How Debbie Morgan Used Mindjoy’s AI Grant to Rethink Learning

When Debbie Morgan, Subject Head of Dramatic Arts at St Mary’s DSG Kloof, joined Mindjoy’s AI Educator Grant Program, she didn’t come in with a detailed plan or big expectations. In fact, as she puts it, she “had no idea what to expect”.

And honestly, that’s exactly what we love to hear.

Because the grant isn’t designed for teachers who already have everything figured out. It’s designed for educators who are curious, open-minded, and willing to explore what AI could look like in real classrooms.

For Debbie, the experience quickly became something practical, surprising, and genuinely useful.

The Challenge: Time, Feedback, and Meeting Students Where They Are

Like so many teachers, Debbie’s biggest challenge is time - there’s simply never enough of it.

Between lesson planning, marking, and trying to give each student the support they actually need, the workload can feel endless. Debbie specifically highlighted the pressure of giving students feedback and reaching them at their individual level - something every educator understands, but few have the capacity to do as well as they’d like.

This is exactly the kind of challenge we had in mind when we created the AI Educator Grant Program.

Giving Mindjoy a Go

When Debbie decided to participate in the program, her mindset was simple. She knew it had something to do with AI, and she hoped she’d come away with strategies that could help her use it more effectively in the classroom.

It wasn’t about hype or assumptions - Debbie led with curiosity and an open mind.

A Programme That Felt Different to What She Expected

One of the most interesting parts of Debbie’s experience is how clearly she describes being surprised - but in a good way.

She loved learning about AI tutors and how they could be used to help students revise and prepare more effectively. It wasn’t what she expected at all, but that was exactly what made it valuable.

What stood out most was that the program didn’t push AI as a generic solution. Instead, it introduced Debbie to the idea that AI can be shaped around the educator’s own content, approach, and teaching goals.

AI Beyond ChatGPT: Using Tutors Built Around Her Own Material

A major takeaway for Debbie was discovering that AI in education isn’t just about using ChatGPT or finding ways to use an existing model.

She spoke about how much she enjoyed using the AI tutor to guide students, especially because she could upload her own notes and tests to create a framework. That meant the tutor wasn’t pulling random information from the internet - it was built around her actual curriculum.

For teachers, that kind of control makes all the difference in the world.

Using AI To Encourage Student Agency

When we asked Debbie what she was most excited about going forward, her answer was clear: she wants to encourage more student-led learning and build agency in the classroom.

She also made an important point. Students often want to be “spoon-fed”, but, contrary to many people’s thoughts, the AI tutor doesn’t allow that. Instead, it supports learning in a way that encourages students to engage and think for themselves. And that’s a powerful shift.

Why Debbie Would Recommend the Program

Debbie describes herself as “quite tech savvy” but still found the program extremely useful and teacher driven.

She said she would highly recommend it to other educators, emphasizing that it only takes about an hour a week and gives participants the chance to learn not only from the platform, but from other teachers too. It’s not a massive drain on time and it offers a great deal of opportunity to learn.