Adrian Janson is an educator, author and digital learning leader with a passion for helping students and teachers thrive through purposeful use of technology. He has designed and led courses in coding, robotics, app development, web design, game development and senior IT, and has presented at education conferences across Australia and internationally. Adrian has authored several textbooks, led whole-school digital innovation initiatives, and is the co-host of the Teach, Tech, Lead podcast, where he explores evidence-informed teaching, educational technology and leadership with leading educators.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with K12 Digest, Adrian shared insights into a career that began with coding games in Year 9 and grew into leading digital learning at Caulfield Grammar School. On AI and future trends, Adrian believes the next 5 years will bring a return to fundamentals — deep thinking, writing, and reflection — with AI reinforcing the need for process over product. He sees AI literacy and ethical use as essential life skills. Looking ahead, Adrian plans to keep working at the intersection of teaching, learning, and strategy on the Campus Leadership Team, supporting teachers and shaping school-wide practice so innovation always serves learning. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Adrian. What first drew you into education and digital technologies, and how did that shape the path you’ve taken so far?
My passion for both education and digital technologies began when I was at high school. In Year 9 Computer Science, I learnt to program my own computer games and I was immediately hooked. There was something incredibly rewarding about creating something from nothing and solving problems through code.
At the same time, I discovered that I genuinely enjoyed helping others learn these new skills. I became fascinated not just by technology itself, but by the different ways people learn and the satisfaction that comes from seeing someone grasp a concept they previously found challenging.
I was quite a shy student, and digital technologies unexpectedly became a way for me to connect with others. Sharing what I had learnt gave me confidence, created friendships, and helped me find my place within the school community. Looking back, those experiences shaped not only my passion for technology but also my desire to become a teacher.
Today, that same motivation continues to drive my work. I’m passionate about helping students see technology not simply as something they consume, but as a tool for creativity, problem-solving and innovation. If I can help students discover the same sense of curiosity and confidence that I found as a teenager, then I know I’ve made a meaningful difference.
As a Digital Director, you sit between technology, teaching, and strategy. What part of your role energizes you the most every day?
What energises me most is helping schools navigate the increasingly complex relationship between technology and learning. For much of my career, I have been an enthusiastic advocate for bringing more digital technologies into the classroom. Ironically, some of my work now involves encouraging teachers to use technology less or more intentionally.
Technology should never be used simply because it exists. The real question is always: Does it improve learning? Sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes the best teaching happens without a screen in sight. Helping teachers make those decisions thoughtfully is one of the most rewarding aspects of my role.
Being part of our Campus Leadership Team gives me the opportunity to influence not just the technology we adopt, but the culture around how it is used. That’s particularly important as AI rapidly reshapes education. Schools need leaders who can cut through both the hype and the fear, helping teachers and students understand where AI adds genuine value, where it doesn’t, and how we can use it ethically and responsibly.
I find it incredibly rewarding to work at the intersection of technology, pedagogy and strategy. It’s a privilege to help shape a future where innovation serves learning – not the other way around.
Blended and online learning have matured a lot. What do you see as the biggest evolution in how students will learn over the next 5 years?
While AI and digital platforms will undoubtedly continue to become more sophisticated, I actually think the biggest evolution over the next five years will be a return to some of the fundamentals of learning.
The Science of Learning has consistently shown us that deep thinking, reading, writing and retrieval practice are among the most powerful ways to build lasting knowledge. Rather than replacing these practices, I believe AI will reinforce their importance. As generative AI becomes increasingly capable of producing polished answers, schools will need to place greater value on the thinking that happens before the final product.
This shift will have perhaps its greatest impact on assessment. Many tasks that were perfectly appropriate before the widespread availability of AI no longer provide an accurate picture of what a student knows or can do. As a result, assessment needs to evolve. There needs to be greater emphasis on authentic, localised and personalised tasks that require students to document their thinking, justify their decisions and reflect on their learning throughout the process.
In many ways, I think we’ll see the return of practices such as design journals, log books and process documentation as evidence of learning. AI may change what students can produce, but it also reminds us that education has never been about the product alone. It’s about developing the knowledge, judgement and thinking that sits behind it.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the technology revolution may ultimately remind us of something we’ve always known: great learning has never been about the tools – it has always been about how students think.
Cybersecurity and digital wellbeing are rising concerns. How can institutions balance innovation with student safety online?
Innovation and student safety should never be viewed as competing priorities. In fact, the more innovative our technologies become, the more intentional we need to be about educating students to use them safely, ethically and critically.
Cybersecurity and digital wellbeing are no longer just technical issues – they’re life skills. Young people are growing up in an always-connected world, yet many haven’t been explicitly taught how to manage their digital identity, recognise online risks, protect their privacy or evaluate the information they encounter. Schools have a vital role to play in developing these capabilities alongside academic knowledge.
One area that is particularly front of mind for me is AI literacy. While many adults are still learning to navigate generative AI themselves, students need more than access to these tools – they need to understand them. That includes knowing, at an age-appropriate level, how large language models are trained, why they can produce inaccurate or “hallucinated” information, how bias can appear in their outputs, and why responses should be treated as a starting point for thinking rather than the final answer.
Just as importantly, we need to teach students how to have productive conversations with AI. Thoughtful prompt design, asking AI to explain its reasoning, cite evidence, consider alternative viewpoints or identify its own limitations can encourage students to engage more critically with the responses they receive. The goal isn’t blind trust or outright scepticism, but informed judgement.
