#education

Sometimes when we use AI the answer arrives looking finished. What happens when the questions remain but the answers become harder to reach?

AI really does introduce some genuinely new capabilities and conditions, but technological change does not wipe away everything we already know about literacy.

Notes from a March 2026 talk on helping learners use AI without surrendering judgment, agency, or responsibility.

What a self-hosting project taught me about computational thinking, risk, tradeoffs, and reasoning carefully through technical decisions.

Why the hardest part of bringing AI into curriculum is not logic or pedagogy, but the logistics, shame, and practical constraints educators actually face.

A follow-up on ungrading that argues removing grades is only the beginning; agency requires labor, structure, and support.

What I learned when ungrading stopped being a rejection of points and became a question of infrastructure, power, and student support.

A meditation on the everyday people who steady communities by helping others see clearly when things get hard.

A practical toolkit for bringing human judgment into AI-supported teaching.

How Google tools can support a second-brain workflow.

How prompting works as a pedagogical conversation with AI.

How to design AI loops that keep human flourishing at the center.

How AI can amplify human thinking in education.

The key dilemmas that shape an honest conversation about AI and education.

How educators are thinking about AI and the future of learning.

How one school of education is shaping AI policy for teaching and learning.

How students think about using generative AI in coursework.

How AI literacies fit into education and classroom practice.

Why participatory action research centers teachers' voices.

Why blanket bans on classroom tech often miss the real issue.

Why I’m turning newsletters and notes into a digital garden.

How AI can support SEL and empathy in digital classrooms.

A student-friendly introduction to what AI is and how it works.

Why social and emotional learning matters as much as academics.

How experiential learning and AI could reshape education.

Why educators and researchers should help confront harmful discourses.

How generative AI is reshaping literacy education and classroom practice.

Why education needs to adapt to a more complex, rapidly changing world.

A short reflection on Clint Smith's How the Word Is Passed.

How creativity and innovation can be taught with technology.

Why schooling should prepare students for an uncertain future.

Questions for thinking critically about your own technology use.

A brief note on the harms Cathy O'Neil identifies in algorithms.

The promise and risks of educational technology in today's classrooms.

Why empathy matters in a divided, trauma-shaped world.

How media literacy connects to economic inequality and market-driven education.

How capitalism shapes what we build, buy, and believe about edtech.

Why K-12 AI adoption needs balance, ethics, and human judgment.

Why education has a central role in the AI revolution.

How AI is changing education, teaching, and learning.

What educators should know about the promise and risks of generative AI.

How AI is changing the work teachers do and what that means for education.

Why education can be a meaningful path for positive change.

How to think about academic rigor as a condition for learning.

How to introduce future teachers to virtual AI assistants.

How digital literacy, identity, and SEL can support post-truth classrooms.

How privilege shapes the future of AI in classroom settings.

How to tend to social media and critical media literacy in class.

How wicked problems can open critical literacy across disciplines.

How teaching can blend practices, skills, and content across disciplines.

What wicked problems are and why they resist simple solutions.

What the post-COVID classroom changed and what still needs attention.

What a new normal might mean for teaching after the pandemic.

What I learned after my first semester of ungrading.

A reminder to close the gap between values and behavior.

How a student privacy program can deepen privacy expertise.

A course centered on identity, race, equity, and inclusion in gaming culture.

How ungrading can support more equitable intellectual discovery.

How ungrading feedback pushed me toward more critical pedagogy.

Why I started exploring ungrading in my courses.

A starting point for rethinking assessment through ungrading.

How gratitude can support well-being and empathy.

Why the pandemic exposed how much schools support communities.

How educator-researchers can think with computational thinking.

How behaviorism still shapes classroom tools and student behavior.

Why 'back to normal' may not be the right goal after COVID.

Lessons from Vinay Gupta's 'Monster Factory' interview.

Why the TILT survey matters for student experiences with instructional tech.

Why the TILT survey matters for faculty use of instructional tech.

How bots, friction, and human touch shape the user experience.

How the TILT survey was developed and validated.

Why human teachers still matter in an AI-shaped future.

How educators can document and study instructional technology use.

How chunking helps people remember and process information.

Selected materials from my tenure and promotion packet.

How Twitter can support teaching, learning, and social connection.

How teaching changed during COVID and what that revealed.

How scholars can make their work more accessible and approachable.

Why credentials help, but values and lived fit matter too.

Who owns course content after class ends, and what learning residue remains?

