The Digital Delusion by Jared Cooney Horvath

THE DIGITAL DELUSION by Jared Cooney Horvath discusses “How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids' Learning--and How to Help Them Thrive Again.” Horvath, a neuroscientist and educator who specializes in human learning and brain development, has certainly produced a thought-provoking text. He divides it into three sections: defining the problem (including a chapter which looks at the impact on attention, empathy, and transfer of knowledge); a deeper dive into the use of cellphones and artificial intelligence; and an action-oriented section on how to push back. Some of his most interesting comments concern discrepancies between commonly held beliefs and what research shows. For example, he notes that, “although EdTech is frequently promoted as a tool for equity, evidence suggests it most often benefits students who already possess strong knowledge and self-regulation skills. As a result, digital technology tends to amplify existing inequalities rather than eliminate them.” And, in an interview earlier this year with American Enterprise Institute, Horvath explained that high international test scores do not necessarily correlate with tech use, saying, “the countries that use technology the least in schools in the world are Japan, China, Malaysia, and Singapore.” He continues, “[their] rich digital infrastructure is for adults producing work, not kids learning how to become adults.” He repeatedly probes the difference between knowing something and merely knowing where to find it, writing, “human beings think in stories. … digital technologies largely kill sustained narrative. They flood us with disconnected, context free fragments … with no coherent thread linking one idea to the next. This consistent stream of randomness doesn't just weaken memory, it also disrupts comprehension, deep thinking, and the ability to build usable knowledge.” THE DIGITAL DELUSION offers much to contemplate in what Publishers Weekly calls an “intriguing if flawed treatise … sure to spark plenty of conversation.” References and Appendices accounted for approximately half of the preview copy I received.

Teaching News Literacy in the Age of AI

World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated on May 3, 2026.  It's worth a look at new books related to this topic.  

TEACHING NEWS LITERACY IN THE AGE OF AI by Cathy Collins, an award-winning library media specialist, is an excellent resource. I wish that more schools made this topic (helping students to “recognize quality journalism, spot deepfakes, challenge misinformation, and critically analyze conspiracy theories”) a priority, but Collins has done a great job of compiling suggestions of resources (including multimedia tools and learning standards) related to these issues. A few examples (not all of which are free) include: Checkology (including several of their helpful posters); The News Literacy Project; ISTE (she extensively references their standards); PBS Learning Media; and Newsela. Some of her information is revealing, but from a decade ago and warrants updating, as do her references to Stanford History Education Group, now called Digital Inquiry Group. However, the more I read, the more excited and interested I became. It does take a while to get to the section on “Learning Activities,” but that is filled with ideas related to Social Studies, Science, Health, Mathematics and more. Also, this text could work well in a secondary newspaper class – an entire lesson could review the Code of Ethics for the Society of Professional Journalists or the eight factors (e.g., timeliness, proximity, interest, conflict) which Collins lists that “news organizations might use to evaluate whether to cover a particular event.” There are multiple Appendices, including a News Literacy Glossary. As Collins writes, “The future of informed citizenship is less about passively consuming information and much more about actively interrogating it. … Teaching them to question what they see, seek diverse viewpoints, and practice self-regulated attention is more important than ever.” 

THE INFORMATION STATE by Jacob Siegel (a contributing writer at Tablet, an American conservative magazine focused on Jewish news and culture) is subtitled “Politics in the Age of Total Control.” Siegel makes some thought-provoking claims such as when he explores the relationship between information and state power (“regime’s ultimate aim was not to censor or oppress, but to rule. … the information state refers to a form of government that replaces the democratic principle of consent with control”). However, I was very disappointed by his early comment when he wrote “I doubt that more than a few dozen people had been conversant in the finer points of the disinformation field at the start of 2016.” He only had to look at the critical thinking or information literacy (a term not included in his book) work being championed by librarians and educators at that time or the winner of that year’s National Business Book Award: A Field Guide to Lies by Daniel J. Levitin. In addition, Seigel seems to have a bias against President Obama and some of the actions taken by his administration; he certainly objects to attempts to even insinuate that Russia influenced the 2016 election while simultaneously rarely referencing the blatant and obvious lies from subsequent administrations. Overall, reviews are mixed: Booklist says, THE INFORMATION STATE “will challenge and enlighten readers on every page,” whereas Publishers Weekly describes it as a “hit-or-miss debut account.”

