How To
|
Guest Article
Six AI Activities for Flint V6: Classroom-Tested Tools from McDonogh School
Ned Courtemanche | History Department Chair at McDonogh School
Guest Writer
Sep 22, 2025
When Flint's V6 upgrade launched this summer, I'll admit I was intrigued. Not because we're short on AI tools these days, but because the powerful new capabilities felt strangely familiar. Enhanced whiteboard features, more powerful coding assistance, smarter image analysis, and equation tools that approach mathematical reasoning.
And after working with these upgrades over the past few months, I've discovered something surprising: Flint's upgraded tools naturally align with the research-backed teaching methods that have been our bread and butter for decades. More importantly, they represent a genuine step forward in how AI can help schools realize their unique mission and values.
A Communal Approach at McDonogh School
What I love about these AI activities
In an attention economy where our students are pulled in so many directions and sold on every possible shortcut, we as educators must be more deliberate than ever about creating spaces for meaningful growth. Years of experimenting with AI in the classroom have convinced me that these tools, when thoughtfully implemented, are force multipliers for teaching critical thinking - saving valuable teacher time while empowering students. For concrete examples from actual classrooms, see my recent breakdown of AI-enhanced reading comprehension.
What makes these six activities special:
They enhance proven pedagogy - No syllabus overhaul needed; these extend the master teaching techniques we've relied on for years
They amplify learning - These tools extend teacher reach to enhance educational impact and ensure students can’t outsource the thinking
They're authentic and personalized - Flint lets us shape activities to reflect our classroom culture while advancing our school's unique mission
Unlike generic edtech offerings, Flint enables custom-built tools that can and should be modified for your classroom culture. Borrow, modify, and improve these approaches for your own teaching. I always use "Session Preview" in the "Activity Settings" to test any modifications and, whenever possible, I beta test activities with a small group of students before full deployment - their feedback is ever-humbling!
Activity 1: Coding copilot and project based learning (Coding tool)
At McDonogh, our LifeReady curriculum animates our mission PK-12, preparing students who can "think, reason, and problem solve" in the real world. Kevin Costa, the mastermind and Director of LifeReady, has developed a measured optimism about AI extending this mission. "Our graduates won't be threatened by what AI does and will be able to do” he recently shared, “they will be eager to co-create with emerging technology and language models to meet their goals, to contribute to the world, and to do the greatest possible amount of good."
I love project-based learning but, after 20 years of teaching, I was always frustrated when brilliant student insights got stuck at the prototype stage.
That's where our coding copilot and project based learning activity comes in.
Now, students can transform their work into real digital products: interactive websites, simple games, web applications, and all without any coding background. What's required isn't advanced technical expertise but commitment to problem-solving, testing, and debugging with Sparky's computer science guidance.
Coding copilots have brought whole new possibilities to project-based work in the humanities, and the student excitement has been the highlight of my school year so far. This should animate every class at every level, allowing students to take ideas to action and participate - many for the first time - in real-world dialogue through their digital creations.
Activity 2: Compromise of 1850 map analysis (Whiteboard Tool)
If you've taught US History, you know the mess students face studying western expansion and sectional tension before the Civil War: tangled political compromises, ever-changing territorial maps, and confusing chronology. Twenty years of teaching this material, and it's always been a bear - questions and confusion overwhelming the class, students leaving more frustrated than enlightened, me wishing I had an army of teaching assistants to truly individualize the instruction.
This Compromise of 1850 map analysis activity tackles that problem head-on. Students analyze a territorial map of 1849-1850 while developing a nuanced understanding of the causes and effects of the Compromise of 1850. Working individually or in pairs, they annotate the historical map and explain each element's significance, receiving immediate personalized feedback. Meanwhile, I'm free to work the room - connecting, explaining, encouraging.
The whiteboard tool works beautifully for any geography work, and extends naturally to Art and Art History classes. Really any analysis where visual and spatial relationships matter benefits from this multimodal approach.
Activity 3: Literature timeline analysis (Whiteboard Tool)
Our English Department doesn't shy away from challenging literature. But Gatsby, Morrison, Faulkner - these complex reads require expert scaffolding to help students find beauty in tangled plotlines.
This literature timeline analysis challenge flips traditional assessment: students become the teacher, helping Sparky understand chronological sequences by creating and explaining visual timelines. The magic happens when they teach the AI about chronology and causation - forcing synthesis rather than simple comprehension. This student-as-tutor approach pushes learning to the highest levels of Webb's and Bloom's taxonomies, often sparking fascinating classroom conversations during and afterwards.
