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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 9h

I guess I am not getting the same sense that this is like November 2022 when ChatGPT caused a pretty immediate disruption. But I guess I am keeping my ear to the ground in case agentic browsers do start resonating with college students.

Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 9h

Folks doing AI support in higher ed: I know that Comet has triggered several alarms, but are folks seeing an uptick in student adoption? We are going to keep an eye out but the learning curve of the tool and its current desktop-only availability, combined with AI backlash, have me curious about use.

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

now I wish Paolo Freire was reviewing Police Academy movies on Letterboxd (please do not turn this into a McSweeeney’s essay, freelancers of Bluesky; it will never be as funny as the version in my head right now)

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

Also, the word “policing” is nowhere near the word “pedagogy” in my vocabulary unless I am describing the plot of a Police Academy movie

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

Overheard a teacher asking a friend for advice on assignment planning at the Harvard Book Store and couldn’t stop myself from entering the conversation lol. thankfully the person was nice about it once I introduced myself as an instructional designer!

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

If you are in education, please excise “I can just tell it’s AI” from your vocabulary. I know it’s hard, but we are already on a speedrun to infantilizing an entire generation of students at a point when we probably want to be doing more to get them to care about the value of education.

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

I’ve seen this Wikipedia resource on Signs of AI Writing going around. I would caution folks looking to use it as a manual or even reference in course assessment contexts. It is definitely useful and descriptive thinking out loud within the context of Wikipedia. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Wikipedia:Signs of AI writing - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 8d

not sure if it comes up in the piece but I wonder if folks remember the negative reaction to the introduction of cell phones to public places and streets. Here’s a pre-Gen Z intervention I remember from those days: www.phonebashing.com

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 10d

Very sad to hear about the passing of Kaleb Horton. Enjoyed a lot of his writing. Lots to choose from but I want to highlight his piece on X as the one that finally got me listening to them on repeat: kalebhorton.ghost.io/the-last-ame...

The Last American Band

Honest to goodness The bars weren’t open this morning They must have been voting For a new president or something X is calling it quits. They’re my favorite band ever, so it’s hard to say that and ha...

kalebhorton.ghost.io

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 11d

but now that that’s settled it would be great if The Mets could stop playing like The Mets (derogatory) and resume playing like The Mets (complimentary) so we actually don’t lose the damn season

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 11d

not a Sox fan but it was cool to see them win and make the playoffs last night. @jtkantor.bsky.social playing “Gold Soundz” was also cool.

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 13d

I'll also note (echoing some AI literacy workers I have seen here) that Bluesky is a particularly hostile space at times for folks in CTL/support spaces who are viewed (often incorrectly) as AI boosters. Thankfully, we do have other networks where we can share our questions, views, and concerns.

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 13d

That being said, I understand why it can feel like critical perspectives may not be encouraged due to boosterism and other contexts discussed in this piece. But I would encourage faculty with critical AI perspectives to not be so quick to assume that their colleagues in CTLs are not critical too.

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 13d

I like this piece on creating space for critical AI perspectives on campus. I would note that some faculty support sectors have long been encouraging critical AI perspectives in their local campus conversations around policies, resources, and AI literacy work. www.chronicle.com/article/some...

Advice | Sometimes We Resist AI for Good Reasons

Why higher ed needs to listen to the contrarians in setting policies on using tools like ChatGPT in faculty work.

www.chronicle.com

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Reposted by Jim McGrath

Ryan H. Walsh @ryanhwalsh.bsky.social · 14d

It's Mark Sandman's birthday. I wish we could hear what kind of songs he'd be writing today.

Here's my @lightintheattic.bsky.social liner notes for Morphine's 2 final LP's that were reissued in 2023, now online.
morphineband.com/pages/like-s...
morphineband.com/pages/the-ni...

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Reposted by Jim McGrath

Carl Wilson @carlzoilus.bsky.social · 14d

Once & for all, let's specify what "poptimism" was & wasn't, and why many people can't stop blaming it for every cultural change of the past 20 years. Most recently the esteemed Kelefa Sanneh, who's often (wrongly) said to have started it! Today in @slate.com
slate.com/culture/2025...

A screenshot of the headline of an article by Carl Wilson, reading, "Criticism's Biggest Strawman: What was 'poptimism,' and why are people still saying terrible things about it?" It's illustrated by a picture of a straw-stuffed scarecrow in a field, wearing a Taylor Swift T-shirt.

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

why would I guess “donut” after confirming the first two letters are “BL”, you chaotic and likely AI-augmented Wordle bot

screenshot of NYT Wordle bot analyzing a guess of “Blush” after confirming that the word began with “Bl.” the bot is noting that i should have guessed “Donut” instead

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

congrats! learning a lot from this piece already!

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

"Decision making, or action, is important in part because a stated commitment to antiracist values alone—what Ahmed (2006) calls “nonperformativity”—is too often seen as sufficient action, even though a commitment to antiracism alone still enables racism to persist."

James Noonan @jmnoonan.bsky.social · 14d

Pleased to share a new publication -- coauthored with @salemstate.bsky.social colleagues Drs. Jacy Ippolito and Megin Charner-Laird -- about the connection between adult development and antiracist educational leadership: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... @ucea-leadership.bsky.social

journals.sagepub.com

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

I heard an awful story about an instructor enforcing an "English only" policy in their undergrad writing course recently (even in pre-class peer convos!). Instructors asking students to read print in Standard English or handwrite in Standard English differ in intent but may impede student learning.

Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

This is such an important consideration and one that more instructors should be thinking about too across their course contexts if they are shifting away from digital texts / media / LMS usage. Digital text can be leveraged in many different ways by emerging Standard English learners.

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

Glad to see these instructors reflecting on and reckoning with the implications of their decision: "The book itself also proved more difficult than anticipated for students who speak English as a second language, so Choi and Ricks are considering ways to better support these students in the future."

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

Lots of attention will likely be paid to the need to explain core textual elements like epigraphs, quotes, and indexes to undergrads. A need definitely exacerbated by recent literacy data trends but also a long overdue point of emphasis in college instruction. www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

2 Professors Teach About AI Using Print Book

Faculty members help students practice close reading and analysis with a physical book, building life skills and social connection.

www.insidehighered.com

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 14d

"Rather than acting as a substitution for books, AI could do more to encourage the full reading of texts written by humans." Cool to see a piece by @dancohen.org on AI in my inbox this morning (via @chronicle.com): www.chronicle.com/article/what...

Opinion | What a Landmark AI Settlement Means for Authors

Creators should demand credit, not just compensation.

www.chronicle.com

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Jim McGrath @jimmcgrath.bsky.social · 15d

I wrote a little bit about blue books, technology, and higher ed: jimmcgrath.us/teaching/blu...

Blue Books Are Also a Disruptive Technology

A typical exam blue book (via Wikipedia) “Blue books” are once again changing the landscape of assessment in higher education. While the instructors who are turning to these technologie…

jimmcgrath.us

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