EP 49 | Is It Okay to Use AI for NAIDOC Week Planning?

from Early Education in the Age of AI · host Jodie Clarke - The Empowered Educator

Every year around this time, a few questions start appearing in educator Facebook groups and inboxes along the lines of… “What are you doing for NAIDOC week?”, and ‘“Is this tokenistic?”But now I’m noticing a new question doing the rounds…"Is it okay to use AI to help me plan for NAIDOC Week?" The honest answer is yes and no. And the blurred line between the two is what this episode is about.NAIDOC Week 2026 marks fifty years with the theme "50 Years of Deadly" - fifty years of celebrating the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In this episode, I walk you through where AI can genuinely help you out when it comes to planning for NAIDOC experiences, where it must not be used, and breakdown a practical four-layer community-first planning approach you can use this week and for every cultural celebration after it.🟢 In this episode you'll:✅ Find out why cultural planning is the highest-stakes test of how well you work with AI, and what "AI averaging" does to hundreds of distinct First Nations cultures✅ Identify the five jobs AI can do well to support planning for cultural celebrations - and discover the five ‘step-back’ zones where AI should never go✅ Get the essential fourth quality-check question that applies to every piece of cultural contentWhether you're an educator in an early learning centre, family day care, preschool, OSHC, or a leadership role, this episode gives you a clear, practical framework to work with throughout every year, not just when NAIDOC week rolls around again on the calendar.🟢 Resources mentioned:🔗 Episode 49 Resource Pagehttps://theempowerededucatoronline.com/2026/06/aiuse-for-naidoc-week-planning.html/🔗 Official 2026 NAIDOC Week education resources: www.naidoc.org.au🔗 ABC Education NAIDOC Week page: https://www.abc.net.au/education🔗 The Koori Curriculum: kooricurriculum.com🔗 Educator Ideas for NAIDOC Week - The Empowered Educator Blog: https://www.theempowerededucatoronline.com/2022/11/educator-ideas-for-naidoc-week.html/#earlyeducationintheageofai #empowerededucator #NAIDOCWeek #earlychildhoodeducation #AIineducation #EYLF #EYFS #ECE #edtech #aiforteachers💬 Let’s Connect!🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator...🎧 Subscribe & leave a review so we can reach more educators looking to save time with AI📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence. #aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech

What this episode covers

Every year around this time, a few questions start appearing in educator Facebook groups and inboxes along the lines of… “What are you doing for NAIDOC week?”, and ‘“Is this tokenistic?”But now I’m noticing a new question doing the rounds…"Is it okay to use AI to help me plan for NAIDOC Week?" The honest answer is yes and no. And the blurred line between the two is what this episode is about.NAIDOC Week 2026 marks fifty years with the theme "50 Years of Deadly" - fifty years of celebrating the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In this episode, I walk you through where AI can genuinely help you out when it comes to planning for NAIDOC experiences, where it must not be used, and breakdown a practical four-layer community-first planning approach you can use this week and for every cultural celebration after it.🟢 In this episode you'll:✅ Find out why cultural planning is the highest-stakes test of how well you work with AI, and what "AI averaging" does to hundreds of distinct First Nations cultures✅ Identify the five jobs AI can do well to support planning for cultural celebrations - and discover the five ‘step-back’ zones where AI should never go✅ Get the essential fourth quality-check question that applies to every piece of cultural contentWhether you're an educator in an early learning centre, family day care, preschool, OSHC, or a leadership role, this episode gives you a clear, practical framework to work with throughout every year, not just when NAIDOC week rolls around again on the calendar.🟢 Resources mentioned:🔗 Episode 49 Resource Pagehttps://theempowerededucatoronline.com/2026/06/aiuse-for-naidoc-week-planning.html/🔗 Official 2026 NAIDOC Week education resources: www.naidoc.org.au🔗 ABC Education NAIDOC Week page: https://www.abc.net.au/education🔗 The Koori Curriculum: kooricurriculum.com🔗 Educator Ideas for NAIDOC Week - The Empowered Educator Blog: https://www.theempowerededucatoronline.com/2022/11/educator-ideas-for-naidoc-week.html/#earlyeducationintheageofai #empowerededucator #NAIDOCWeek #earlychildhoodeducation #AIineducation #EYLF #EYFS #ECE #edtech #aiforteachers💬 Let’s Connect!🌟 If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a fellow educator...🎧 Subscribe & leave a review so we can reach more educators looking to save time with AI📲 Follow me HERE on LinkedIn for more AI tips & timesavers and leadership strategies📍Follow me on HERE on Pinterest for play ideas and environment inspiration💻 Discover What’s Possible with AI in Early Learning... HERE on the FREE AI Resource Page🔔 New episodes drop every Friday! See you next time as we continue learning about creative ways to use AI in early childhood education - ethically, practically, and with confidence. #aiforeducators #earlylearning #aiineducation #aiempowerededucators #edtech