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Preparing Students for an AI-Infused Workforce - Ithaka S+R

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Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jul 11

Nobody captures it better than Claire Baytas at @ithakasr.bsky.social . Dive into her sharp recap here:

#AIinEducation #EduAI #AIEdu

sr.ithaka.org/blog/prepari...

How can colleges and universities best prepare students to enter an increasingly AI-centered and infused workforce?

sr.ithaka.org

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jul 11

Top takeaways:
1️⃣ AI fluency plus soft & domain skills > shiny gimmicks.
2️⃣ Faculty feel swamped—process-over-product grading looks promising.
3️⃣ Higher ed can MOVE the puck, not just chase it.

2/3

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jul 11

Last month I sat in on the University of Baltimore 2025 #AISummit. Four weeks later the themes still ring loud—AI’s workforce impact, classroom realities, and who’s really steering the puck.

1/3
🧵

From Thinking Partner to Sparring Partner: A Better Way to Use AI

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jul 8

And I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Have you engaged this way — or asked your students to “spar” with AI? What were your conclusions, results, takeaways?

#AIEdu #AIinEducation #AIinEdu

mikekentz.substack.com/p/from-think...

Why AI as a 'thinking partner' is making us intellectually weaker -- and what to do instead

From Thinking Partner to Sparring Partner: A Better Way to Use AI

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jul 8

“Sparring” with #GenAI involves moving past the “collaborative thinking partner” modality that has become the norm over the last year.

But it’s only the beginning.

Check out the post for a free download of nine sparring prompts to get started.

#AIEdu

mikekentz.substack.com/p/from-think...

Why AI as a 'thinking partner' is making us intellectually weaker -- and what to do instead

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jul 8

(Check out John Swope and Peter Shea’s work for more on simulations.)

And Michelle Kassorla often says we need to teach students to “fight back against the #AI” during chats. Her approach underscores the need for more of this method.

#AIEdu #EduAI #AIinEducation

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jul 8

Brainstorming with an assistant #bot? Push, prod, and poke holes in its “ideas” to expand creativity, critical thinking, and the quality of outputs.

Building a custom bot? Set it up as a simulation of a skill - an adversarial interaction that requires students to push back.

#AIEdu #EduAI

From Thinking Partner to Sparring Partner: A Better Way to Use AI

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jul 8

The most successful use case I found for putting AI in front of students was to ask them to “spar” with AI — rather than brainstorm, learn, or speed up productivity.

Chatting with a character bot? Be an investigative journalist.

@leonfurze.com #AIEdu #EduAI

mikekentz.substack.com/p/from-think...

Why AI as a 'thinking partner' is making us intellectually weaker -- and what to do instead

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 19

Gotta imagine this is happening everywhere right now

Alistair @codeteacher.bsky.social · Jun 19

Can't decide if this being so true makes it funny or horrifying!

#CSed #TeamCompSci #EdTech #AIinEducation #caschat

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Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

Also … Hoya Saxa! (Your handle)

😂

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

Yes-right now students don’t really know they have that option. They think of AI as a fact vending machine or smarter than them, so they assume they should accept everything it suggests.

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

Agreed. Now we just have to get students to understand this, I think.

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Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

Your title reminds me of the movie Heavyweights:

"Lunch has been cancelled - due to a lack of hustle."

😂

Everyone Breaks These Laws

Reposted by Mike Kentz

Jeffrey Yost @justcode.bsky.social · Jun 18

Delighted to announce CBI Research Fellow (& close friend & collaborator) Prof. Gerardo Con Díaz's (Con's) stellar new book is out (got to read it early & blurb it).

Everyone Breaks These Laws: How Copyright Made the Online World.

Congrats Con! #histtech

yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

Copyright’s profound impact on the online world as we know it This book is a captivating exploration of the profound impact of American copyright law on...

yalebooks.yale.edu

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Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

Tip of the iceberg indeed.

Could this require a return to an oral tradition?

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Revealed: Thousands of UK university students caught cheating using AI

Guardian investigation finds almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating – and experts says these are tip of the iceberg

www.theguardian.com

Molten Lava Eating ASMR Prompt: OneChat AI Video Generation: Veo 3 #ai #asmr #asmrvideo #asmrsounds #satisfying #oddlysatisfying #lava

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

Friend just sent this to me.

Read the first letter of every name in the Gemini contributors list.

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

What do you think? Will you go down the AI ASMR rabbit hole?

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

And here's one of a woman eating a molten lava cake -- 645k likes:

www.tiktok.com/@leilanikova...

TikTok video by Leilani

www.tiktok.com

Yeti-Boo here 😁✌️ I have to admit, I alsmot fell asleep to this one #vlog #wilderness #wildrrness #yetiboo #asmr

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

Yeti Boo cuts ice and taps pine cones....

...and already has 450k subs in just over two weeks.

Pretty satisfying:

www.tiktok.com/@yetiboo0/vi...

TikTok video by Yeti-Boo

www.tiktok.com

Cutting Glass Fruits into Slice #asmr #asmrsounds #satisfying #berries #fruit #impossibleais #inpossibleais #Impossibleals

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

I feel bad for all the #ASMR folks on YouTube.

#AI is coming for them next.

AI ASMR accounts are racking up huge numbers on #Tiktok. This one launched one week ago and already has thousands of followers:

www.tiktok.com/@impossiblea...

TikTok video by impossibleais

www.tiktok.com

Olivia Moore on X: "Glass fruits appears to be the most popular genre so far, though I am also partial to the molten lava-themed videos https://t.co/GJwrOJU0n1" / X

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

And here's another account of cutting molten lava rocks.

Yes, you read that right.

x.com/i/status/193...

Glass fruits appears to be the most popular genre so far, though I am also partial to the molten lava-themed videos https://t.co/GJwrOJU0n1

x.com

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

Yeti Boo makes videos cutting ice and tapping pine cones...

...and has 450k subs in two weeks.

Not gonna lie - I'm pretty entertained.

x.com/i/status/193...

x.com

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

What about you?

What’s this say to you—and how are you managing this balance?

#AIliteracy #cognition #creativity #writing #education #AIinEducation #EduAI #AIinEdu #EduSky

Mike Kentz @mikekentz.bsky.social · Jun 18

This data also confirms something for me:

Utilizing a Flipped Classroom + In-Class Paper and Pen for early unit content mastery is crucial before AI use.