Low & Slow - Avoiding the Hype with Alexandra Walsh (Amplify) | Ep. 121

Uncover how AI is transforming education publishing, navigate screen time policies, and meet a viral tech raccoon!

Before diving into AI and edtech, Matt and Liz break down the viral internet sensation of Jimothy, a Seattle raccoon with short spine syndrome who inspired a developer to create a retro eight-bit video game.

The Rundown

Sally the Robot Paused: A New York school district puts its controversial humanoid classroom robot pilot on hold following community pushback.

Gemini Notebook Collections: Google rolls out top-level navigation and collection folders to help users organize their numerous notebooks.

ISTE Releases Stretch: The organization announces the broad release of its specialized educator chatbot trained exclusively on vetted materials.

Human Intelligence Certificate: An academic proposal suggests students prove unassisted thinking through in-person tasks before integrating AI into studies.

Substack AI Detection: Substack partners with Pangram to help readers identify AI-generated text in published posts.

North Carolina Screen Time Guidance: The state issues purpose-driven framework guidelines rather than hard hourly limits for student devices.

Schools Beyond Screens Moratorium: A national coalition calls for a complete generative AI moratorium across all school districts.

Student Advocacy in Washington: A high school student argues that schools must actively teach practical civic advocacy skills to help youth shape legislation.

Beneath the Surface

Low and Slow: Avoiding the Hype with Alexandra Walsh Alexandra Walsh, Chief Product Officer at Amplify, joins Matt and Liz to discuss how a major educational publisher thoughtfully balances innovation and quality. She explores internal AI workflows, teacher-mediated tools like discussion moments, and the vital importance of maintaining human connection in classrooms.

Bright Byte

Engineers have successfully tested a forty-gram autonomous micro drone designed to track and eliminate disease-carrying mosquitoes mid-air using ultrasonic sensors and AI software.

Say hi to Matt on the road:

New Jersey Association of Independent Schools - August 11th

https://members.njais.org/integratedEvents/home/2026-INNOVATION-COLLABORATION-CONFERENCE

RIACTE - August 14th - Sponsored in part by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing

https://www.nextgenmfg.org/event-details/rhode-island-acte-summer-conference

Announcements

Purchase Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday

Amazon - https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77

Seeing through the Machine – Teaching Bias as an Equity Practice in AI - Dr. Elizabeth Radday - https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a

Check out our middle / high school Student AI Literacy course - ​​⁠⁠⁠www.skills21.org/ai/learnai⁠⁠⁠

Explore Skills21’s FREE social media literacy curriculum - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.skills21.org/social

Address Screen Time concerns - skills21.org/ai/screenshift

Sponsors

The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing: Your Gateway to Next Generation Advanced Manufacturing - https://www.nextgenmfg.org

Links

Beneath Surface with Alexandra Walsh

https://amplify.com/

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/fyxczf62

8-Bit 'Jimothy': Viral Sensation Gets a Video Game

https://tinyurl.com/2ez4z4c7

NY Classroom's Humanoid Robot Meets Backlash

https://tinyurl.com/bddm7m53

Google Is Fixing the Biggest Problem With Too Many Gemini Notebooks

https://tinyurl.com/ykh7tfch

Stretch, ISTE's Chatbot, Is Ready to Go

https://tinyurl.com/ydvhmf4w

Students Should Prove They Don't Need AI Before Using It

https://tinyurl.com/5tesaru3

Substack is adding an AI detection feature

https://tinyurl.com/aeyyb3yb

New DPI screen guidance stops short of time limits

https://tinyurl.com/2786k9v4

Screen Time Guidelines Shift as Research Grows More Nuanced

https://tinyurl.com/3t7tek8r

Students can shape policy. Why don't schools show them how?

https://tinyurl.com/yzthbkwr

A Drone That Hunts Mosquitoes

https://tinyurl.com/y95hcycy