Day 4 (of 2026/27) Fridays are for…. Option 1: News you may have missed, but have education connections:
What exactly is the test measuring — and what changed around the people taking it?
I’ve had the test run with one of my cohorts…
It’s not a bad test…
But it’s still a test being administered to a culture that has evolved from a single point of measurement of student learning.
When standardized “one for all” tests are not valued in the class…
Why would it be valued when offered by strangers?
If reading ‘slides’ are important – why don’t we explore restoring and enhancing librarians in schools rather than ‘more of the same’… look at some different strategies and approaches (and services from the nostalgic time when we like to pretend that reading was done better)
Intriguingly, the OECD itself is now talking about changes in how students read — including skimming, digital reading, distraction and declining reading for pleasure — rather than simply saying schools stopped teaching reading properly
FYI there’s a fascinating Canadian wrinkle: 32% of Canadian students reported digital distraction in science classes versus 28% OECD-wide—but Canada was among the minority of systems where that reported distraction wasn’t associated with a statistically significant difference in science performance
- Astra – chat GPT 6 is out and is leading to significant crisis of faith by those involved – At the same time, people working at the frontier of AI — including researchers at other companies — continue to publicly wrestle with whether the technology they are helping create is something they actually want to create. https://mashable.com/tech/anthropic-ai-researcher-quit-ethics-safety
The reminder that the difference between dystopia and utopia may just be a matter of perspective…
It’s fun (okay, in a slightly twisted way) to read ’dystopian fiction’ and want to apply it to what we see with AI
But there are cohorts (Yong Zhao’s Courageous Minority https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1136061 ) who are looking at working with AI in education in order to explore some considerations into AI and Educations future – sorry, but banning it is ridiculous – even at primary years, it is an important discussion to mention and bring up so that students can be critical about the media they are exposed to… including some of the teacher worksheets they will get… reading passages they will encounter… critical and creative thinking are key skills to work on when thinking about AI at all ages…
Not that Astra is designed as a K–12 product.
OpenAI now distinguishes between its adult and teen experiences, with additional protections for users under 18.
And those guardrails are considerably more developed than they were in earlier iterations.
If we focus on schema and background work rather than ‘just’ the end result – collaborations with AIs such as Astra have amazing learning potential..
- Microsoft age verification… https://www.pcworld.com/article/3227424/windows-11-will-soon-tell-apps-how-old-you-are-heres-how-it-works.html
While many express worries about screen time, social medias, and AI when talking about edtech… age verification is the topic that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up (yes – make the joke that its because there’s none on the top of my head… I’ll wait…)
Much as the groans were heard with MFI (Multi Factor Identification)
Students and Educators alike balanced frustration and mistrust
I worry when things are advertised as “for family safety”…
Because they are coated in the lens of blocking youth from inappropriate images and content… https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/08/xbox-rolls-out-mandatory-age-verification-to-access-18plus-rated-games-in-australia
But the ripple effects are dangerous… even working on a short story on where I worry this may take us (forget age verification, what if suddenly there is a ‘nutritionist verification’ when you stop at 7-11 for a late night snack?)
Technolandy 
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