Presented by Robbie Torney, Head of AI & Digital Assessments, Common Sense Media Youth AI Safety Institute; Eisha Buch, Head of Teaching & Learning, Common Sense Media; Laura Zimmermann, Ph.D., Director of Youth AI Research, Common Sense Media; and Geoffrey A. Fowler, Head of Public Outreach, Common Sense Media This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Common Sense Education. The webinar recording can be accessed here. As New York City and Los Angeles, two of the nation’s largest districts, announce they are banning AI in K-8 (NYC) and in K-12 (LA), districts across the country are facing a question that is becoming impossible to ignore: Are we next? AI conversation doesn’t have to be a choice between banning technology and embracing it without limits. Join Geoffrey A. Fowler, Head of Public Engagement at Common Sense Media, for a timely edWeb podcast conversation examining what schools need to know as they navigate the rapidly changing AI landscape. Laura Zimmermann, Ph.D., Director of Youth AI Research, shares the research and help administrators and educators understand what the evidence tells us about how tweens and teens are using AI today—both at home and for school. Robbie Torney, Head of AI & Digital Assessments, examines AI risk, offering a practical lens for understanding and assessing risks and benefits related to student age, context, privacy, and safety. Eisha Buch, Head of Teaching and Learning, introduces an Age & Stage Guide, a developmentally appropriate framework for the gradual use of AI that helps schools move beyond an all-or-nothing approach and toward intentional, age-appropriate implementation. Rather than asking simply, “Should schools ban AI?” we explore a more productive question: “How can schools introduce AI in ways that protect what matters most about learning—human connection, curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking?” The conversation culminates in a practical Age & Stage Guide for the Gradual Use of AI, offering a proactive framework for administrators, educators, students, and families to understand what responsible AI use can look like across K–12. Listeners leave with: Research-informed context for understanding the rapidly changing K–12 AI landscapeA practical way to think about AI risk beyond an all-or-nothing approachConsiderations for balancing policy decisions with the realities of classroom teaching and learningDevelopmentally appropriate guidance for introducing AI gradually across grade levelsConcrete resources and next steps for administrators, educators, students, and familiesThis edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 educators, librarians, school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders. Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.
