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The Next Word: AI & Learners

AI & Learners

By Dr Nick Jackson, Matthew Esterman and Amy Wallace

$39.95

What happens when artificial intelligence becomes the smartest presence in every classroom?

In this essential follow-up to their acclaimed first guide, Dr Nick Jackson and Matthew Esterman team up with Amy Wallace – a Year 12 graduate who brings the student voice to this urgent conversation about AI’s role in learning. The Next Word: AI & Learners moves beyond the basics to tackle the complex realities students face today, from banned apps to cognitive offloading, from deepfakes to digital wellbeing.

The authors dive deep into the science of learning and investigate the crucial question: is AI a helpful prosthetic or a dangerous crutch? Most importantly, this isn’t just another book about students – it’s a book with them. Amy’s perspective illuminates how young people actually want AI to shape their futures and what authentic learning looks like when machines can seemingly learn everything. With practical insights for educators and real-world tools for navigating education’s AI-integrated future, The Next Word: AI & Learners ensures you’re part of the conversation that’s reshaping how we think about learning itself.

Also available via Amazon Kindle and iBooks

ISBN: 9781923403345

Size: 234 x 156 mm

Black & white, 176 pages

Published: November 2025

About the author: Dr Nick Jackson, Matthew Esterman and Amy Wallace

Dr Nick Jackson leads Digital Technologies at Scotch College in Adelaide, South Australia, and is the founder of Now Future Learning. With over 23 years in education, Nick's research focuses on empowering high school students to positively impact technology integration for improved teaching and learning. His specialties include pedagogy, educational technology, AI in education, and digital innovation.

Matthew Esterman has worked in education for over 15 years as a teacher, school leader, presenter, writer, and consultant. He holds postgraduate degrees from Macquarie University and the University of Sydney, and is the recipient of the Commonwealth Bank Teaching Fellowship for 2023 supported by Australian Schools Plus. Through his consultancy work, Matthew is a fresh thinker in the strategic and practical use of AI in schools, exploring innovative approaches including eSports, entrepreneurship, and partner projects.

Amy Wallace is a Year 12 student and 2025 College Captain at Scotch College in Adelaide, and the 2024 South Australian Student Citizen of the Year. Through her research for this book, Amy discovered a 'stark divide' between schools which outright ban AI and those which embrace it, leading her to advocate for a more unified approach. As part of Scotch College's digital leaders' team, she runs courses on using AI tools ethically and effectively, while also serving as a Cancer Council SA Ambassador and volunteering with multiple community organisations including the Australian Red Cross and Salvation Army.

Praise/Testimonials

In educational discussions about AI, we rarely hear from the people most affected: students. The Next Word breaks this pattern by centring student voice as a co-author with equal standing. This collaborative approach between Nick Jackson, Matt Esterman and Year 12 student Amy Wallacedemonstrates what genuine partnership in education can achieve. The book refuses to position AI as either saviour or threat, instead exploring how learners can develop the critical thinking and creativity necessary to work thoughtfully alongside these tools. The secondary school perspective offers crucial insights often missing from higher education-focused literature. It is timely, practical and genuinely student-centred.
Dr Lisa Harrison, Lecturer in Media and Communications, Flinders University, Australia

This book isn’t just talk about the future. Instead, it unpacks what is happening right now, bringing clarity to how AI is already shaping classrooms and learning. It is grounded in pedagogy, with a clear focus on real-world applications. Each chapter includes a student voice that brings everything back to what matters most – the impact on learners. That insight alone sets this book apart. Nick Jackson and Matthew Esterman take complex ideas and make them clear, hopeful and genuinely inspiring. Amy’s perspective shines throughout. She is a true future thought leader with something important to say.
Simone Hirsch, Educator, Australia (writing in a personal capacity, not representing any organisation)

The Next Word: AI & Learners is an essential read for anyone who cares about the future of education. Dr Nick Jackson, Matt Esterman and Amy Wallace stand firmly on the side of young people, challenging us to see how AI is reshaping identity and intelligence. One of the book’s greatest strengths is the inclusion of powerful young voices, reminding us that our current systems are struggling to keep pace. Their message is clear and courageous: AI has exposed what was already broken. Assessment must evolve to reflect thinking and creativity, and learning must move from information delivery to transformation. The Next Word compels us to reimagine what it means to learn in an age of intelligent machines.
Cameron Paterson, Director of Learning, Wesley College, Australia

The Next Word: AI & Learners is the perfect sequel to The Next Word: AI & Teachers from Dr Nick Jackson and Matt Esterman, this time supported by the insights of an actual learner – the articulate and accomplished Amy Wallace. I loved the honest, insightful and pragmatic approach to a topic that is both critical to consider and understand, as well as a very clear focus on the various and complex impacts of generative AI on learners. A mustread for educators grappling with this new technology, and also super helpful for learners’ parents. Well structured, accessible and a great read!
Arthur Baker, Director, Strategy & Innovation, Copyright Agency, Australia