Try this with any complex narrative structure - historical timelines, scientific processes, mathematical sequences. You can also quickly modify it in "Activity Settings" to act instead as a reading companion, requiring students to record and reconcile events as they work through the material.
Activity 4: Field lab copilot - ecosystem analysis (Image Analysis)
McDonogh has educated students on the same 800-acre campus for 152 years, and our commitment to environmental stewardship finds perfect expression in our 800-acre Lab initiative which transforms the entire campus into an outdoor classroom. Flint's image analysis capabilities bring new dimensions to any science class ready to venture outdoors.
| Image source: mcdonogh.org
This ecosystem exploration activity guides students through scientific inquiry as they upload images of organisms, environmental conditions, and habitat features, then annotate their findings using the whiteboard tool. The activity adapts to any level and learning objective, with tie-ins to anything from NGSS for grade schoolers to AP Environmental Science lab requirements. The AI serves as a lab assistant for species identification while students build understanding of ecological interactions. Technology expands what students can observe and analyze while keeping critical thinking and discovery squarely in human hands.
Activity 5: Civil discourse practice partner (Speech AI Tool)
Our world language teachers have become power users of Flint's audio capabilities, utilizing speech-to-text and text-to-speech for pronunciation practice and conversation skills. But audio features extend far beyond language learning, and we're experimenting with AI tools to enhance our LifeReady commitment to fostering civil discourse in and out of the classroom.
Productive civil discourse challenges adults, let alone students still developing emotional regulation. This civil discourse practice partner activity lets students choose contentious topics - or have Sparky select one - then engage in dialogue where the AI takes challenging positions to help them develop essential techniques. Speaking with and hearing Sparky makes the experience far more realistic than text-based practice. The AI includes safeguards with "time out" interventions when students get stuck or demonstrate inappropriate conduct, creating a true sandbox for civil discourse - a safe space to practice rhetorical tools before facing the real thing.
This represents the LifeReady vision in practice: students co-creating with AI to develop essential skills for democratic participation. The conversational AI opens endless possibilities - debate preparation, mock job interviews, oral history projects, even practicing difficult conversations with parents or peers.
Activity 6: GDP real world calculation practice (Equation Tool)
With Flint's new equation capabilities, we're able to leverage AI in statistics and economics in ways that were cumbersome just months ago. This GDP real-world calculation practice activity targets GDP - one of the core concepts of our economic world, yet also one of the most misunderstood - bringing it to life through real-world scenarios and applications.
Students engage in open-ended practice: identifying economic activities that contribute to GDP, calculating using the expenditure approach, and distinguishing between real and nominal GDP. We structure this as "I do, we do, you do" formative assessment, with students working through current economic data while AI checks their calculations and ensures they grasp key variables.
Students build confidence in economic reasoning while technology handles computational complexity - perfect for any discipline requiring extensive mathematical practice with immediate feedback for formative growth.
Over to you: Create AI activities with Flint!
These six activities represent just the beginning of what's possible when expanded AI tools enhance thoughtful teaching. Far from diminishing critical thinking, these tools make it more accessible, more engaging, and frankly, more sustainable for those of us already stretched thin. So start small - pick one activity that speaks to you and give it a five-minute test drive. Then make it yours: hop into Activity Settings and tell Sparky what works for your classroom. I think somewhere along the way you'll start to feel the creative potential of this technology, and what it could mean for your students.
AI isn't going away. These tools are becoming more powerful and naturally aligned with the research-backed teaching methods that have been our bread and butter for decades. But here's the thing: we need more educators exploring this path, experimenting in their classrooms, sharing their findings. The real innovation won't come from politicians or big tech - it'll come from you and me discovering what's actually possible in the classroom.
——
Ned Courtemanche has spent two decades pushing education into the 21st century as a teacher, coach, administrator, and educational consultant. In his current role as History Department Chair at the McDonogh School, Ned has sought sustainable change and updated curricula to build the analytical skills required to help students understand themselves and their digitally-driven world.
As an early adopter of Flint's AI platform, Ned approaches educational technology with equal parts caution, hope, and curiosity. Through this blog series, he documents his ongoing journey of AI-powered learning and teaching, sharing both breakthroughs and challenges for fellow educators navigating this rapidly evolving landscape.
