The VHS EdTech Report – April 11, 2025, Issue #3
Bringing Canvas, Artificial Intelligence, and Tech Updates to the Pack
📢 Welcome to The VHS EdTech Report!
Each edition will highlight Canvas insights, AI developments, EdTech tools, and upcoming PD opportunities to keep you ahead of the curve.
🔍 What's Inside This Report?
  • Canvas Report: Data and reporting from periodic Canvas observations alongside campus goals.
  • AI News & Implementation: A look at AI’s expanding role in research, education, and automation, featuring updates and insights from OpenAI, Alpha School, Sesame, and Hadrian X.
  • EdTech Tools & PD Opportunities: This issue’s featured tool, Class Companion, an AI-driven platform for feedback. EdTech appointment booking and PD opportunities are on the last page.

by Dane Jacobson

🏆 Canvas Term 3 Goal Recap: Organization
Our Term 3 focus on building clear, consistent, intuitive Canvas structures paid off!
12%
Baseline Level 3+ in Organization (Jan)
59%
Current Level 3+ in Organization (Mar)
36%
Growth in Organization Proficiency Levels
2.65
Current Overall Average (Mean) for Organization
Term 3 Organization Proficiency Levels (x) by Teacher Count (y)
This foundation of stronger navigation and thoughtful structure prepares us perfectly for our next focus: Feedback.
Good feedback lives inside good structure.
🚀 Canvas Goal of the Term: Feedback
Campus Goal: Achieve a level 3 or greater in Feedback by the end of Term 4.
Why Feedback in Canvas Matters
Effective feedback helps students understand where they are, where they need to go, and how to get there. It’s one of the most important ways to drive learning and growth. With the support of AI, feedback can now be more immediate, consistent, and personalized without adding to teacher workload. AI-driven feedback allows students to receive meaningful guidance in the moment, encouraging reflection and revision. It isn’t a shortcut—it’s a scalable way to support learning with targeted clarity and purpose. Start using it!
Proficiency Scale for Feedback
Note: Feedback scales have been updated. Incorporating AI-driven feedback now makes it easier to achieve a Level 3 and is now an expectation to achieve a Level 4. SBG is still the driving focus of all levels.
Strategies to Reach Level 3+
Connect SBG rubrics or target proficiency levels to all assignments
Convert all standalone videos or articles to Brisk Boosted activities
Avoid vague feedback like, "Good job, very creative!" or "You still need to finish problem 5 and 7!"
Use tools such as Brisk or ChatGPT with uploaded SBG context to drive targeted feedback.
📊 Canvas Insights: Data & Trends
Here’s a snapshot of how our campus is using Canvas effectively, now with growth tracking to measure progress over time.
Overall Average:
1.99
Teacher Standard Deviation:
0.87
Understanding the Data
Averages
Feedback has become our lowest average and has remained stagnant. Customization started as our original low, but is clearly improving.
Standard Deviations
Standard deviations have increased across most areas, suggesting that while some teachers are making intentional improvements to their Canvas pages, others have yet to make significant changes.
Growth %
New Term 4 Canvas pages started with a lack of modules and detailed instructions, which created a decrease in Organization and Clarity.
💡Thought-Provoking Perspective
"AI is not just another piece of technology. It’s a platform shift—one that will reshape every software category and every business."
– Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
🤖 The Impact of AI: What's New?
Recent AI Developments
Introducing 4o Image Generation
OpenAI releases their new image model directly embedded in ChatGPT.

OpenAI

Introducing 4o Image Generation

At OpenAI, we have long believed image generation should be a primary capability of our language models. That’s why we’ve built our most advanced image generator yet into GPT‑4o. The result—image generation that is not only beautiful, but useful.

Are AI Schools Actually Working?
The majority of Alpha (AI) School students are performing in the top 2% of the nation. The average math SAT score for Alpha students is a 1470(!) out of 1600. AI platforms similar to the ones they use are available to public schools right now.

Alpha School

Program | Alpha School

Explore Alpha School's AI-powered program. Learn how our innovative curriculum fosters student growth and success.

AI Voice Gets Uncomfortably Real
Sesame's new research creates AI-generated voices that are eerily realistic. (Try it!)

Sesame

Crossing the uncanny valley of conversational voice

At Sesame, our goal is to achieve “voice presence”—the magical quality that makes spoken interactions feel real, understood, and valued.

AI-Driven Robotic Brick Layers are Here
AI-driven automation continues to make its way into construction.

FBR

Hadrian X® | Outdoor Construction & Bricklaying Robot from FBR

Meet Hadrian X®, the world's most advanced construction robot and the first application of our Dynamic Stabilisation Technology (DST™).

Alpha School: An AI-Driven Learning Model
These programs are popping up all over the country, and are beginning to offer programs to lower-income communities. Alpha School blends adaptive AI, mastery-based learning, and time management strategies to help students learn core subjects in just two hours a day. Students grow 2.6x faster than the national average on MAP tests, with top performers reaching up to 6.5x. Most of their private funding goes to their awesome project-based stuff and campus resources, but their core academics are all driven through AI platforms that are accessible to teachers like us. How could we adapt and leverage similar AI systems in our classroom?
🔧 AI/EdTech Tool of the Report: Class Companion
What is Class Companion​?
Class Companion is an AI-powered feedback and tutoring platform designed to help teachers streamline grading, support revision, and encourage deeper learning. Teachers can assign writing prompts or discussion tasks, and students receive instant, standards-based feedback powered by AI. The tool promotes mastery learning by guiding students through revisions and offering support when they’re stuck—all while giving teachers visibility into student progress.
Why Use Class Companion?
Instant Feedback
Students get clear, rubric-aligned feedback right after they submit—while their thinking is still fresh.
AI Tutoring
A built-in tutor helps students understand and apply the feedback.
Teacher Transparency
Teachers can see exactly what feedback and support students receive, allowing for targeted coaching and follow-up.
Cost
Free for individual teachers; additional features available for school/district plans.
📅 Upcoming EdTech PD & Support
Workshops & Training
1
Keep an eye out for EdTech Tuesday emails!
2
Potential Monday PD on Feedback soon.
Need Personalized Support?
📌 Schedule a 1-on-1 session with me!
📩 Questions? Suggestions? Let me know what you'd like to see in future reports!