Salzburg Global Fellows are building a network of teachers actively using artificial intelligence in teaching and learning
This article was written by Salzburg Global Fellow Success Areeveso, who attended "The Future of Teaching" session from December 8 to 13, 2024.
100 AI Champions was created by a working group of Salzburg Global Fellows who attended "The Future of Teaching" session. These Fellows include Hammed Kayode Alabi, Aurelio Amaral, Success Areeveso, Tomoko Imai, Jamie Mikeska, Mumbe Mwangangi, and Fernando Valenzuela.
The Launch of 100 AI Champions
Will artifical intelligence (AI) replace teachers? Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, this question has raised a significant debate in education and has been on every teacher’s mind. There is no right way to answer that question fully, but we know these AI tools are becoming more sophisticated with new innovative updates and releases every day. So, instead of waiting and sitting on the fence for change to happen, the Augmented AI teaching group, which emerged from the Salzburg Global "Future of Teaching" session in December 2024, have decided to create a network of AI champions. This network, called 100 AI Champions, consists of teachers actively using AI in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning, and subsequently curating their experiences into an accessible, structured database.
From this global collaboration, 100 AI Champions is an initiative designed to identify, showcase, and empower 100 educators who integrate AI into their classrooms in innovative and meaningful ways. The goal is to inspire more educators worldwide, bridge gaps in digital access, foster cross-sector collaboration, and ensure AI tools are leveraged for excellence and equity in education.
Why 100 AI Champions?
AI is already proving useful in education, from helping teachers with administrative tasks, lesson planning, and curriculum design to offering feedback on student work. However, these tools also raise serious concerns. Issues like over-reliance on AI, data privacy risks, ethical challenges, and the impact on how students learn are becoming more pressing. Many teachers and education leaders also face skill gaps, and there is a lack of clear policies from governments and leading organizations to guide safe and effective use.
This is why 100 AI Champions matters. Just like a map provides direction and helps people stay on course, this initiative aims to guide educators in navigating these changing seasons with new AI developments. We want to ensure teachers are not just passive users but active designers of the future of education. By building this global network now, we hope that in a few years, we can look back and see that we used AI in ways that truly benefit both teachers and learners.
We continue to ask ourselves and others: How can we effectively use artificial intelligence in teaching and learning?
We hope the emotions of fear and uncertainty will be reduced to a bare minimum, and teachers will embrace a mindset shift, becoming more adaptable and resilient with these changes in the education field.
100 AI Champions: A Neighborhood of Teaching Excellence
100 AI Champions is more than just a directory of educators. It is a living, breathing community built to reflect the real work teachers do every day. As educators, we know that AI's challenges and opportunities are complex. To make these tools meaningful and accessible, we have organized the "AI Teacher's Map" into practical “neighborhoods.” Each neighborhood focuses on a key teaching area, helping educators easily find the support, tools, and examples related to their specific needs.
This structure mirrors the reality of classroom life, where teachers juggle many responsibilities, from designing lessons and assessing students to providing feedback and managing administrative tasks. By breaking the map into these focus areas, we aim to make it simple for teachers everywhere to navigate AI’s possibilities in a relevant and helpful way to their day-to-day work.
Each neighborhood is supported by experienced AI champions and fellow teachers who already use AI tools and are ready to share their journeys, insights, and trusted resources. These educators come from across the world, working in different types of schools and classrooms, but united by a common purpose: making AI work for education, not the other way around.
1. The Design District: AI for Lesson Creation and Innovation
This neighborhood is home to AI champions specializing in course design, curriculum innovation, and creative lesson planning. Teachers can explore tools that help generate interactive content, gamified learning experiences, and adaptive teaching materials here.
2. The Evaluation Avenue: AI for Assessments and Performance
In this district, educators leverage AI to automate grading, analyze student performance, and implement adaptive testing. The focus is on reducing administrative workload while enhancing student assessment accuracy.
3. The Feedback Forum: AI for Student Support
This neighborhood supports teachers in giving students meaningful feedback quickly and at scale. Here, AI helps with real-time feedback, personalized comments, and support in different languages, making learning more efficient.
4. The Personalization Plaza: AI for Tailored Learning
AI customizes learning pathways here, supporting diverse learning styles, needs, and abilities. AI-driven personalization enables adaptive learning environments that adjust to student progress in real time.
5. The Administration Hub: AI for Smoother Workflows
The administrative district focuses on how AI streamlines teacher workloads, automates reporting, and enhances institutional efficiency. AI champions experiment with workflow automation, scheduling systems, and AI-driven professional development here.
Call to Action: The AI Future for Teachers Starts Now
100 AI Champions would involve teachers actively shaping the future of teaching and learning. As we embark on this journey, we invite educators, policymakers, and technology leaders to join us in mapping the AI-powered teaching future, one neighborhood at a time.
To learn more about 100 AI Champions, please visit this page and register for the online launch of this initiative.
"The Future of Teaching" session is part of the Education for Tomorrow's World program in the Salzburg Global Center for Education Transformation.
