In the News: Jena Zangs Helps Develop AI App to Personalize Classroom Learning
University of St. Thomas Chief Data & AI Officer Jena Zangs '10, '18 MS was featured on KARE 11 for helping build an AI-powered classroom app that adapts one lesson plan for many learners. The goal is simple: reduce prep time and make every student feel seen-across reading levels, IEP goals, and home languages.
Built by two Minnesota educators in 48 hours, the app-Let's Get REAL-streamlines accommodations teachers typically craft by hand. The team also noted it can assist with creating assessments that are harder to game with AI tools.
What the app supports
- Multiple reading levels from a single lesson plan
- Dyslexia-friendly formatting
- Advanced extensions for enrichment
- Support for IEP goals
- Multilingual audio narration so students can hear lessons in their home languages
As developer Shannon Seaver explained, a teacher uploads the lesson, sets student needs, and gets adapted materials back-fast.
Why this matters for educators
Accommodations stop being a separate, time-consuming project. You keep one core plan and generate the variations you need-so general education, special education, and multilingual teams can move in sync.
Zangs, who also serves on the board of Create MPLS and is a parent of a child with an IEP, put it plainly: this helps teams avoid manually rebuilding the same lesson three different ways.
Quick ways to pilot in your school
- Start small: one unit, two classes. Compare prep time and student engagement before vs. after.
- Set guardrails: review privacy, avoid uploading student PII, and create an opt-in workflow.
- Co-review outputs: pair a classroom teacher with a special educator and a multilingual specialist.
- Tune assessments: require "show your work," oral explanations, and varied prompts to reduce copy-paste answers.
- Collect student feedback on clarity, accessibility, and audio narration quality.
Implementation notes
- Keep the original lesson as your source of truth; edit generated adaptations for tone and nuance.
- Reuse what works: save accommodation patterns aligned to IEP goals for future units.
- Track impact: log time saved, materials generated, and any shifts in participation or comprehension.
For broader context on AI in classrooms, see the U.S. Department of Education's guidance on AI and teaching here. If you want structured upskilling, explore practical AI courses by job at Complete AI Training.
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