8 AI Chatbots for Teachers: A Simple Guide and Quick Tips – Class Tech Tips
— from classtechtips.com by Dr. Monica Burns
On 07/06/2025,
in Australia, Canada, culture, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, Europe, face-to-face, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, legislatures / government / legal, society, UK, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Multiple Countries Just Issued Travel Warnings for the U.S. — from mensjournal.com by Rachel Dillin
In a rare reversal, several of America’s closest allies are now warning their citizens about traveling to the U.S., and it could impact your next trip.
For years, the U.S. has issued cautionary travel advisories to citizens heading overseas. But in a surprising twist, the roles have flipped. Several countries, including longtime allies like Australia, Canada, and the U.K., are now warning their citizens about traveling to the United States, according to Yahoo.
Australia updated its advisory in June, flagging gun violence, civil protests, and unpredictable immigration enforcement. While its guidance remains at Level 1 (“exercise normal safety precautions”), Australian officials urged travelers to stay alert in crowded places like malls, transit hubs, and public venues. They also warned about the Visa Waiver Program, noting that U.S. authorities can deny entry without explanation.
From DSC:
I’ve not heard of a travel warning against the U.S. in my lifetime. Thanks Trump. Making America Great Again. Sure thing….
On 07/06/2025,
in collaboration, creativity,
by Daniel Christian
Timing, talent, and teamwork
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) July 4, 2025
Photos by Charly Broyez and Laurent Kronental Celebrate Architecture Ahead of Its Time — from thisiscolossal.com by Charly Broyez, Laurent Kronental, and Kate Mothes
On 07/04/2025,
in 21st century, culture, Daniel S. Christian, ethics, faith, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, hearts -- matters of the heart, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, morals/values, United States,
by Daniel Christian
In Iowa, Trump Begins Task of Selling His Bill to the American Public — from nytimes.com by Tyler Pager
President Trump has spent days cajoling Republicans to support his spending bill. He will also have to sell it to a skeptical public as Democrats focus on all the ways it helps the wealthy.
President Trump took a victory lap on Thursday night after the House passed his sprawling domestic policy bill, which he muscled through Congress even as many in his party fear it will leave them vulnerable to political attacks ahead of next year’s midterm elections. (From DSC: Which it likely will do just that, and very possibly way beyond the midterm elections also.)
…
Just 29 percent of voters support the legislation, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll. Roughly two-thirds of Republicans supported the bill in that poll, a relatively low figure from the president’s own party for his signature legislation, and independents opposed it overwhelmingly.
From DSC:
Did you get that? Just ***29%*** of voters supported the legislation. But it passed anyway. I’m left thinking…so much for democracy. And I’m also disheartened by the caving of the other two branches of our government. The lack of leadership is staggering. But I guess when you remove all leaders that oppose your way of thinking, you have only Yes men/followers and Yes women/followers left. It’s taken years for the Republican Party to carefully orchestrate the ownership of those other branches. (BTW, I celebrate the handful of Republican leaders in the Senate like Sen. Thom Tillis and in the House who did not cave to Trump and Johnson, but instead voted with their own hearts and minds. They showed true strength of conviction and courage. It will likely cost them, but they can look in the mirror and feel good about themselves and what they’ve done.)
Look out Republicans (and I’ve voted for both Republican and Democrat Presidents in the past). Perhaps July 4th, 2025 will mark the downfall of the Republican Party in America. Time will tell. But I’m hopeful that we can find more common ground.
Regardless, it says a lot about who we, as Americans, are these days — that he’s even in the presidency. I highly doubt he would have been there even a generation or two ago. We’re a nation in decline. It’s been hard to watch this through the years. I’m no saint, but I’m also not the President.
Speaking of matters of faith…I can’t help but wonder what the LORD is doing in this. Is He humbling America or is it something far worse…? He’s justified in whatever He has decided to do. Americans have been dissing Him for decades, while refusing to give Him the credit due His Name. Time will tell my friends…time will tell.
Also see:
…
The House passed a sweeping bill to extend tax cuts and slash social safety net programs. The budget office reported the measure would increase U.S. national debt by at least $3.4 trillion over a decade.
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Also see:
- Trump ignored GOP warnings to gamble on a politically risky bill — from washingtonpost.com by Liz Goodwin, Marianna Sotomayor, Theodoric Meyer, and Emily Davies
In the president’s eagerness to score a win and extend tax cuts, he walked away from a key campaign promise on Medicaid.
