Voices
Bloggers, newsletters, and podcasts from people in the field
Monday, August 31
August 26 round-up
It’s been an August which saw severe drought across the UK, and wild fires raging in South Wales, so we went to bed with acrid fumes every night. Against this backdrop there are plans to build huge data centres in Cardiff which will use water, generate fumes and add to pollution. I mean, yeah, let’s prioritise AI over…
blog.edtechie.netThis Might Save a Life
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
Sunday, August 30
Agency and Agents
From the Hugging Face Incident to Twilight Factories
oneusefulthing.orgThe Funnel and the Spray
This has been one of those low level thoughts that bobs up from the neural surface (the Little Limited Machine in my skull). The bemoaning of web search devolving from the list of ranked blue links to something that zeroes on on what some machine language thing suggest. And what gets portrayed in the Everything […]
cogdogblog.comCollege Students Get Free Premium AI . . . Again
A year and a half ago, I wrote about the first wave of free trials AI companies gave away to college students.
marcwatkins.substack.com
Saturday, August 29
What is AI slop?
The term "slop," defined as low-quality, AI-generated content, often reflects an imbalance between reader effort and author intent. Surveys reveal that readers largely attribute the fault to authors rather than the technology, highlighting frustration over perceived carelessness. Ultimately, slop represents a reader's…
leonfurze.comCome Up to the Lab and See What's on the Slab
You could argue, I suppose, that recent chatter in and around the field of education technology is only reliant on cliches because it’s the summer (in the northern hemisphere, at least), and everyone’s brain is in some sort of low-engagement rest-mode. I’m
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.comCan you ace this global education quiz?
How the world learns.
michaelbhorn.substack.com
Friday, August 28
My Top Learning Tools 2026
Oh, is it that time of the year again? Everything I do is a learning experience, so my 'top learning tools' are basically 'my top tools'. So what am I using this year? 1. Firefox So few people list the browser at the top of their list, and yet so many of their other tools depend on it. For me, the choice of browser is…
halfanhour.blogspot.comRethinking School, College, and the Role of Technology
As summer comes to a close in the U.S.
michaelbhorn.substack.com
Thursday, August 27
Teachers and AI on ABC Far North Drive
Last week I spoke with Jeremy Jones on ABC Far North’s Drive program about how teachers — not students — are actually using GenAI: the broken promise of reduced workload, the reality of burnout, marking and assessment, and what happens if machines start grading machines. You can hear the whole show on ABC listen:…
leonfurze.com15 and 25 Make…
40 cents or a very long time? Today is the marker the day my Dad passed away 25 years ago, nabbed by Cancer. Then ten years later to the day, the morning where I called Mom from my road trip across Canada. We laughed and talked about the sadness of missing Dad, then 10 years […]
cogdogblog.comCandy-O
As soon as I got pompous about my blogging prowess all Blaugust hopes and dreams went out the window, so it goes, so it goes. I can’t complain too much, it got me twelve solid posts and August isn’t dead … Continue reading →
bavatuesdays.com
Wednesday, August 26
International enrollment in American higher ed declined in 2025: new data
Just a quick post to note new enrollment data: specifically, there’s new research concerning international students attending American colleges and universities. It’s not good. The Department of State posted new numbers about student visas over the past academic year. Inside … Continue reading →
bryanalexander.org460. The Problem with Grades
Traditional grading systems encourage students to focus on final grades, sometimes at the expense of learning. In this episode, Jessamyn Neuhaus, Ashley Cambareri, and Cole Bailey discuss challenges associated with traditional and alternative grading systems. Jessamyn is the Director of the Center for Teaching and…
teaforteaching.com
Tuesday, August 25
Note on Masley’s “I think the data center backlash is mostly about data centers”
Three related points
mikecaulfield.substack.comRemixing Virginia’s New Motto
Perhaps a bit inspired having just listened to Jim Groom’s edupunk presentation in Hamburg and his retelling of the ds106 ethos, I realize it’s been a while since I blog narrated the making of a digital remix. This seems poignant given what passes for making digital images is not manipulating pixels and layers but…
cogdogblog.com"I don’t think the possibilities of autonomous agentic coding have really sunk into the general public’s vision of what AI is"
Part 2 of an interview with Professor David Bachman
aiedusimplified.substack.com
Monday, August 24
Take the Cannoli
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
Sunday, August 23
Is This a Good Use of the Technology? Is It a Good Use of Your Brain?
