iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Please try to reclaim your precious precious attention, at all costs. Do puzzles. Take walks without a phone. Dear god, try to read, almost anything that isn’t a manifesto will really do. You are going to need your brain.

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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

When you claim renewable energies aren’t workable—but you attach solar panels to all your dystopian Flock surveillance cameras.

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

First, this is going to be a very blsky post. Apologies. I was listening to @npr.org while mowing the lawn and at least four stories called informed, considered responses to current tech industry growth including increased state-sanctioned surveillance as "backlash." Can we not? 1/2

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Le Cagle @lecagle.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I will forever admire Wendell Berry's insistence on living his values through to their natural conclusions and relentlessly ripping through layers of politeness and habit to hold up for judgment those who do not.

Questionnaire
by Wendell Berry

How much poison are you willing
to eat for the success of the free
market and global trade? Please
name your preferred poisons.

For the sake of goodness, how much
evil are you willing to do?
Fill in the following blanks
with the names of your favorite
evils and acts of hatred.

What sacrifices are you prepared
to make for culture and civilization?
Please list the monuments, shrines,
and works of art you would
most willingly destroy

In the name of patriotism and
the flag, how much of our beloved
land are you willing to desecrate?
List in the following spaces
the mountains, rivers, towns, farms
you could most readily do without.

State briefly the ideas, ideals, or hopes,
the energy sources, the kinds of security;
for which you would kill a child.
Name, please, the children whom
you would be willing to kill.

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. - Wendell Berry

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 28/08/2026

Oh so you really know jack shit about kids, pedagogy, education… www.scientificamerican.com/article/alph...

When Carl Hendrick took his first ride in a Waymo, the self-driving taxi service, he thought it felt a lot like the future of education.

Hendrick is a senior learning scientist at Alpha School, a buzzy private-school company where he trains artificial intelligence models to teach students—a process, he says, that is not unlike training a self-driving car.

For such a car, “it was just thousands and thousands of miles, training itself on data, and not just on a linear path. The challenge is in all the different eventualities, like the cyclist who’s wobbling in the road, the kid running out,” he says. “I think, in five or 10 years, a similar thing will happen in education where we train AI models on learning and all of kids’ misconceptions and problems.”

For Alpha School, the equivalents to the swerving bikes and unexpected pedestrians are more like misconceptions, learning differences or preteen classroom struggles. And the “cars” the company is testing have 10-year-olds in the backseat.

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Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

OpenAI's rapid rush into education has been achieved by habituating users through training programs, institutional lock-ins, strategic marketing partnerships, and third party integrations that together are helping it become infrastructural to teaching and learning. It's going to be hard to get out.

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Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Schools in England start returning from summer break next week, and this term many will become AI testing sites as the Department for Education plans to trial AI tutoring, scale it up sector-wide, and create new standards for classroom AI codeactsineducation.wordpress.com/2026/08/27/p...

codeactsineducation.wordpress.com

Prototype testing, scaling, and standardizing AI tutors in schools

As students and teachers return to classrooms for the new academic year, the schools sector in England is set to become a testing ground for experimental AI applications this autumn. Following the …

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Changing offices (becoming coordinator of graduate programs/what was I thinking?!?) and came across this gem. More from it soon. 1971. $1.50. Humanizing English: DO NOT FOLD SPINDLE OR MUTILATE.

Cover of book that says Classroom Practices in Teaching English. 1970-1971 and the price is $1.50. The middle of the book has the cover design in red with what looks like a canton behind it. The title is Humanizing English: DO NOT FOLD SPINDLE OER MUTILATE This last part is in font that looks like computer script from the 1950s.

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DrAnnD @drannd.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

This is the Canvas page I have to delete from my class because it isn't objective and free of political bias as required of all Educator Preparation Programs in Texas. If my students don't learn from me about the policies that directly affect them, where will they learn it?

More on recent laws - optional

While you may just want to teach/coach/conduct/direct, it is always worth remembering that you are doing that in a much larger context that will always impact the way you're able to interact with the students in your care. If you're interested in following up more on the federal education policy context, you can explore the two links below.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Title 1 comes from the ESEA, as does so much else. This interactive timeline is full of info.

A Nation at Risk (PDF): This isn't that long. Note where you hear echoes of this language today, particularly in the media.

Texas also holds a unique position in education policy because of Bush's presidency and the textbook industry.

See this op-ed about how Texas influences textbook content nationwide. It is also worth noting that because of SB3 (which we'll discuss later in the semester), Texas is undergoing another social studies revision, so while the article is older, it's an example that history repeats itself.

That all said, technological advances in publishing mean that Texas' influence will decrease as it gets easier to change the literal printed material and as textbooks go online and multiple editions are easier to produce.

