Teddy Kim - CIDDL

CIDDL Office Hours: What are you Reading, Watching, and Listening to Learn about AI?

On May 27, 2025, CIDDL hosted a summer-themed Office Hours session centered around a deceptively simple yet essential question: What are you reading, watching, and listening to Learn about AI? As AI continues to reshape education, the CIDDL community gathered to share their favorite podcasts, articles, tools, and personal habits for keeping up with the rapidly evolving field. Facilitated by Dr. James Basham, Dr. Katie Tuck, and the CIDDL team, this session offered a wide-ranging collection of resources that participants can explore throughout the summer and beyond.

CIDDL Office Hours: How to create your own GPTs

On April 29, 2025, CIDDL hosted an Office Hours session focused on one of the most requested topics: how to create customized GPTs for educational use. Led by CIDDL Co-PIs Dr. James Basham and Dr. Matt Marino, this session went beyond demonstration. It was a space for real-time Q&A, shared experiences, and forward-thinking conversations about the future of AI in education.

CIDDL Office hours: What are your burning hot topics in AI today?

On April 15, 2025, CIDDL hosted another CIDDL Office Hour, bringing together educators, researchers, and technology advocates to discuss the latest artificial intelligence (AI) developments in education. The conversation focused on real-world applications, emerging research needs, and inclusive strategies for integrating AI tools into classrooms, especially for students with disabilities. The session offered insights for the CIDDL community and beyond, from student self-regulation to AI ethics and family engagement.

Mixed-Reality Simulation for Teacher Preparation

Special education teachers often encounter challenges when entering the classroom, particularly regarding classroom management, collaboration, and running Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. While teacher preparation programs emphasize instructional delivery, they often lack structured opportunities for candidates to practice essential soft skills such as leading IEP meetings and collaborating with families and colleagues (Ward et al., 2018). Dr. Hirsch and her colleagues address this gap by integrating Mixed Reality Simulation (MRS) into teacher preparation to provide pre-service teachers with structured, low-risk opportunities to practice these critical skills before entering real classrooms.

Dr James Basham and Dr Trey Vasquez at the CEC keynote presentation

2025 CEC Recap

What an excellent conference in Baltimore! The CIDDL team enjoyed interacting with and learning from everyone who came by our booth or sessions. We are excited to welcome many new voices into our CIDDL community.

Empowering Collaboration with Technology: What Special Education Personnel Should Know

One of the key themes at CEC 2025 is collaboration, Which is essential to effective special education and ensures students receive the best support from a coordinated team. However, collaboration in special education is often complex, involving teachers, paraeducators, therapists, administrators, and families—all of whom must stay aligned on student goals, instructional strategies, and interventions. Technology has the potential to streamline communication, enhance data sharing, and create more efficient collaborative systems, ultimately improving student outcomes.

The Use of 360 Camera and VR Headset for Teacher Training

Teacher preparation programs face significant challenges in ensuring educators receive high-quality professional development. Traditional methods have challenges, such as limited information from the field of view or constraints on what can be observed by the person holding the camera (Gold & Windscheid, 2020). As a result, opportunities for meaningful feedback and self-reflection are often limited, leading to potential stagnation in instructional growth. The introduction of 360 cameras and VR headsets offers a transformative way to support teachers by enhancing their ability to self-reflect, receive feedback, and engage in professional learning communities (PLCs) without constant administrative oversight (McLeod, 2019).

Office hour with James Basham, Lisa Dieker, Laurie Vanderploeg and Trey Vasquez

Community Office Hours: AI at CEC 2025

On February 12th, 2025, CIDDL hosted Community Office Hours, which offered an in-depth exploration of AI’s role in education and a comprehensive preview of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) 2025. The session featured expert insights from Dr. Lisa Dieker and Laurie VanderPloeg, who shared practical strategies for integrating AI into teaching and highlighted key events at the upcoming CEC convention.

CIDDL Tech Alliance: University of Maine

Integrating emerging technologies in special education teacher preparation is a pivotal advancement that can enhance teaching effectiveness and student outcomes. However, embedding technology into teacher education programs remains fraught with challenges (CIDDL, 2024). The recent study by Howorth et al. (2024) explores how the University of Maine’s Special Education Teacher Preparation Program addresses these barriers through collaboration with the Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning (CIDDL) Tech Alliance. This initiative highlights the potential and the limitations of leveraging digital tools to prepare future educators for the evolving demands of special education.

ChatGPT generated cartoon image of a classroom

Planning Together: A Playbook for Student Personal Device Policies

The widespread use of Personal Electronic Devices (e.g., smartphones, smart watches, handheld games) and their related social media (e.g., Instagram, X, TikTok) in schools has sparked significant debate due to their dual role as tools for learning and sources of distraction. Several research studies highlight the negative impacts of unregulated personal electronic device use on students’ concentration, mental health, and academic performance. This concern prompts schools to explore policies that balance access with focus. The U.S. Department of Education’s “Planning Together: A Playbook for Student Personal Device Policies” offers a structured, research-informed approach to designing equitable and collaborative policies. Centered on co-design with students, educators, and parents, the Playbook provides a four-step framework to build inclusive teams, set clear goals, understand device usage, and iteratively refine policies based on data.

Author: Teddy Kim (page 3)