🟢 What’s This Episode About?

What If Your Documentation Could Come Alive?

In this final episode of 2025, Jodie explores a question that's been forming all year: what if the documentation and planning cycle system itself…not just our efficiency within it, is what needs to change?

Jodie takes a step back from specific AI tool use cases and prompting to look at the bigger picture. We explore why the "old way" of documenting and planning seems to be broken, why we’re all so tired, and how we’ve been held hostage by 3 "hidden rules" of early childhood admin.

She introduces the concept of Living Documentation, an approach that shifts educators from reconstructing meaningful moments from memory to capturing them in real time, from writing documentation from scratch to editing and verifying AI-generated drafts, and from filing isolated observations to building Living Learning Journeys that show children's development over time.

This is an invitation into a new conversation that will continue throughout 2026.

🟢 What You’ll Find Out:

✅ Why the documentation folder shouldn't be a storage bin.

✅ Why digital tools haven't solved our burnout (yet).

✅ The "Memory Tax" Dilemma - Why reconstructing reality at 8 PM is destroying your energy and enthusiasm.

✅ What the ‘Living Documentation Approach’ is

✅How this approach looks in reality for Family Day Care, Early Learning Centres, Preschool & Mobile Services

✅ The "Living Learning Journey" for children - How patterns emerge without you having to hunt for them.

🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator!

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📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies

📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration

💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page

🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence.

#aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech

The end-of-year gift-making rush is a source of huge stress for educators. We're pressured to create perfect, product-focused items, which often goes against our "process-over-product" approach. In this episode you’ll learn how to use AI to simplify end of year activity planning, create inclusive experiences, and (most importantly) write meaningful gift tags that communicate the real learning behind every child-made creation.

✅ How to brainstorm process-based gift ideas (not just product-based ones)

✅ Using AI to create inclusive, step-by-step instructions for all children

✅ The secret to writing meaningful gift tags that link learning to the EYLF

✅ How to adapt activities for sensory needs and varying abilities

✅ Simple prompts to get AI to write your end of year documentation

✅ How AI can help educators handle the tricky "Christmas vs not Christmas" challenge

💻 CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE RESOURCE PAGE FOR THIS EPISODE

🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator!

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📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies

📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration

💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page

🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence.

#aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech

🟢🟣 This episode is for every educator who has felt the "Sunday afternoon panic" of trying to fill out a weekly program with a balance of play based activities and intentional teaching. I’m taking you beyond generic planning themes and Pinterest boards to explore how AI can become your "educational thinking partner". You'll learn how to use AI to better understand child-led inquiry , create meaningful provocations , and differentiate your planned experiences without creating unnecessary writing or extra work.

🟣 What You'll Find Out:

✅ How to stop the Sunday planning panic

✅ Why generic weekly themes can make it harder to see the real learning taking place

✅ How to use AI as an "observation detective" to analyse play

✅ Using AI to create 'provocations' that extend thinking

✅ How to differentiate one setup for multi-age groups

✅ Practical AI prompts you can copy and paste into ChatGPT or your preferred AI tool

🟣 Resources Mentioned In This Episode

The AI Empowered Educators Membership:

Explore specialised ECE tools and AI assistants mentioned throughout this episode…

Empowered Educator AI Assistants:

➡️ Pippa the Planner (inside the Extension Ideas Creator form)

➡️ Dottie Documentation & Ellie EYLF

➡️ Eden Environments

➡️ Maisie Mindful Inclusion

Empowered Educator AI Smart Forms:

➡️ Extension Ideas Creator

➡️ Junk to Gem Idea Generator & Loose Parts Play Spark

➡️ Multi-Age Activity Modifier

🟣 Visit this episodes resource page HERE for more tips and prompts you can copy

🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator!

🎧 Subscribe & leave a review so we can reach more educators looking to save time with AI

📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies

📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration

💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page

🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence.

#aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech

In This Episode

If you've ever felt let down by generic AI responses, this episode is for you. Jodie talks through the common frustration of using one-size-fits-all AI tools and explains a more effective way forward. You'll learn how to see AI not as a single tool, but as a team of specialised assistants. This practical guide will help you choose the right support for any task, turning AI from a source of frustration into a genuinely helpful partner in your ECE role.

What You'll Find Out...

✅ How to use the C.A.R.E. formula to write better AI prompts

✅ The difference between Generalist, Specialist, and Smartform AI tools

✅ How to decide which type of AI is right for your specific task

✅ Why specialist AI assistants can deepen your pedagogical thinking

✅ How to use all three AI types together to support your EYLF or MTOP planning cycle

✅ The fastest way to get started with AI, even if you feel hesitant

Resources Mentioned

🔎 AI Empowered Educators Membership: Learn more about the specialist assistants and Smartforms mentioned in this episode. Visit the information page here on the website.

