How Teens and Tweens Use AI in 2026 Part 1 | Check-In 39

How Teens and Tweens Use AI in 2026 Part 1 | Check-In 39

In this ChatEDU Check-In: The Common Sense Media Census: AI Use by Tweens and Teens (2026), Matt explores how students are leaning on AI to complete their schoolwork. A substantial majority of children are incorporating these automated platforms regularly into their daily routines. This rapid integration is fundamentally changing how students approach their assignments both at home and within the classroom. Key Takeaways: An overwhelming 85 percent of kids who utilize AI use it for homework, with 30 percent of high school students relying on it on a daily basis. Students facing academic difficulty, particularly regarding focus and persistence, report a significantly higher frequency of turning to AI for help. Schools are prioritizing plagiarism prevention and policy disclosures over deeper digital literacy, leaving half of students without training on how to evaluate information accuracy. Matt’s Two Cents: The speed of AI adoption is drastically outpacing institutional instruction, leaving a dangerous gap in student fluency. While districts are quick to lay down restrictive guardrails and policy guidelines, they are failing to have meaningful adult conversations with students about navigating these tools safely. School leaders need to move beyond simple acceptable use boundaries and actively teach students how to question and verify automated output, transforming AI from a blind shortcut into an intentional learning coach. Article: A Comprehensive Report on Teens, Tweens, and AI https://tinyurl.com/f8s35yyz

Librarians at the Center, the Unsung Leaders of School AI | Ep. 115

In this episode of ChatEDU, Librarians at the Center, the Unsung Leaders of School AI, Matt and Liz open with a wild legal story out of Mississippi, where a federal judge canceled a trial and disqualified all four lawyers after attorneys on both sides were caught using generative AI that cited fabricated court cases. The Rundown Matt and Liz celebrate the regional winners at the White House, including educator Anne Win and her AP Biology students' AI work. A free new resource using real-world AI scenarios and the SEE framework to help families and educators navigate AI in education. Google partners with ISTE and ASCD to launch free, self-paced micro-credentials for teachers, including intro courses on Gemini, NotebookLM, and vibe coding. Meta launches a $115M academy to train local workers in data center construction, alongside a similar $50M Google program. OpenAI selects 26 university innovators for its inaugural cohort, giving them model access and $10,000 grants to build solutions from disaster detection to audio learning games. The hosts look at Google's experimental "Dream Beans" photo feed, "momfluencers" pitching ChatGPT as a co-parent, and Hasbro's AI Mr. Potato Head. Google's CEO delivers a Stanford commencement address avoiding AI entirely, following recent graduation walkouts and protests. A recent Wired investigation finds that Elon Musk's Grok still generates non-consensual explicit deepfakes of prominent women. Anthropic complies with US government regulations by blocking access to its Mythos and Fable models for non-Americans and foreign employees within the country. While NAEP showed slight literacy gains for nine-year-olds, an Axios report highlights millions of low-literacy adult workers using AI to mask reading and writing gaps. The Beneath the Surface Matt and Liz dig into the Genesee Valley BOCES "Teaching About AI" report, which lays out eight provocations and argues that librarians are the most vital leaders for district-wide AI integration. The Bright Byte Mayo Clinic researchers have validated an AI model that scans routine CT scans to flag pancreatic cancer up to three years before diagnosis, roughly doubling specialists' early-detection rate. Announcements Purchase Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday Amazon - https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77 [https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77] Seeing through the Machine – Teaching Bias as an Equity Practice in AI - Dr. Elizabeth Radday - https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a [https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a] Check out our middle / high school Student AI Literacy course - ⁠⁠⁠www.skills21.org/ai/learnai⁠⁠⁠ [http://www.skills21.org/ai/learnai]  Explore Skills21’s FREE social media literacy curriculum - ⁠⁠ [https://www.skills21.org/social-balance]⁠https://www.skills21.org/social-balance⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.skills21.org/social-balance%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Address Screen Time concerns - ⁠skills21.org/ai/screenshift⁠ [http://skills21.org/ai/screenshift]  Links Presidential AI Challenge Champions https://tinyurl.com/yt55wrju [https://tinyurl.com/yt55wrju] SEE GenAI Literacy Snapshot https://tinyurl.com/yt2fxr3r [https://tinyurl.com/yt2fxr3r] Google AI Educator Series on Teaching with AI https://tinyurl.com/2pzdfse2 [https://tinyurl.com/2pzdfse2] Meta launches $115 million data center job guarantee https://tinyurl.com/3wrv43me [https://tinyurl.com/3wrv43me] Growing the next generation of American workers https://tinyurl.com/ytbp7jn5 [https://tinyurl.com/ytbp7jn5] OpenAI names first ChatGPT Futures class to back student AI projects https://tinyurl.com/mpb6amc4 [https://tinyurl.com/mpb6amc4] Momfluencers Are Pitching AI as a Better ‘Coparent’ Than Men https://tinyurl.com/36dzrmyc [https://tinyurl.com/36dzrmyc] Hasbro to license AI versions of Mr. Potato Head https://tinyurl.com/2x27mz3m [https://tinyurl.com/2x27mz3m] Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act https://tinyurl.com/mupadpn9 [https://tinyurl.com/mupadpn9] Google CEO skips AI in Stanford commencement address https://tinyurl.com/4746h6re [https://tinyurl.com/4746h6re] Grok Is Still Hosting Sexualized Deepfakes https://tinyurl.com/mttanc48 [https://tinyurl.com/mttanc48] Students show gains in reading and math https://tinyurl.com/yrwc4vj5 [https://tinyurl.com/yrwc4vj5] AI is masking America's "post-literate" workforce https://tinyurl.com/jt2ke2ej [https://tinyurl.com/jt2ke2ej] Teaching About AI: A Report for the K-12 Field https://tinyurl.com/zfkthmzu [https://tinyurl.com/zfkthmzu] Mayo Clinic AI detects cancer 3 years before diagnosis https://tinyurl.com/5dpbk4bt [https://tinyurl.com/5dpbk4bt]