Texas has also led the push to remove books from classrooms and libraries, especially those featuring LGBTQ+ and African American stories.

The trend to share lists of books to challenge started in Texas with Rep. Matt Kraus in 2021. In 2022, Texas had banned more books. But HB900, passed in 2023 and requiring booksellers to label the sexual content of books, was found to be unconstitutional.

SB 12, passed in 2025, is a combination of "divisive concepts" laws--"anti-DEI" or "anti-woke" is language the media uses--from across the country and Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law, which purports to make it illegal for teachers to talk at all about gender identity and sexual orientation.

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

So…when’s everyone going to start watching Hallmark Holiday movies this year? And what are you going to watch in the meantime?

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Nothing beats holding a new pub in your hands! 🔗 ↓ In this piece, we look at teachers' responses to the increased outsourcing of instructional decision to external companies. Yesterday, it was scripted programs & packaged curricula. Today it's AI. Different technology. Familiar reform logic. 1/5

cover of the journal Language Arts with a picture of alien robots and words WE ARE DEFINITELY HUMAN. The theme of this issue is Looking ahead to an imagined but not yet realized future.

open copy of the journal Language Arts with our article

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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I loooooove talking people up. I'm here to learn about what you do, read some of your papers, and talk about the bricks you've helped lay in this house of knowledge we're all trying to build together.

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

"Citation is not simply consuming another’s knowledge; it constitutes a call and response. In this way, citation isn’t passive; it can be a very active and intentional process of intellectual genealogy and community formation." Bianca C. Williams anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

BLACK FEMINIST CITATIONAL PRAXIS AND DISCIPLINARY BELONGING

What does a Black feminist citational practice look and feel like? This contribution to the #CiteBlackWomen colloquy focuses on two arguments: First, that Black feminist citational praxis is one of t....

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Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

The evidence about AI in education remains terrible as a basis for policy or practice. As schools in some places come back from summer next week (oh Scotland it's too early), here's a wee roundup on just how truly woefully AIED research has stood up and why educators shouldn't call on it 1/

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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Might anyone know of a small, non-intimidating zine-y guidebook that helps folks navigate the logistics (+ ethics) of *collaborative* publication — demystifying the design + production process; explaining formatting + rights clearances; addressing mutual accountability + collaborative review, etc.?

halfletterpress.com

Why Self-Publish Under Fascism?

This publication was prompted by an invitation from Mariame Kaba to join her in a discussion titled: Why Make Zines in 2025: Information Control Under Fascism

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 02/08/2026

I wonder if students today would be less likely to lean on AI for writing assignments if schools had made sure they could touch-type (at least 60wpm) before having them submit all their assignments online. 1/🧵

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Anyway, your problem isn‘t finding the time to take notes. The problem is that taking notes is thinking and thinking has to be done by someone. women have been doing a lot of metacognition that looks like a task when it’s really thinking.

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Then they have all the transcripts (and the ai token bill) but no sensemaking. so they make another app — a layer that will make sense of all the useless transcripts. But of course sensemaking isnt just pattern spotting. It’s interpretation. AI cannot do either because AI cannot be curious

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

So a masculinist understanding of notetaking would think a transcription app is the same as taking notes. That’s why they think an AI transcript is a time-saver. They think the notes are the thinking because when a human takes the notes, it is.

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I like this notetaking example. it is a good case of how gender works. Notetaking has never been about producing a transcript. It is a bureaucratic skill in the 20th c. organixarion because it is SENSEMAKING. Those women socialized to take notes? They have been doing men’s metacognition for them

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Anthony Moser @anthonymoser.com · 23/07/2026

Related reading

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

We have an article coming out this month that it sounds like is going to sing beautifully with this one! Let’s get this chorus singing loudly — resistance/refusal of the inundation of edtech & AIED in the service of technocratic control of education!

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

This was so much fun! Educators, be on the lookout for registration early 2027 and mark your calendars for June!

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

We get to continue our @edunowlab.bsky.social Theory <- -> Method Virtual Series! Who should we invite!? Anyone w/ a newer book that has implications for thinking about the tight relationship btwn theory & research methods? Check out our past awesome speakers: about.illinoisstate.edu/edunowlab/th...

about.illinoisstate.edu

Theory Method Research Speaker Series – Education Now Lab

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

We have such cool colleagues in our lab schools!

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

This is going to be so much fun!

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The PS1 startup sound as a lesbian @janus.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

everyone seems to be responding positively to this and i hate to burst anyone's bubble, but i recently went to a Luddite festival in NYC and this is something organizers specifically warned about: don't let capitalists sell your hatred of capitalism back to you

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Lori Emerson @loriemerson.net · 15/07/2026

old media are the new cool—-

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

There’s a point in a career when people you taught or mentored come back to you, adults with whole lives, and it’s weird that i’m still 30-years-old. Weird!