Math-ish by Jo Boaler

MATH-ISH by Jo Boaler (Limitless Mind) is a clear, straightforward, and user-friendly text on “Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics.”  Library Journal says, “Recommended for readers both fascinated by and leery of math. Educators who are looking for a different way to approach math will especially benefit from this title.” I heartily concur. Boaler is a well-respected mathematician who is a professor of education and equity at Stanford University and the faculty director of youcubed. In MATH-ISH she offers practical, evidence-based ideas for finding the joy in math as well as improving understanding and performance. The book begins with a series of personal stories, gives examples of applying metacognitive thinking, and then continues with data like the following: “between 10 percent  and 40 percent of people in most countries are innumerate and avoid math as much as possible. These folks are vulnerable every time they need to read a chart.” She goes on to cite studies and to stress that “students with positive attitudes toward their learning achieved at higher levels. Positive attitudes reduce anxiety about learning, enhance motivation, and boost students’ persistence.” Sadly, Boaler had to include a section which deals with the harassment which she and her family endured due to contrived controversy over the basic idea that “students are more interested and more successful when the content they are learning allows them to engage in different ways.” In her final chapter she writes effectively about five principles for becoming an effective change agent: (1) believe in yourself; (2) practice empathy; (3) build a network; (4) investigate, collect and share data; and (5) develop a warrior mindset. Boaler references many scholars and includes extensive notes, making up at least fifteen percent of the text. Attitudes towards math and aptitude for math is a highly relevant topic, given the decline in scores related to COVID’s impact and the debate over which students should take algebra in middle school. MATH-ISH is highly recommended.

Brave New Words by Salman Khan

BRAVE NEW WORDS by Salman Khan describes his views on “How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing).” Unfortunately, there are not enough specifics to really guide interested teachers or parents. Like everything else, AI will have an adoption curve and this text does not help innovators and early adopters convince others in their school system of the potential value of AI. Khan recently spoke about his new book at a Family Action Network event with Angela Duckworth.  It was only around minute 50 (video to be posted soon) that he seemed to spark enthusiasm with ideas about using AI to facilitate break out groups or thesis development. In my experience, one needs to really show the majority of teachers how a new tech could be applied in their field before there is widespread use. It is very confusing for students if different teachers are not making tech accessible in similar ways. For starters, K-12 is a huge range; plus, as Khan points out, this is an extremely complex undertaking due to concerns about student privacy, cheating, assessments, job security, etc. Khan touches on these points in his new text and ends with a general “call for educated bravery” wherein “each of us has an obligation to make sure that we use this technology responsibly.”

The field is in flux as the recent announcement by Microsoft and Khan Academy indicates; although they are making the service free for teachers there would still be charges for students and parents. This is a business model – even if Khan Academy is a non-profit with ambitious goals. Seems like more affluent districts will have the infrastructure (e.g., IT consultants and specialized tech staff) in place to at least trial this tech, but doesn’t that (temporarily?) reinforce disparity in education? Could a condition of use be an arrangement with a “sister” district? Or, what incentives could State Boards of Education be encouraged to establish?  

More info on Sal Khan and his latest endeavors concerning AI are provided in this Ted Talk:

Washington Post commentator Josh Tyrangiel says that Khanamigo is “the first AI software I’m excited for my kids to use.” The debate will continue and giving students reliable one-on-one tutoring – meeting them where they are – is exciting. Figuring out an equitable distribution mechanism is key.

Third Millennium Thinking

THIRD MILLENNIUM THINKING by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun is based on a successful multidisciplinary course at UC Berkeley taught by a physicist, a philosopher, and a psychologist, respectively. The authors’ goal is “Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense” by teaching and writing about using science and thinking tools to make better decisions. They begin by exploring how to build trust in a shared understanding of reality. Subsequent sections deal with applying probabilistic thinking and a “radical can-do stance.” The final areas they delve into include mental traps (the ways our personal thinking tends to go wrong) and then how we can better solve problems with others. Throughout, these professors offer multiple “hands on” examples which greatly increase the ability of readers to understand and relate to their key points. They also suggest exercises (e.g., accompany every statement of fact with an indication of degree of confidence) to further help readers in attempt to offer “a good translation -- a clear and concise explanation that expresses the scientific approach in an accessible way, and that illuminates its practical uses in everyday life.” I sincerely hope that this text has a wide readership, but I fear it will be mostly read by people who are already very concerned about our ability to find common understandings and who agree with the authors that “we need to learn to accept the possibility of errors in our own thinking, and our need for opposing views that help us see where we are going wrong.”