How young people are building change from the ground up.

How activist texts can support learning and social change.

What comes next after receiving the Divergent Award during COVID.

What strong groups do differently, and how to build them.

How computational thinking helps people solve problems more systematically.

Why digital badges can recognize learning across formal and informal contexts.

How to focus on what you can control in a post-COVID classroom.

In 2016, I joined the One Side Project Challenge. The project brought together a number of creators from around the globe, created a private space for idea…

How graphic novels can support adolescent literacy and classroom discussion.

Why embodied, offline life still matters in a digital age.

How to keep teaching when everything goes sideways.

How formative and summative assessments support learning.

Why storytelling still matters for identity and meaning-making.

How social scholarship prepares students for networked civic life.

How behaviorism still shapes digital literacy and classroom technology.

How to respond when trolling shows up online.

How screentime looks different for children and adolescents.

How assistive technology is adopted and supported in schools.

How educators can respond when hate and harmful discourse enter class.

How critical pedagogy differs from critical literacy and why it matters.

A reflection on why empowerment keeps showing up in my research and teaching.

A playful look at the heat and urgency of digital literacy.

How STEAM can help younger learners connect school and life.

Why a strategic plan should shape more than just the next task.

How to handle real-life debate with more care and insight.

How cognitive dissonance shapes judgment, wisdom, and learning.

How divergent and convergent thinking work together in learning.

How constraints can build creative confidence and divergent thinking.

How families can think about learning and enrichment over the summer.

How stop-motion projects can support early childhood learning.

Submitted materials for the Project Elated grant proposal.

How action research helps teachers solve classroom problems.

Doug Belshaw's Badge Summit keynote through a blockchain lens.

An early look at conversational bots in education, and why new interfaces always demand new literacies, habits, and forms of judgment.

What digital portfolios are and why they matter for learning and identity.

How blockchain might affect open badges in higher education.

A plain-language introduction to blockchain and its possible uses in education.

What an engineering education interview says about STEM, design, and literacy.

How digital badges raise questions of value, credibility, and trust.

How digital portfolios, badges, and blockchain might connect.

What educators are really learning in open online spaces: how to make, share, connect, and participate with confidence in networked publics.

How transmedia storytelling helps educators connect learning across disciplines and media.

How to help educators become more digitally literate.

Why transparency matters in higher education and where the system still hides information.

How students learn and share through online video.

How Vialogues can support video-based classroom discussion.

Why stop-motion and Vine are useful ways to play with digital media.

How a glitch remix helped me deconstruct my digital identity.

How hybrid and blended learning change pedagogy across time and place.

An overview of digital badges and their uses in teaching and learning.

An overview of digital badges as evidence, assessment, and motivation.

An overview of digital badges in teaching and learning.

An overview of web literacy map pathways, badges, and privacy work.

How digital literacy practices can support English learners.

How hybrid learning and Google+ discussion shaped a multicultural literacy study.

A collection of letters supporting the UNH Education Department.

TL;DR version: An update in my continued exploration and development of a digital badging system. At this point

An invitation to join the Online Research and Media Skills MOOC.

An overview of the IT&DML program sequence for educators.

How inclusive, participative, connected instruction can use technology well.

Come join us for the second annual Print to Pixel Unconference.

Episode 004 of the LRA: Research to Practice Show was held on Monday January 17th from 7:008:00 pm.

How to spot deeper learning by looking closely at student work.

Episode 003 of the LRA: Research to Practice Show will be held on Monday January 13th from 2:003:00 pm.

A TechTalk on Twitter, twitteracy, and connected educators.

What makes a strong blended or hybrid learning environment.

What an open badge initiative can learn from failure.

Why build an open educational MOOC in the first place?

How cognitive authority shapes decisions about digital badges.

Notes from the final day at the MA New Literacies Institute.

Notes from day three at the MA New Literacies Institute.

Notes from day two at the MA New Literacies Institute.

Key lessons from hosting an open badging initiative.

Lessons learned while launching and hosting an open digital badge initiative.

An overview of the ORMS MOOC and its badge system.

What digital badges can offer learners in a connected learning context.

How the graphics for our open badge initiative evolved over time.

What goes into preparing to launch an open badging system.

How open badges connect to teacher preparation programs.

What needs revision after launching an open educational resource.

Notes on framing an open badge initiative for teachers.

How the ORMS class embeds new literacies into the CCSS.

