🙋‍♂️ A ton of Google Updates, teens and social media, and more – Of bits and bytes for December 16, 2024
Internet Travels
Of bits and bytes is my weekly round up of interesting links and ideas I discovered on the internet. It is published on Mondays for the previous week
Um, yeah, I messed up scheduling the newsletter this week. But, it’s out now!!
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Apps
Google Docs has released 40 new templates for Google Docs. These templates are for Google Docs pageless mode, and are a good start for whatever document you need or a nice showcase of what Google Docs is capable of.
A ton of Gemini updates from Google:
- Google Workspace Updates: Create fully stylized documents using Gemini in Google Docs
- Google introduces Gemini 2.0: A new AI model for the agentic era
- Google Workspace Updates: Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Drive is rolling out now
- There’s a New Way to Reset Your Chromebook
- ChromeOS 131 | ChromeOS.dev
Pedagogy
Stuck inside? Schedule amiss due to absences? Here’s a bunch of help for those days. TeachFlix contains curated educational videos and some with lesson plans. Crash Course Kids on YouTube offers a plethora of Science and ADST videos. There are also channels such as Scratch Garden, Uju Videos, and Coach Corey Martin that contain interactive activities for your students.
Training seems to be the solution to all of a school’s issues, but is it the answer? There are multiple times where things like outdated processes, insufficient technology, and lack of management support are the real culprits, not merely a lack of training.
Kids love to watch or read things on repeat, but is healthy? Turns out, there are benefits to repetition in activities, shows, or books. By identifying patterns, they’re enhancing their language skills and cognitive development. There’s also the advantage of kids experiencing mastery and autonomy through repeated exposure.
Technology
Character.AI faced lawsuits after chatbots were allegedly involved in a teen’s suicide and other harmful behaviors. In response, the company developed a separate model for teens, aged 13 and up, to reduce exposure to sensitive content. New safety features include refined classifiers to filter harmful content, enhanced detection and response systems, and linking users to resources when discussing self-harm or suicide. The company also plans to implement better parental controls and usage notifications to prevent addiction and ensure teen safety on the platform.
A Pew Research Center survey found that almost all teens are using platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat daily, with many claiming they’re online almost constantly. Although Facebook has taken a nosedive in popularity since 2014, YouTube holds the crown with 73% of teens visiting daily.
Tips
In a podcast by AI experts from Xyonix, the hosts explore how AI-generated content is making us reconsider what constitutes original thought and whether our traditional definitions of plagiarism need a modern makeover. From the challenges of detecting AI-created work to the philosophical musings on originality, they tackle the big question of whether anyone’s thoughts are truly unique anymore.
Pop Culture
Researchers have found that kids who spent more time gaming experienced a boost of 2.5 IQ points compared to their less gaming peers. Although the increase isn’t huge, it does show that video game playing isn’t a total negative. The study, which involved nearly 10,000 U.S. children and factored in genetics and socio-economic backgrounds, suggests gaming could boost cognitive abilities like memory and flexible thinking.
A new study reveals that exposure to lead in gasoline may have caused over 150 million excess cases of mental health disorders in the U.S. over the past 75 years. Leaded gasoline was banned in 1996, but its past has left its mark, especially on those born between 1966 and 1986 during its peak use. This exposure has been linked to increased depression, anxiety, and poor impulse control.
Potpourri
A new study from Public Opinion Quarterly is shaking up the common belief that older adults are mainly drawn to dodgy news because of digital illiteracy. It turns out their engagement with unreliable news sources might be more about strong partisan bias and fixed political identities.
New research suggests emotion dysregulation is a core component of ADHD. A study involving data from over 11,877 children reveals that the way emotions are managed — or not — can significantly influence ADHD symptoms, more than just cognitive or motivational issues. MRIs showed kids with severe emotion dysregulation had smaller surface areas in a specific brain region. The findings offer alternative insights into ADHD that might challenge the current pharmacological treatments.
Michael Jarman, a Canadian modeling director, became the Microsoft Excel World Champion of 2024 in Las Vegas. The final challenge was inspired by World of Warcraft, managing game stats like XP, gold, and character abilities.
Extra Credit
Here are extra links that I found interesting that may or may not be education related or interesting to you and I didn’t want to lose them.
- 2024 in review: AI – The Verge
- Notre-Dame Reopens in Paris After a Fire. It’s Astonishing. – The New York Times
Thank you!
Major props if you’ve made it this far, you are a rockstar! Feel free to contact me with questions, ideas, concerns, or your thoughts on the next Marvel movie. In fact, I love to discuss about any topic and then wonder how it intersects with education, so fire away!
“Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, but Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” – Oogway, Kung Fu Panda
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