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Eric Lars Martinsen

@emartinsen.bsky.social
1.7K followers 3K following 40 posts

Community College writing teacher. #edtech #ungrading #edusky #eduskyai #highered #communitycollege @Ventura_College @CalCommColleges

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Reposted by Eric Lars Martinsen
Murray Shanahan @mpshanahan.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Very sad to learn of the death on 18th July of Margaret (Maggie) Boden, a titan of cognitive science and AI. I met her many times, and respected her greatly. www.theargus.co.uk/memorials/de...
Maggie Boden and Murray Shanahan on a panel in 2018
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
When AI brings you a stinky fish… 🐟 Michelle Kassorla nails it: helpful, eager, but not always right. We’re collecting analogies like this to spark authentic learning. Join us: lnkd.in/gAiJYSSa #EduSKy #EduSkyAI #EdTech #WhyLearningMatters
A yellow Labrador Retriever wearing large black glasses stands on a neatly mowed lawn in front of a suburban house. The dog is proudly holding a large, decaying fish in its mouth. The fish has visible teeth, torn skin, and a grotesque expression—contrasting with the dog’s friendly, eager demeanor. The image humorously illustrates the idea that AI, like a well-meaning dog, may deliver something confidently but not necessarily accurate or useful.
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Tony Vincent @tonyvincent.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
"When used well, AI doesn’t undermine critical thinking. It demands it." #EduSkyAI #AIinEducation www.edtechdigest.com/2025/05/08/t...
edtechdigest.com
The Dangers of Protecting Students from the Dangers of AI - EdTech Digest
Rather than shielding students from AI’s limitations, we should be guiding them through them. GUEST COLUMN | by Owen Matson, Ph.D. There’s a strange contradiction at the heart of many conversations…
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
With AI so prevalent, how do we help students see why their own effort in learning still matters? 🤔 We are collecting your best analogies & strategies to share! What clicks for your students? Share your insights below. (Image shows some ideas!) #EduSKy #EduSkyAI #EdTech #CCCAILearn
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MiddleWeb @middleweb.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
DYSTOPIAN FICTION STRETCHES STUDENT MINDS. Teaching dystopian fiction offers students a meaningful way to engage w/ literature & social issues while developing critical thinking, says teacher Kasey Short. #edusky #iteachEnglish #tlskychat @shortissweet.bsky.social www.middleweb.com/52179/dystop...
middleweb.com
Dystopian Literature Just Right for Middle Schoolers
Teaching dystopian fiction offers students a meaningful way to engage with literature and social issues while developing critical thinking, says Kasey Short.
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Ethan Mollick @emollick.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
But no one person or detector is accurate. You should not rely on AI detection or you will falsely accuse people!
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Ethan Mollick @emollick.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
This paper confirms my belief that figuring out how to effectively employ LLMs at scale in education is one of the most important research problems of the day (and no, the answer is not “replace teachers with AI”) Huge potential returns, and the worst case use of AI is already happening in schools.
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Nicole Hennig @nic221.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
The effect of ChatGPT on students’ learning performance, learning perception, and higher-order thinking: insights from a meta-analysis - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications www.nature.com/articles/s41599-025-… #AI #education
Text Shot: However, academic consensus regarding its efficacy remains elusive. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of ChatGPT in improving students’ learning performance, learning perception, and higher-order thinking through a meta-analysis of 51 research studies published between November 2022 and February 2025. The results indicate that ChatGPT has a large positive impact on improving learning performance (g = 0.867) and a moderately positive impact on enhancing learning perception (g = 0.456) and fostering higher-order thinking (g = 0.457).
