Hello,
It is Yannick Lyons from The Teaching Twin Newsletter.
When instructors hear “AI in the classroom,” they typically think:
What exactly is being replaced?
And the answer is more specific than most discussions make it.
This isn’t about replacing or automating teaching.
It’s about delegating work that consumes instructor time without requiring instructor presence.
That distinction is where most conversations go wrong.
In This Newsletter
What AI Avatars Should Replace
What AI Avatars Should Never Replace
A Practical Framing You Can Use
Actionable Ideas You Can Apply This Term
How We Can Help
What This Replaces
It replaces time-bound instructional labor.
The work that:
Requires expertise
Does not require live judgment
Becomes a bottleneck when schedules, availability, or language get in the way
This includes:
Presenting structured explanations
Walking students through complex concepts step by step
Delivering the same material across sections, terms, or cohorts
Re-explaining content when comprehension fails due to language barriers rather than ability (voice and video dubbing options)
None of this work is low-value.
But none of it improves simply because it happens synchronously.
When faculty availability becomes the limiting factor, students lose access and faculty lose time that could be spent where outcomes actually change.
Delegation addresses that constraint.
Not by removing the instructor’s voice, but by extending it.
Not by simplifying material, but by making expert explanations with visuals available when and where students need it.
That is the replacement.
What This Never Should Replace
It should never replace faculty judgment.
Anything that depends on:
Evaluation
Feedback
Interpretation
Mentorship
Academic discretion
Those are the parts of teaching where variability is the value.
A useful rule holds across disciplines:
If the task benefits from consistency, availability, or translation, it can be delegated.
If the task benefits from nuance, disagreement, or judgment, it must remain human.
A Practical Framing You Can Use
When evaluating any instructional system, ask:
Does this free my time?
Does this preserve my authority?
Does this expand access without narrowing expectations?
If it fails any one of those tests, it’s solving the wrong problem.
Actionable Ideas You Can Apply This Term
1. Track where your time is constrained by presence.
Identify explanations or presentations that would be just as effective if they weren’t tied to your schedule.
2. Look for access friction.
Notice where students struggle because of timing or language, not complexity. That’s a delivery issue, not a rigor issue.
3. Write your boundaries down.
Define explicitly what should never be delegated in your course. That clarity protects both quality and trust.
Hope this helps.
Talk later,
Yannick
How WE Can Help
For professors who want professional AI avatar videos without dealing with tools, setup, or editing,we will handle the entire process:
Get started at LyonsMediaProductions.com submit your requirements.
See real examples of AI avatar videos we’ve created being used here (Link)
Prefer to experiment first? Create and test your own avatar using free tools with my free training: (Link)
Reply to this email with any questions or suggestions you have. I respond to everybody.