To get his bill over the line in time for a self-imposed Friday deadline, Trump pressured Republican lawmakers to set aside their concerns about the political consequences of yanking benefits from voters while adding trillions to the federal deficit.
On 07/01/2025,
in business, changing business models, corporate / business world, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, research,
by Daniel Christian
In A Mega Deal, Clio Buys vLex for $1 Billion, Merging AI, Research and Practice Management — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi
In a landmark deal that will undoubtedly reshape the legal tech landscape, law practice management company Clio has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the AI and legal research company vLex for $1 billion in cash and stock.
The companies say that the acquisition will “establish a new category of intelligent legal technology at the intersection of the business and practice of law, empowering legal professionals to seamlessly manage, research, and execute legal work within a unified system.”
Get Up Close to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unrealized Buildings with David Romero’s Digital Models — from thisiscolossal.com by Kate Mothes and David Romero
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On 07/01/2025,
in accessibility / UDL, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, communications, education, education reform, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, leadership, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, platforms, strategy, teachers, tools, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Transform Public Speaking with Yoodli: Your AI Coach — from rdene915.com by Paula Johnson
Yoodli is an AI tool designed to help users improve their public speaking skills. It analyzes your speech in real-time or after a recording and gives you feedback on things like:
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- Filler words (“um,” “like,” “you know”)
- Pacing (Are you sprinting or sedating your audience?)
- Word choice and sentence complexity
- Eye contact and body language (with video)
- And yes, even your “uhhh” to actual word ratio
Yoodli gives you a transcript and a confidence score, plus suggestions that range from helpful to brutally honest. It’s basically Simon Cowell with AI ethics and a smiley face interface.
[What’s] going on with AI and education? — from theneuron.ai by Grant Harvey
With students and teachers alike using AI, schools are facing an “assessment crisis” where the line between tool and cheating has blurred, forcing a shift away from a broken knowledge economy toward a new focus on building human judgment through strategic struggle.
What to do about it: The future belongs to the “judgment economy,” where knowledge is commoditized but taste, agency, and learning velocity become the new human moats. Use the “Struggle-First” principle: wrestle with problems for 20-30 minutes before turning to AI, then use AI as a sparring partner (not a ghostwriter) to deepen understanding. The goal isn’t to avoid AI, but to strategically choose when to embrace “desirable difficulties” that build genuine expertise versus when to leverage AI for efficiency.
…
The Alpha-School Program in brief:
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- Students complete core academics in just 2 hours using AI tutors, freeing up 4+ hours for life skills, passion projects, and real-world experiences.
- The school claims students learn at least 2x faster than their peers in traditional school.
- The top 20% of students show 6.5x growth. Classes score in the top 1-2% nationally across the board.
- Claims are based on NWEA’s Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments… with data only available to the school. Hmm…
Austen Allred shared a story about the school, which put it on our radar.
Featured Report: Teaching for Tomorrow: Unlocking Six Weeks a Year With AI — from gallup.com
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.
In the latest installment of Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation’s research on education, K-12 teachers reveal how AI tools are transforming their workloads, instructional quality and classroom optimism. The report finds that 60% of teachers used an AI tool during the 2024–25 school year. Weekly AI users report reclaiming nearly six hours per week — equivalent to six weeks per year — which they reinvest in more personalized instruction, deeper student feedback and better parent communication.
Despite this emerging “AI dividend,” adoption is uneven: 40% of teachers aren’t using AI at all, and only 19% report their school has a formal AI policy. Teachers with access to policies and support save significantly more time.
Educators also say AI improves their work. Most report higher-quality lesson plans, assessments and student feedback. And teachers who regularly use AI are more optimistic about its benefits for student engagement and accessibility — mirroring themes from the Voices of Gen Z: How American Youth View and Use Artificial Intelligence report, which found students hesitant but curious about AI’s classroom role. As AI tools grow more embedded in education, both teachers and students will need the training and support to use them effectively.
Also see:
- 2-Hour Learning
- What if children could crush academics in 2 hours, 2x faster?
- What if children could get back their most valuable resource, which is time?
- What if children could pursue the things they want during their afternoons and develop life skills?
Amira Learning: Teaching With The AI-Powered Reading Tool — from techlearning.com by Erik Ofgang
Amira Learning is a research-backed AI reading tutor that incorporates the science of reading into its features.
What Is Amira Learning?
Amira Learning’s system is built upon research led by Jack Mostow, a professor at Carnegie Mellon who helped pioneer AI literacy education. Amira uses Claude AI to power its AI features, but these features are different than many other AI tools on the market. Instead of focusing on chat and generative response, Amira’s key feature is its advanced speech recognition and natural language processing capabilities, which allow the app to “hear” when a student is struggling and tailor suggestions to that student’s particular mistakes.
