up information
3%6
4.1
Students’ wellbeing, such as AI “companions”
5%11
4.4
Student data and privacy
5%11
4.7
Not seeing what students do on their devices
0%0
5.9
Figure 8 n = 185 of 335
Most “never” answers protect learning rather than ban the tool
Finish the sentence for our AI guidelines: “In our schools, AI should never…”
55%102 answers
Replace learning and critical thinking
- “…be used as a substitute for the deep work of critical thinking.”
- “…do more work than the person using it.”
18%33 answers
Replace teachers and human connection
- “…replace relationships.”
- “…replace lessons that require teacher and student interactions.”
9%17 answers
Be used without limits or approval
- “…be used to create the whole assignment unedited.”
- “…be used without teacher approval.”
18%33 answers
Other concerns
- “…be relied on too much.”
- “…leak data.”
Questions 6, 7 and 8
Policy and guidelines
Two thirds could not sum up their district’s AI policy. 70% want each teacher to set the limits, and 71% agree staff should disclose AI help the way students are asked to.
Figure 9 n = 390
66% couldn’t sum up their district’s AI policy; 34% could, at least roughly
Honest answer: could you sum up your district’s AI policy in one sentence right now?
- 4% Yes, easily16 of 390
- 15% Roughly60 of 390
- 15% I know it exists57 of 390
- 66% We have a policy?257 of 390
Figure 10 n = 368
Seven in ten want the decision left to each teacher
Who should decide how much AI students can use on an assignment?
Each teacher
70%259
Each department
12%45
Each building
9%32
One K-12 scale for the whole district
9%32
Figure 11 n = 377
71% agree staff should disclose AI help; 7% disagree
Staff should tell others when they share teaching materials made with AI help, just as students should tell us when they use AI.
7% disagree
23% neutral
71% agree
- 3% 1 · Strongly disagree13 of 377
- 3% 2 · Disagree12 of 377
- 23% 3 · Neutral85 of 377
- 28% 4 · Agree104 of 377
- 43% 5 · Strongly agree163 of 377
Question 11
Professional development
The room asked for understanding first and tools second. Detection came last.
Figure 12 n = 365
Understanding first, tools second, detection last
What would help you most in future PD on AI?
What AI is actually doing to students and learning
30%111
Hands-on time with specific tools
28%101
Teaching students to use AI responsibly
22%82
Clear guidelines and ethics
10%38
Privacy and data rules (FERPA)
5%17
Spotting AI-generated student work
4%16