Our online master’s degree options are once again ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report. #6 - Curriculum & Instruction #6 - Best Online Master’s Programs for Veterans (New) #9 - Educational/Instructional Media Design Explore our online degree options: https://bit.ly/3ZAZoFf

Congratulations to teaching assistant professor Theopolies Moton III on receiving the honor of 2026 MLK Champion by the University of Illinois MLK Commemorative Planning Committee last night. Read more: https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/1526/52701161

I think this is an important methodological statement, rejecting the use of Gen AI in Reflexive Qualitative Research: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Still accepting applications until Jan 20 for Wallace-supported ISLS attendance funding!

Plz Share: Seeking nominees (self and external nominations welcome) for the 2026 Jan Hawkins Award for Early Career Contributions to Humanistic Research and Scholarship in Learning Technologies awarded through @aeraedresearch.bsky.social Division C. Info here: sites.google.com/site/janhawk...

Apparently we need more public education efforts to understand the difference between things AI does on its own and things that humans program AI to do… AI issuing comments about its failings and suggesting it is working on them makes sense in Star Trek but frankly would be scary in the real.

Love the heat y’all are bringing on AI. For those of you in LS, ISLS is likely to host focused conversations this year on AI to inform our policies. Please show up. I need your voices in the room to help ensure we on the board advance ethical policy stances.

A thread on how GenAI corroded literature and citations

Just learned from our younger child what the current version of “first world problems” is. YC - “So my friend told me he couldn’t fit in his slacks anymore because his glutes had gotten bigger from working out, and I was like ‘oh no your lobster’s too buttered’”

We will not be robbed of our learning. bsky.app/profile/nsou...

I love when teachers ask if they can share what kids have done in our studies with their parents in a showcase because it’s cool!

As part of her National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation grant, @ciatillinois.bsky.social Assistant Professor Giselle Martinez Negrette is rebuilding the dual language classroom by understanding how those spaces are created and experienced by the people within them.

“People with T1D need to make many decisions to manage the chronic illness that involve various factors that interact with each other within a complex system,” says D’Angelo. “I’m excited about this project and its potential to improve the educational landscape for people with T1D”

SO Excited to finally have this paper out! Lead author @bahhumburg.bsky.social and the whole team did some really cool work! “Using Scientific Annotation Tools to Support Collaborative Embodied Learning in Elementary School Classrooms” link.springer.com/article/10.1...

In this timeline I take my wins where I can.

Beavers are awesome. The more I learn about how they support the surrounding ecosystems the more I appreciate them and want to teach kids about them!

smelly

Excited to share a new article by some colleagues and I about “How children blend feedback in a mixed-reality environment for collective embodied learning.” doi.org/10.1007/s114... … Spoiler alert, the entire activity system matters, and impacts what they notice, engage with, and learn.

Once more for the Monday morning crowd.

Serious question: do people teach lies and misdirection as an argumentative strategy or do the people who use it just learn though observation? I spend so much time trying to teach reliance on evidence and … sometimes I wonder how people who do the opposite get there.

The Center for Research and Innovation in Technology-Enhanced Learning (ITEL) aims to significantly enhance learning in schools and other venues through technology. Read more about how ITEL will become an interdisciplinary hub for the integration of technology into educational contexts:

Our Halloween decorations for this year

Got a call this week from a former student who got their dream job. A great reminder of what really matters in my line of work. Research findings fade or are rendered moot (appropriately) by new findings. But the effects we have on students, their families, and their lives are what persist.

In addition to the main paper and symposia tracks, ISLS Annual Meeting also welcomes your proposals for Interactive Tools and Demos, Workshops and Tutorials, and Doctoral/Early Career/Mid-Career/Alt-Academic Workshop. Deadline Nov 15. See more at 2026.isls.org/calls-for-pr...