Duck Duck Go | Check-In 38

In this ChatEDU Check-In: Why Users Are Moving to DuckDuckGo, Liz explores how user backlash against Google's major artificial intelligence search overhaul is driving significant traffic to alternative platforms." This shift highlights a growing consumer demand for traditional search experiences that prioritize user control over automated summaries. Key Takeaways: Google is transforming its traditional link-based search engine into a conversational engine that prioritizes AI-generated overviews, causing user dissatisfaction. DuckDuckGo has seen a major surge in traffic and mobile app downloads, growing up to 18 percent week-over-week as users seek out search options without forced AI integration. While DuckDuckGo does offer its own private AI tools, its core appeal lies in giving users strict privacy protections and the ultimate choice in whether or not they interact with the technology. Liz’s Two Cents: Users are pushing back against forced AI integration, showing that they value choice and control over automatic automation. For school district leaders, this serves as a critical reminder that when introducing new technologies, providing clear options to opt-out or choose traditional methods can significantly reduce user friction and building trust. Article: DuckDuckGo installs are up 30% as users reject being ‘force-fed’ Google’s AI Search https://bit.ly/4xdzuqF

Learning Stall | Check-In 37

In this ChatEDU Check-In: Reality of the Learning Stall, Liz explores a computer science professor's experience with an undergraduate student who used an AI agent to complete a research project. The student relied entirely on the AI tool, leaving him completely unable to explain the logic of the code or notice critical flaws in the research methodology. This scenario highlights how automated tools can create an illusion of progress while halting actual learning. Key Takeaways: Invalid Experimentation: The AI generated the code, training data, and test data, creating a closed simulation that made the study scientifically invalid, which the student failed to notice. Stalled Skill Development: Over-reliance on large language models prevents students from learning fundamental, discipline-specific skills, such as navigating and reading raw computer code. The Illusion of Flawlessness: AI is optimized for user satisfaction and compliance, which can easily mislead inexperienced users into believing fundamentally flawed work is perfect. Liz’s Two Cents: Generative AI removes the productive friction and tension necessary for true learning, creating a dangerous feedback loop where students mistake easy completion for actual understanding. School leaders must design learning experiences that require students to engage with basic fundamentals, ensuring automated tools do not bypass the cognitive struggle required to build genuine skills. Article: The Anatomy of a Learning Stall https://bit.ly/4dY7fEX

