In this episode, Priten speaks with Dini Arini, a PhD candidate in language literacy and technology at Washington State University who has been teaching for over 15 years. Growing up in Indonesia without access to English courses that her classmates had, Dini experienced firsthand the anxiety of being left behind—an experience that now fuels her optimism about AI's potential to democratize education. The conversation explores her unconventional approach to classroom technology, including allowing students to use phones during exams, why she believes teachers who truly know their students don't need AI detectors, and how her research into AI ethics policy is uncovering the gap between institutional guidelines and classroom reality. Dini also shares what genuinely worries her: emerging research suggesting that over-reliance on AI may be physically changing our brains.
Key Takeaways:
Key Takeaways:
- Know your students better than any detector. Teachers who truly understand their students' abilities and writing styles can identify AI-generated work without relying on detection tools—you become the filter.
- Technology can bridge access gaps. For students without resources for tutoring or courses, AI tools can serve as supplementary learning support that was previously unavailable.
- Trust can work as enforcement. Having students acknowledge an honor statement and knowing their baseline abilities can be as effective as surveillance—students often rise to the expectation of integrity.
- Adapt assessments to what you're testing. Use technology-enabled tests when appropriate, but return to pen-and-paper or presentations when the skill being assessed requires it.
- Stay creative ahead of AI. As AI improves, teachers must develop AI-resistant assignments and varied assessment methods rather than abandoning technology entirely.