Bringing AI into the Classroom: Althea Baartman’s Experience with Mindjoy’s Educator Grant
Towards the end of 2025, we hosted our first-ever AI Educator Grant Program, giving educators the chance to explore how AI can support teaching and learning in real classrooms.
One of our participants, Althea Baartman, Deputy Principal (Acting) and Natural Science educator with 18 years of teaching experience, shared her experience with us and explained what she gained from the program.
A Journey from Curiosity to Hands-On Learning
Althea has taught students from primary through high school. Although her majors where in Science and Technology, she’s also more recently had experience teaching both Tourism and CAT, too. Like many educators, she faces the daily challenges of oversized classes and limited resources, making it incredibly difficult to give every student the attention they need.
She first heard about Mindjoy through a colleague at a SchoolScape event, and immediately, her curiosity was piqued. Upon hearing about our Educator Grant Program, Althea jumped at the opportunity to apply, and her goal in doing so was simple - to gain a clear understanding of how to implement AI in her classroom and to receive guided support so she could make the most of the program, for both herself and her students.
Learning with Mentors and Peers
Althea described her experience in the four-week program as “a marvelous educational journey led by amazing, knowledgeable mentors.”
What stood out for her was the collaborative nature of the program - as participants learned how to use the program, they shared new strategies they’d discovered, allowing fellow educators to try them out in their own classrooms.
For Althea, the program was less about discovering AI’s potential and more about proving its value in real-world teaching contexts. “I have always believed that using AI responsibly can enhance not only teaching but learning too,” she says. “This program allowed me to see exactly how AI can help reach each learner, draft personalized lesson plans, and provide feedback immediately.”
A Way to Make Overcrowded Classrooms More Personal
One of the highlights for Althea was the ability to create learning pathways and mini tests to monitor student progress before, during, and after lessons.
In crowded classrooms, it’s easy for struggling students to go unnoticed and slip under the radar, but AI tools allow educators the opportunity to provide individual feedback, ensuring that every student knows exactly where they stand and what to improve.
“In an overcrowded classroom, each learner feels special as they get their own prompts,” Althea notes. With so many educators struggling with imbalanced teacher-to-student ratios, this is an incredibly valuable advantage.
Althea’s Advice for Fellow Educators
For teachers curious about working with AI, Althea has a clear message: AI isn’t a replacement for educators - it’s a powerful assistant.
“If you can allow a helper with no knowledge into your class, why not work with AI, which has access to endless resources to make lessons more engaging and effective for all?”
A Positive Learning Experience with Mindjoy
Althea’s experience illustrates the potential of AI to support teachers in reaching every student - not just as many as possible - making classrooms more responsive and personalized.
Her journey through Mindjoy’s Educator Grant program highlights the practical benefits of AI in education, from tailored learning paths to real-time feedback, and how these tools can empower educators to focus on what they do best: teaching.
Interested in taking part in future Educator Grant Programs? Keep an eye out for news on 2026 applications!
