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Putting Students First: Ethical Extended Reality Practice at York St John - Inspiring learning
Putting Students First: Ethical Extended Reality Practice at York St John - Inspiring learning
As part of ALT/ Jisc XR Community’s work investigating the ethical use of immersive technology, Kathryn invited Matthew Coxon (Programme Lead (BSc, Psychology) and Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology at York St John University), who is a member of our XR Community steering group, to share his experiences.
chrisbthomson·inspiringlearning.jiscinvolve.org·
Putting Students First: Ethical Extended Reality Practice at York St John - Inspiring learning
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery
After weeks of outcry over the use of X's AI tool to create non-consensual sexualised images, X has turned off the image creation function for non-paying customers. Where users pay for the service, this allows X to identify people abusing the system (and people!). It remains to be seen how effective this step will be for online safety and whether it leads to more robust regulation politically.
#AI#safety#safeguarding
chrisbthomson·theguardian.com·
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery
Delightful Encounters: Fun, Curiosity, and Connection in Design
Delightful Encounters: Fun, Curiosity, and Connection in Design

It's been a while since I thought about the joy of using technology! The authors claim "Too often, our encounters with technology today are functional, frictionless, and flat." I'd go beyond that to say that our encounters can be stressful or harmful in some situations. [need to finish this thought]

chrisbthomson·dl.acm.org·
Delightful Encounters: Fun, Curiosity, and Connection in Design
Online Safety in 2025: Summary of the technology sector's response to UK's online safety rules
Online Safety in 2025: Summary of the technology sector's response to UK's online safety rules
This is Ofcom’s first assessment since key parts of the Online Safety Act came into force in 2025. Around 100,000 sites and apps—including social media, search, gaming, and pornography—are now under strict duties to protect UK users from illegal content and children from online harms. The report reflects early progress and sets priorities for 2026.
#Wellbeing#OnlineSafety#OnlineSafetyAct
srhibberson·ofcom.org.uk·
Online Safety in 2025: Summary of the technology sector's response to UK's online safety rules
The end of pretend – AI and the case for universities of formation
The end of pretend – AI and the case for universities of formation
We ought at least to ask if universities exist to sort and qualify, or to form and transform. AI forces the question.
What AI can’t provide is the second job. It can’t help us become someone. It can’t introduce us to people who will change our lives. It can’t hold us accountable, or surprise us, or make us brave.
One is about performing competence, the other is about proving competence under surveillance, but both still treat the output as the point.
Not as well as I can – not yet, not always – but well enough to make me wonder what I am actually for. What value I bring. How good I am at… pretending.
chrisbthomson·wonkhe.com·
The end of pretend – AI and the case for universities of formation
A Message from Ella | Without Consent
A Message from Ella | Without Consent

The Data Protection Commission Ireland have recently released an insightful depiction of the affects of "Sharenting" - The oversharing of parents on social media about their children and their habits or interests: https://x.com/DPCIreland

This very much aligns with the personal safety, cyber security and safe sharing messages outlined in the Ella - Without Consent video, produced by T-Mobile 2 years ago.

#Digital Wellbeing#Wellbeing
srhibberson·youtube.com·
A Message from Ella | Without Consent
How X's new location feature exposed big US politics accounts
How X's new location feature exposed big US politics accounts
A good illustration for information literacy purposes. BBC Verify looks at the new X/Twitter location feature to show how many political influencers and commentator accounts are based internationally. The data isn't 100% reliable but it does suggest a pattern of people monetising political "opinion".
#skills#social media
chrisbthomson·bbc.co.uk·
How X's new location feature exposed big US politics accounts
Bro boost: women say their LinkedIn traffic increases if they pretend to be men
Bro boost: women say their LinkedIn traffic increases if they pretend to be men
As we potentially move to AI 'personalising' learning for students the risks of algorithmic bias are still becoming apparent. The male/female discrepancies on LinkedIn post reach has been a hot topic this week although evidence is largely anecdotal.
CatBee·theguardian.com·
Bro boost: women say their LinkedIn traffic increases if they pretend to be men
Why clear GenAI guidance matters to neurodivergent students. And how to get it right
Why clear GenAI guidance matters to neurodivergent students. And how to get it right
This article covers how to better support neurodiverse learners in terms of AI policies. It calls for clarity on specific examples of when students can/ cannot use AI, and how to create a culture of responsible and transparent GenAI use. Unclear or inconsistent guidance on what is/ is not acceptable use of AI can cause cognitive overload for neurodivergent learners, which can prevent them from using the AI completely for fear of getting in trouble.
#AI#GenAI#accessibility
Kathryn-Woodhead·timeshighereducation.com·
Why clear GenAI guidance matters to neurodivergent students. And how to get it right
Questioning the inevitability of better tech - Inspiring learning
Questioning the inevitability of better tech - Inspiring learning
Chris reflects on why we should challenge the assumption that technology is always on an inevitable upward path to improvement. Frustrations about the current state of web search and anxiety about the impact of social media's recent evolution show that these technologies at least are susceptible to a slide into poorer user experiences.
Chris reflects on why we should challenge the assumption that technology is always on an inevitable upward path to improvement.
#tools#platforms#spaces
chrisbthomson·inspiringlearning.jiscinvolve.org·
Questioning the inevitability of better tech - Inspiring learning
Learning with AI falls short compared to old-fashioned web search
Learning with AI falls short compared to old-fashioned web search
Through research, Shiri Melumad establishes students develop shallower knowledge when relying on LLMs to summarise information on a topic. She makes an interesting point about the value of friction when students engage with web search as an active process, not a passive consumption of AI synthesised knowledge. Not massively surprising and Melumad points out that LLMs are useful in other contexts. For me, the interesting thing is that search engines are embedding AI tools much more prominently in their results pages, so choosing to do "traditional" search is becoming harder. With tech it's always worth paying attention to what happens when you follow the path of least resistance.
When we learn about a topic through Google search, we face much more “friction”: We must navigate different web links, read informational sources, and interpret and synthesize them ourselves.
transforming learning from a more active to passive process.
Need a quick, factual answer to a question? Feel free to use your favorite AI co-pilot. But if your aim is to develop deep and generalizable knowledge in an area, relying on LLM syntheses alone will be less helpful.
#skills#AI
chrisbthomson·theconversation.com·
Learning with AI falls short compared to old-fashioned web search
A United Nations online university for the poorest countries in the world: dream or reality? | Tony Bates
A United Nations online university for the poorest countries in the world: dream or reality? | Tony Bates

