Jacob Pleasants
@jbpleasa.bsky.social
Technoskeptical STEM Educator Co-Director, Civics of Technology
Final call for conference registration! The deadline is tomorrow (Wednesday Aug 5) at noon. After that time, the conference page will be password protected. If you're registered, you'll get the password via email. Register on the conference page! www.civicsoftechnology.org/2026conference
2026 Conference — Civics of Technology
civicsoftechnology.org
Truly despicable. "I’m sure there are a zillion rationales around cost and efficiency for this, at the richest university in the history of the world, but they are, to quote one of the Harvard alumni above, absolute bullshit"
Charles Logan@charleswlogan.bsky.social · 2d agoI’m with @biblioracle.bsky.social: I’m disgusted too at the Harvard administrators who decided to fire @janerosenzweig.bsky.social. Read John’s piece at:
Our conferences is THIS WEEK! *Get yourself registered* so that you get access to the conference page and Zoom links. Registration is free! www.civicsoftechnology.org/2026conference
2026 Conference — Civics of Technology
civicsoftechnology.org
Today, Kelsey Stokes writes about EdTech as a form of Technofeudalism. Read more, and join our upcoming book conversation about it! www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/technof...
What the heck is Technofeudalism, and why does it matter in education? — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Conference This Week! Starting Wednesday, you will need a password to access our conference page, which will have Zoom links to the sessions. If you’re registere...
civicsoftechnology.org
Civics of Technology is a space for public scholarship, and at this year's conference we'll be recognizing several outstanding contributions from our community. Read about it and check out those contributions in today's newsletter! www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/public-...
The CoT Public Scholarship Award: 3 Outstanding Contributions — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Annual Conference : We are holding our 5th Annual Conference on August 6th-7th, 2026! The full program is now viewable on our conference page . Our keynote...
civicsoftechnology.org
Instead of making the same platform as everyone else, why not give every teacher free access to premium tiers of Claude Code? Let them create some cool stuff for their students. Probably more useful than another lesson plan generator. www.chalkbeat.org/2026/07/14/a...
Another contender just joined the arms race over AI in schools
One of the world's biggest AI companies just launched a free classroom product for teachers. It’s arriving at a complex moment for technology in education.
chalkbeat.org
"We describe what a technoskeptical position entails and discuss how it offers insights that notions of AI literacy or competencies do not,” write @jbpleasa.bsky.social and Julianna Lopez Kershen.
Promoting a technoskeptical position towards generative AI in teacher education
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are being increasingly adopted by pre-college teachers to plan lessons, generate assessments, and complete other instructional tasks. Teacher ed...
tandfonline.com
Oh, and you're not going to want to miss Natasha's keynote on Friday, August 7th at our 2026 conference! REGISTER HERE: www.civicsoftechnology.org/2026conference
BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT: We will be hosting a book club on Natasha Singer's new book, "Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools." We'll discuss the book for 45 minutes & then @natashanyt.bsky.social will join us for a 30 min Q&A. REGISTER HERE: www.civicsoftechnology.org/book-clubs
In today’s @civicsoftech.bsky.social blog, thought leaders @michalwieczorek.bsky.social and @eam0.bsky.social share a resource for facilitating a workshop using speculative co-design methods to reimagine educational technology that'll supercharge your critical edtech sensemaking skills x 1000!
The Future of Creative Workshops is Brighter than Ever!Announcing the Next Steps in the Click Here if You Agree Project — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Annual Conference : We are holding our 5th Annual Conference on August 6th-7th, 2026! Our keynotes this year are Dr. Meredith Broussard (data journalist & aut...
civicsoftechnology.org
one of the most comprehensive surveys on children’s use of AI--conducted March 18-26, 2026, among 9-17yr olds in the US (N = 1,204)--has been released www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/defaul... highlighting key findings 🧵 "Nearly 9 in 10 kids age 9 to 17 (86%) use/interact with AI"
Today for the blog, Aaron Gierhart writes about his experiences educating future teachers about generative AI: www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/intenti...
Intention Meets Practice — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Annual Conference : We are holding our 5th Annual Conference on August 6th-7th, 2026! Our keynotes this year are Dr. Meredith Broussard (data journalist & aut...
civicsoftechnology.org
Today, @jbpleasa.bsky.social shares practical tools for rethinking and redesigning course writing assignments. We cannot walk away from writing! www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/approac...
Approaching Writing Assignments with AI in Mind — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Annual Conference : We are holding our 5th Annual Conference on August 6th-7th, 2026! Our keynotes this year are Dr. Meredith Broussard (data journalist & aut...
civicsoftechnology.org
Kids are watching a whole lot of read-aloud videos on YouTube, at home and at school. But what are those videos actually like? And what do we lose when reading books to children is delegated to screens? www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/an-expl...
An Exploration of Read-Aloud Videos on YouTube Made for Children — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Annual Conference : We are holding our 5th Annual Conference on August 6th-7th, 2026! Our keynotes this year are Dr. Meredith Broussard (data journalist & aut...
civicsoftechnology.org
This was a bizarre read. A book excerpt, clearly written before the end of Khanmigo. But why run it, given what we know now? Maybe at least ask the author to update those final paragraphs? www.nytimes.com/2026/05/16/b...
