Copilot in Schools: Privacy, Policies, Prompting Tips & the Real Limits of AI for Teachers Artwork

The Teachers AI Café

The Teachers AI Café is a podcast designed for educators eager to harness the power of artificial intelligence in their classrooms. Join us for engaging conversations, practical tips, and real-world examples on how AI can streamline lesson preparation, provide insightful feedback, and foster student skill development. Whether you’re a tech novice or a digital native, this café is your go-to space to learn, share, and revolutionize your teaching with AI.

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The Teachers AI Café

Copilot in Schools: Privacy, Policies, Prompting Tips & the Real Limits of AI for Teachers

February 18, 2026 • Kane Pittard • Season 1 • Episode 56

0:00 | 46:57

In this episode of Teacher’s AI Café, Kane sits down with a Western Australian Digital Technologies teacher to explore what artificial intelligence is really doing to coding, classrooms, and professional judgment. From the frustrations of AI rewriting perfectly good code to the practical realities of rolling out Microsoft Copilot in a school setting, the conversation moves beyond hype and into lived experience. They touch on data privacy, age restrictions, staff professional learning, and the growing question of whether schools should commit to a single, trackable AI platform. At its core, this episode asks a critical question for educators: how do we embrace powerful new tools while ensuring that teacher expertise, responsibility, and discernment remain firmly at the centre?

00:00 Welcome to Teacher’s AI Cafe (what this show is about)

00:24 Meet David: his teaching & edtech journey

01:37 From coding hype to AI-assisted coding in class

03:29 Vibe coding reality check: refactoring, bloat & breaking changes

06:14 Will AI replace developers? The job-market debate

07:09 Private school AI rollout: early exploration, privacy & platform trials

09:55 Microsoft vs Google vs Apple: platform lock-in and the AI arms race

17:27 Copilot in school: age rules, blocking other tools & safety tracking

19:31 Staff PD wins & hilarious Copilot fails (Word doc image, “don’t want to talk”)

24:04 Using AI wisely: environmental impact and when not to bother

25:07 When AI Edits Go Sideways: Knowing When It’s the Wrong Tool

25:36 Can Copilot Actually Make a Decent PowerPoint? (Gamma vs NotebookLM)