Though it’s not meant to replace a teacher, Amira provides real-time feedback and also helps teachers pinpoint where a student is struggling. For these reasons, Amira Learning is a favorite of education scientists and advocates for science of reading-based literacy instruction. The tool currently is used by more than 4 million students worldwide and across the U.S.
On 07/01/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, youth,
by Daniel Christian
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Psalm 19:1-2
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
“How AI is Finally Unlocking Efficiency in the Legal Sector” [Basit] + other legaltech-related items
On 06/27/2025,
in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, copyright/ownership/NFTs, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, Europe, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, productivity / tips and tricks, UK, United States, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
The EU’s Legal Tech Tipping Point – AI Regulation, Data Sovereignty, and eDiscovery in 2025 — from jdsupra.com by Melina Efstathiou
The Good, the Braver and the Curious.
As we navigate through 2025, the European legal landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, particularly in the realms of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation and data sovereignty. These changes are reshaping how legal departments and more specifically eDiscovery professionals operate, compelling them to adapt to new compliance requirements and technological advancements.
Following on from our blog post on Navigating eDisclosure in the UK and Practice Direction 57AD, we are now moving on to explore AI regulation in the greater European spectrum, taking a contrasting glance towards the UK and the US as well, at the close of this post.
LegalTech’s Lingering Hurdles: How AI is Finally Unlocking Efficiency in the Legal Sector — from techbullion.co by Abdul Basit
However, as we stand in mid-2025, a new paradigm is emerging. Artificial Intelligence, once a buzzword, is now demonstrably addressing many of the core issues that have historically plagued LegalTech adoption and effectiveness, ushering in an era of unprecedented efficiency. Legal tech specialists like LegalEase are leading the way with some of these newer solutions, such as Ai powered NDA drafting.
Here’s how AI is making profound efficiencies:
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- Automated Document Review and Analysis:
- Intelligent Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM):
- Enhanced Legal Research:
- Predictive Analytics for Litigation and Risk:
- Streamlined Practice Management and Workflow Automation:
- Personalized Legal Education and Training:
- Improved Client Experience:
The AI Strategy Potluck: Law Firms Showing Up Empty-Handed, Hungry, And Weirdly Proud Of It — from abovethelaw.com by Joe Patrice
There’s a $32 billion buffet of time and money on the table, and the legal industry brought napkins.
The Thomson Reuters “Future of Professionals” report(Opens in a new window) just dropped and one stat standing out among its insights is that organizations with a visible AI strategy are not only twice as likely to report growth, they’re also 3.5 times more likely to see actual, tangible benefits from AI adoption.
Speaking of legal-related items as well as tech, also see:
- Landmark AI ruling is a blow to authors and artists — from popular.info by Judd Legum
This week, a federal judge, William Alsup, rejected Anthropic’s effort to dismiss the case and found that stealing books from the internet is likely a copyright violation. A trial will be scheduled in the future. If Anthropic loses, each violation could come with a fine of $750 or more, potentially exposing the company to billions in damages. Other AI companies that use stolen work to train their models — and most do — could also face significant liability.
Tech Nvidia CEO says robotics is chipmaker’s biggest opportunity after AI — from cnbc.com by Kif Leswing
Key Points
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said robotics was one of the two largest growth opportunities for the AI chipmaker.
- In May, Nvidia said its robotics unit had $567 million in quarterly sales, or about 1% of the company’s total revenue.
- “We stopped thinking of ourselves as a chip company long ago,” Huang said at Nvidia’s annual shareholders meeting.
On 06/27/2025,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adult learning, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, CMS/LMS, communities of practice, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, platforms, tools, training / L&D, United States,
by Daniel Christian
2025 Learning System Top Picks — from elearninfo247.com by Craig Weiss
Who is leading the pack? Who is setting themselves apart here in the mid-year?
Are they an LMS? LMS/LXP? Talent Development System? Mentoring? Learning Platform?
Something else?
Are they solely customer training/education, mentoring, or coaching? Are they focused only on employees? Are they an amalgamation of all or some?
Well, they cut across the board – hence, they slide under the “Learning Systems” umbrella, which is under the bigger umbrella term – “Learning Technology.”
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Categories: L&D-specific, Combo (L&D and Training, think internal/external audiences), and Customer Training/Education (this means customer education, which some vendors use to mean the same as customer training).