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I’ve never seen this site so focused on one thing and I have to say, I kind of love it. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced a watch party on social media. I’ve missed it!

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Two years ago, my colleagues and I were sued by Stephen Miller's America First Legal. The Hines v Stamos case — built atop a number of false allegations — was a central element of the "censorship industrial complex" myth. Today, that case was dismissed (by a Trump judge in LA). We won.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
MONROE DIVISION
JILL HINES ET AL — CASE NO. 3:23-CV-00571
VERSUS — JUDGE TERRY A. DOUGHTY
ALEX STAMOS ET AL — MAG. JUDGE KAYLA D. MCCLUSKY
MEMORANDUM RULING
Before the Court is a Renewed Joint Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter and Personal Jurisdiction [Doc. No. 191] filed by Defendants, Alex Stamos, Renée DiResta, the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, the Leland Stanford Junior University, Kate Starbird, Graphika, Camille François, the Atlantic Council, and Graham Brookie (collectively, "Defendants"). Plaintiffs, Jill Hines ("Hines") and Jim Hoft ("Hoft") (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), filed an Opposition [Doc. No. 207]. Defendants then filed a Reply [Doc. No. 209].
For the reasons set forth, Defendants' Motion is GRANTED.

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Roopika Risam @roopikarisam.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

An excellent use case for why people really need to be able to define “AI” and recognize it’s an umbrella term, not a synonym for heavyweight commercial LLMs/frontier models.

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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

I now fervently believe this. Relatedly, I think celebrating good news and embracing joy are equally radical. You have to remember what you’re fighting for. We cannot sustainably organize around sorrow.

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LJHands @ljhands.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

So excited about this 2nd edition; pls share widely! Theories of #reading and #literacy only come alive when approached from the standpoint of practice. Includes inset discussions from @anna-phd.bsky.social, George Hruby, Tom Crumpler, Terry Husband, and Marcelle Haddix. #EduSky #AcademicSky

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Paper I just reviewed was this—“pristine but dead.” I couldn’t figure out how to explain it. And though it had a “so what,” it was so banal and repeated throughout with no development across the argument. But there…in all the places it was supposed to be. It said nothing. Just “pristine but dead.”

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Any of my #literacies teacher friends in Wisconsin? I'd love to see you in a couple of weeks! And peep who I get to present alongside! Here's the registration link with more info: www.uwosh.edu/continuous-l...

uwosh.edu

Courses - Continuous Learning

Discover flexible continuous learning courses that help professionals strengthen skills, expand expertise, and advance in today’s evolving workforce.

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Anna Smith @anna-phd.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

This is going to be so fun! Share with your educator friends in Illinois and the midwest...unless they want to fly in ;)

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Maggie Wiggin @maggie162.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

My god, Octavia Butler, just miss ONCE

Page from a book saying:

From EARTHSEED: THE BOOKS OF THE LIVING
Choose your Leaders with wisdom and forethought.
To be led by a coward is to be controlled
by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool is to be led
by the opportunists who control the fool.
To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen.
To be led by a liar
is to ask to be told lies.
To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery.
t

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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Respectfully, some of you NEED less time online. Your thing will help. Go make it. And if you're not the making-thing type? Volunteer to girdle invasive trees at your local nature center. Teach knitting at the fiber arts collective. Learn to make kimchi and give it away to friends.

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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Now is the time to make your thing. Stop motion with LEGO, webcomic, walking sim game, weird Halloween costume, backyard water feature, container garden. This is your sign. Make your thing. Stop waiting. Do it.

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DrAnnD @drannd.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Folks in English and/or Rhet/Comp: I want to read from those fields and organize a syllabus-esque doc that I share with current classroom English teachers to (re)visit that land they likely left after graduation. What books should I read? I don't want books about teaching ELA or literacy.

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Charles Logan @charleswlogan.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Come join @civicsoftech.bsky.social's May book club on Wed, May 20, at 7pm ET. I'll be leading a discussion of @fractalecho.bsky.social's Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We Are Wrong About AI - and Dr. Williams is joining too! Register at: www.civicsoftechnology.org/book-clubs

The cover of Rua M. Williams' book "Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We Are Wrong About AI". The cover image is a spiral of yellowish orange leaves set against a red background.

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Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

I really thought American Vandal had maxed out its niche, but a LOT of new listeners finding us this week. Thanks, avaricious EdTech investors, I guess. If you’re new to AV, & you enjoyed “The Secret History of Canvas,” here are a few episodes you might want to check out next… 🧵

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