Film vs Digital: Rethinking Coaching in the Age of AI

Adam Sturdee
Jun 17
2 min read

In photography, the leap from 35mm film to digital wasn’t just technological—it changed who could take pictures, how often, and how quickly they could learn.

The same shift is now happening in teacher development.

Where once coaching was limited to termly observations and delayed feedback, today’s tools—like Starlight—offer something closer to the digital camera experience: faster, richer, more frequent insight. It’s not just better technology. It’s a better way to grow.

Coaching the Old Way: Like Shooting on Film

Traditional lesson observation is a lot like working with a film camera:

Slow turnaround – You teach. Someone watches. A week later, you get feedback. By then, the moment has passed.
Expensive and rare – Observations take time. Cover has to be arranged. Feedback is written manually. There’s a cost per shot.
Limited sampling – Most teachers are observed only once or twice a year. The sample is tiny.
High-stakes pressure – Because it’s rare, every observation feels performative.
Low experimentation – Risk-taking is discouraged. Better to play it safe when someone’s in the room.

Film made you cautious. Careful. Precise. But it also slowed you down.

Coaching the New Way: Like Going Digital

AI-powered feedback tools are the DSLR of coaching. They don’t just record—they respond. They give teachers:

Instant review – Upload an audio file, and within minutes you’ve got a transcript and personalised coaching feedback.
Cost-efficiency – Once set up, there’s no cost per lesson. Feedback can scale across a whole school or trust.
High volume – Teachers can review lessons weekly or even daily. It’s the difference between 12 photos per roll and 1,200 on a memory card.
Safe space to grow – Because feedback is private, teachers can try things, reflect, iterate, and learn. No judgment. Just data and insight.
Rapid improvement – Feedback isn’t delayed—it’s part of your workflow. Improvement becomes part of the rhythm of teaching.

Like digital cameras, AI coaching encourages experimentation and progress. You can try, review, retake, and improve—without fear.

More Than a Mirror: A Feedback Engine

Tools like Starlight don’t replace human coaches—they amplify them.

AI handles the grunt work: transcribing lessons, highlighting talk patterns, tracking trends over time. That leaves the coach—or the teacher themselves—free to focus on the real work of growth: interpreting insights, setting goals, and reflecting deeply.

And just like great photographers still use digital cameras to master their craft, great teachers use AI not to automate their thinking, but to accelerate it.

The Analogy That Changes Everything

Think about it this way:

	Film Camera	Digital Camera
System	Legacy coaching	AI-powered feedback (e.g. Starlight)
Feedback	Delayed (days or weeks later)	Immediate (minutes after the lesson)
Cost	High per session	Low/no marginal cost
Frequency	Once a term or less	Weekly or more
Risk-taking	Discouraged (high stakes)	Encouraged (low stakes)
Reflection	Retrospective and occasional	Continuous and integrated