The Digital Species book cover

KINDLE • PAPERBACK • HARDCOVER

AI Isn't a Tool.
It's a Species.

A paradigm shift for K-12 educators ready to rethink AI in the classroom.

Your students are already using AI. The question is whether anyone is teaching them to use it well.

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The Problem

Every educator knows the feeling: AI is everywhere, changing everything, and the professional development hasn't caught up.

You're expected to have answers you don't have, policies for situations that didn't exist two years ago, and confidence in a technology that updates faster than your curriculum.

Your students are already using AI. The question is whether anyone is teaching them to use it well.

The Solution

The Digital Species offers a way forward.

Built on a simple but powerful reframe, AI isn't a tool, it's a new kind of entity, this book gives K-12 educators the framework, language, and practical strategies to teach students how to work with artificial intelligence rather than just use it.

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Build Relationships

Learn why treating AI as a partner transforms student outcomes and engagement.

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Shift Your Mindset

Move beyond prompt engineering to genuine AI collaboration frameworks.

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Transform Your Classroom

Practical, Monday-morning-ready strategies you can implement immediately.

What's Inside

  • A practical framework for understanding AI systems as a "digital species" with distinct temperaments
  • Profiles of major AI systems (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok) and how their differences matter for learning
  • Conversation techniques that produce deeper student thinking, not just faster answers
  • Strategies for building productive skepticism without fear
  • Assessment approaches designed for AI-collaborative work
  • 50 ready-to-use conversation starters organized by learning purpose
  • Complete first-week implementation guide, assessment rubrics, and sample parent letter
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This Book Is For You If...

Classroom Teachers

You want practical strategies for teaching with AI that go beyond "just say no" or "let them use it for everything."

Instructional Coaches

You need a framework to help teachers navigate AI integration with confidence and consistency.

Curriculum Directors

You're building AI policies and need research-backed approaches that actually work in real classrooms.

School Administrators

You want to lead your school community through this transition with wisdom, not just buzzwords.

What Educators Are Saying

"This book gave me the language I needed to explain why my instincts about AI in the classroom were right. The 'species' framework is brilliant."

— K-12 Teacher, Chicago Public Schools

"Finally, a book about AI in education that treats teachers like professionals with agency, not just users who need training."

— Instructional Technology Coach

"I tried the 'AI as partner' approach with my 7th graders. Their critical thinking went UP, not down. This works."

About the Author

David Lockstein

David Lockstein

With over twenty years of experience as an IT Director and Technology Coordinator in K-12 education, the author has spent his career at the intersection of technology and learning. Throughout those two decades, he has guided schools and districts through wave after wave of technological change, always with one eye on what's next and the other on what's best for students.

The inspiration for this book grew out of countless conversations with educators, both within his own district and across the state of Wisconsin, who were grappling with the same urgent questions: How do we stop AI? How do we control it? How do we keep students from cheating? After hearing these concerns repeated in hallways, conference rooms, and professional development sessions, he became convinced there had to be a better way to approach the conversation. There had to be another way to look at AI.

A close follower of the industry's leading voices in artificial intelligence, he takes their insights seriously, especially their predictions about where AI is heading and how fast it's getting there. This book was written to bridge the gap between those visionary voices and the educators shaping the next generation. His hope is that by connecting these two worlds, students will ultimately be the ones who benefit.

If you walk away from this book with even one new idea, one slightly different perspective, or a deeper understanding of how AI will shape the future, he considers that a win. He hopes you enjoy the book, and he'd love to hear from you, even if you don't. Open dialogue is what leads to new ideas and new perspectives.