Universal Design for Learning is a great way to think about supporting learners - but did you know it's also a great way to think about doing research? In this podcast episode, Dr. Samantha Daley talks about her wonderful article on using UDL to inform research. #PsychSciSky #AcademicSky #EduSky

"Our results...highlight the importance of PA design...to use PAs as a motivational tool, it is not enough to simply include a character, but rather to think carefully about its function in the learning environment, its purpose in the learning process, and its design." #PsychSciSky #EduSky

You're Invited ✉️ Join us on October 23 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. for a celebration of our Campus-Recognized Centers: 🔸 Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) 🔹 Center for Research and Innovation in Technology-Enhanced Learning (ITEL) RSVP by 10/15: https://bit.ly/4o04CVf

Excited to share this article co-authored with @kalanicraig.bsky.social where we describe our process of Design Based Humanities Research (DBHR), combining the tradition of DBR from Learning Sciences with Digital History and Design methods journalofdigitalhistory.org/en/notebook-...

This is a friendly reminder that research paper submissions for the ISLS 2026 Annual Meeting are due in one month - October 5. You can see the full calls on the in-progress website now: 2026.isls.org

Well, this is a big deal in my neck of the woods. If you typically applied to NSF EDU AISL, CSforAll, DRK-12, TD, or CORE, this is your new opportunity. Proposals accepted at any time. Expected awards up to $750k for up to 3 years. #PsychSciSky #AcademicSky #EduSky www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Damn the landscape for educators this year is bleak. Don’t get bogged down in business as usual. Take care of your students, and yourself, and direct the brilliant energy and passion of your students towards things that matter—whatever that might be for your community.

The ISLS 2026 First Call for Papers is available on the ISLS website now! A dedicated annual meeting website is coming soon. www.isls.org/news/isls-20...

An hour of trying to get anything useful out of the XFinity AI assistant regarding my internet connection not working has confirmed all of my fears about AI in education or really anything that matters. I would have found a magic 8-ball more useful.

Thrilled to share that as of August 16, I’ll be a Professor and Department Head in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Super excited for this wonderful opportunity with a truly amazing community!!

"I don't always barf, but when I do, it's on your favorite jacket."

Let's make our work a little more inclusive 🤍 Excited to finally share "Realizations & re-mediations: Enabling expression and interaction in collective embodied activities for children with disabilities" in Learning, Culture, & Social Interaction 🙌 Shoutout to @jdanish.bsky.social for the support!

#chatchemistry #iteachchemistry #chemistry

Come hang out at our ANNUAL ILSSA SOCIAL on Thursday, June 12th, 19:00-22:00 at 🍻 The Thirsty Scholar 🍻 🍕 Free pizza available & drinks available for purchase 🍕 Add us on Whova, join the Discord via bit.ly/ILSSA, and share with your travel buddies! See you soon!

Excited to share this new article co-authored with @zhoum56.bsky.social and @morganavickery.bsky.social: “Goals in Motion: How Emergent Embodied Goals Support Elementary Students’ Mechanistic Reasoning in Collaborative Modeling Activities" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Apple Watch apparently doesn’t realize it is a bit odd to just stand up in the middle of a dissertation defense. Sorry … gonna keep sitting here.

Member of my team made amazing 2-meme descriptions of the entire lab. Here is mine! I’m pretty happy with this being how I am viewed. To be clear, I am mostly sure the email one is because I send emails to protect the team, not because I email the team angry emails!!

They say that those who can & cannot use #AI will fuel the next digital divide. There's a corollary to that they're missing— Those who are able to think & problem solve WITHOUT AI vs those totally reliant on AI for their knowledge work will fuel the next intellect/knowledge/economic divide.

“A decline in research funding will result in fewer inventions, which means fewer innovations will get to market...I imagine that in 10 years, there will be fewer drugs approved than there are today because of these constraints" www.insidehighered.com/news/busines...

As someone working in / with / teaching network visualization and also who is in higher ed … this is really cool.

BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

ICYMI, new book, open access, it’s a great day to share and read!