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
🚀 SOMEWHERE IN THE EDUCATIONAL WASTELAND, THE AI TOOK HOLD. Students burning through assignments at supernatural speeds. Until one said: "That AI tutor made me THINK HARDER." What madness! A tool that SLOWS the mind? We need CONTROLLED WEIRDNESS—AI for the scenic route. #EduSKy #EduSkyAI #EdTech
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
🚦 Dutch engineer's "naked streets" experiment: removing signs made drivers MORE careful With AI in education? the opposite students with unclear AI policies don't slow down—they accelerate "not a moral failing; it's a systems problem" #EduSKy #EduSkyAI #EdTech open.substack.com/pub/elmartin...
open.substack.com
The AI Traffic Problem: Designing for Depth in the Age of Speed
Why Removing Guardrails Might Be Making AI Problems Worse—And What to Do Instead
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Marc Watkins @marcwatkins.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
ChatGPT didn't create a crisis in education-it simply revealed what was brewing for decades. Students need to see the purpose and value in what they do. That means we need to speak to students beyond AI about why learning matters. open.substack.com/pub/emilypit...
open.substack.com
More on AI and Academic Integrity
Are we tired of talking about this yet?
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Anna Mills @annamillsoer.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
"What I’m suggesting here is not necessarily resisting [AI]. We’re almost at a point where that would be akin to resisting the internet or electricity...But the way we use technology, and the form the technology takes in the future, is not set in stone." @leonfurze.com leonfurze.com/2025/04/28/t...
leonfurze.com
The Myth of Inevitable AI
Technological advancements, like electricity and AI, often appear inevitable, yet their development has been shaped by historical choices and market forces. This article suggests that while AI technol...
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Marc Watkins @marcwatkins.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
The recent sycophancy update in ChatGPT should be an opportunity to talk about LLMs impact on human interaction. The real danger isn’t one bad update—it’s the industry-wide pattern of prioritizing scale over caution. open.substack.com/pub/marcwatk...
open.substack.com
When "Vibe Checks" Fail
LLMs are already capable of superhuman persuasion. The real danger isn’t one bad update—it’s the industry-wide pattern of prioritizing scale over caution
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
✍️ Just launched: "Unpack Your Golden Line" app on PlayLab! Fellow teachers: Pick a quote and try this app that uses Socratic dialogue to guide deeper analysis. Try it with a powerful quote that resonates with you! #EduSky #EduSkyAI #EdTech #PlayLab open.substack.com/pub/elmartin...
open.substack.com
Playing Seriously: Four AI Apps I Built to Transform the Writing Classroom
Using PlayLab AI to Create Interactive Writing Tools for Student Engagement
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Built "Write Type" app that reveals writing personalities: 🎉 You Are: The Reflective Architect - You thrive on structure, thoughtfully building ideas brick by brick. #EduSky #EduSkyAI #EdTech #PlayLab open.substack.com/pub/elmartin...
open.substack.com
Playing Seriously: Four AI Apps I Built to Transform the Writing Classroom
Using PlayLab AI to Create Interactive Writing Tools for Student Engagement
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
what if we replaced rigor with vigor in first-year writing? not less challenge—more curiosity. more risk. more life. AI can crank out tidy essays. but it can’t wrestle with meaning. or change its mind mid-sentence. #EduSKy #EduSkyAI #EdTech open.substack.com/pub/elmartin...
open.substack.com
Vigor, Voice, and the Future of College Writing in the Age of AI
Why First-Year Composition Needs to Change—But Not Disappear
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
What if your institution quietly started planning to drop the writing requirement? At a recent AI + higher ed event, one Ivy League admin told @cnewf.bsky.social exactly that. My new post explores what that means—and how we respond. #EduSKy #EduSkyAI #EdTech open.substack.com/pub/elmartin...
open.substack.com
Vigor, Voice, and the Future of College Writing in the Age of AI
Why First-Year Composition Needs to Change—But Not Disappear
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Captain Mark Kelly @captmarkkelly.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
When I was 22 years old, I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. The only oath Elon Musk seems to have made is to his billionaire buddies and his own bank account.
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Thinking about @alanyliu.bsky.social's insights on recombinatory creativity and AI in a 2023 talk. When is AI most useful for bridging knowledge silos across disciplines, and when do we need the slower friction of human thinking? #EduSky #EduSkyAI #EdTech open.substack.com/pub/elmartin...
open.substack.com
AI as a Tool for Bridging Knowledge Silos
How AI Helps Writers and Researchers Connect Ideas—But Not Create Them
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Anna Mills @annamillsoer.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
A chance for public comment on U.S. AI policy! We need independent research and democratic oversight to set AI on a better path... it's in our interest. American leadership means doing this well, not willy-nilly. Due March 15th. Please share! www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
federalregister.gov
Request for Information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan
On behalf of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the NITRD NCO requests input from all interested parties on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan ("Plan"). Th...
