Jacob Pleasants
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jbpleasa.bsky.social
Jacob Pleasants
@jbpleasa.bsky.social
180 followers 110 following 130 posts
Technoskeptical STEM Educator
Co-Director, Civics of Technology
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Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
EdTech is in our lives from the very beginning. Michelle Ciccone writes about becoming a Civics of Tech parent and bearing witness to tech mediation in the first year of life.

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/reflect...
Reflecting on Daycare (Ed)Tech and Being a New “Civics of Tech Parent” — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Curriculum Crowdsourcing : One of the most popular activities in our Curriculum is our Critical Tech Quote Activity because the lessons offers a quick way to int...
www.civicsoftechnology.org
November 23, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
We've got a book club coming up on Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET!

Come talk about @neilselwyn.bsky.social's Digital Degrowth, led by @charleswlogan.bsky.social

Register on our events page!

www.civicsoftechnology.org/events

www.wiley.com/en-us/Digita...
Digital Degrowth: Radically Rethinking our Digital Futures
We are fast approaching the point of “peak digital”, with the continued mass production and excessive consumption of digital technologies set to become a key driver of climate crisis, ecol...
www.wiley.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
How can we make GenAI an object of critique in the K-12 classroom? Samantha Serrano shares a lesson from her teaching practice in today's blog:

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/meet-al...
“Meet alt+Sam.” A GenAI Exercise in Civic Literacy — Civics of Technology
Cross post of a social studies lesson on digital ethics featuring an uncanny valley guest speaker, creepy chat bot alt+Sam (yeah, you know who we mean).
www.civicsoftechnology.org
November 9, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Tech Talk today! At 12:00 PM ET

Register here: oklahoma.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 6, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Today for the blog: If EdTech is the hero, is the teacher the villain?

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/edtechs...
In EdTech's Hero's Journey, Is the Teacher the Villain? — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Next Tech Talk (NOTE THE NEW TIME): We will now be alternating our meeting time for our Tech Talks so that we can connect with different people in our community. ...
www.civicsoftechnology.org
November 2, 2025 at 2:16 PM
jbpleasa.bsky.social
Great article by Natasha Singer. The appearance of Matter and Space was particularly wild!

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/t...
October 26, 2025 at 12:20 PM
jbpleasa.bsky.social
💀

"With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that."

www.ksl.com/article/5139...
Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI in push to bring chatbots into classrooms
For the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies.
www.ksl.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Today, Jean Ryoo and Jane Margolis share the story of translating their graphic novel Power On!

They write about their process as well as the profound significance of this translation work.

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/why-tra...
Why Translation Matters: Transforming Power On! Into ¡Conectados! — Civics of Technology
Jean Ryoo & Jane Margolis, authors of ¡Conectados! discuss the power of translation, technology, and standing together in dignity, safety, and belonging for all.
www.civicsoftechnology.org
October 19, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Book club tonight!

Come and discuss Culpability, led by Erin Anderson, at 8:00 ET

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/j/3220332388...

Or visit our Events page

www.civicsoftechnology.org/events

www.spiegelandgrau.com/culpability
Culpability by Bruce Holsinger — Spiegel & Grau
www.spiegelandgrau.com
October 14, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Out of the goodness of their hearts, big tech makes "offerings" to education. Free gifts, infused with religious language. What could go wrong?

Marte Henningsen investigates

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/take-me...
Take me to Church: Big Tech Advertising their Gift to Education — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Next Tech Talk (NOTE THE NEW TIME): We will now be alternating our meeting time for our Tech Talks so that we can connect with different people in our community. ...
www.civicsoftechnology.org
October 12, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Our next Tech Talk is THIS TUESDAY (October 7)

Here's the registration link. Our apologies for not having this link live until today. We hope you can join!

oklahoma.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: October Tech Talk. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: October Tech Talk. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
oklahoma.zoom.us
October 5, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Today!

@charleswlogan.bsky.social shares his recent experiences on Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000! Read about it on our blog, and go check out the episode if you haven't already

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/learnin...
Learning and Laughter on Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Next Tech Talk: The next Tech Talk will be held on October 7 at 8:00 Eastern Time. Register here or on our events page. Come join our community in an info...
www.civicsoftechnology.org
October 5, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
wolvendamien.bsky.social
Preliminary results show that the current framework of "AI" makes ppl less likely to help or seek help from other humans, or to seek to soothe conflict, and that people actively prefer that framework to any others, literally serving to make them more dependent on it.
Sycophantic AI Decreases Prosocial Intentions and Promotes Dependence
Both the general public and academic communities have raised concerns about sycophancy, the phenomenon of artificial intelligence (AI) excessively agreeing with or flattering users. Yet, beyond isolat...
arxiv.org
October 5, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Today for the CoT blog, Julie Smith shares a truly fascinating resource. Full of interviews and case studies that show how teachers are thinking about and wrestling with AI technologies in schools. Read the blog post to learn more!

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/announc...
Announcing the Release of A Guide to AI in Schools: Perspectives for the Perplexed — Civics of Technology
Civics of Technology Announcements Next Tech Talk: The next Tech Talk will be held on October 7 at 8:00 Eastern Time. Register here or on our events page. Come join our community in an info...
www.civicsoftechnology.org
September 28, 2025 at 5:34 PM
jbpleasa.bsky.social
Just finished reading this and... wow. Not that I had all that much confidence in pharma to begin with, but holy hell. This book is incredibly well researched and eye opening. Go read it. Seriously.

