MAKING IT EASIER TO BE A BETTER TEACHER

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Here’s our weekly roundup of interesting education stories from around the world. Click each link to dive deeper:

• The teacher who got fired for giving zeros for missing work.

• Universities are being warned to stress-test work as over 90% of students admit to using AI to complete their assessments.

• The key to happier students? Choice!

BRAINY BITS

Is AI making students lonelier?

As AI chatbots become more human-like, students (and adults) are turning to them for emotional support as much as homework help—but is this the best idea?

This week, we examine a very recent study that explores the effects of chatbot interactions on loneliness, emotional dependence, and socialization.

The Study: How AI can shape human behavior

Over the course of four-weeks, 981 participants sent and received over 300,000+ messages from ChatGPT.

Using this data, researchers investigated how chatbot design (text, neutral voice, engaging voice) and conversation types (personal, non-personal, open-ended) affected users’ emotions and social behaviors.

Participants were of all ages and randomly assigned to one of nine chatbots to use. 

Throughout the study, they completed daily and weekly surveys measuring loneliness, emotional dependence, and socialization habits. 

Researchers analyzed how different chatbot approaches (i.e. a friendly conversational voice) influenced these factors over time.

The Results

While AI chatbots showed promise for emotional support, their impact depended on usage patterns and design:

• High usage worsened outcomes—More daily interactions, regardless of chatbot type, correlated with greater loneliness, emotional dependence, and lower real-world socialization.
  

• Voice matters—Engaging voices initially reduced loneliness, but at high usage levels led to stronger emotional dependence.
  

• Conversation type affects loneliness—Personal conversations slightly increased loneliness but reduced dependence, whereas non-personal chats encouraged reliance on AI for emotional support.

In Your Classroom:

AI is here, and students will use it - so understanding its emotional impact is crucial.

Here’s what this research means for your classroom:

Strategies

• Teach digital mindfulness: Encourage students to reflect on AI interactions and recognize when reliance shifts into dependence.

• Focus on real-world connection: If students use AI for emotional support, help them find balance by fostering offline conversations and friendships.

• Set healthy AI habits: Chatbots aren’t inherently bad, but excessive use can harm social skills—moderation is key.

The craziest part about this study? It was actually published by OpenAI - the company behind ChatGPT. To hear such a warning from arguably the largest player in the AI space means this research needs to be taken very seriously.

Teaching students to engage responsibly with chatbots will shape healthier digital habits in the future.

TECH TOOL

Can’t it all be sorted in one place?

Students often struggle to find the right learning materials we’ve assigned, wasting valuable time searching through emails, Google Classroom, or just a sea of website bookmarks. 

With so many digital resources spread across different platforms, it’s easy for students to miss key links, use incorrect materials, or simply get overwhelmed.

Teachers need a way to centralize resources in an intuitive, student-friendly format.

The Solution: Symbaloo

Symbaloo is a visual bookmarking tool that simplifies how teachers organize and share digital learning resources. 

Instead of students sifting through cluttered bookmarks or hunting for assignments, Symbaloo allows educators to create a grid-based dashboard where all relevant links, websites, and tools are easily accessible. 

The platform enables teachers to categorize content by subject, project, or unit, ensuring that students always have the right materials at their fingertips. 

With its simple drag-and-drop interface, custom link sharing, and cloud-based accessibility, Symbaloo keeps learning structured and streamlined.

In Your Classroom:

Symbaloo is a powerful yet simple solution for organizing and delivering digital resources in a way that makes sense for students.

Here’s how you can use it this week:

Strategies

• Create a Subject-Specific Resource Hub
  Build a Symbaloo dashboard for each subject or unit, allowing students to quickly access virtual textbooks, instructional videos, and interactive activities without confusion.

• Organize Links for Differentiated Learning
  Curate learning paths with links to beginner, intermediate, and advanced resources, so students can explore materials at their own pace.

• Streamline Homework and Project Research
  Instead of sending out multiple links for assignments, compile all necessary research sites and digital tools into a single Symbaloo page.

By providing a structured, visual approach to bookmarking, teachers can reduce confusion, improve accessibility, and help students focus more on learning and less on searching. 

And the best part? It’s completely free!

Whether used for daily lessons or long-term projects, Symbaloo ensures that the right resources are always just one click away.

REFERENCES

This week’s issue adapts information from the following sources:

Tech Talk:

Symbaloo. (2025). Create your own personal Symbaloo. Retrieved from https://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/home-dgag

Brainy Bits:

Fang, C. M., Liu, A. R., Danry, V., Lee, E., Chan, S. W., Pataranutaporn, P., ... & Agarwal, S. (2025). How AI and Human Behaviors Shape Psychosocial Effects of Chatbot Use: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Study. arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.17473.