How to balance solo and collaborative work while making online content.

How open badges can support teachers trying to use technology.

How Mozilla's web literacies work can help teachers and students learn the web.

Why campus safety training matters for faculty and staff.

Why digital learning should still leave room for analog learning.

Why screencasts work well for online teaching and learning.

How visual analogies can help explain teacher growth.

How literacy and technology overlap in classroom practice.

How online content construction expands beyond online reading comprehension.

Why 'hack' has become a bad word in some professional spaces.

What students and teachers owe each other when using educational technology.

A reflection on teacher responsibility when using educational technologies.

We are quickly approaching the week of festivities for the Massachusetts New Literacies Institute 2012.

How elementary students can build research and media literacy skills.

A look at how open badges fit into education.

How a digital coursepack can support classroom learning.

My task for the Statement of Philosophy and Pedagogy portion of the Comprehensive Exams is included below. I have embedded my response at the bottom.

This is the task I received for one part of my Comprehensive Exams. Below I have embedded my response to this task.

Jenny Anderson, Rebecca Winthrop

Jonathan Haidt

Gholdy Muhammad

Christopher Emdin

Jarvis R. Givens

Mary Ehrenworth, Pablo Wolfe, Marc Todd

Gholdy Muhammad

William Stixrud, Ned Johnson

Cornelius Minor

Walter Isaacson

Cathy O'Neil

John Dewey

Douglas Thomas, John Seely Brown

Daniel T. Willingham

Matthew B. Crawford

Report · O’Byrne, W Ian; Hunter-Doniger, Tracey. (2026). Consume, Curate, Create: Pre-Service Educators Developing a Digital Identity.

Report · SLOTA, STEPHEN T; YOUNG, MICHAEL F; O’BYRNE, WIAN; BALLESTRINI, KEVIN. (2026). 跨界经纬| Transmedia Storytelling and Literacy Instruction.

Journal article · Jocius, Robin; Joshi, Deepti; Blanton, Melanie; Albert, Jennifer; O'Byrne, W Ian. (2025). Moving Through the Messy Middle: Longitudinal Case Studies of Teachers' Computational Thinking Infusion. Technology, Knowledge and Learning.

Journal article · Savitz, Rachelle S; Morrison, Jennifer D; Brown, Christy; Kane, Britnie D; Aldrich, Charlene; O’Byrne, W Ian. (2025). Middle and High School Teachers’ Perceived Expertise and Needs in Disciplinary Literacy. AERA Open.

Journal article · Savitz, Rachelle S; Morrison, Jennifer D; Brown, Christy; Aldrich, Charlene; Kane, Britnie D; O’Byrne, W Ian. (2024). Secondary Teachers’ Adolescent Literacy Efficacy and Professional Learning Considerations. Reading Research Quarterly.

Journal article · Crandall, Bryan Ripley; Dail, Jennifer; Goering, Christian Z; Mora, Raúl Alberto; O’Byrne, W Ian; Price-Dennis, Detra; Witte, Shelbie. (2024). Finding Exponential Hope in Courageous Communities. Voices from the Middle.

Journal article · Jocius, Robin; Albert, Jennifer; O’Byrne, W Ian; Joshi, Deepti; Robinson, Richard; Blanton, Melanie. (2024). Computational thinking infusion as transformative teaching: investigating content area teacher perspectives and practices. Computer Science Education.

Conference paper · Jocius, Robin; Albert, Jennifer; Blanton, Melanie; Joshi, Deepti; O'Byrne, Ian. (2023). Content Area Teachers’ Approaches to Computational Thinking Infusion. Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference.

Journal article · Jocius, Robin; Albert, Jennifer; Joshi, Deepti; Blanton, Melanie; O’Byrne, W Ian. (2023). Creating sustainable computational thinking infusion: An analysis of teacher-led practitioner inquiry projects. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education.

Journal article · Nash, Brady L; Hicks, Troy; Garcia, Merideth; Fassbender, William; Alvermann, Donna; Boutelier, Stefani; McBride, Cherise; McGrail, Ewa; Moran, Clarice; O'Byrne, Ian. (2023). Artificial intelligence in English education: Challenges and opportunities for teachers and teacher educators. English Education.

Journal article · Hunter-Doniger, Tracey; Radakovic, Nenad; O’Byrne, William Ian; Adams, Britnee; Gourdie, Emma; Heckman, Christian; Smith, Dillan. (2022). 3D printed iron gates: Celebrating an African American artist through a transdisciplinary lesson. Art Education.

