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Feature Highlight
Instructron Unstructured: Episode 4
From Diagnostic Data to Daily Routines and AI Guardrails Back-to-school is officially real: two weeks in, and those first nine days have felt like a marathon. Nothing says "welcome back" like hours of diagnostic testing: grueling reading and math screens, 32 new personalities, routines to build from scratch - and worse, that endless feeling of “How do I reach every student?” As Joe puts it: "Nothing says welcome back to school like hours upon end of test questions that purposely get to the bo
Instructron Unstructured: Episode 3
First Week Recap & New 4 New Features (3 Are Free!) Four days into the new school year, it already feels like a marathon. Thirty-two new faces. New personalities. Endless procedures to model. "It's just a lot of talking, and I’m ready for real routines again!” But through the chaos, we get to build a brand new classroom community - and this year, we’re doing it with Instructron working alongside us. What’s New This Week and Already Making a Difference Timer: No More Juggling Tabs Teacher
Instructron Unstructured: Episode 2
Back-to-School & The Writing Center Deep Dive Summer’s Over—Back to the Classroom! * After nine glorious weeks of summer break, we (Joe & Quyen) are back in the classroom and gearing up for the new school year. * Teaching means starting fresh every year: new students, new personalities, and new chances to do things better. The Challenge: Writing Feedback Overload * Last year, we tried "mystery writing" and were excited to see students writing more than ever. * But with 32 students, gra
The Pedagogy Behind a Strong PLC (And How Instructron Makes It Actually Work)
We’ve all sat through a meeting with our PLC that was anything but professional or collaborative. Maybe it turned into a data dump. Maybe it became a venting session. Maybe it was just... pointless. But when done right, a Professional Learning Community (PLC) can be the most powerful tool for improving teaching and learning. The problem? Strong PLCs require time, focus, clarity. And the truth is, most of us don’t have much of those to spare. That’s where Instructron comes in. What Makes a PL
AI in the Classroom Made Us Nervous Too
If your first reaction to hearing “AI in education” is hesitation or even a hard no… we get it. We were skeptical too. Before Instructron existed, we were just two classroom teachers, Quyen and Joe, watching ChatGPT explode into education. Students were using it. Admins were asking about it. And honestly, it made us nervous. Could this actually help us? Would it take away our voice? Would our students rely on it too much? We didn’t want to reject AI altogether, but we also didn’t trust the tool
Only a Month In, This 4th Grade Teacher Is All In on Instructron
Sometimes, the best discoveries happen at the very end. That’s what happened for Shawn H., a 4th grade teacher in San Marcos, CA, who started using Instructron with just one month left in the school year, and quickly realized he’d found something special. “Instructron is the most useful AI website to use in the classroom I have found to date,” Shawn said. Even in a short window, it saved him time, supported his students, and made some of the most stressful tasks feel manageable. Smarter, Stud
Why Instructron Isn't Just Another MagicSchool Clone
As of June 2025, there are more AI tools for educators than ever before, and that’s a good thing. MagicSchool continues to be one of the most well-known platforms, offering a broad library of AI tools for teachers, and more recently, expanding into student-facing supports as well. But here’s where Instructron stands apart: While others are just now building tools for students, Instructron was built for students from day one. We didn’t add student features later. We designed around them first.
The Secret to Faster, More Personalized Report Card Comments
Writing report card comments can feel like a never-ending task. You want each comment to reflect your students’ growth and personality, but with a full class list and a fast-approaching deadline, it’s tough to keep the comments meaningful and unique. That’s where Instructron steps in. Our report card generator helps teachers write thoughtful, personal, and professional comments in way less time. Real Comments That Sound Like You Instructron’s report card tool isn’t just about filling in a tem
How to Assign a Writing Activity in Instructron (and Let Tronnie Be the Coach)
Need a way to support every student writer without cloning yourself? Instructron’s Writing Activities let you assign a prompt and have Tronnie, your built-in AI coach, offer personalized, skill-specific feedback students actually understand. Here’s how to do it from both the teacher and student sides: 👨🏫 Teacher Side: Creating a Writing Assignment 1. Sign In and Head to Writing Activities From your teacher dashboard, scroll down and click “Writing Activities.” Then hit “Create Activity.
The Necessary Evil: Why We Built Instructron for the World of High-Stakes Testing
Let’s just say it plainly: we don’t believe high-stakes tests paint a full picture of what our students know or who they are. As teachers, we’ve watched brilliant kids freeze up on a test day. We’ve seen creative thinkers, budding writers, and natural leaders reduced to a few percentage points and acronyms. And we’ve sat in too many meetings where “data” is used as the only lens through which a child is evaluated, ignoring the nuance, the growth, and the humanity that lives in every classroom.
Who’s Tronnie? Meet the AI Coach Powering Instructron
You’ve seen the glasses. You’ve seen the name. But Tronnie isn’t just Instructron’s mascot. He’s the AI-powered coach at the center of everything we do. Designed by real teachers (hi, that’s us), Tronnie is here to support both students and educators. Not by taking over, but by coaching through the process. Whether it’s test prep, writing, report cards, or lesson planning, Tronnie is the encouraging voice that keeps things moving forward. For Students: A Test Prep + Writing Coach That Doesn’t