Telling students you’re still learning to use AI live is almost always the right call — but how you frame it matters. “I’m exploring this with you” lands very differently than “I’m not sure what I’m doing.”
The Fear Behind the Question
Most educators who ask this question are worried about losing credibility. They’ve spent years building authority in their subject area, and they don’t want a new tool to undermine the trust they’ve earned. That concern is completely understandable — and it’s also based on a misconception about what credibility actually is.
Your students don’t follow you because you know everything. They follow you because you know how to learn, how to navigate complexity, and how to be honest about what you know and don’t know. Those qualities are enhanced, not diminished, when you say “I’m figuring this out too.”
How to Frame It Well
There’s a meaningful difference between “I’m new to this and things might go wrong” and “I’m using this in my own work and learning as I go — same as you.” The first signals uncertainty. The second signals that you’re a practitioner in the same space as your students, which is exactly what you want.
A line like “I’ve been experimenting with Claude in my own teaching practice and I want to show you what I’ve found” is honest, confident, and positions you as someone who uses AI professionally — even if you’ve only been doing so for a few weeks. Because that’s true.
You can also normalize the learning curve explicitly: “AI tools are still evolving fast, and so is how we use them in education. None of us have this fully figured out — the advantage is we’re figuring it out together.” That framing turns your newness into shared context, not weakness.
What This Means for Educators
For coaches, consultants, and trainers teaching other educators, your honest relationship with AI is part of your credibility — not separate from it. Your students are navigating the same learning curve. Seeing you handle it openly, professionally, and without ego is the most useful thing you can model.
The Simple Rule
Be honest, but lead with what you know. Say you’re learning — then show them something valuable you’ve learned.