Ultimately, I believe the balance between innovation and safety comes down to education. Rather than shielding students from emerging technologies, we should equip them with the knowledge, habits and critical thinking skills to use those technologies confidently, responsibly and ethically throughout their lives.
Looking ahead, what is one assumption about education today that you believe will be completely redefined by 2030?
I believe one of the biggest assumptions to be redefined by 2030 is that more technology automatically leads to better learning.
Over the past two decades, schools have embraced educational technology with enthusiasm. That period has brought remarkable innovation, but it has also taught us some important lessons. We’re now reaching a point where educators are asking – “Should we use technology in this learning context?”, and “Will it improve learning?”
I think we’ll see a much more deliberate and evidence-informed approach to technology integration. Digital tools will remain an essential part of education, but they’ll be chosen because they add value, not simply because they’re available or new.
At the same time, I believe there will be a greater appreciation of the importance of literacy, numeracy and deep thinking. Research from the Science of Learning continues to demonstrate the value of reading, retrieval, discussion and writing in helping students build and retain knowledge. There is something very powerful about students processing new ideas, organising their thoughts and expressing their understanding in their own words.
Ironically, AI may be the catalyst for this shift. As technology becomes increasingly capable of generating polished work, the skills that become most valuable are those that technology cannot replace so easily: critical thinking, sound judgement, creativity and genuine understanding.
By 2030, I hope we’ll no longer see educational technology as the centrepiece of innovation. Instead, we’ll see it as one of many tools that great teachers use thoughtfully in the service of great learning.
Outside of work, what book, podcast, or creator inspires the way you think about learning and innovation?
I am a big fan of Louis Theroux – his interview style is one in which he puts his guests at ease and while he may disagree with the views of those he interviews, he approaches questions with a view to understanding; yet doesn’t shy away from this.
It’s a reminder that good questions are often more powerful than good answers. As educators, we spend a lot of time thinking about how we explain ideas, but perhaps we should spend just as much time thinking about how we ask questions. That’s something Louis Theroux demonstrates exceptionally well, and it’s a philosophy I’ve tried to bring into both my teaching and leadership.
Digital tools are everywhere. What is one app, platform, or piece of tech you personally love using in your own life?
Amongst the many Apps that I use for work and organizing my life, the Fitness App on iOS is one I use daily and is important to me. Together with my Apple Watch, I use this to monitor my steps, activity, sleep and to help me ensure that I am staying active. As our lives get busier, keeping a good balance with ensures we stay healthy and at our best.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Over the next five years, I hope to continue working at the intersection of teaching, learning and digital innovation. While digital learning remains a significant part of my role, I’ve found it incredibly rewarding to contribute more broadly to teaching and learning strategy as a member of our Campus Leadership Team. That’s where I feel I can make the greatest impact – supporting teachers, shaping educational practice and helping schools navigate change thoughtfully.
Another exciting part of that journey has been co-hosting the Teach, Tech, Lead podcast. What began as a passion project has become one of the most valuable forms of professional learning I’ve experienced. Having conversations with educators, researchers and school leaders from around the world has continually challenged my thinking and introduced me to new perspectives that I can bring back to my own school.
If you could have dinner with any innovator in education or technology, who would it be and what would you ask them first?
Without hesitation, my answer would be Seymour Papert. Although he passed away in 2016, his ideas continue to shape the way I think about technology and learning.
Papert was a pioneer in artificial intelligence, child development and educational technology, but what inspired me most was his belief that computers shouldn’t simply deliver information -they should empower children to create, experiment and solve meaningful problems. His Constructionist theory proposed that people learn most effectively when they are actively making and building things, an idea that remains just as relevant today.
As a pre-service teacher at Monash University, my IT methods lecturer, Jeff Richardson, handed me a copy of Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas and insisted I read it. It was one of those books that genuinely changes the way you think. It reinforced my belief that programming isn’t just about learning to code – it’s about learning to think, to solve problems and to express creativity. Those ideas have influenced my teaching ever since.
What makes Papert’s work even more fascinating is that he helped lay many of the foundations for modern AI, yet he never lived to see the emergence of generative AI in classrooms. If I could have dinner with him, my first question would be:
“Now that AI can generate ideas, write code and create content, how do we ensure students are still doing the thinking that matters?”
I suspect his answer would remind us that technology is most powerful when it amplifies human curiosity and creativity rather than replacing it. Given today’s conversations about AI in education, I think his perspective would be more valuable than ever.
For someone starting their career in educational technology today, what is the one piece of advice you wish you had received at the beginning?
My advice might seem a little counterintuitive: don’t focus on becoming an expert in technology – focus on becoming an expert in learning.
The tools will continue to change. Over the course of a career, you’ll see new devices, platforms and AI systems emerge, while others disappear. What endures is an understanding of how people learn. If you have a strong foundation in pedagogy, critical thinking and the Science of Learning, you’ll be able to evaluate any new technology through the lens of its educational value.
I would also encourage new educators to invest in the skills that technology can’t replace. Knowing your students and building strong relationships is at the heart of great teaching. In addition, students still need strong literacy, writing and critical thinking skills if they are to navigate an increasingly complex digital world.
Finally, AI literacy is becoming an essential capability. Students are encountering AI-generated content every day – often without realising it – through search engines, social media and digital platforms. They need to understand how these systems work, recognise that they can be inaccurate or biased, and develop the judgement to question, verify and think critically about the information they receive.