Learning Ecosystems

Fresh Off the Press: Parents’ Guide to Microschools — from gettingsmart.com

We’re excited to announce and share our new Parents Guide to Microschools, a clear and approachable introduction to one of the fastest growing learning models in the country. The guide unpacks what microschools are, how they work and why families are increasingly drawn to intimate, relationship centered environments. It highlights features like flexible schedules, small cohorts, personalized pathways and hands-on learning so parents can picture what these settings actually look and feel like.

It also equips families with practical tools to navigate the decision making process: key questions to ask during visits, indicators of strong culture and instruction, considerations around cost and accreditation and how to assess overall fit for each learner. Whether parents are simply curious or actively exploring new options, this guide offers clarity, confidence and a starting point for imagining what learning could look like next.

“My students use ChatGPT to attack their own thinking before I ever grade them.” [Winkel] + another item re: AI in our LE’s

On 12/10/2025, in adjunct faculty, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, digital learning, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, graphics, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, library / librarians, lifelong learning, multimedia, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Beyond Infographics: How to Use Nano Banana to *Actually* Support Learning — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr Philippa Hardman
Six evidence-based use cases to try in Google’s latest image-generating AI tool

While it’s true that Nano Banana generates better infographics than other AI models, the conversation has so far massively under-sold what’s actually different and valuable about this tool for those of us who design learning experiences.

What this means for our workflow:

Instead of the traditional “commission ? wait ? tweak ? approve ? repeat” cycle, Nano Banana enables an iterative, rapid-cycle design process where you can:

Sketch an idea and see it refined in minutes.
Test multiple visual metaphors for the same concept without re-briefing a designer.
Build 10-image storyboards with perfect consistency by specifying the constraints once, not manually editing each frame.
Implement evidence-based strategies (contrasting cases, worked examples, observational learning) that are usually too labour-intensive to produce at scale.

This shift—from “image generation as decoration” to “image generation as instructional scaffolding”—is what makes Nano Banana uniquely useful for the 10 evidence-based strategies below.

Why Parents Aren’t Reading to Kids, and What It Means for Young Students [Harkay]

On 12/10/2025, in education, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, parents/guardians, participation, reading, research, student-related, teachers, trends, United States, writing, youth, by Daniel Christian

Why Parents Aren’t Reading to Kids, and What It Means for Young Students — from the74million.org by Jessika Harkay
A recent study found less than half of children are read to daily. The consequences are serious for early learners who enter school unprepared.

For children not getting the benefits of being read to at home, the opportunity gap has widened, with those young students entering school unprepared compared to those who have been read to.

“The gap really begins very, very early on. I think we underestimate how large a gap we’re already seeing in kindergarten,” said Susan Neuman, professor of childhood and literacy education at New York University, adding she recently visited a New York City kindergarten classroom and saw some children who only knew two letters compared to others who were prepared to read phrases.

A 2019 Ohio State University study found a 5-year-old child who is read to daily would be exposed to nearly 300,000 more words than one who isn’t read to regularly.

Beyond ChatGPT: Why In-House Counsel Need Purpose Built AI (Cecilia Ziniti, CEO – GC AI)

On 12/04/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, tools, trends, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Beyond ChatGPT: Why In-House Counsel Need Purpose Built AI (Cecilia Ziniti, CEO – GC AI) — from tlpodcast.com

This episode features a conversation with Cecilia Ziniti, Co-Founder and CEO of GC.AI. Cecilia traces her career from the early days of the internet to founding an AI-driven legal platform for in-house counsel.

Cecilia shares her journey, starting as a paralegal at Yahoo in the early 2000s, working on nascent legal issues related to the internet. She discusses her time at Morrison & Foerster and her role at Amazon, where she was an early member of the Alexa team, gaining deep insight into AI’s potential before the rise of modern large language models (LLMs).

The core discussion centers on the creation of GC AI, a legal AI tool specifically designed for in-house counsel. Cecilia explains why general LLMs like ChatGPT are insufficient for professional legal work—lacking proper citation, context, and security/privilege protections. She highlights the app’s features, including enhanced document analysis (RAG implementation), a Word Add-in, and workflow-based playbooks to deliver accurate, client-forward legal analysis. The episode also touches on the current state of legal tech, the growing trend of bringing legal work in-house, and the potential for AI to shift the dynamics of the billable hour.