Dr Tony Bates outlines the arguments for and feasibility of an international initiative to improve access to university level STEM teaching in the world's least developed nations. Unsurprisingly, there are significant challenges, not least the provision of reliable infrastructure. He says: "I would put [the odds of success] at somewhere between a 10% and a 30% chance of success, even if the funding is made available. Nevertheless, the need is so great it is worth taking the chance, even at these odds." For me, 2 things are notable for their absence in this. There's no mention of big Ed Tech provider involvement from Tony. This is built around UN partnership with local universities. Done with, rather than done to? Secondly, I would hope that, if successful, then humanities subjects would also be able to flourish. STEM isn't the only key to economic and social development.

I would put them at somewhere between a 10% and a 30% chance of success, even if the funding is made available. Nevertheless, the need is so great it is worth taking the chance, even at these odds.
#internatioinal#development#online#STEM#UN
chrisbthomson·tonybates.ca·
A United Nations online university for the poorest countries in the world: dream or reality? | Tony Bates
The Power of Stories in Learning Design
The Power of Stories in Learning Design
We have a real enthusiasm for storytelling in our digital practice team. I was really sorry that illness stopped me getting to ALT-C this year. In particular, this would have been a great session to see.
#skills
chrisbthomson·altc.alt.ac.uk·
The Power of Stories in Learning Design
'I heat my Essex home with a data centre in the shed'
'I heat my Essex home with a data centre in the shed'
An innovative solution that bring s together the issues of data centres generating too much heat and houses being difficult to heat. There's a lot more to dig into here such as whether this is feasible at this small a scale and if community level efforts would be more efficient. Or the problem would be cheaper to solve given better housing stock.
chrisbthomson·bbc.co.uk·
'I heat my Essex home with a data centre in the shed'
Teaching AI Ethics: Copyright 2025
Teaching AI Ethics: Copyright 2025
Leon Furze provides a detailed look at the current state of the AI/Copyright legal landscape. It's enough to make your head hurt! He provides some interesting, subject-specific guidance for how you might incorporate this into your teaching.
#AI#tools
chrisbthomson·leonfurze.com·
Teaching AI Ethics: Copyright 2025
The Impossibility of Systems Thinking and Leadership: A Critique and Alternative
The Impossibility of Systems Thinking and Leadership: A Critique and Alternative
"The idea that we can understand, control, and optimise complex systems is an illusion born of hubris. The world is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be engaged with. Instead of systems thinking and leadership, we need a way of being that prioritises humility, adaptability, and relationality. By acknowledging our limits and embracing uncertainty, we may not perfect the world—but we might just learn how to live in it more wisely." I think there are some important lessons here for us about how we achieve change in organisations and how a reliance on understanding the world through data will only get us so far.
#horizons
chrisbthomson·freshthinking.substack.com·
The Impossibility of Systems Thinking and Leadership: A Critique and Alternative
Significant changes at Anthology - what you need to know - Inspiring learning
Significant changes at Anthology - what you need to know - Inspiring learning
We passed on some guidance to organisations using Anthology products this month after filing for voluntary bankruptcy protection while they reorganised their business around their teaching and learning portfolio and divested a range of other products. In the follow-up post Anthology's regional director of customer service answered the points we raised.
#platforms#VLE#blackboard#Anthology
chrisbthomson·inspiringlearning.jiscinvolve.org·
Significant changes at Anthology - what you need to know - Inspiring learning