Look Again by Tali Sharot and Cass R. Sunstein

LOOK AGAIN by Tali Sharot (The Optimism Bias) and Cass R. Sunstein (Nudge, Noise) is the stimulating result of the joint effort between professors of cognitive neuroscience (at University College London and MIT) and of law (at Harvard), respectively.  Extolling “The Power of Noticing What Was Always There,” they advocate for consciously making changes (vacations, a walk, a new book) to enhance life experiences. Even though we may not always fully appreciate it, breaking habits can be rejuvenating. Sharot and Sunstein give other examples like how the number of accidents dropped when Sweden switched the side of the road for driving or “how satisfaction with material goods falls sharply over time, [while] satisfaction with experience does not decline.” A particularly pertinent section deals with why we tend to believe lies if we hear them often enough. Sharot and Sunstein write, “this is partly because when a statement is repeated again and again, your brain processes it less and less as is no longer surprising or new.” It is not a big leap to think about that statement (called the illusory truth effect) and then look at polling results regarding the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. Another section deals with metacognitive myopia … the likelihood of giving less weight to a statement debunking a falsehood, especially if it involves repeating the lie. As they point out, even size and color of text can influence our perception of truth. LOOK AGAIN received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (“a revelatory investigation of a phenomenon that’s as complex as it is common”).

– PLEASE NOTE: Cass R. Sunstein will be speaking about this new book with Ayelet Fishbach on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at 7:00 PM CT on ZOOM in a program sponsored by Family Action Network. Registration is required and the presentation will be recorded and available on FAN’s website.  

Information seeking behavior and critical thinking

PURPOSEFUL CURIOSITY by Constantine Andriopoulosis is designed to “inspire a movement that awakens purposeful curiosity as the foundation of innovation and art.”  The author is Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Bayes Business School (City, University of London) and his teaching expertise is readily apparent in this easy-to-follow text. Andriopoulos first contends that we “have become addicted to breadth over depth, worshiping quick and straightforward answers,” noting the importance of mindset and inspiration. He outlines sub-components of each (e.g., asking questions like What if? Am I sure? What’s next?). Interspersed are quotes and reflection from various entrepreneurs and innovators – Andriopoulos interviewed over 60 financiers, scientists, teachers, explorers, journalists and more (full list is provided in an appendix) for this book. Each of nine subsequent chapters develops a “lesson” on topics like Uncover your itch to know, Go down the rabbit hole and Develop resilience in the face of adversity. Again, Andriopoulos employs numerous examples from his interviews and lists extensive sources in a notes section. For example, he points to several studies showing that “Curiosity – the urge to know, to see, or to experience …. has long been associated with positive emotions, lower levels of anxiety, strengthened relationships, achievement, and longevity.” PURPOSEFUL CURIOSITY is a super accessible way to investigate “The Power of Asking the Right Questions at the Right Time.”  

THE PERSUADERS by Anand Giridharadas is a look through a predominately progressive lens “At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy.” Giridharadas, best-selling author of Winners Take All and award-winning former New York Times columnist, profiles several activists, beginning with Linda Sarsour and the Women’s March on Washington. He also writes about how “an astonishing 17 percent of Americans were said to be QAnon believers now.” It is painful to read some of the examples that Giridharadas cites: “a plague of grief without deaths. People mourned the lost living, whose minds had passed on to some strange beyond.” He goes on to describe research that advocates for “appeal[ing] to them instead as critical thinkers who deserve to know that they are being misled.” One of the sources he mentions is John Cook’s Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change. That text explores concepts like fake experts, logical fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry pricking, and conspiracy theories in an often humorous way which may be more appealing for students. As Giridharadas says, “What if you accepted their lies as here to stay and sought to forge citizens resistant to them?” Librarians and information literacy experts have so much to do. Giridharadas raises many good points and questions, but the text has weaknesses: he focuses almost exclusively on highlighting a progressive/liberal viewpoint and there is no bibliography despite use of statistics and other evidence in the text. The narratives were interesting, but it was not always easy to follow the argument’s flow or develop a useful persuasion playbook. However, THE PERSUADERS received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus. Have a critical thinking look and decide for yourself.

Adrift by Scott Galloway

ADRIFT by Scott Galloway attempts to describe America in 100 charts.  Booklist says, “This highly visual distillation of U.S. history will be appreciated by students.” I do think they will gain some insights, but the preview I saw was not especially eye-catching.  Everything is in black and white with shades of grey and fairly simple (mainly line or column chart) depiction of whatever data Galloway is discussing. Also, the analysis for each chart is two to three paragraphs at best although it often includes some attention-grabbing factoid. Somewhat more interesting are the chapter titles and synopsis of each: for example, when looking at the Rise of the Shareholder Class, Galloway asserts, “As the post-war boom began to fizzle out, the U.S. embraced shareholder capitalism and turned from community and institution towards rugged individualism.” Galloway does cite sources near each chart and in the notes (about twenty-five percent of the text) which could serve as a useful introduction to those research sources and offer students an additional opportunity to improve visual and information literacy skills. Another way to employ this text might be to ask students to find a related recent news article. Galloway echoes Robert Putnam when he points to the turning away from community based activities and Pew Research would have recent data, particularly about religion membership (summarized here by Axios). Galloway, Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business, previously authored The Four and has strong views about Big Tech. The charts nearer the end of ADRIFT address this sector and Galloway offers suggestions for action (e.g., reform Section 230; enact a one-time wealth tax) in his final chapter, “What We Must Do.”