Caring for Patients for 26 Years—and Still Not a Nurse — from workshift.org/ by Colleen Connolly

Arnett’s experience spending decades in a job she intended as a first step is common among CNAs, medical assistants, and other entry-level healthcare workers, many of them women of color from low-income backgrounds. Amid a nationwide nursing shortage, elevating those workers seems like an obvious solution, but the path from CNA to nurse isn’t so much a ladder as it is a huge leap.

And obstacle after obstacle is strewn in the way. The high cost of nursing school, lengthy prerequisite requirements, rigid schedules, and unpaid clinical hours make it difficult for many CNAs to advance in their careers, despite their willingness and ability and the dire need of healthcare facilities.

While there are no national statistics about the number of entry-level healthcare workers who move on to higher-paid positions, a study of federal grants for CNA training showed that only 3% of those who completed the training went on to pursue further education to become an LPN or RN. Only 1% obtained an associate degree or above. A similar study in California showed that 22% of people who completed CNA certificate programs at community colleges went on to get a higher-level educational credential in health, but only 13% became registered nurses within six years.

That reality perpetuates chronic shortages in nursing, and it also keeps hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers locked below a living wage, often for decades.

Celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities [Bersin]

On 12/03/2025, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), business, career development, corporate / business world, global / globalization, neurodivergent/special needs, skills, society, sociology, surviving, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities — from joshbersin.com by Josh Bersin

Today I want to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, an important day that recognizes the needs of millions of people. My perspective, as a professional entering my later years, is that many of us are likely to have disabilities over time, so the more we understand the diversity of disabilities the better for everyone.

First, let me point out that this is a massive population. The US Department of Labor and Census estimates that 11-13% of the working age population has some form of disability (more on what that means below), yet only 5-6% of workers. This points out that the employment ratio (percent of people with jobs) is far lower. People with disabilities are one-third as likely to have a job, which is quite a disparity and loss of economic potential.

Second, people with disabilities suffer a 15% lower average wage.

Josh linked to the item below:

Celebrating International Day of persons with disabilities
International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is a UN day that is celebrated every year on 3 December.

The day is about promoting the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities at every level of society and development, and to raise awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of political, social, economic, and cultural life. WHO joins the UN in observing this day each year, reinforcing the importance of securing the rights of people with disabilities, so they can participate fully, equally and effectively in society with others, and face no barriers in all aspects of their lives.

At its headquarters in Geneva, WHO organizes an annual IDPD event to educate the public, raise awareness, advocate for political will and resources, and celebrate WHO’s achievements. In 2022, the WHO launched the Global Report on health equity for persons with disabilities. This report sets forth the approaches and actions that countries can take to address the health inequities that persons with disabilities experience.

From DSC:
I just want to add that one of our daughters has some special needs. So Josh’s posting caught my eye. He’s right to point out these things. You and I will likely have a period of disability in our lives. It’s not just relevant for “other people.” (And by the way…in the learning world, practicing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is good for everyone!)

People with disabilities face enormous challenges that neurotypical people never have to deal with. They face unfair wage situations and a lack of opportunities. Our family has experienced — and continues to experience — this firsthand.

So thanks Josh for your posting here.

Agents, robots, and us: Skill partnerships in the age of AI — from mckinsey.com by Lareina Yee, Anu Madgavkar, Sven Smit, Alexis Krivkovich, Michael Chui, María Jesús Ramírez, and Diego Castresana
AI is expanding the productivity frontier. Realizing its benefits requires new skills and rethinking how people work together with intelligent machines.

At a glance

Work in the future will be a partnership between people, agents, and robots—all powered by AI. …
Most human skills will endure, though they will be applied differently. …
Our new Skill Change Index shows which skills will be most and least exposed to automation in the next five years….
Demand for AI fluency—the ability to use and manage AI tools—has grown sevenfold in two years…
By 2030, about $2.9 trillion of economic value could be unlocked in the United States…

Also related/see:

The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation — from mckinsey.com
Almost all survey respondents say their organizations are using AI, and many have begun to use AI agents. But most are still in the early stages of scaling AI and capturing enterprise-level value.