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647408...
No More Tears by Gardiner Harris: 9780593229866 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An explosive, deeply reported exposé of Johnson & Johnson, one of America’s oldest and most trusted pharmaceutical companies—from an award-winning...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
September 28, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Speaking of @neilselwyn.bsky.social, check out today's blog post with Adriana Szili sharing "New resources for teachers and student teachers: AI Dilemmas": www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/2dp8ng2...

Materials include posters, handouts, & slides to help reflect on real-world dilemmas of AI in edu.
September 21, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
linkletter.org
Google backtracked after I tipped the Washington Post to how they were pushing AI functionality during exams. wapo.st/47OPRzL
Column | Teachers got mad about a cheat button in Chrome. Now Google’s pausing it.
Google quietly added a “homework help” button to the world’s most-used web browser. Educators say it makes cheating too easy.
wapo.st
September 18, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
hypervisible.blacksky.app
“Chrome’s cheating tool exemplifies Big Tech’s continuing gold rush approach to AI: launch first, consider consequences later and let society clean up the mess.”
Column | Teachers got mad about a cheat button in Chrome. Now Google’s pausing it.
Google quietly added a “homework help” button to the world’s most-used web browser. Educators say it makes cheating too easy.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 18, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
hypervisible.blacksky.app
Choice quote from @linkletter.org
Google is undermining academic integrity by shoving AI in students’ faces during exams,” says Ian Linkletter, a librarian at the British Columbia Institute of Technology who first flagged the issue to me. “Google is trying to make instructors give up on regulating AI in their classroom, and it might work. Google Chrome has the market share to change student behavior, and it appears this is the goal.” Several days after I contacted Google about the issue, the company told me it had temporarily paused the homework help button — but also didn’t commit to keeping it off. “Students have told us they value tools that help them learn and understand things visually, so we’re running tests offering an easier way to access Lens while browsing,” Google spokesman Craig Ewer said in a statement.
September 18, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Today, @olivia.science and her colleagues speak about their efforts to resist the uncritical adoption of AI in academia. Read all about it in today's blog, and see their open letter below:

openletter.earth/open-letter-...

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/no-ai-g...
www.civicsoftechnology.org
September 14, 2025 at 2:10 PM
jbpleasa.bsky.social
I'm teaching a course that's all about questioning EdTech hype. 100% gonna have my students listen to this.
nytimes.com The New York Times @nytimes.com · Sep 6
A.I. is changing classrooms. We spoke to the co-founder of Alpha Schools about how her private K-12 schools are using A.I. to generate personalized lesson plans and enabling teachers to spend their time motivating rather than teaching students. nyti.ms/4p9HRzr
A group of young children are gathered around a wooden table outside. Quote reads: "Kids don't have to sit at a classroom desk all day long, just grinding through academics." Attribution reads: MacKenzie Price, co-founder of Alpha Schools
September 6, 2025 at 3:57 PM
jbpleasa.bsky.social
This made me think about Design Justice and the perils of "co-design" with community. While it can appear like a good thing, it can easily become extractive when the expertise of a community is leveraged for the profit of the designers (which are rarely returned to the community).
audreywatters.bsky.social Audrey Watters @audreywatters.bsky.social · Sep 5
Brood parasitism is not a perfect metaphor, by any means, for AI, for the offloading of ed-tech development onto teachers and students, for the vampiric practices of VCs ... but it's the bird I went with to head this week's news round-up...

2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/brood-parasi...
Brood Parasites
Humans have always invested great meaning in birds. No surprise, what with the feathers, the flight. Each week, when I look at all the stories that've been told about education and technology and try ...
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
September 5, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
tommullaney.bsky.social
Thank you, @bloomberg.com, for quoting @charleswlogan.bsky.social and shouting out @civicsoftech.bsky.social. Teachers should follow both for an equity-informed vision of technology in schools.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
But none of that is inevitable. A grassroots movement is growing among those determined to resist the proliferation of AI in schools. The Civics of Technology Project, founded in 2022 by educators and researchers, wants to instead have administrators, teachers, students and parents prioritize studying “the collateral, disproportionate, and unexpected effects of technology”—including AI. One option is to imagine, and work to bring about, an alternative future in which AI doesn’t dominate. “There are ways that teachers, caregivers and students, too, can say, ‘Well, what if I don’t want to have to use this technology?’” said Charles Logan, a research fellow at Northwestern University and a board member for the Civics of Technology Project.
September 2, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
What's on your mind? Read anything good? Bad? Thought-provoking? Had a good conversation? A head-scratching experience?

Come to our Tech Talk today and join the community conversation. No agenda. Just humans.

oklahoma.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
September 2, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Jacob Pleasants
civicsoftech.bsky.social
Today, Nicky Agate shares a great opportunity to contribute resources to the Project on Open and Evolving Metaliteracies. Read to learn more!

Contributors can submit through September 17.

www.civicsoftechnology.org/blog/project...
Project on Open and Evolving Metaliteracies (POEM) Call for Resources — Civics of Technology
Consider submitting resources to POEM. The call is open through Sep 17, 2025!
www.civicsoftechnology.org
August 31, 2025 at 2:38 PM