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Two mindsets about AI in education: 📝 TRANSACTIONAL: AI as a paper mill that replaces student thinking 🗣️ RELATIONAL: AI as a conversation partner that deepens student thinking #EduSky #EduSkyAI #EdTech
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Marcelius Braxton @marceliusb.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
"Trickle-down" economics was once known as "horse-and-sparrow" theory in the late 19th century, where you feed horses so many oats that some of the oats in their manure will go undigested, leaving some for the sparrows. It is a very appropriate illustration of economic inequality in this country.
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BabylonBros @babylonbros.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
My Floyd? Pink.
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Steve T PhD @thelasttheorist.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
1000%
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SARS‑CoV‑2 (COVID-19) @covid19disease.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Breaking News: Scientists from the University of the Basque Country have discovered a groundbreaking molecule, WIN55.212-2, that reverses early cognitive damage caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Dear Manager, This week: 1. I can't explain, you would not understand. 2. I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye 3. I turned to look, but it was gone 4. I cannot put my finger on it now 5. I have become comfortably numb #opm
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Dear OPM, this week I: 1) Wandered lonely through nature 2) Spotted golden daffodils beside the lake 3) Watched them flutter and dance in the breeze 4) Gazed in pleasant, vacant thought 5) Recalled the scene when in a pensive mood
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🌈Dr. Frizzle @swilua.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Dear OPM, this week: 1) I have eaten the plums 2) I got them from the icebox 3) you were probably saving them for breakfast? 4) Forgive me? 5) They were so sweet. So cold.
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Amanda Watson @amndw2.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Dear manager: 1) wore the bottoms of my trousers rolled 2) parted my hair behind 3) dared to eat a peach 4) heard the mermaids singing each to each 5) do not think that they will sing to me
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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
This is amazing. Where’s the comparable effort for non-science?
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Emily Pawley @emilypawley.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Hey, I'm going to do this, and I hope you will too. Not because I think a one day pause will be a devastating blow, but because coordinated action takes practice, and if you don't do the small stuff, you will have a harder time gearing up for the big stuff.
"Economic Blackout on February 28, 2025 Take Part & Share the News
If you haven't heard there will be an economic blackout Feb 28th, nationwide. This means don't buy anything unless it's from a small business: No gas, no fast food, and definitely nothing from places like Target, Walmart, or Amazon. Get the word out! We want THEM to see that WE have the power. We will start with 1 day, then 3, then specific companies until our message is heart. Please spread the word! Thank you!"
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Steve T PhD @thelasttheorist.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
One thing that really sticks in my craw is how these assholes are patently, obviously, the *enemies* of every good thing I was raised to be. They're unkind, dishonest, incurious, dissolute, unfaithful, meritless. The actual dregs of society.
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Ethan Mollick @emollick.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
One way AI might help decision-making is by presenting strong positive and negative cases for a policy (“steelmen”) so we can see both sides of an issue. For example, these are small sections of two OpenAI Deep Research reports on “the case for/against regulating AI development”
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Anna Mills @annamillsoer.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
👍 AI mirage 👎 AI hallucination So many have objected to "hallucination" as a description of faulty AI outputs. We need a term that doesn't suggest conscious delusion. @xolotl.org and I analyzed 80+ alternatives and settled on "mirage." We make the case here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
What looks like a glassy water surface with some rocks protruding from it in the background with sand in the foreground. The water is probably a mirage.
