Reviewing an article that talks a lot about GenAI in education and it is so easy to fall into the trap of using language that gives “GenAI” agency rather than putting the responsibility on the authors and designers. I am catching myself, but it shows how insidious that language is.

Shirin and I have a new editorial on processes of learning in contexts- let us know what you think! doi.org/10.1080/0737...

Processes of Learning in Contexts: Reflections from Journal Co-Editors

Published in Cognition and Instruction (Vol. 44, No. 4, 2026)

doi.org

We’re welcoming three new faces to our faculty ranks this fall: 🔸 Christian Hines - @ciatillinois.bsky.social 🔹 Sandra Camargo Salamanca - @epsyatillinois.bsky.social 🔸 Nikki Wright - Education Policy, Organization & Leadership More: https://bit.ly/4r9ulxb

We are excited to welcome you to #ISLS2027 in Mumbai. Please note that this year we will follow a 2-stage submission process. Abstracts are due (and required) on Oct 9th, 2026 and final submissions are now due on Oct 16th, 2026. More details at: 2027.isls.org/new-in-isls-...

New in ISLS 2027 for authors

2027.isls.org

More than a billion people worldwide live with a disability, yet few websites are fully accessible, and few students receive training in designing technologies that are accessible to them Join us Sept. 9 for this talk featuring Rachel Adler from @ischoolui.bsky.social. More: https://bit.ly/4gQTSGY

Congratulations to Amber Ray (SPED) and Miray Tekkumru-Kisa (C&I) on being named to the Emerging Research Leaders Academy by @illinoishealth.bsky.social Read More:

Two from Education Named to Emerging Research Leaders Academy

blogs.illinois.edu

Graduate orientation activities are done! Love the energy, enthusiasm, ideas, and possibilities that always come with this moment. I might not be totally ready for the semester but I am excited!!!

I wish everyone in America would read this. Unfortunately, those who I believe most need to read it will not. (Gift article)

The Wrong Kind of American

The Trump White House needed me—until the fact that I am trans became public.

theatlantic.com

This year’s cohort is partnering with community organizations across Illinois to improve understanding and practices in education. Read more about their research and partnerships:

Announcing the 2026-27 Public Engagement Fellows

Now in its fifth year, this program enhances ongoing community engagement efforts of the College of Education. Fellows' work strengthens campus-community ties and gives educational partners more oppor...

education.illinois.edu

Wrote about stories for The Fulcrum this month My fav line: “The same logic that scrubs people of color from ancient epics is the logic that scrubs us from American history because in both cases, the sanitized version requires our absence.” thefulcrum.us/inclusion-di...

The Odyssey Isn’t Real, But American Diversity Is

After Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey was released in theaters, Elon Musk declared he would use Grok to create a more “historically accurate” version of the ancient epic poem. The uproar over the film...

thefulcrum.us

Honest question: did senate confirmation hearings ever make sense?

Love that art! So excited for the next chapter!!!

Plague Doctor Press 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🧡@plaguedoctorpress.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Mothman is coming at 11 am! Are you ready? @Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1214207061/spirit-1-4-mothman-needs-us?ref=33d8ib

My colleague Jennifer Kleiman and I wrote this editorial coming out of those discussions. We do not want to be reactive, but we also want to advise authors and reviewers on our best understanding of how to be ethical in AI use. tl;dr Humans are in charge, and should make their agency apparent.

👇👇👇 (I'll be more direct: confirmation bias is a helluva drug)

Paul Bruno@paul-bruno.com · 3mo ago

I'm basically sympathetic to this - Ben and I did write that whole Education Hazards of AI thing what is now years ago - though I'd be remiss not to note that employers have loved to whine about new hires and recent grads since the beginning of time.

If only we could have predicted this… hopefully we will soon be past the uncritical love of AI and can get back to talking about how to prepare all learners for the futures that may be and the futures they want, and to have a hand in shaping those futures.

Lauri Donahue@lauridonahue.bsky.social · 3mo ago

futurism.com/future-socie... lol

Excited to share our introduction to the new JLS special strand on Humanizing AI, written by myself, Haesol Bae, and Ingo Kollar! Keep an eye out for our first handful of articles under the new strand, as well as a call for more submissions! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Humanizing AI for education: A learning sciences lens on emerging technologies

Published in Journal of the Learning Sciences (Vol. 35, No. 2, 2026)

tandfonline.com

Reading some things, and I can’t help but wonder how the shrinking availability of grants, increased need for funding given economic shifts, and NSF promotion of AI is exacerbating the usual cycle of overly optimistic jumping onto the bandwagon of new tech with ill-conceived ideas?

This is S.P.I.R.I.T. www.kickstarter.com/projects/121...

Really proud of this work by @selenasteinberg.bsky.social and team on our VFOI project www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... … upper elementary students learning history, sharing interests and identity and connecting to community, peers, and content through network visualizations!!

Six days until S.P.I.R.I.T. Issue 4 launches. Get notified when we go live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1214207061/spirit-1-4-mothman-needs-us/

I'm going to start walking around wearing a shirt that says "if your ed tech doesn't work in a school with shaky Internet access and old laptops, then your ed tech doesn't work" We need to stop designing for the "classroom of the future" and start designing for the classrooms we actually have.

We need to help everyone understand how huge and horrifying this is. It’ll take decades to come back from this and it hurts us all in so many ways we can’t even guess at yet.

Noam Ross@noamross.net · 4mo ago

NSF's grantmaking is miserly when compared to recent years, but when compared it to the historical record, we see it's a radical break from the long-term consensus of investing in scientific innovation. grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #NSF 🧪

Since we're heading into academic job market season, a reminder: I've collected some advice (esp. for new grads): www.paul-bruno.com/2021/07/tips... And reach out if you'd like to set up a time to chat about the job market and how to navigate it. I'm not an expert by any means, but happy to talk.

Hi all: Given the quickly expanding use of AI in education, I am sharing a new @stemteachingtool.bsky.social that can help deepen our thinking about these efforts. IMO the stakes are too high not to! Please share as makes sense. 🌿 stemteachingtools.org/brief/109 #EquityFirst #AIinEd #SciEd #STEMed

Newsletter #47 is out! HUGE news about S.P.I.R.I.T. Issue 4, including the reveal of the award-winning variant cover artist, Mothman, plus this month's Kickstarter picks. https://plaguedoctorpress.substack.com/p/issue-47-may-plague-doctor-press

The Woz said I will not be booed lol I also love the lull of the crowd as they’re trying to figure out where he’s going hahaha (Via: www.instagram.com/reel/DYfgIwo...)

At #ISLS26 I’m part of a symposium where learning scientists and computer-supported collaborative learning scholars propose provocations for the next decade of scholarship in our fields. Mine: None of this matters if we don’t stop authoritarianism. 💥 Link below

Congrats to Asif Wilson, assistant professor C&I, on receiving the Watkins Award from the Society of Professors in Education. It recognizes individuals who are dedicated to curriculum studies, community engagement, socio-political and class issues, and cultural advocacy through their studies.

Wilson Wins Watkins Award from SPE

blogs.illinois.edu

Countdown Standard xkcd.com/3232/