--- title: "What Educators Really Think About AI: Insights from ISTE 2026" url: "https:\/\/britannicaeducation.com\/blog\/iste-2026\/" published: "2026-07-20T16:12:33+00:00" modified: "2026-07-20T16:57:57+00:00" author: "Britannica Education" description: "At ISTE 2026, educators weren\u2019t asking what AI could do. They were asking whether they could trust it." --- # What Educators Really Think About AI: Insights from ISTE 2026 At ISTE 2026, educators weren’t asking what AI could do. They were asking whether they could trust it. ![Thistle background graphic](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/themes/britannica-education/assets/img/backgrounds/thistle.svg) - [ Home ](https://britannicaeducation.com/) - [ Blog ](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/) - What Educators… What Educators Really Think About AI: Insights from ISTE 2026 ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-blog-iste-hero.png) [AI in Education](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/category/ai-in-education/) # What Educators Really Think About AI: Insights from ISTE 2026 ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BE_Thistle-Variation-1.svg) July 20, 2026 Table Of Contents - [Educators Share their Biggest Challenges with AI](#challenge) - [Changing Expectations Around AI](#changed) - [Four Questions Every School Should Be Asking About AI](#four) - [AI Trust Checklist](#check) share [![](/wp-content/themes/britannica-education/assets/img/be-facebook-icon.png)](http://facebook.com) [![](/wp-content/themes/britannica-education/assets/img/be-pinterest-icon.png)](http://pinterest.com) [![](/wp-content/themes/britannica-education/assets/img/be-linkedin-icon.png)](http://linkedin.com) [![](/wp-content/themes/britannica-education/assets/img/be-x-icon.png)](http://x.com) **FREE DOWNLOAD** ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/be-blog-ai-playbook-hero.jpg) **[5 Plays for AI-Powered Planning](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/5-plays-for-ai-powered-planning/)** Navigate and champion AI at your school, district, or library. [Get the Playbook](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/5-plays-for-ai-powered-planning/) **SPARK LEARNING THAT LASTS** [![Text: Curious Kids. Award-Winning Results. ](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/be-Early-Elementary-Britannica-School-Blog.png)](https://britannicaeducation.com/solutions/prek-12/britannica-school/early-elementary/) **[Britannica School: Early Elementary](https://britannicaeducation.com/solutions/prek-12/britannica-school/early-elementary/)** - Trustworthy articles - Engaging videos - Seamless translation - Leveled text - Built-in accessibility tools [Fuel Curiosity](https://britannicaeducation.com/solutions/prek-12/britannica-school/early-elementary/) **RESOURCE HUB** ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/be-hub-ai-media-literacy-in-the-age-of-ai-thumbnail.jpg) [**Responsible AI in Education**](https://britannicaeducation.com/responsible-ai/) Explore resources to designed to help educators integrate AI responsibly while maintaining control. [View Now](https://britannicaeducation.com/responsible-ai/) Winning an Award Wasn’t the Biggest Takeaway from ISTE. **The conversations we had with educators were even more important.** Winning a [Tech & Learning Best of Show Award at ISTELive 2026](https://britannicaeducation.com/news/britannica-studio-tech-learning-best-of-show-award/) was an incredible honor for everyone at Britannica Education. It’s exciting any time your work is recognized—especially by one of education’s most respected technology publications during one of the industry’s largest conferences. But by the time the conference ended, the award wasn’t what we were talking about most. What stayed with us were the conversations. This year, instead of simply demonstrating [Britannica Studio](https://britannicaeducation.com/solutions/prek-12/britannica-studio/), we invited educators to answer one simple question: **“What’s your biggest challenge with AI?”** [![Getting the tool to 100% understand what I am trying to achieve; Students using AI while understanding how to use the results.](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-15.jpg)Getting the tool to 100% understand what I am trying to achieve; Students using AI while understanding how to use the results.](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-15.jpg)[![Making sure students understand it](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-7.jpg)Making sure students understand it’s a tool to support!](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-7.jpg)[![How to bridge the gap between how AI can help students and how scared parents are of all the bad that can happen when their children us AI. Education + give examples.](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-4.jpg)How to bridge the gap between how AI can help students and how scared parents are of all the bad that can happen when their children us AI. Education + give examples.](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-4.jpg)[![At times the outcome is not quite what was expected & you have to try again.](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-9.jpg)At times the outcome is not quite what was expected & you have to try again.](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-9.jpg)[![Students NOT knowing how to use AI tools correctly and not being open to learning how they can aid them in their thinking processes.](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-3.jpg)Students NOT knowing how to use AI tools correctly and not being open to learning how they can aid them in their thinking processes.](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-3.jpg)[![For students to use as a tool instead of depending on it](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-12.jpg)For students to use as a tool instead of depending on it](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-12.jpg)[![be-studio-answer-16](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-16.jpg)](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-16.jpg)[![It](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-1.jpg)It’s time-consuming to create a proper prompt](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-1.jpg)[![Getting teachers to feel comfortable trying out AI!](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-8.jpg)Getting teachers to feel comfortable trying out AI!](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-8.jpg)[![Source verification! It takes too long!](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-6.jpg)Source verification! It takes too long!](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-6.jpg)[![Teaching students to marry new methods of learning safely](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-2.jpg)Teaching students to marry new methods of learning safely](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-2.jpg)[![Teacher buy-in & training](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-5.jpg)Teacher buy-in & training](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/be-studio-answer-5.jpg) By the end of the conference, our wall was filled with handwritten responses. Some educators answered with *source verification*, *safety*, and *accuracy*, while others wrote about teacher buy-in, training, and student misuse. Every response was different. But together, they told the same story.  ## **The Conversation Has Changed** A year ago, much of the conversation around AI focused on possibility. - How quickly can it write? - What can it generate? - How many hours can it save? This year, the conversation felt different. At ISTE, educators weren’t asking what AI could do. They were asking whether they could trust it. - Where does the information come from? - How much time will I spend fact-checking? - How do I know what students are reading is accurate? - How do I help teachers use AI responsibly? Those aren’t technology questions—they’re teaching questions. They signal an important shift from excitement about AI to expectations for AI. ## **Why the Award Matters** Those conversations made receiving Tech & Learning’s Best of Show Award especially meaningful. To us, the recognition felt like validation that education is beginning to reward something we’ve believed from the beginning:  AI should strengthen teaching, not complicate it. Teachers shouldn’t have to choose between efficiency and accuracy, and they shouldn’t have to sacrifice transparency for speed. And they certainly shouldn’t become full-time fact-checkers just to save time. [Britannica Studio](https://britannicaeducation.com/solutions/prek-12/britannica-studio/) was built around those ideas. Grounded in Britannica’s verified, standards-aligned content, Studio helps educators create differentiated, classroom-ready instructional materials while providing transparent source citations—all in a workflow designed around the way teachers actually plan. In other words, our AI workspace was built to answer many of the very concerns educators shared with us throughout the week. ## **Four Questions Every School Should Be Asking About AI** One of the biggest takeaways from ISTE is that schools need a better framework for evaluating AI. Not based on the number of features, but based on whether the tool actually supports good teaching. We created our [**AI Trust Checklist for Classrooms**](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/BStudio_AI-Checklist.pdf) to meet this need for you. Before a school adopts any AI platform, we encourage educators to ask four simple questions: - Can I verify where the information comes from? - Is this AI designed specifically for education? - Can it support differentiation without sacrificing rigor? - Does it fit naturally into the way teachers actually plan and teach? These seem like simple questions, but after spending a week listening to educators from around the world, we believe they’re some of the most important questions schools can ask. ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/be-resource-trust-checklist.jpg) ### **Download the AI Trust Checklist** Whether you’re evaluating Britannica Studio or another AI solution, we hope this checklist provides a practical framework for thinking about responsible AI in education. If ISTE reminded us of anything this year, it’s this:  **The future of AI in education won’t be defined by who has the fastest technology. It will be defined by who earns educators’ trust.** [ ![Download ➜](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/20473958/interactive-208541993640.png) ](https://cta-service-cms2.hubspot.com/web-interactives/public/v1/track/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLKtxp35EnscD05QaGvmBm4pDVOnG3Hy27sXSblhMQgFJRY4I1fpdOm8gCI69ANQZ7CdPtVYdTMu6Y5XtqUm%2FEqdX%2FVL%2FfzVTvLWs7dD9NO50Zm8bYA%2FghudcEPN7jQNqiftwJWEA2gp8%2B%2Fsrc%2BlZeQi4Kwggkb6kKZxGMXcHdXXIZ3EBonci7eI1Jd7VCFmeguH0O6qPuh73Ed%2B%2F11bv2M3FOVZmfpmaAwDLpghNJLleOR17P5Q&webInteractiveContentId=208541993640&portalId=20473958) ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BE_Thistle-Variation-1.svg) ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/be-word-cloud-background-1024x585.png) ## Recent Blog *Posts* ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/be-blog-us-250-timeline-quiz.png) [Interactive Quiz](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/category/quiz/) #### From 1776 to Today: The Big U.S. Timeline Quiz June 25, 2026 [Read More: From 1776 to Today: The Big U.S. Timeline Quiz](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/us-timeline-quiz/) ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/be-blog-world-cup-featured.png) [Britannica School](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/category/britannica-school/) #### Using Britannica School and the World Cup to Score Big in the Classroom June 1, 2026 [Read More: Using Britannica School and the World Cup to Score Big in the Classroom](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/britannica-school-world-cup/) ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/be-blog-updates-new-hero.jpg) [Updates](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/category/updates/) #### Coming Soon to Britannica Education June 1, 2026 [Read More: Coming Soon to Britannica Education](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/coming-soon-to-britannica-education/) ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/be-blog-teacher-appreciation-2026.png) [Teacher Appreciation](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/category/teacher-appreciation/) #### Teach Britannica, for Educators, with Love May 4, 2026 [Read More: Teach Britannica, for Educators, with Love](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/teacher-appreciation/) ![](https://britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/be-blog-hbd-america.jpg) [Content Spotlight](https://britannicaeducation.com/blog/category/expedition-learn/content-spotlight/) #### Happy Birthday, America! 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