OpenAI and Khan Academy Made a Chatbot. What Can We Learn?
nytimes.com
New curriculum resources to share! "We hope this curriculum helps students see invention not simply as technological progress, but as part of larger struggles over freedom, recognition, and human dignity." www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/inquiri...
Inquiring into the Lives of Black Inventors: Introducing a New Curriculum — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Annual Conference : We are holding our 5th Annual Conference on August 6th-7th, 2026! Our keynotes this year are Dr. Meredith Broussard (data journalist & aut...
civicsoftechnology.org
My first story for @theatlantic.com is about how ed tech slop is taking over American classrooms. Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
My Son’s Math Homework Is Essentially Just Pokémon
Education games are taking over American classrooms.
theatlantic.com
We are excited to announce our fifth annual online conference! We are accepting session proposals until June 14. Read all about it here👇 www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/announc...
Announcing the 2026 Civics of Tech Conference — Civics of Technology
Against Tech Hype Hype, hope, disappointment. Hype is the rhetoric of tech billionaires, of VCs, of tech-pushers, of AI boosters and AI doomers. Hype is about attention, grabbing it, holding...
civicsoftechnology.org
Feeling stuck in the EdTech loop? What can we do about it? www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/is-it-a...
AI and Education: Is It Any Different This Time? — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Ghost in the Machine AI Documentary Screening : Join our Civics of Tech community for an online screening of the new documentary, Ghost in the Machine on Thurs...
civicsoftechnology.org
Check out board member, @philnichols.bsky.social, saying stuff on NPR.
Phil Nichols@philnichols.bsky.social · 3mo agoTalked to NPR for this story about the Canvas hacks. Short version: it’d be nice if schools were as concerned about protecting student data when there isn’t a ransom note involved. www.npr.org/2026/05/09/n...
Why has Khan consistently failed to make good on his promises? Perhaps it's because he fundamentally misunderstands learning (and teaching). Punya Mishra explains in today's newsletter: www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/why-sal...
Why Sal Khan’t: On Learning by Making but Teaching by Telling — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Ghosts in the Machine AI Documentary Screening : Join our Civics of Tech community for an online screening of the new documentary, Ghosts in the Machine on Thu...
civicsoftechnology.org
From the Vault: Three great critical tech inquiries (that aren't about AI!) www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/flashba...
Flashback: How to Unfold a Smartphone and Other Critical Tech Activities — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Ghosts in the Machine AI Documentary Screening : Join our Civics of Tech community for an online screening of the new documentary, Ghosts in the Machine on Thu...
civicsoftechnology.org
Join us tomorrow for our conversation about The Digital Delusion! April 22, 7:00 PM ET Register on our Events page: www.civicsoftechnology.org/book-clubs www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/read-th...
A Digital Delusion? — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Upcoming Book Club: We’re reading Critical AI in K-12 Classrooms: A Practical Guide for Cultivating Justice and Joy by Stephanie Smith Budhai and Marie Heat...
civicsoftechnology.org
This week, we are sharing highlights from a symposium led by @mariekheath.bsky.social and Stephanie Smith Budhai at AERA - with discussion from @dankrutka.bsky.social www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/ghosts-...
Ghosts in the AI Machine, Frederick Douglass, and Civics of Tech at AERA — Civics of Technology
Next Tech Talk: Our April Tech Talk will feature the theme of “Caregiver Resistance to (Ed)Tech.” It will be on Wednesday, April 15 at 8:00 PM ET. Register here . Upcoming Book Clubs: We’r...
civicsoftechnology.org
Today, @banvillemorgan.bsky.social shares how she challenges her students to critique the argument that we have nothing to fear from surveillance provided we have "nothing to hide." Read about her approach and hear from three of her students! www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/nothing...
Nothing to Hide: Student Arguments — Civics of Technology
AERA Meetup: Meet up with us at AERA! Friday, April 10, 2026 4:00-5:30 PT at the Yard House in LA. Please RSVP for the event here. Next Tech Talk: Our April Tech Talk will feature the theme of...
civicsoftechnology.org
We're putting together a Critical Tech Hall of Fame! And we want you to be a part of it. Read about it here! www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/welcomi...
Welcoming Submissions for the Inaugural Class of the Critical Tech Hall of Fame — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements AERA Meetup: Meet up with us at AERA! Friday, April 10, 2026 4:00-5:30 PT at the Yard House in LA. Please RSVP for the event here. Next Tech Talk: Our Apr...
civicsoftechnology.org
I am not surprised by these results, but they are nevertheless really important to confirm empirically. Kudos to these researchers www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
THIS I found out about this a few months back and it is absolutely dystopian. So glad that 404 is reporting on it. If you use Zoom, please listen so that you can take precautions. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The Company Secretly Turning Your Zoom Meetings into Podcasts
Podcast Episode · The 404 Media Podcast · March 25 · 46m
podcasts.apple.com
AI: The latest labor-saving tech for teachers Today, @alliethrall.bsky.social, @jbpleasa.bsky.social, and @dankrutka.bsky.social write about how they have been questioning the "labor-saving" narrative with future teachers: www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/questio...
Questioning AI with Future Teachers — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Next Tech Talk: Our April Tech Talk will feature the theme of “Caregiver Resistance to (Ed)Tech.” It will be on Wednesday, April 15 at 8:00 PM ET. You can regi...
civicsoftechnology.org