State of AI: December 2025 newsletter — from nathanbenaich.substack.com by Nathan Benaich
What you’ve got to know in AI from the last 4 weeks.

Welcome to the latest issue of the State of AI, an editorialized newsletter that covers the key developments in AI policy, research, industry, and start-ups over the last month.

“Introducing AI assistants with memory” + other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 12/01/2025, in accessibility / UDL, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, digital video, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, library / librarians, memory, multimedia, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

4 Simple & Easy Ways to Use AI to Differentiate Instruction — from mindfulaiedu.substack.com (Mindful AI for Education) by Dani Kachorsky, PhD
Designing for All Learners with AI and Universal Design Learning

So this year, I’ve been exploring new ways that AI can help support students with disabilities—students on IEPs, learning plans, or 504s—and, honestly, it’s changing the way I think about differentiation in general.

As a quick note, a lot of what I’m finding applies just as well to English language learners or really to any students. One of the big ideas behind Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is that accommodations and strategies designed for students with disabilities are often just good teaching practices. When we plan instruction that’s accessible to the widest possible range of learners, everyone benefits. For example, UDL encourages explaining things in multiple modes—written, visual, auditory, kinesthetic—because people access information differently. I hear students say they’re “visual learners,” but I think everyone is a visual learner, and an auditory learner, and a kinesthetic learner. The more ways we present information, the more likely it is to stick.

So, with that in mind, here are four ways I’ve been using AI to differentiate instruction for students with disabilities (and, really, everyone else too):

The Periodic Table of AI Tools In Education To Try Today — from ictevangelist.com by Mark Anderson

What I’ve tried to do is bring together genuinely useful AI tools that I know are already making a difference.

For colleagues wanting to explore further, I’m sharing the list exactly as it appears in the table, including website links, grouped by category below. Please do check it out, as along with links to all of the resources, I’ve also written a brief summary explaining what each of the different tools do and how they can help.

Seven Hard-Won Lessons from Building AI Learning Tools — from linkedin.com by Louise Worgan

Last week, I wrapped up Dr Philippa Hardman’s intensive bootcamp on AI in learning design. Four conversations, countless iterations, and more than a few humbling moments later – here’s what I am left thinking about.

Finally Catching Up to the New Models — from michellekassorla.substack.com by Michelle Kassorla
There are some amazing things happening out there!

An aside: Google is working on a new vision for textbooks that can be easily differentiated based on the beautiful success for NotebookLM. You can get on the waiting list for that tool by going to LearnYourWay.withgoogle.com.
…
Nano Banana Pro
Sticking with the Google tools for now, Nano Banana Pro (which you can use for free on Google’s AI Studio), is doing something that everyone has been waiting a long time for: it adds correct text to images.

Introducing AI assistants with memory — from perplexity.ai

The simple act of remembering is the crux of how we navigate the world: it shapes our experiences, informs our decisions, and helps us anticipate what comes next. For AI agents like Comet Assistant, that continuity leads to a more powerful, personalized experience.

Today we are announcing new personalization features to remember your preferences, interests, and conversations. Perplexity now synthesizes them automatically like memory, for valuable context on relevant tasks. Answers are smarter, faster, and more personalized, no matter how you work.

From DSC :
This should be important as we look at learning-related applications for AI.

For the last three days, my Substack has been in the top “Rising in Education” list. I realize this is based on a hugely flawed metric, but it still feels good. ?

– Michael G Wagner

Read on Substack

I’m a Professor. A.I. Has Changed My Classroom, but Not for the Worse. — from nytimes.com by Carlo Rotella [this should be a gifted article]
My students’ easy access to chatbots forced me to make humanities instruction even more human.

Some very sharp creativity!

On 11/30/2025, in architecture, art, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, digital photography, photography, tools, visualizing information, by Daniel Christian

Enjoy your weekend and your coffee, loves ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/GmLFHcHFWt

— Kris Kashtanova (@icreatelife) November 22, 2025

A holographic table that makes every traditional presentation look outdated. pic.twitter.com/CxxurXYp6v

— Architecture Presentation (@arcpresentation) November 23, 2025

“Whither Rivers Flow” by Photographer Ximeng Tu — from booooooom.com by Ximeng Tu

Zaha Hadid Architects completes waterfront stadium and sports centre in Guangzhou — from dezeen.com by Amy Peacock

Law Firm 2.0: A Trillion-Dollar Market Begins To Move — from abovethelaw.com by Ken Crutchfield
The test cases for Law Firm 2.0 are arriving faster than many expected.

A move to separate legal advice from other legal services that don’t require advice is a big shift that would ripple through established firms and also test regulatory boundaries.
…
The LegalTech Fund (TLTF) sees a $1 trillion opportunity to reinvent legal services through the convergence of technology, regulatory changes, and innovation. TLTF calls this movement Law Firm 2.0, and the fund believes a reinvention will pave the way for entirely new, tech-enabled models of legal service delivery.

From Paper to Platform: How LegalTech Is Revolutionizing the Practice of Law — from markets.financialcontent.com by AB Newswire

For decades, practicing law has been a business about paper — contracts, case files, court documents, and floor-to-ceiling piles of precedent. But as technology transforms all aspects of modern-day business, law firms and in-house legal teams are transforming along with it. The development of LegalTech has revolutionized what was previously a paper-driven, manpower-intensive profession into a data-driven digital web of collaboration and automation.

Conclusion: Building the Future of Law
The practice of law has always been about accuracy, precedent, and human beings. Technology doesn’t alter that — it magnifies it. The shift to the platform from paper is about liberating lawyers from back-office tasks so they can concentrate on strategy, advocacy, and creativity.

By coupling intelligent automation with moral obligation, today’s firms are positioning the legal profession for a more intelligent, responsive industry. LegalTech isn’t about automation, it’s about empowering attorneys to practice at the speed of today’s business.

What Legal Can Learn from Other Industries’ AI Transformations — from jdsupra.com

Artificial intelligence has already redefined how industries like finance, healthcare, and supply chain operate — transforming once-manual processes into predictive, data-driven engines of efficiency.

Yet the legal industry, while increasingly open to innovation, still lags behind its peers in adopting automation at scale. As corporate legal departments face mounting pressure to do more with less, they have an opportunity to learn from how other sectors successfully integrated AI into their operations.

The message is clear: AI transformation doesn’t just change workflows — it changes what’s possible.

7 Legal Tech Trends To Watch In 2026 — from lexology.com

Small Language Models Are Changing Legal Tech: What That Means for Lawyers and Law Firms — from community.nasscom.in

The legal profession is at a turning point. Artificial intelligence tools are moving from novelty to everyday utility, and small language models, or SLMs, are a major reason why. For law firms and in-house legal teams that are balancing client confidentiality, tight budgets, and the need to move faster, SLMs offer a practical, high impact way to bring legal AI into routine practice. This article explains what SLMs are, why they matter to lawyers, where they fit in legal workflows, and how to adopt them responsibly.

Legal AI startup draws new $50 million Blackstone investment, opens law firm — from reuters.com by Sara Merken

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Asset manager Blackstone (BX.N), opens new tab has invested $50 million in Norm Ai, a legal and compliance technology startup that also said on Thursday that it is launching an independent law firm that will offer “AI-native legal services.”

Lawyers at the new New York-based firm, Norm Law LLP, will use Norm Ai’s artificial intelligence technology to do legal work for Blackstone and other financial services clients, said Norm Ai founder and CEO John Nay.

Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 531: What Law Students Should Know About New Legal Tech (w/Gabe Teninbaum) — from jdsupra.com

Today, Alison and Gabe Teninbaum — law professor and creator of SpacedRepetition.com — discuss how technology is rapidly transforming the legal profession, emphasizing the importance for law students and lawyers to develop technological competence and adapt to new tools and roles in the legal profession.

New York is the San Francisco of legal tech — from businessinsider.com by Melia Russell

Legal tech ?? NYC.
To win the market, startups say they need to be where the law firms and corporate legal chiefs are.
Legora and Harvey are expanding their footprints in New York, as Clio hunts for office space.

Legal Tech Startups Expand in New York to Access Law Firms — from indexbox.io

Several legal technology startups are expanding their physical presence in New York City, according to a report from Legal tech NYC. The companies state that to win market share, they need to be located where major law firms and corporate legal departments are based.

Linklaters unveils 20-strong ‘AI lawyer’ team — from legalcheek.com by Legal Cheek

Magic Circle giant Linklaters has launched a team of 20 ‘AI Lawyers’ (yes, that is their actual job title) as it ramps up its commitment to artificial intelligence across its global offices.

The new cohort is a mix of external tech specialists and Linklaters lawyers who have decided to boost their legal expertise with advanced AI know-how. They will be placed into practice groups around the world to help build prompts, workflows and other tech driven processes that the firm hopes will sharpen client delivery.

I went to a closed-door retreat for top lawyers. The message was clear: Don’t fear AI — use it. — from businessinsider.com by Melia Russell

AI is making its mark on law firms and corporate legal teams.
Clients expect measurable savings, and firms are spending real money to deliver them.
At TLTF Summit, Big Law leaders and legal-tech builders explored the future of the industry.

From Cost Center to Command Center: The Future of Litigation is Being Built In-House — from law.stanford.edu by Adam Rouse, Tamra Moore, Renee Meisel, Kassi Burns, & Olga Mack

Litigation isn’t going away, but who leads, drafts, and drives it is rapidly changing. Empirical research shows corporate legal departments have steadily expanded litigation management functions over the past decade. (Annual Litigation Trends Survey, Norton Rose Fulbright (2025)).

For decades, litigation lived squarely in the law firm domain. (Wald, Eli, Getting in and Out of the House: Career Trajectories of In-House Lawyers, Fordham Law Review, Vol. 88, No. 1765, 2020 (June 22, 2020)). Corporate legal departments played a responsive role: approving strategies, reviewing documents, and paying hourly rates. But through dozens of recent conversations with in-house legal leaders, legal operations professionals, and litigation specialists, a new reality is emerging. One in which in-house counsel increasingly owns the first draft, systematizes their litigation approach, and reshapes how outside counsel fits into the picture.

AI, analytics, exemplar libraries, playbooks, and modular document builders are not simply tools. They are catalysts for a structural shift. Litigation is becoming modular, data-informed, and orchestrated by in-house teams who increasingly want more than cost control. They want consistency, clarity, and leverage. This piece outlines five major trends from our qualitative research, predictions on their impact to the practice of law, and research questions that are worth considering to further understand these trends. A model is then introduced for understanding how litigation workflows and outside counsel relationships will evolve in the coming years.

Some more scripture and wisdom for us

On 11/22/2025, in ethics, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, morals/values, relationships, religion, society, youth, by Daniel Christian

Matthew 22:36-40

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Colossians 3:15

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 4:2

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

“The AI opportunity in L&D isn’t one thing – it’s five different capability unlocks.” [Vinauskaite] + other items re: AI in our LE’s

On 11/21/2025, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, emerging technologies, faculty/staff, game-changing environment, higher education, innovation, instructional design, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, memory, online learning, Open AI, pedagogy, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, simulations, skills, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, United States, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

AI’s Role in Online Learning > Take It or Leave It with Michelle Beavers, Leo Lo, and Sara McClellan — from intentionalteaching.buzzsprout.com by Derek Bruff

You’ll hear me briefly describe five recent op-eds on teaching and learning in higher ed. For each op-ed, I’ll ask each of our panelists if they “take it,” that is, generally agree with the main thesis of the essay, or “leave it.” This is an artificial binary that I’ve found to generate rich discussion of the issues at hand.

Two cool items involving art and creativity

On 11/21/2025, in art, collaboration, creativity, Emotion, K-12 related, more voice more choice more control, relationships, student-related, teachers, by Daniel Christian

Simon Laveuve’s Scaled-Down Tableaux Reveal Post-Apocalyptic Lifestyles — from thisiscolossal.com by Simon Laveuve and Kate Mothes

Bringing High School Students and Kindergartners Together to Make Art — from edutopia.org by Cory Desmond
A look at how teachers can have students collaborate across grades on an art project that promotes creativity and teamwork.

What happens when high school students and kindergartners collaborate? Art. Innovation. Growth. And so much more.

Inspired by illustrator Mica Angela Hendricks’s collaborations with her 4-year-old daughter—in which Hendricks would begin by drawing a portrait and then have her daughter add to it—I formalized the concept into an inter-grade art lesson. It’s a replicable, three-stage project based on vertical collaboration. This model bridges the creative and social gap between students, weaving together technical skill and imagination through methods based in social and emotional learning (SEL).

It operates by passing a structured project back and forth, compelling older students to engage with empathy, relationship maintenance, and responsible decision-making. Simultaneously, it empowers younger students, giving them significant creative autonomy through their own responsible choices. By breaking down the separation between age groups, cross-grade collaborations cultivate essential skills in ways that isolated classrooms typically can’t.

In this article, I’ll provide a flexible framework for vertical collaboration—a blueprint that teachers can adapt for their own cross-grade collaborations.

Could Your Next Side Hustle Be Training AI? — from builtin.com by Jeff Rumage
As automation continues to reshape the labor market, some white-collar professionals are cashing in by teaching AI models to do their jobs.

Summary: Artificial intelligence may be replacing jobs, but it’s also creating some new ones. Professionals in fields like medicine, law and engineering can earn big money training AI models, teaching them human skills and expertise that may one day make those same jobs obsolete.

DEEP DIVE: The AI user interface of the future = Voice — from theneurondaily.com by Grant Harvey
PLUS: Gemini 3.0 and Microsoft’s new voice features

Here’s the thing: voice is finally good enough to replace typing now. And I mean actually good enough, not “Siri, play Despacito” good enough.

To Paraphrase Andrej Karpathy’s famous quote, “the hottest new programming language is English”, in this case, the hottest new user interface is talking.

The Great Convergence: Why Voice Is Having Its Moment
Three massive shifts just collided to make voice interfaces inevitable.

1. First, speech recognition stopped being terrible. …
2. Second, our devices got ears everywhere. …
3. Third, and most importantly: LLMs made voice assistants smart enough to be worth talking to. …

Introducing group chats in ChatGPT — from openai.com
Collaborate with others, and ChatGPT, in the same conversation.

Update on November 20, 2025: Early feedback from the pilot has been positive, so we’re expanding group chats to all logged-in users on ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans globally over the coming days. We will continue refining the experience as more people start using it.

Today, we’re beginning to pilot a new experience in a few regions that makes it easy for people to collaborate with each other—and with ChatGPT—in the same conversation. With group chats, you can bring friends, family, or coworkers into a shared space to plan, make decisions, or work through ideas together.

Whether you’re organizing a group dinner or drafting an outline with coworkers, ChatGPT can help. Group chats are separate from your private conversations, and your personal ChatGPT memory is never shared with anyone in the chat.

New Study: Business As Usual Could Doom Dozens Of New England Colleges — from forbes.com by Michael B. Horn

The cause of the challenges isn’t one single factor, but a series of pressures from demographic changes, shifts in the public’s perception of higher education’s value, rising operating costs, emerging alternatives to traditional colleges, and, of late, changes in federal policies and programs. The net effect is that many institutions are much closer to the brink of closure than ever before.

What’s daunting is that flat enrollment is almost certainly an overly optimistic scenario.

If enrollment at the 44 schools falls by 15 percent over the next four years and business proceeds as usual, then 28 of the schools will have less than 10 years of cash and unrestricted quasi-endowments before they would become insolvent—assuming no major cuts, additional philanthropy, new debt, or asset sales. Fourteen would have less than five years before insolvency.

Also see:

A Looming Crisis: New Analysis Shows Dozens of Well-Known Colleges Are Near Financial Trouble — from michaelbhorn.substack.com by Michael B. Horn and Steven M. Shulman

From DSC:
The cultures at many institutions of traditional higher education will make some of the necessary changes and strategies (that Michael and Steven discuss) very hard to make. For example, to merge with another institution or institutions. Such a strategy could be very challenging to implement, even as alternatives continue to emerge.

Learning Ecosystems

Celebrating International Day of Persons with Disabilities [Bersin]

Some more scripture and wisdom for us

Greetings!

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