Journal article · Jocius, Robin; O'Byrne, W Ian; Albert, Jennifer; Joshi, Deepti; Blanton, Melanie; Robinson, Richard; Andrews, Ashley; Barnes, Tiffany; Catete, Veronica. (2022). Building a virtual community of practice: Teacher learning for computational thinking infusion. TechTrends.

Journal article · Radakovic, Nenad; O'Byrne, W Ian; Negreiros, Melissa; Hunter-Doniger, Tracey; Pears, Emily; Littlejohn, Cymone. (2022). Toward transdisciplinarity: Constructing meaning where disciplines intersect, combine, and shift. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice.

Journal article · Garcia, Merideth; Marlatt, Rick; McDermott, Maureen; O’Byrne, W Ian. (2021). Today Is the Tomorrow We Should Have Prepared for Yesterday: Rebuilding Our Classrooms to Facilitate Student-Centered, Teacher-Sustaining, Tech-Supported Education. Voices from the Middle.

Journal article · Jocius, Robin; O’Byrne, W Ian; Albert, Jennifer; Joshi, Deepti; Robinson, Richard; Andrews, Ashley. (2021). Infusing computational thinking into STEM teaching: From professional development to classroom practice. Educational Technology & Society.

Journal article · Jocius, Robin; O'Byrne, Ian; Blanton, Melanie; Albert, Jennifer; Joshi, Deepti; Robinson, Richard; Andrews, Ashley. (2021). Leveraging virtual professional development to build computational thinking literacies in English language arts classrooms. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education.

Conference paper · Jocius, Robin; Joshi, Deepti; Albert, Jennifer; Barnes, Tiffany; Robinson, Richard; Cateté, Veronica; Dong, Yihuan; Blanton, Melanie; O'Byrne, Ian; Andrews, Ashley. (2021). The virtual pivot: Transitioning computational thinking PD for middle and high school content area teachers. Proceedings of the 52nd ACM technical symposium on computer science education.

Journal article · O’Byrne, W Ian; Keeney, Kate; Wolfe, Jack. (2021). Instructional technology in context: Building on cross-disciplinary perspectives of a professional learning community. TechTrends.

Journal article · O'Byrne, W Ian; Radakovic, Nenad; Hunter-Doniger, Tracey; Fox, Madison; Kern, Reggie; Parnell, Stephanie. (2018). Designing Spaces for Creativity and Divergent Thinking: Pre-Service Teachers Creating Stop Motion Animation on Tablets. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology.

Journal article · O'Byrne, William Ian; Houser, Katherine; Stone, Ryan; White, Mary. (2018). Digital storytelling in early childhood: Student illustrations shaping social interactions. Frontiers in Psychology.

Journal article · O'Byrne, W Ian. (2016). The role of K-12 education in creating critical digital experts in the era of Web 2.0. First Monday.

Journal article · Burke, Quinn; O'Byrne, W Ian; Kafai, Yasmin B. (2016). Computational participation: Understanding coding as an extension of literacy instruction. Journal of adolescent & adult literacy.

Journal article · O’Byrne, WI. (2016). Four steps to conducting action research in the classroom. Ian O'Byrne.

Journal article · O’Byrne, W Ian; Schenke, Katerina; Willis, James E; Hickey, Daniel T. (2015). Digital badges: Recognizing, assessing, and motivating learners in and out of school contexts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.

Journal article · O'Byrne, W Ian; Pytash, Kristine E. (2015). Hybrid and blended learning: Modifying pedagogy across path, pace, time, and place. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.

Journal article · O'Byrne, W Ian; Smith, Shane A. (2015). Multicultural education and multiliteracies: Exploration and exposure of literacy practices with preservice teachers. Reading & Writing Quarterly.

Book chapter · McVerry, J. Gregory; O'Byrne, W Ian. (2014). Coding and Connecting Complex Literature. Using Technology to Enhance Reading.

Book chapter · Pytash, Kristine E; O’Byrne, W Ian. (2014). Research on literacy instruction and learning in virtual, blended, and hybrid environments. Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning.

Conference paper · McVerry, J Gregory; O'Byrne, Ian; John, Bartles; Joanne, Rhodes; Katina, Zammit; Devere, Wosley. (2012). Cool Tools: Potential Uses, Assessments, and Methodologies for the Literacy Educator and Researcher. Literacy Research Association.