🔎 Episode 32 Resource Page - See the C.A.R.E prompt formula in action to copy and use

🔎 Generalist AI Tools: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude

🔎 Empowered Ed Specialist AI Assistants: Ellie EYLF, Dottie Documentation, Lacey Leadership, Fran FDC

🔎 Empowered Ed AI Smartform Tools: Learning Story Observation Writer, Anecdotal Observation Writer, Tricky Conversation Email Drafter, Summative Assessment Writer

🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator!

🎧 Subscribe & leave a review so we can reach more educators looking to save time with AI

📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies

📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration

💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page

🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence.

#aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech

🟢 Are your program plans in step with the land - or just with the wall calendar?

In this episode of Early Education in the Age of AI, Jodie invites you to step outside, notice the signs of the season around you, and discover how to bring them into your planning in ways that are both engaging for children and respectful of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander seasonal knowledge.

🟣 What You'll Find Out:

✅ Why seasonal planning goes far beyond “spring” and “summer.”

✅ How Aboriginal seasonal calendars connect learning to place and culture.

✅ Common roadblocks educators face when planning with the seasons - and how to overcome them.

✅ Practical, beginner-friendly AI prompts to help you research, link to the EYLF, create provocations, and connect with families.

✅ Two real-life scenarios … one from a family daycare and one from an early learning centre, showing how AI can be adapted to different environments.

✅ Essential tips for ensuring your planning honours cultural protocols and community voices.

Whether you’re in a small backyard space or a sprawling early learning centre, you’ll leave with ideas you can try this week…starting with just one seasonal observation and three AI-generated learning experiences.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

🟢 AI Empowered Educators Membership

🟢 Create a Storybook with Google Gemini

🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator!

🎧 Subscribe & leave a review so we can reach more educators looking to save time with AI

📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies

📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration

💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page

🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence.

#aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech

🟢 EP 29 - Feeling unsure about how the September 2025 NQF changes will impact your service - or how to adapt without adding more hours to your current workload?

In this episode of Early Education in the Age of AI, I break down the latest National Quality Framework (NQF) updates in simple language, so you know exactly what’s changing and why. We’ll explore what these updates mean for early learning environments, family daycare, preschool, and OSHC services, and most importantly…how you can use simple, ethical AI tools to respond confidently while keeping your professional judgement at the core of your work.

🟢 Whether you’re an AI beginner or simply curious, this episode will help you:

✅ Understand the key changes coming into effect in September 2025

✅ See how they connect to your planning, documentation, and compliance tasks

✅ Learn 3 beginner-friendly ways AI can help with the planning cycle and incident reporting

✅ Save time while still meeting your obligations under the National Quality Standard (NQS)

✨ The main NQF changes arriving in September 2025 and how they affect educators in all service types

✨ How AI can support incident reporting, policy updates, and compliance documentation without risking privacy or ethics

✨ Practical examples of AI prompts tailored for early childhood and OSHC educators

✨ Tips to make sure AI strengthens… not replaces, your own professional knowledge

📌 Download the AI Prompts & Action Guide for NQF Changes on the Podcast Page HERE

📌 Join me inside the AI Empowered Educators Membership – AI smartforms, chat assistants and training for all early childhood professionals

📌 National Quality Agenda IT System - An online tool offering providers secure direct communication with regulatory authorities

🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator!

🎧 Subscribe & leave a review so we can reach more educators looking to save time with AI

📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies

📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration

💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page

🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence.

#aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech

🟣 In This Episode...

Many educators feel that technology has no place in nature play, and for good reason. We want to protect the authentic, hands-on experiences that are central to early learning. However, this episode reframes the conversation, explaining how AI can be a useful ally for the educator behind the scenes. Find out how to use AI as a creative assistant and consultant to help develop a clear outdoor play philosophy that’s grounded in the ‘3rd Teacher’ approach, audit existing spaces for hidden potential, and brainstorm budget-friendly ideas for engaging playscapes using natural and upcycled loose parts.

Jodie also walks you through personalising specific prompts that will make it easier to create risk-benefit analyses that give you the confidence to facilitate challenging, adventurous play, and for brainstorming local seasonal observation guides that connect children to their specific environment.

🟣 What You'll Find Out:

✅ How to use AI to define your unique outdoor play philosophy.

✅ How to audit your outdoor space to find hidden potential.

✅ How to brainstorm budget-friendly, nature-based play ideas.

✅ How to create a risk-benefit analysis for adventurous play.

✅ How to generate a locally focused seasonal observation guide.

✅ How to communicate the value of outdoor play experiences to families.

🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator!

🎧 Subscribe & leave a review so we can reach more educators looking to save time with AI

📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies

📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration

💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page

🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence.

#aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech