If you're interested in trying to make sense of a book that's become quite popular in the fight against Big Tech in schools by invoking the work of Jonathan Haidt alongside the Luddites, then the next @civicsoftech.bsky.social book club is for you. We'll gather on Wednesday, April 22 at 7pm ET.
01.03.2026 14:30 — 👍 10 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0
This month's Tech Talk is on Thursday March 5 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time. Join the community and talk about whatever is on your mind!
Register Here:
oklahoma.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Coming up this week!
Join our book club on Critical AI in K-12 Classrooms by Stephanie Smith Budhai and Marie Heath.
March 4th at 8pm EST
Register on our Events page: www.civicsoftechnology.org/events
hep.gse.harvard.edu/979889557018...
It's a great post, Charles!
I especially appreciated how you and Phil wrestle with the odd alignments that are forming among the various anti-EdTech movements
This excellent editorial by @lucipangrazio.bsky.social pulls together so many important threads in the "AI Literacy" conversation. A concise and valuable resource for anyone doing work in this area.
doi.org/10.1080/1743...
In today's @civicsoftech.bsky.social blog, I join @philnichols.bsky.social and @anterobot.bsky.social to reflect on what we've learned while writing about the Luddites over the last three years. We share thoughts about Luddism and education, collaboration, and writing for different audiences.
22.02.2026 14:14 — 👍 14 🔁 11 💬 1 📌 0Every time we use the term "technoskepticism" we have to follow it up with a clear statement that this does not mean we are "anti-tech" or denialists. It's not unlike the work one has to do when using "Luddite." It's annoying to have to clarify this, but reclaiming terms is hard.
16.02.2026 23:49 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Loved this Data Fix conversation between @melhogan.bsky.social and Adam Becker!
More Everything Forever was one of my favorite books of 2025 (My review: www.civicsoftechnology.org/more-everyth...)
shows.acast.com/the-data-fix...
Recommended reading: "'I hope this email finds you well': how synthetic affect circulates through MagicSchool AI" from Brad Robinson and Kevin Leander in @lmt-journal.bsky.social at:
15.02.2026 14:59 — 👍 6 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
"The question I keep coming back to isn’t whether individual teachers are wrong to use these tools, but what it means that such tools now exist in the first place..."
Today: Brad Robinson writes about human connection and "synthetic affect."
www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/i-hope-...
Horvath (the author of this new book) pulls the very same levers. He is clearly good at tapping into and amplifying a bunch of typical parental anxieties. Unlike Haidt, he also clothes himself in the garb of "neuroscience"
15.02.2026 01:44 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A critical reading guide is forthcoming, but your caution is well taken.
The book hasn't yet attracted quite the following of Haidt yet, so maybe there will be less of a mob (Hugh Grant notwithstanding)
My spouse (a H.S. teacher) had to attend a professional development day yesterday dedicated to integrating AI in the classroom. In an auditorium full of people from the entire district, he asked the following question:
14.02.2026 13:35 — 👍 209 🔁 43 💬 10 📌 4An important part of this story is the role of social media platforms that actively incentivize surveilling others to use as "content." Video glasses are a problem, yes, but so too is the social media apparatus that encourages people to look at other people as mere material for their next post.
12.02.2026 13:55 — 👍 44 🔁 9 💬 0 📌 1
Today, learn from activists who have resisted data centers and other exploitative projects.
Sue Kasun and Erin Anderson interview Omar Lázaro García and Aurora Gómez.
You can also read their conversation in Spanish!
www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/activis...
February Tech Talk tonight!
8:00 Eastern Time
Register below to join the conversation!
oklahoma.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Today, Michelle Ciccone shares some of her recent work on Digital Advertising Literacy with 6th grade students. How do these students navigate the onslaught of ads, influencers, and marketing?
www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/introdu...
Ooo new article from Mark Coeckelbergh - definitely reading this one! Thanks for sharing :)
26.01.2026 02:03 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A little weekend listening while you shovel: Silicon Valley has been selling the same failed #edtech, schools-on-screens vision for decades. The latest @haveyouheard.bsky.social features the brilliant Audrey Watters soundcloud.com/haveyouheard...
24.01.2026 17:03 — 👍 3 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0But hey, they're being compensated with access to the very product they are co-designing. What a deal!
24.01.2026 13:42 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
The common response to this piece (myself included) has been "yeah, obviously."
I wonder how school leaders think about this. Are they aware of the bargain they're striking and figure it's worth it? Are they fooling themselves? Leaning on plausible deniability?
www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-...
Really enjoyed this conversation, especially the discussion of "AI Literacy." Been following Justin Reich's work for a while now and always thought-provoking.
silverliningforlearning.org/episode-258-...
Today, from Jamie Taylor:
"...the best we can do, often, to maintain the kind of privacy library we have long told readers they can expect is to browbeat vendors into acting right, and that it only rarely works."
www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/sleight...
To hear more from Jamie and others, come to our Privacy Week Webinars!
Day 1, January 22, 6:00-7:30 EST: maritime-edu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Day 2, January 29, 6:00-7:30 EST: maritime-edu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
www.civicsoftechnology.org/privacy
@marcwatkins.bsky.social gives a list of 10 great scenarios worth discussing and thinking through with higher ed colleagues - I will be using this gift!
marcwatkins.substack.com/p/what-we-gi...
How could Mississippi, with its low education spending and high child poverty, pull it off? It did not do so by relying on some of the most common proposals held up as solutions in education, like reducing class sizes, or dramatically boosting per-student funding. Rather, the state pushed through a vast list of other changes from the top down, including changing the way reading is taught, in an approach known as the science of reading, but also embracing contentious school accountability policies other states have backed away from.
The latest story about the "Mississippi Miracle"
I'd be interested to hear @jenniferberkshire.bsky.social's take on this one!
And I continue to wonder how my own state (OK) might try to chase that same "miracle"
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...
What's the scarier prospect?
That chatbots are analyzing people's data? Or that this practice is seen as unremarkable?
www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/when-co...
Do you suppose they called up Nicholas Negroponte to get some advice? This just screams OLPC all over again 😫
11.01.2026 00:39 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0O.O
10.01.2026 21:34 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0I guess it's not unlike trying to do "trust and safety" from within the system. You can make some incremental improvements, but it requires a willingness to surrender to the broader project. It's just kind of sad to see organizations talk themselves into that - but I suppose $$$ play a role
10.01.2026 01:35 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0