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Your ‘App’ Could Have Been a Webpage (so I fixed it for you…)
Dan Q, 2026/08/10

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I've engaged with various projects over the years that focus on building apps, not websites. I've never understood this focus; it seems to me to be wrongheaded. As Dan Q writes, "Software companies are happy to make their lives harder (and more expensive: deploying to the big app stores isn't free!), in order to deliver HTML content to fewer people and with fewer features than if they just published directly to the Web in the first place!" Anyhow, the bulk of this article describes how the author converts a tour company app back into a website - some good insights here.

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The Alpha School Panacea: Is AI-School a Learning Revolution or the latest Educational Mirage?
Paul W. Bennett, Educhatter, 2026/08/10

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I agree with this post in one paragraph and disagree just a few paragraphs later. The paragraph I agree with is this: " Schools are communities of learning, not simply delivery systems for academic content. Students learn through dialogue, debate, collaboration, disagreement, and shared intellectual experiences." Quite so. That's why a focus on instruction and a standardized body of content misconstrues learning. And that's why I disagree with this: "Students cannot think critically about subjects they know little about. Nor can they become informed citizens without a shared foundation of historical, scientific, literary, and cultural knowledge." Not so. Indeed, for society to function at all these days we need to learn how to navigate a world with multiple foundations. 

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Exclusive: Spotify’s new ‘skip’ button could end the podcast business as we know it
Max Tani, Semafor, 2026/08/10

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It's precisely this sort of thing that keeps me far far away from platforms such as Spotify. Many podcasts run advertisements read by the host or integrated as part of the podcast. Spotify's new button will allow listeners to skip those. Fine, you say? I would be in favour, but as the story notes, what the button won't allow you to skip are ads inserted by Spotify. So basically the company is eliminating the competition and trying to monopolize revenue generation for itself. And that is what makes the plan so pernicious. The long term plan, of course, is to eliminate free podcasts altogether, moving all control from the podcaster to the platform. Just like cable TV.

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The Real Solution to the EdTech Backlash is Digital Leadership
Eric Sheninger, A Principal's Reflections, 2026/08/10

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I don't really agree with the argument in this post. The proposal is that better leadership will counter the tech backlash in schools, where this amounts to: first, better pedagogy focused on high-level cognitive work; second, transparent multi-channel communications with parents and students; and third, high-touch leadership "to stay present in classrooms, mentor teachers, and support students." While I understand that 'leadership' is no longer viewed as 'telling people what to do', this approach feels pushy to me. It treats people as though they don't really understand technology and that the leader's touch will solve this problem. And that's where I don't agree. If I were a teacher I wouldn't want the principal pushing pedagogy on me, short-cutting interactions with parents, and hovering in the classroom. I'd want to room and the space to explore technology on my own terms, with my colleagues, and making my own decisions. Students, too, would probably prefer this approach.

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We publish six to eight or so short posts every weekday linking to the best, most interesting and most important pieces of content in the field. Read more about what we cover. We also list papers and articles by Stephen Downes and his presentations from around the world.

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