"I can boss my robot overlords around and go, 'I wanna try this thing.'"
That line right there? That's the whole episode.

This week, Dr. Fonz sits down with Dustin Rimmey, aka Rimmey, a 19-year Kansas educator who went from "programming languages just don't stick in my brain" to building his own classroom tools with nothing but a keyboard and a stubborn refusal to quit.

No computer science degree. No dev team. Just what Rimmey calls "caveman prompting." You describe what you want. You fail. You try again. And somehow, a Wordle-style history review game shows up on the other end.

In this episode, Rimmey breaks down:
1. What vibe coding actually is (and why "caveman prompting" might be the most honest term in EdTech right now)

2. How he built a Macbeth review game for a colleague's English class using nothing but iteration and grit

3. Why he intentionally builds tools he can't afford, instead of waiting for district approval

4. The "AI-resilient assignment" approach he's testing so students still show their thinking, even if they use AI

5. A wild cross-border collaboration story with a UK educator working around strict student data laws

6. Why failing in front of 30 kids might be the best thing you do for them all year

This one isn't about mastering code. It's about mastering the courage to hit "generate" and see what happens.

Chapters:
00:00 Welcome & Sponsor Shoutouts
00:03 Meet Dustin Rimmey: Journeyman Teacher, Full-Time Tinkerer 00:07 How Rimmey Fell Into Vibe Coding
00:12 Building Classroom Tools From Scratch (Macbeth Game, Timers & More)
00:19 Bridging the Tool-Access Gap for Under-Resourced Teachers
00:25 The TCEA Story & a Cross-Border Collaboration With a UK Educator
00:34 Teaching Kids to Fail on Purpose

Speed Round Highlights:
Rimmey's EdTech kryptonite: literally all of it (he'll test every tool, every time)
Who he'd trade places with for a day: a school librarian
His billboard message to the world: "Play, period."

Grab your coffee (shoutout Comeback Coffee) and get ready to rethink what "learning to code" even means.

Connect with Dustin Rimmey:
Twitter/X: https://x.com/JustRimmey
Instagram & TikTok:@teachersplAIground
Website: https://www.teachersplaiground.com/

A huge thank you to our sponsors, Book Creator, Peel Back Education, Eduaide.AI, and Comeback Coffee, for believing in this mission. If you'd like to support the show, visit https://buymeacoffee.com/myedtechlife/membership.

Stay Techie ✌🏼