The article discusses two crucial questions regarding AI: whether its use is appropriate and if it effectively engages one’s intellect. While these questions seem straightforward, their implications are nuanced and context-dependent, influencing how students and educators interact with AI technologies. Understanding…
leonfurze.comOur Duty of Care in the Age of AI
Thinking With, Without, and About Machines
marcwatkins.substack.com
Saturday, August 22
A Technology of Unlearning
It's a saying that appears in multiple iterations across multiple slide decks and cited in multiple books, all extolling some sort of highly technological future of education: something about the need to constantly be learning, relearning, unlearning. I roll my eyes whenever I see this, particularly when it&
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
Friday, August 21
Claude “Hacked” My Website (But It Didn’t Go Rogue)
Last weekend, Claude Code "hacked" my website, pretending to be me and creating an account for itself. It was my fault. Claude wasn't going rogue. And I learned a lot along the way.
leonfurze.comToward better mental models of learning with AI: AI as possibility machine
Cross-posted from my Intentional Teaching newsletter. One of the things I appreciate about designing and facilitating workshops for faculty is that doing so gives me the opportunity to take a few ideas and examples that have been bouncing around my head and turn them into a new argument of some …
derekbruff.orgPublication day
My new horror novel, The H-Index, is coming out on the 1st September. As an indie horror writer all of the promotion comes down to you. But luckily there are so many services willing to take my money to do it also! Some of these are better than others. Here’s what I’ve tried: Amazon ads – mixed results. Probably broke…
blog.edtechie.net
Thursday, August 20
What I've Been Doing Over The Summer
This post is inspired by Doug Belshaw's review of what he has been up to over the summer. I don't think I have ten items, but I can live with that. I have just realized I haven't written a post since May. There are reasons for that; it's not so much that I have nothing to say as it has been my fairly busy schedule.…
halfanhour.blogspot.com
Wednesday, August 19
Getting Students to Share Their “Half-Formed Gray Mist”
Plus five newsletters I don’t miss lately.
danmeyer.substack.com459. Mental Health in College
A growing proportion of college students report mental health challenges, but most student affairs practitioners, campus leaders, and faculty members have received little training in addressing mental health concerns. In this episode, Alexis Redding joins us to discuss a new resource designed to allow us to provide…
teaforteaching.com
Tuesday, August 18
“There are so many ways to think about it.”
Part 1 of an interview with Professor David Bachman
aiedusimplified.substack.comThe Death of an Academic
Like most people working in higher ed, I was horrified by the treatment and death of Professor Jason Arday. It was naked racism, purely and obviously. As a white man, I don’t have the voice to speak to that pain, so here are some Black writers who put it more eloquently than I ever could. Sneha Krishnan writing for Al…
blog.edtechie.net
Monday, August 17
Good Morning Campers! DS106 Radio Summer Camp is Tomorrow
Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 18th, Reclaim Hosting is taking over the internet airwaves for 12 straight hours of DS106 Radio Summer Camp and I am very much here for it. If you’ve been around these parts for any length of time, … Continue reading →
bavatuesdays.comSlop Will Eat Itself (then us)
Many of you will have seen the story about Anthropic (and other AI companies) buying books, and destroying them in the process of digitising. The reasons for destroying as opposed to just scanning them, seems to be a mixture of cost and avoidance of copyright issues. The need for this large scale process is because,…
blog.edtechie.netReading Notes
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
Friday, August 14
Family and the State: That’s a Wrap
We finished our six-film tour of 1990s international independent cinema on the Family Pictures Podcast with Gianni Amelio‘s Il ladro di bambini (1992), and I’m not sure we could have picked a better film to put an exclamation point on … Continue reading →
bavatuesdays.comEducation Insurance is Real
Back in 2009, I participated in a NMC presentation with Tom Woodward and Brian Lamb called Uncanny Learning. The conceit was a radio show premised on Art Bell‘s Coast to Coast, wherein I played a salesman from the future selling … Continue reading →
bavatuesdays.com(Not) Everything Changes
"This changes everything." I find this cliche about technology to be so exhausting, in no small part because I've heard it over and over and over again. Every new product release, a revolution. After a while, you have to decide whether you're going to
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
Wednesday, August 12
Does Alpha School Work for Regular Kids?
