Welcome to episode 378 (”Behold Claude Co-Work”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 5, 2026, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week, Dr. Jason Neiffer (aicentrist.com) and Dr. Wesley Fryer (wesfryer.com) share back-to-school updates, wildfire smoke and weather impacts, and how edtech discussion is being dominated by AI and screen-time debates. They highlight an Axios report on collapsing Google search referrals to publishers, the rise of AI-generated “slop,” and the shift from traditional search literacy to AI chat-based search, alongside concerns that users can’t easily turn AI features off. They discuss a Common Sense Media study showing harmful Google AI responses for kids and emphasize that students were already weak at search skills. They cover backlash and nuance around Hank Green’s AI use, ethics and labor harms in AI training, and the need for balanced media literacy, including vertical video literacy. Jason demonstrates Claude Cowork organizing 1,800+ teaching files, mapping them to an AP Euro textbook and College Board framework, and generating a seven-week prep plan. Geek of the Week picks include Vellum Proof, a vibe-coded Oregon Trail typing game, and Osmatic for local AI models.

Our show was live-streamed and archived on YouTube Live via StreamYard.com and auto-archived to YouTube. We are now publishing from Substack too! Subscribe to us with your favorite podcast listening app, or directly on or https://www.youtube.com/@edtechSR. Follow our EdTechSR page on Facebook, mastodon.education/@edtechsr on Mastodon for updates, and join LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can. All show notes are available at edtechSR.com/links.

00:00 Welcome Back Hosts

01:43 Weather And Wildfire Check

03:47 Show Format And Topics

05:26 AI Search Disrupts Web

10:07 AI Slop And Feeds

13:39 Vertical Video Literacy

17:35 Local News Crisis

19:52 Google AI Search Risks

21:43 Startpage Privacy Search

24:33 Students Search Literacy Gap

28:46 Hank Green AI Backlash

33:11 Nuance Over Binary AI