As we enter early 2026, the conversation surrounding Artificial Intelligence in education has shifted from "how to integrate tools" to a fundamental debate over the relevance of the industrial school model. This post synthesizes recent insights from global thought leaders, highlighting a critical tension: while AI offers revolutionary potential for dialogue-based assessment, personalized tutoring, and "Learning in the Flow of Work" (LITFOW), it also threatens a quiet colonization by Big Tech that could distance educators from pedagogical decision-making.
We explore emerging technical paradigms—such as Nested Learning for continual machine growth—alongside the urgent need for universities to break disciplinary silos and abandon "scarcity-based" models of education. From the governance of micro-credentials to the use of generative models like Nano Banana for active learning, the evidence suggests that "Box 1" (adding AI to old curricula) is no longer enough. To remain relevant, education must transition into a "University of Formation," focusing on complex "what-if" scenarios and soft skills that standardized testing simply cannot measure.
Keywords
AI in Education, Curriculum Redesign, Nested Learning, EdTech Governance, Micro-credentials, Big Tech Colonization, Learning in the Flow of Work (LITFOW), Digital Pedagogy, Soft Skills Assessment, Educational Transformation.
Nick Potkalitsky, Educating AI, Nov 06, 2025 This is one of those articles that seeks to reassure readers that nothing important is changing. Such articles are always popular. It begins, "There's a conversation we were supposed to be having about AI in education. It was about curriculum design. About giving...
Nikhen Sanjaya Nyo, Cristina Adriana Alexandru, Aurora Constantin, Teaching Matters, Nov 06, 2025 Though this is addressed to a specific tool - Gruepr - it tackles a common problem for online learning: creating groups among people who aren't together and don't really know each other. I used to talk about...
The Uninovis Staff BIP-week featured a dynamic agenda including workshops on team coaching and sustainability design, introduction to TAMK’s learning models and environments as well as networking events both on and off campus. After the first two days of joint sessions, participants then attended pre-chosen programme tracks based on their professional...
Ben Gomes, Lila Ibrahim, Yossi Matias, Christopher Phillips, James Manyika, Google, Nov 12, 2025 I imagine this document will be eviscerated by the anti-AI crowd, and it won't be entirely without cause. The basic premise is correct, in my view: "while AI is by no means perfect, it does have the potential to reduce...
Mihnea Moldoveneau, Tanya Gamby, David Kil, Rachel Koblic, Paul LeBlanc, George Siemens, EDUCAUSE Review, Nov 18, 2025 This is a decent article that takes a high-level look at the use of AI to create dialogue-based learning resources. For example, instead of offering a text that students can read, dialogue-bases...
In her doctoral dissertation, Padmasheela Kiiskilä (MS) investigates how higher education institutions and alliances can implement scalable, trusted, and strategically aligned micro-credential systems. Her research identifies the essential features of digital platforms needed for issuing micro-credentials, examines how learners and institutions perceive...
Ali Behrouz, Vahab Mirrokni, Google Research, Nov 26, 2025 This article is a summary of the full paper (16 page PDF) describing what may be a significant advance in AI. It's called 'Nested Learning' and is described as follows: "Nested Learning treats a single ML model not as one continuous process, but...
John Moravec, Education Futures, Nov 26, 2025 According to John Moravec, frameworks for the use of AI in education normalize the use of AI in education, and at the same time, they distance teachers and administrators from the decisions being made about how and why it is so used. "In a century shaped by powerful...
Rathna Ramanathan, HEPI, Dec 01, 2025 According to this article, the problem with universities is that they're siloed. "This made sense when knowledge was more stable, and career paths were more predictable. But today's urgent challenges don't heed disciplinary boundaries and require insights from science,...
Jim Dickinson, WonkHe, Dec 01, 2025 Jim Dickinson offers "a secret that would get me thrown out of the Magic Circle," specifically that "the industrial model of education was built on scarcity, and scarcity made a certain kind of pretending possible... a period of pretending that the old skills still mattered."...
Philippa Hardman, Dr Phil's Newsletter, Dec 04, 2025 This is quite a good discussion on how to use Nano Banana to support genuine learning activities. As Philippa Hardman points out, the software is trained using text, not images, and thus avoids many of the issues of other image-generating software, while...
Tim Dasey, Sweet GrAIpes, Dec 09, 2025 I think there's an interesting proposition in this paper, though implementation may be daunting and expensive and come with a surprise result. Here's the proposition: "Education desperately needs what other complex fields have - a way to safely explore 'what if' scenarios...
For more than a century, American education has been driven by the same invisible engine: standardization. Rows of desks. National tests. Rankings. From No Child Left Behind to statewide report cards, we have long measured success by what can be quantified, compared and controlled. This model, born in the industrial age, is buckling under the weight...
Every day, millions of IB students and educators rely on digital tools. To meet their evolving needs, we must change how we develop those digital tools. This digital blueprint is our commitment to make that change and co-create a future where every learner and educator can flourish. “AI and other digital technologies are reshaping education with...
Dr. John Johnston, eCampus News, Dec 23, 2025 Educators should know that this argument is being repeated in tech and political ciricles worldwide: "The failures of STEM education are particularly glaring in its cost inefficiencies. Running STEM programs requires expensive lab facilities, high-cost materials,...
Marc Watkins, Rhetorica, Dec 23, 2025 My first thought was that this is kind of a dumb question, but there's better logic behind it than it may seem: "If AI companies are honest and say that they cannot build guardrails into their models that stop students from taking quizzes, completing assignments, or...
Morten Flate Paulsen, YouTube, Dec 24, 2025 Do read the full playlist description before commenting on or viewing the playlist. "These AI-generated videos about the history of online education are based on about 400 chronological anecdotes from the four open-access volumes of My Online Education World: 1980–2020....
As schools and universities take varying stances on AI, some teachers believe the tech can democratize tutoring. Here's how - and where the drawbacks lie.
Ella Richardson, et al., GP Strategies, Jan 01, 2026 There's a lot of value in this simple framework designed as a cube to illustrate various flavours of "learning in the flow of work, and understanding when and how to deliver it." The cube has three dimensions as follows: complexity (simple-complex); context...
Stefan Bauschard, Education Disrupted: Teaching and Learning in An AI World Education Disrupted: Teaching and Learning in An AI World, Jan 06, 2026 I think the basic premise is right: "there are two boxes — How to Use AI in the current curriculum and how to change the curriculum so school is still relevant"......
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