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The U.S. Department of Education’s August 2026 Dear Colleague letter shifts the ed tech conversation away from counting minutes and toward measuring learning. Assistant Secretary Kirsten Baesler asked schools to make technology use purposeful, instructionally sound, and tied to measurable student outcomes. School leaders can act on that by sorting every tool into one of four tiers of quality use, then bringing real student data to the next technology decision.

Students are already telling us how AI is shaping their focus, their friendships, and their well-being. California is building a council to hear it. Common Sense Media and Drexel researchers had to read studies and Reddit posts to find it. Educators get to hear it first, in the hallway and in the classroom, when students know the door is open.

A comeback, a creative partnership, and a viral raccoon all point to the same skill this week: helping students show up as themselves online. Here’s what happened and what it means for your classroom.

A chat that wasn’t as private as it looked, a doctor who doesn’t exist, and 98 students who decided to write the rules themselves. Students make better AI choices when they’ve had the chance to practice making them. That’s exactly what #WinAtSocial is built for.