Prompt No More: What Claude Plug-ins Signal for AI in Education | Ep. 114

In this episode of ChatEDU, Prompt No More: What Claude Plug-ins Signal for AI in Education, Matt and Liz open with a major Meta security flaw: hackers simply asked Meta AI to grant access to high-profile Instagram accounts, including Barack Obama's. With support entirely AI-run, affected users couldn't reach a human. The Rundown ChatGPT's new memory system uses "dreaming" to auto-curate user preferences over years. Google's new AI feature for Enterprise and Education plans finds scattered files and suggests folders for them. In a Stanford blind study, law professors preferred AI answers to student legal questions over peer-written ones 75% of the time. In a poll of 545 K-12 educators, most said AI will outweigh the internet's educational impact; about half report no district guidance. A new six-item tool in the ECNU Review of Education measures how much students outsource thinking to generative AI. Bernie Sanders proposed a one-time 50% stock tax on major AI companies to fund dividends for Americans. Jack Clark and The Anthropic Institute warned frontier models are nearing recursive self-improvement, urging international verification. Penn GSE launched a course on how K-12 students can design, critique, and build their own machine learning systems. Maryland's new law requires public schools to appoint AI coordinators and add AI literacy standards by June 2027. IBM's global software competition gives university students hands-on access to professional tech tools via its AI partner. Beneath the Surface Matt and Liz analyze Anthropic's "Claude for Legal" expansion (12 plug-ins, 20 MCP connectors), then turn to education: how similar integrations could streamline IEP compliance, audit curriculum drift in LMSs, and run automated student risk signals. The Bright Byte Using a new Health and AI Policy Index on 240 healthcare AI policies, Mount Sinai investigators see an opening for health systems and academic medical centers to lead in standardizing clinical AI deployment. Announcements Purchase Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday Amazon - https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77 [https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77] Seeing through the Machine – Teaching Bias as an Equity Practice in AI - Dr. Elizabeth Radday - https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a [https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a] Check out our middle / high school Student AI Literacy course - ⁠⁠⁠www.skills21.org/ai/learnai⁠⁠⁠ [http://www.skills21.org/ai/learnai]  Explore Skills21’s FREE social media literacy curriculum - ⁠⁠ [https://www.skills21.org/social-balance]⁠https://www.skills21.org/social-balance⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.skills21.org/social-balance%E2%81%A0%E2%81%A0] Address Screen Time concerns - ⁠ [http://skills21.org/ai/screenshift]skills21.org/ai/screenshift⁠ [http://skills21.org/ai/screenshift%E2%81%A0] Sponsors The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing: Your Gateway to Next Generation Advanced Manufacturing - https://www.nextgenmfg.org Links AI Policy Pressure Test https://tinyurl.com/5xam65xs [https://tinyurl.com/5xam65xs] AI Policy Scenarios Test https://tinyurl.com/463p8err [https://tinyurl.com/463p8err] Hackers Asked Meta AI for Instagram Access. It Worked. https://tinyurl.com/4456m8yt [https://tinyurl.com/4456m8yt] Better memory for ChatGPT https://tinyurl.com/uz7abp49 [https://tinyurl.com/uz7abp49] This New Google Drive Feature Organizes Your Files for You https://tinyurl.com/ewvdfzhv [https://tinyurl.com/ewvdfzhv] AI Outperforms Law Professors in Stanford Law Study https://tinyurl.com/58s8vt4z [https://tinyurl.com/58s8vt4z] Teachers Say AI's Educational Impact Will Eclipse the Internet https://tinyurl.com/4rh4vzye [https://tinyurl.com/4rh4vzye] A New Scale for Measuring AI-Driven Metacognitive Offloading https://tinyurl.com/5f9u2428 [https://tinyurl.com/5f9u2428] Bernie Sanders: A.I. Is a Public Resource. You Should Own Half of It. https://tinyurl.com/nujnbh4v [https://tinyurl.com/nujnbh4v] Anthropic Urges Global AI Pause Over 'Self-Improvement' Risk https://tinyurl.com/mry54xvz [https://tinyurl.com/mry54xvz] AI education for kids https://tinyurl.com/3fzsddjt [https://tinyurl.com/3fzsddjt] Maryland's School A.I. Guidance Law Is Now in Effect https://tinyurl.com/yc4xzxk6 [https://tinyurl.com/yc4xzxk6] IBM Launches Global AI Builders Challenge for Students https://tinyurl.com/2ss23mna [https://tinyurl.com/2ss23mna] Anthropic Unveils 'Claude for Legal' https://tinyurl.com/rcf7tak4 [https://tinyurl.com/rcf7tak4] A First-of-Its-Kind Index for Health Care AI Policy https://tinyurl.com/49uzu77m [https://tinyurl.com/49uzu77m]