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Could AI-guided writing assignments help students build the feedback resilience employers say recent grads are missing? My latest thoughts. #EduSKy #EduSkyAI #EdTech
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Eric Lars Martinsen @emartinsen.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Writing teacher shower thought: What if AI's ability to generate essays isn't a threat but an opportunity to finally do what we've always wanted - focus on the process of writing rather than just the final product? #WritingTeacher #AI #EduSKy #EduSkyAI #EdTech open.substack.com/pub/elmartin...
open.substack.com
Process Over Product in College Writing
A Human-Centered Approach to Writing Instruction with AI
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Mike Drucker @mikedrucker.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
I wrote this bit that is entirely unrelated to current things
mcsweeneys.net
Voting for the Mayor Who Promised to Blow Up the City Doesn’t Mean I Approve of the Mayor Blowing Up the City
It’s so easy to label people these days. From the way folks have been talking, you’d think everyone falls into two buckets: those who voted against...
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Ryan Boyd @ryanboyd.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Alexander Pope wrote poems that were so mean grown men quit writing, and Kendrick is firmly in his tradition
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🦋 𝑀𝐴٫ 𝐵𝐴٫ 𝑀𝐻𝑃٫ 𝐶𝐶𝑀 🦋 @azuredreamer24.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
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DB 🇨🇦 @rebelliousdb.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Basic necessities of life should not be a product only available to those who can afford them.
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Joshua Earle, Ph.D. @cyborgapologist.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Every professor should join the AAUP right now if you haven't. www.aaup.org Also join your local campus workers union, or any other union relevant to your work (they do different things!). If the government won't protect us, and our administrations won't protect us, we need to protect each other.
aaup.org
AAUP
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Ashley Lake @ashleylatke.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
This Fiona Apple narrated explainer PSA on how to film (and release footage from, not livestream) ICE arrests is exactly what we need from people with production skills right now and is worth about 3 million celebrity “imagine” covers in terms of survival utility
vimeo.com
We Have Rights: When Documenting ICE Arrests
This is "We Have Rights: When Documenting ICE Arrests" by MediaTank on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
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Johnathan Perkins @johnathanperk.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
All this, because America elected the first ever Black President. Sigh.
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Anna Mills @annamillsoer.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
I don't see why it might not happen at some point that an AI system comes up with some problem-solving approach we haven't thought of but which builds on all we have thought of (at least all it's trained on). Andrej Karpathy is arguing this in a viral X post (c'mon to Bsky!): x.com/karpathy/sta...
"Move 37" is the word-of-day - it's when an AI, trained via the trial-and-error process of reinforcement learning, discovers actions that are new, surprising, and secretly brilliant even to expert humans. It is a magical, just slightly unnerving, emergent phenomenon only achievable by large-scale reinforcement learning. You can't get there by expert imitation. It's when AlphaGo played move 37 in Game 2 against Lee Sedol, a weird move that was estimated to only have 1 in 10,000 chance to be played by a human, but one that was creative and brilliant in retrospect, leading to a win in that game.

We've seen Move 37 in a closed, game-like environment like Go, but with the latest crop of "thinking" LLM models (e.g. OpenAI-o1, DeepSeek-R1, Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking), we are seeing the first very early glimmers of things like it in open world domains. The models discover, in the process of trying to solve many diverse math/code/etc. problems, strategies that resemble the internal monologue of humans, which are very hard (/impossible) to directly program into the models. I call these "cognitive strategies" - things like approaching a problem from different angles, trying out different ideas, finding analogies, backtracking, re-examining, etc. Weird as it sounds, it's plausible that LLMs can discover better ways of thinking, of solving problems, of connecting ideas across disciplines, and do so in a way we will find surprising, puzzling, but creative and brilliant in retrospect. It could get plenty weirder too - it's plausible (even likely, if it's done well) that the optimization invents its own language that is inscrutable to us, but that is more efficient or effective at problem solving. The weirdness of reinforcement learning is in principle unbounded.
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Jen Roberts, NBCT @jen.litandtech.com · 31/01/2025
Okay, shameless plug. Here is my own blog post about what happens when 9th graders have access to instant AI feedback on their writing project. #EduSKyAI www.litandtech.com/2024/11/what...
litandtech.com
AI as a Writing Coach: Transforming Student Writing Revision
Discover how AI feedback tools can motivate students to revise and improve their writing with less teacher intervention
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