Here is some new evidence.
danmeyer.substack.com458. A Neurodiversity Framework
Institutions are increasing their focus on creating inclusive environments. In this episode, Megan Kohler joins us to discuss a course design framework she developed to support neurodiverse learners. Megan is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Learning Designer in the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute at Penn…
teaforteaching.com
Tuesday, August 11
"Everyone felt like we were supporting and building together, rather than each person having to build the whole thing independently. "
Part 2 of an interview with Christine Rodriguez
aiedusimplified.substack.com
Monday, August 10
Is the Tide Turning Against AI in Australia?
On Sunday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that NSW may restrict Year 12 students from unsupervised take-home assessments, following a letter from the Deputy Premier. Meanwhile, South Australia announced a royal commission into AI, highlighting diverging state approaches: NSW acts quickly for student protection,…
leonfurze.comDiva (1981) and the Birth of 1980s Pop-Art Cinema
Now that Mike Caulfield has taken over the production duties we’re likely to see a more regular episode-a-week schedule for the film podcast “Couch to 4K.” Right now new episodes are being released via YouTube, but we’ll get them distributed … Continue reading →
bavatuesdays.comDomain of One’s Own Version 2
It will be no surprise to the folks running Domain of One’s Own (DoOO) on their campus, but Reclaim has been in the process of rolling out a welcome upgrade to our flagship product. The long and the short of … Continue reading →
bavatuesdays.comOne year later, more campuses cross the $100,000 per year boundary
Nearly a decade ago I asked the question: when will the first American college or university charge more than $100,000 per year to attend? Today I’d like to revisit that question by checking on the subsequent reality. NB: I’ve been … Continue reading →
bryanalexander.orgAI Is Quietly Changing Who Gets to Build Software
What If Universities No Longer Need Edtech Companies?
marcwatkins.substack.com
Saturday, August 8
The Window of Critique for AI is Closing Fast
Large language model-based AI is increasingly integrated into daily life, making it challenging for critics to highlight its limitations. As technology becomes user-friendly, the inner workings are often obscured, akin to past experiences with telecommunication and internet infrastructures. This shift prompts a need…
leonfurze.comSeeing So Many Adults Cry
My daughter often participates in conferences with me – most recently, she was a fully registered participant at the Wellbeing in Higher Ed Network regional summit. She’s almost 15, so not yet even a college student, but I promised she was mature enough to absorb the themes and participate, and she was, though she’s…
blog.mahabali.me
Friday, August 7
Let's emphasize human effort and intent in educational materials
Toward greater emphasis on the value of human creations and guidance
annamills.substack.com
Wednesday, August 5
457. Intellectual Property
Faculty create large quantities of content, but aren’t always aware of their intellectual property rights, or lack thereof. In this episode, Kent Kauffman joins us to discuss legal issues associated with copyright law. Kent is a Professor of Business Law and MBA Programs Faculty Liaison in the Doermer School of…
teaforteaching.com
Tuesday, August 4
Compact 2.0 and the McMahon statement: the Secretary of Education issues a call to action
Greetings from early August. For some this is vacation season, but for me it’s full-tilt work. I’m pitching a new book, ramping up video and Substack content, setting up speaking gigs and consultations through next spring, and redesigning fall classes, … Continue reading →
bryanalexander.org“What does it mean to catch students learning with AI?”
Part 1 of an interview with Christine Rodriguez
aiedusimplified.substack.com