Episode 92: Reducing Harm in a Digital World

With Dr. Barry Davis and Laura Tierney

Available October 13, 2026

As technology advances at an unprecedented pace, school leaders have to make rapid decisions about how to manage the risks and opportunities in real time. What can we learn from the history of public health prevention strategies about proactive risk management, and how can we help kids continue to grow and develop while living in an increasingly digital world? Host Morva McDonald brings together two experts from disparate backgrounds to share their thoughts on AI, social media, and navigating the delicate balance between preparing kids for the future and mitigating harm.

Guests: Dr. Barry Davis and Laura Tierney

Resources, Transcript, and Expanded Show Notes

In This Episode:

• “Now, there's this whole thing in prevention about personal responsibility versus societal responsibility. And I think of this, you know, many of the times this has come up and they talk about is this social media's big tobacco moment? And I've written a lot about big tobacco. What happens is that there's so much that can be done from a personal level, whether it be the students or the parents or the teachers. But there's also the opposite thing where the people, the companies who make this stuff, whether it be AI or social media, they have responsibility. And the government has a responsibility to rein companies in to do things.” (5:33)
• “You really need to create this, you know, team-oriented, I think, culture and environment where you're getting everyone on the same page. And I think that's harder to do when technology is throwing you curveball after curveball every week. But I think the, what's hopeful, I think, about this is that the same skills are required, you know, that we needed 10 years ago to navigate social media. As you see the evolution of AI happening, you need proactive communication, you need common standards, you need frequent communication to families and teachers. And so I'm hopeful that you can get alignment, but you do have to think about those three groups very thoughtfully.” (11:49)
• “I think having rules and standards is always a good thing for students and adults, not just the students. So I think of it as a both and – have the rules in place at a school and combine that with education, combine it with practice, because the rules are not there when the bell rings and a fourth grader goes home on their family tablet or starts playing in a multiplayer, you know, video game with their friends. And the rules are not there. And they're left with what standards did they build with the institutions and communities that they're part of?” (24:08)

Related Episodes: 91; 90; 81; 75; 71; 68

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 91: The Digital Delusion

With Jared Cooney Horvath

Available October 6, 2026

“Our children are less cognitively capable than we were at their age.” This startling premise begins Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath’s book, The Digital Delusion, and is the starting point for his conversation with New View EDU host Debra Wilson. From there, they delve into the neuroscience behind the claim, and how an education steeped in technology is changing the way students learn and engage with the world.

Guest: Jared Cooney Horvath

Resources, Transcript, and Expanded Show Notes

In This Episode:

• “One of the greatest things I've learned over my 20 years of studying the brain is, it might only take you three years to learn how to speak, but it takes decades before you have anything meaningful to say. Learning how to use a tool is easy. I could learn how to use a hammer in 10 minutes. But surely building something meaningful with that hammer is gonna take years of experience. And none of that has to do with tool training. It has to do with cognitive training.” (23:25)
• “So that's, I think, going to be the greater danger of AI is, whether or not kids use it to cheat is irrelevant. Of course they do. Whether or not it's gonna harm learning, honestly, is irrelevant. Of course it does. I don't think there's any debate about any of this. How is it going to impact our children's development of who they are, what they believe, and how they interact with the world around them? That is the scarier question to me. And that, that's the one I don't hear a lot of people talking about.” (29:24)
• “This comes not from mimicking humanity. This comes from being a human. One of the biggest metaphor mistakes we make is people think the brain is a computer, the human is a machine. Those are metaphors, baby. Nobody genuinely thinks, no neuroscientist worth his or her salt genuinely thinks the brain is a computer. We know it is a lot more than a computer. A computer is a very weak version of what we have. But people take that stuff seriously. And the scary thing is, the more serious you take that, the more you elevate technology above humanity. You start to think technology is a better form of us. Therefore, it should take over. We invented technology. Not only is it not a better form of us, we created it.” (39:01)

Related Episodes: 90; 81; 79; 78; 71; 68

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 90: The Future of Digital Literacy

With Yvette Renteria of Common Sense Media

Available May 5, 2026

So much of our focus as educators has begun to turn towards the digital space. How we can leverage technology and innovation to improve educational outcomes, but also how to keep students safe and thriving in a fast-paced digital world, are overwhelming and sometimes seemingly contradictory concerns. As the pace picks up, it’s hard to keep up with the latest information and cutting-edge research to help us make informed decisions. Morva McDonald speaks with Yvette Renteria of Common Sense Media about how her team is helping educators and parents stay on top of everything they need to know.

Guest: Yvette Renteria

Resources, Transcript, and Expanded Show Notes

In This Episode:

• “Something that I grapple with as somebody who's been an educator, like none of the adults, at least now– it will soon shift– have experienced this educational world that our kids do. Like the idea of getting to school, getting on the computer, getting online, doing some work and then, you know, pen to paper as well. And just kind of the mix of that day. And so, I mean, shout out to educators who are navigating this new space of how to teach.” (8:25)
• “One is like, this is our world. So we often say their digital life, or their digital world. And we often hear students and kids in this conversation be like, no, this is our life. Like we don't see a separation between digital life and real life. The second thing we often hear is, things are being done to us…when quite frankly, they might know more than what those policymakers or those decision makers are doing to them. So there's like a little bit of a frustration or like, leave me alone.” (14:22)
• “I sit in these focus groups and I listen to students, like I said, I'm so optimistic. They know, I think about this, I'm like, as a seventh grader myself, even my former seventh graders, the way they articulate this world is beautiful, to be honest with you. I just, I really do believe that our students, our kids will be okay. They're gonna, because they are...forming their thoughts and their opinions, and they are utilizing strategies, and they are trying things. And I do, they're even highlighting the risks and the concerns with their own mental wellness. They're downloading the apps that keep them offline. They're doing the things. And so that makes me hopeful.” (31:31)

Related Episodes

• Episode 81; 71; 70; 47; 31

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.