Smart Brevity to better communicate

Reviewing SMART BREVITY by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz is intimidating. Two dozen chapters illustrate “The Power of Saying More with Less.” VandeHei, Allen, and Schwartz, co-creators of Axios and Politico, encourage readers to improve communication by “adapt[ing] to how people consume content – not how you wish they did or did once upon a time.” Ultimately, they offer ideas to increase value and efficiency by being more direct and helpful while wasting less time. Our writing teachers would agree with advice to “know your audience,” but would likely discourage frequent use of bullet points or to “do all of this on one screen of a phone, regardless of what it is.” Not happening. Our students are learning to write, need practice and often struggle with expressing key ideas. However, they could relate to the case stories, amusing anecdotes, and memorable quotes (“have the courage to take your hands off the keyboard” or “blobs of text make the eye sad”) in this guidebook. In his review, The Wall Street Journal’s Barton Swaim called SMART BREVITY “a slick, engaging and in some ways laudable effort;” he, too, raised a couple of points for follow-up: contrasting print versus screen reading and whether this writing style sacrifices nuance by identifying “the bottom line” versus encouraging readers to draw their own conclusions. Much to explore and contemplate here.

Thinking 101 by Woo-kyoung Ahn

THINKING 101 is an instructive text by Woo-kyoung Ahn, the John Hay Whitney Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She does an excellent job of explaining psychology topics of interest to our students. There are chapters that cover eight ideas like Confirmation Bias, Causal Attribution, and Delayed Gratification. While students may have been introduced to many of these concepts in another context, Ahn adds value by interweaving relate-able, real life applications. For example, she recommends practicing and writing out responses to interview questions so as to improve fluidity and to more objectively evaluate whether you would hire yourself for the position. In another chapter titled “The Perils of Examples,”Ahn acknowledges that “vivid examples are more convincing, easier to understand and harder to forget than decontextualized, abstract explanations.” There, she illustrate the law of large numbers with comments about solicitation letters from Save the Children and her own son’s interest in sports. Ahn seems to sincerely want to show her readers “How to Reason Better to Live Better” and her passion for these topics is evident.

Building a Second Brain and The Unfair Advantage

BUILDING A SECOND BRAIN by Tiago Forte offers the intriguing potential to apply “A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential.” Forte is a productivity expert who has worked with numerous corporate clients and he splits this new text into three sections: The Foundation, The Method, and The Shift. He writes in a very conversational tone that reassures while capturing the reader’s attention. Many points are supported with data (e.g., “according to The New York Times, the average person’s daily consumption of information now adds up to a remarkable 34 gigabytes.”) As I was reading, I thought BUILDING A SECOND BRAIN would make a useful “One School, One Book” choice and support much-needed work on helping students become more organized and tech-savvy. For example, Forte is a strong advocate for digital note taking and therefore advocates using apps like Evernote or OneNote which we have been talking about for years. He further suggests organizing saved notes by PARA (Project, Area, Resource, and Archive) and employing CODE (Capture, Organize, Distill, Express). As a list maker and librarian who both juggles numerous requests and curates resources, these habits of personal knowledge management all seem rather intuitive, but Forte does point out some broader aids like a monthly review template. Many of his ideas are explained visually in this 2019 video.

THE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba describes those often-overlooked aspects which could give the reader a competitive edge, particularly in an entrepreneurial, start-up situations. Both Ali, who founded Uhubs, and Kubba, whose TedTalk is here, have significant experience in creating and advising start-ups. Their new text begins by acknowledging that life is unfair and that success is a product of hard work and luck. The next sections describes the MILES framework and encourages readers to perform an audit of certain attributes (Mindset, Money, Intelligence and Insight, Location and Luck, Education and Expertise, plus Status) in order to illustrate “How You Already Have What It Takes to Succeed.” Finally, they include several chapters which make up a “The Startup Quick Start Guide.” THE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE feels like a text which should have an accompanying workbook. Of possible interest to those looking to start their own business, I also think that excerpts or summaries might intrigue some of our business students.

Curious? See also other recent titles of interest like Build by Tony Fadell, Atomic Habits by James Clear, or the slightly older Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky.