New York City Public Schools is banning generative AI for students from pre-K through eighth grade for the 2026-27 school year, affecting more than half a million students in the nation's largest school district. ABC News reports: In a statement to ABC News, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that the city is implementing a moratorium on generative AI for students in pre-school or 2-K through eighth grade and will spend the next year "studying the impacts of this technology." Mamdani wrote in part, "the tech industry wants us to believe that A.I.-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary." "We do not see it that way," he added. [...] The district said it is implementing the most expansive AI moratorium in the nation, eliminating software that uses student-facing AI and banning companion chatbots. The city's AI moratorium does not apply to high school students. The district said it will offer twice-yearly AI literacy classes designed to help high school students "think critically" about the technology before they start to "rely" on it.

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Le recours aux écrans et aux applis éducatives est devenu omniprésent dans les écoles américaines. Aujourd’hui, des parents s’interrogent sur les bienfaits de ces outils, souvent synonymes d’addiction et de distraction en classe. S’organisant en collectifs, ils font évoluer les politiques scolaires, raconte “The Christian Science Monitor”.

© Dessin de Ramsés, Cuba.

Sur Instagram, la psychologue américaine Becky Kennedy livre trois phrases pour rassurer son enfant le jour de la rentrée. Une pour chaque moment de la journée, jusqu’aux retrouvailles du soir.

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America's public education system has become "an avenue for multitrillion-dollar companies to enact their agendas," argues a NewYork Times reporter who's covered that tech industry influence for over 10 years. Big tech companies "advocate for new laws to require schools to teach industry-aligned subjects. They sit on committees that help shape learning standards for public school students..." The reporter concludes that "Silicon Valley's efforts to capture the attention of education professionals and provide student training materials can also double as marketing or indoctrination." They enable some of the most powerful corporations on the planet to spin rosy technology stories for administrators, teachers and students, giving them a sanitized view of industry practices and product risks. Many parents would likely object if, say, Exxon Mobil wrote their children's environmental science curriculum. Or if Purdue Pharma trained their children's biology teachers. Yet, over the last decade, schools have often embraced the technology industry in similar ways with few questions asked. The article excerpts the soon-to-be-released book " Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools," with the reporter adding more thoughts on LinkedIn: Every few years, Silicon Valley has urged American public schools to quickly adopt the latest technology or teach the latest tech subject: Big Data analytics; laptops for every child; algorithm-driven math and reading apps; compter programming; virtual reality. And each time the urgent arguments sounded remarkably similar: if schools just adopted the latest tech tool, or taught the latest tech subject, it would democratize learning for every child and equip students with valuable career skills. Despite good intentions, "today we know some of those classroom tech drives did not exactly pan out as advertised." Now some of the same companies that urged schools to provide laptops and coding lessons are employing similar arguments to urge schools to quickly adopt A.I. tools. I've spent years covering Chromebooks and student chatbot use. And I'm troubled by our collective amnesia around school tech. Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader theodp for sharing the article.

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Aucune purin de réflexion : Interdiction du téléphone au lycée soit-disant pour "protéger les enfants" (what else ?), alors qu'on demande aux élèves d'utiliser les services numériques pour tout:
- l'emploi du temps (qui change tout le temps)
- les devoirs
- le carnet de correspondance
- l'accès aux livres numériques
- l'accès à la cantine
- ah ! et je ne parle pas des élèves handicapés (coucou les aides auditives ?), les élèves fragiles, etc.

Ça ne tient pas debout.

Comme prévu, la rentrée se passe bien : https://sebsauvage.net/p/#/framapiaf.org/s/117194683294399649?view=full
"15-ans arrive au lycée sans smartphone. On vous racontera mais ça commence fort : le proviseur explique qu'il faut présenter sa carte scolaire pour entrer et sortir, et qu'elle n'existe… qu'en démat'.
Techniquement, pour l'entrée, c'est pas incompatible avec l'interdiction du smartphone au lycée, vu que l'élève est encore au-dehors…"
(Permalink)

Publiée au Journal officiel ce 25 août 2026, la loi censée bannir les réseaux sociaux pour les moins de 15 ans a été largement castrée. Le contrôle généralisé de l'âge n'aura pas lieu, du moins pour l'instant. Cependant, le texte conserve quelques dispositions qui s'appliqueront dès cette rentrée.

Publiée au Journal officiel ce 25 août 2026, la loi censée bannir les réseaux sociaux pour les moins de 15 ans a été largement castrée. Le contrôle généralisé de l'âge n'aura pas lieu, du moins pour l'instant. Cependant, le texte conserve quelques dispositions qui s'appliqueront dès cette rentrée.

L’Algérie poursuit sa politique de remplacement de l’enseignement du français par celui de l’anglais, qui devient la première langue étrangère des élèves dès la troisième année de primaire. Pour le média algérien “Twala”, si le débat revêt, dans le pays, une forte dimension symbolique, la réforme risque de se révéler hâtive et masque mal un manque de moyens chronique.

© PHOTO AFP

Éloge de l’Europe d’autrefois – y compris coloniale –, critique de faits scientifiques, méthodes différenciées pour les filles et les garçons : l’école Renaissance, qui ne compte qu’une poignée d’élèves pour le moment, est un projet du parti d’extrême droite Forum pour la démocratie. Grâce à une nouvelle réglementation, il a pu bénéficier du financement de l’État néerlandais.

© DESSIN DE MARTIRENA, CUBA.

Le Conseil constitutionnel a rejeté le texte sur l’interdiction des réseaux sociaux pour les mineurs de moins de 15 ans, ce 14 août. En attendant une éventuelle loi, voici une sélection des meilleurs conseils d’experts pour gérer l’exposition de nos enfants aux écrans, sans viser l’impossible.

© Catherine Delahaye / Getty Images

Former Cambridge professor Jason Arday, who resigned last week amid allegations of plagiarism and questions about his academic record, has been found dead at age 41 in London. The BBC reports: Jason Arday was found "unresponsive" at an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday afternoon, emergency services said. Metropolitan Police officers were called by the London Ambulance Service. A 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin have been informed, the force said. Arday resigned as a Cambridge professor of sociology of education last week after allegations of plagiarism and questions about some of his achievements. He had denied the claims. In a statement, the Met Police said: "At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious." The 41-year-old academic had denied any plagiarism - but admitted errors in his work - and last week said the recent furore had led to "an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack." The row first erupted after another academic -- self-defined "race realist" Nathan Cofnas, who was sacked from his Cambridge role in 2024 -- said he found numerous instances of plagiarism in Prof Arday's work and questioned some of his stated achievements. [...] Announcing his resignation last week, Arday said the "personal cost" of the scrutiny had become "too great." He said: "While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement. "The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love." He stressed that his resignation should not "be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me."

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"In order to salve the mental health of freshman students, the University of Michigan has implemented a Pass/No Credit system for new students to improve their mental health," writes Slashdot reader Ol Olsoc. "The process, called 'Grade Covering,' is aimed at helping with the mental health crisis that students face by lessening grade pressure." Axios reports: U-M's College of Literature, Science and the Arts plans to replace first-semester letter grades on freshmen's transcripts with pass/no-credit marks, tentatively beginning in fall 2027. Professors would still assign grades, but they wouldn't appear on external transcripts or count toward students' GPAs. U-M says the idea, known as "grade covering," could help students adjust to college, take academic risks and "embrace the joy of learning." University spokesperson Chris Sebastian tells Axios that LSA faculty, staff and students will continue shaping the pilot, with more details to come this fall. "While I am sure that there is some pressure on freshman students, one of the best ways of dealing with pressure is enduring it and overcoming it, not attempting to shield people from it," comments Ol Olsoc.

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À l’approche de la rentrée, Apple relance son offre réservée aux étudiants (et aux professionnels de l'éducation). Jusqu’au 22 octobre 2026, l’achat d’un MacBook Air, d’un MacBook Pro, d’un iPad Air ou d’un iPad Pro permet de recevoir jusqu’à 120 € en carte Apple.

Fei-Fei Li, aka The Godmother of AI, says the biggest AI risk in education may be students losing the motivation and agency to learn, rather than simply using the technology to cheat. She argues against banning AI outright, saying it can be valuable when used to support engaged students instead of replacing the thinking and struggle that learning requires. Techspot reports: Speaking on an episode of the science podcast Huberman Lab this week, Li talked about the fears around how students are using AI. "The absolute bad outcome is that our young generation, their agency and human-level motivation of learning and living is taken away by tools," the ImageNet inventor warned. "It should not be taken away by humans nor should it be taken away by machines." If we see a generation of graduates who have completely relied on AI without actively trying to learn anything for themselves, they risk leaving education without having "properly developed the brain," Li said. [...] Li certainly isn't advocating for a complete ban on students using AI. She believes it can genuinely help struggling students who are already engaged in their learning. Li herself noted how she struggled with organic chemistry as a premed student, when teaching assistants and professors didn't have enough time to answer every question. While there's no obvious solution, Li says we need to find a way to keep children and students' motivation and agency. "Let's find a way to give them the access and the right way of using these tools," she said. Li added that if AI is used properly in education, it could make the students of the future "way smarter than us because they are superpowered."

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Cet article a été réalisé en collaboration avec CNFCE

Le remplacement de l’humain par l’IA est une crainte légitime de nombre de professionnels, qu'ils appartiennent au secteur du numérique ou non. La formation apparaît comme une bonne manière de s’armer intellectuellement face à cette grande marée.

Cet article a été réalisé en collaboration avec CNFCE

Il s’agit d’un contenu créé par des rédacteurs indépendants au sein de l’entité Humanoid xp. L’équipe éditoriale de Numerama n’a pas participé à sa création. Nous nous engageons auprès de nos lecteurs pour que ces contenus soient intéressants, qualitatifs et correspondent à leurs intérêts.

En savoir plus

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Earlier this summer, nearly 160,000 applicants took the entrance exam for UNAM, Mexico's largest university. For the first time, they did it completely remotely, using a "lockdown" browser and AI-powered webcam proctoring software, over several weeks from late May through early June. It was a disaster. When exam results came in, they bore little resemblance to past results, especially at the top. Between 2021 and 2025, 3.5 percent of test takers scored 100 or more on the 120-question UNAM test. This year, 16.3 percent did so. The story was even worse at the highest of the high end. Between 2021 and 2025, 0.9 percent of test takers scored 110 or more; this year, 5.5 percent did so. The surge in top scores led to accusations of widespread cheating, and UNAM appointed a commission of experts to investigate the situation. The group was given the unwieldy name "la Comision Tecnica de Personas Expertas para la Revision del Proceso de Seleccion de Ingreso a Licenciatura para el Circlo Escolar 2026-2027/1," and it has just submitted its recommendations. The commission believes that the best path forward, given all the concerns, is to administer a "control exam" -- that is, applicants will have to sit for another test, and they will do so in person. This control exam will apply not only to those who secured a spot at UNAM based on this year's test but also to everyone who would have been admitted based on minimum successful scores in their program of study since 2021. About 58,000 people could be affected, and places at UNAM will now depend on the results of the new test. (Details on the control exam should appear soon; classes are currently scheduled to begin on August 10, so everything will have to move quickly unless the school decides to delay classes.) According to Gaceta UNAM, the school's official news publication, the university rector has apologized to honest applicants, since they will now have to prepare for and take the test again despite doing nothing wrong. Still, the control exam is "necessary to give certainty and guarantee equity in access," the rector added.

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Arizona State University has launched a 120-credit bachelor's degree in content creation that teaches video, podcasting, branding, analytics, media law, and social strategy. For their capstone, students are "expected to build a real social media account and demonstrate audience growth during the program," reports Dexerto. From the report: The Content Creation BA is housed within ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and appears in the university's 2026-2027 course catalog. The 120-credit-hour degree prepares students to become "an influencer and strategic storyteller" by teaching video production, podcasting, personal branding, audience analytics and social media strategy. The program was approved by the ASU University Senate in March 2026. Its proposal said graduates would be prepared to work independently as influencers and content creators across livestreaming, videography, writing, podcasting, graphics and emerging media. [...] For the program's final project, students will choose a social media platform, such as TikTok, create a content and growth strategy, and attempt to gain real followers throughout the semester. "They will have demonstrable audience growth," [explained Jessica Pucci, senior associate dean at the Cronkite School]. "They will have a platform of their choice with real content and real followers and a real audience behind them." The curriculum includes courses titled How to Become an Influencer, On-Camera Presence, Introduction to Editing, Videography, Podcasting and Audio Storytelling, Social Media Foundations and The Digital Audience.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Deux médias américains, “Business Insider” et “BuzzFeed”, publient des témoignages de parents expatriés confrontés aux différences culturelles et à des adaptations nécessaires. Tour d’horizon.

© PHOTO MERAL YALÇIN/PEELS/CC

Ces dernières semaines, plusieurs dizaines de couples résidant en France et travaillant en Suisse ont réfléchi à la façon d’échapper à la fin, progressive, de la scolarisation des enfants frontaliers à Genève. Avec plus ou moins de réussite.

© PHOTO TOMMY (TEEEINS)/PEXELS/CC

Bilal Erdogan, qui tente de se positionner comme le futur successeur de son père, va organiser, durant tout l’été, des enseignements religieux à destination de 550 000 enfants dans les écoles publiques de Turquie. Le tout par l’intermédiaire d’une association bénéficiant de fonds européens.

© AKIN CELIKTAS/ANADOLU/AFP