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Teachers rewrite prickly class messages, co-create norms for digital spaces the way students would, and work through what to do when a student's closest confidant is an AI companion chatbot.
Relationships don't pause when learning moves online. Tone disappears in text, group chats and discussion boards can turn sharp fast, and some students now turn to AI "companion" chatbots for comfort and conversation. In this unplugged session, teachers first do what students would do: rewrite real-feeling class messages so they're kind and clear, and build a norms charter together. Then they work through four scenarios about students and companion chatbots, focusing on what the student needs, what a chatbot can and can't give, and the teacher move that keeps a human relationship at the center.
Hook
Read Card 1 ("Fine. Do it your way.") aloud three ways: cheerful, flat, and annoyed. Ask: "Which one did the student mean?" There's no way to know. Say: "In text, the reader supplies the tone, usually the worst one when they're anxious. Every student in a digital class is reading messages without a voice or a face. Today we design for that."
Facilitator noteInvite one participant to read it a fourth way. The laughter helps, and it proves the point.
Explore
Teams draw Cards 2–8 and, acting as students, rewrite each message so it's kind and clear: it keeps the real point (disagreement, a deadline, a concern) and removes what could sting. Use the peer-feedback frame on the cards where it fits: "I noticed… I wonder… One idea…" Teams read their best rewrite aloud, then compare with the key.
Facilitator noteWatch for rewrites that become so gentle the message disappears. Kind is not the same as vague; Card 5 especially needs to stay honest.
Create
Model the student process. Silent brainstorm (2 minutes): each person writes "In our online class space, I want to feel…" on one color of sticky note and "…so we will…" on the other. Cluster (3 minutes): teams group similar notes. Name and vote (2 minutes): each person places three dots; the top three or four become norms. Fill Handout C (3 minutes): for each norm, what it looks like online, sounds like in writing, and what we do when it's broken.
Facilitator noteThe last column matters most. Norms without a repair plan become rules students watch others break. Push for restorative answers ("we message privately first," "we can ask for a restart") over punishments.
Explore
Teams read the four scenarios on Handout B. For each, they answer three questions on sticky notes: What does this student need? What can a chatbot give, and what can't it give? What's my move as the teacher? Say before they start: "We're not here to shame students or technology. Many students find these chats comforting. Our job is to make sure no student's only close relationship is with a program designed by a company."
Facilitator noteKey ideas to surface: a chatbot generates text; it doesn't feel sadness or care, even when it says so. Some apps may be designed to keep users engaged. And any hint of self-harm or danger, whether said to a person or found in a chat, goes through district procedures and the counselor right away.
Debrief
As teachers now, discuss: "Which of today's student experiences would build relationships in your class? Where do students in your class practice disagreeing kindly? Which student came to mind during the scenarios, and what's one small thing you'll do this week to strengthen your connection with them?" Share your district's procedures and counselor contact on the slide.
Facilitator noteKeep the last question private if the group prefers. It's the most important one.
Transfer
Each person writes on a sticky note how they'll run the norms charter with students in the first 15 minutes of a class period this week or next, and which message makeover card they'll adapt. Post notes on the way out.
Facilitator noteTeachers of younger students may prefer to do the message makeover with pictures and speech bubbles; that works well.
The whole session is designed to run unplugged: cards, sticky notes, chart paper, and conversation. The same is true for students. The norms can be written on paper first and posted later wherever the class communicates online.
Post the finished norms charter at the top of the LMS discussion board or class chat, and have students revisit it after the first two weeks of online discussion. For large or virtual groups, run the silent brainstorm on an anonymous digital board and the message makeover in breakout rooms with a shared document. The companion chatbot scenarios should stay discussion-based; there's no need to demo a companion app.
Does it need a screen? This one is better unplugged. Kind communication and trust are built face to face first, and the session models that. Digital tools earn a place afterward, when the charter moves to where students actually communicate so it can be referenced in the moment.
What you should be able to see or collect if it worked.
Teachers rewrite sharp messages to be kind and clear and co-create norms, preparing to teach digital etiquette and respectful online communication.
Run the norms charter with one class this week and post it where students communicate online. After two weeks, have students rate how well the class is living each norm and choose one to strengthen. Keep a few before-and-after student messages as evidence.
