Notes on building Xyplor — the mechanisms, the pedagogy, and what we're learning from families.
Pew data shows young adults are souring on AI faster than any other age group. Here's the framing question that matters for parents of kids who are just meeting AI now.
We changed Nova's in-app wording from 'a friend made of code' to 'an AI helper' in September 2026. Here's why the word mattered more than it looked like it would.
In one week, New York and Los Angeles switched student AI off, the UAE extended compulsory AI to every private school, and the OECD published the number that says both are aiming at the wrong variable.
If a Stanford class team can put an AI tutor on a public tutoring leaderboard in a few weeks, delivering instruction is commoditized. Here's what isn't: noticing, belonging, directing.
Common Sense Media's report on Google's AI Overviews sparked a fight about harm. Underneath it is a simpler design question every parent should be asking: can I turn this off?
Early build data from Xyplor: in our first ~70 classified kid revisions, over half were 'no, fix this' rejections, not additions. Here's what that number does and doesn't tell us.
Some AI-native students say they trust their own work less after leaning on AI through school. That guilt is a good sign — and a parenting opportunity, not just a college problem.
Anthropic's Claude for Teachers is a genuinely good product for educators. It also only solves half the problem — the half that ends the day a kid graduates.
Kids need to learn to direct AI, not fear it or worship it. A measured look at what AI literacy actually means at different ages, and what it doesn't.
A founder's log from six months of watching his 9- and 13-year-old use Xyplor daily — what surprised him, what broke, and what he redesigned.
A practical look at the dashboard model for parenting AI use: visible by default, intervene only when something actually needs it.
Nothing replaces Roblox 1:1. Here's how to find the right alternative depending on which part of Roblox your kid actually cares about.
Scratch is still one of the best things in kids' computing education. But AI direction is a genuinely different skill — and both will matter.
A practical guide for parents comparing AI camps and coding camps for kids: what to look for, the right questions to ask, cost vs. value, and how to tell a real project from busywork.
Teacher productivity AI and student-facing AI maker tools solve different problems at different price points. Here's why the same district often needs both.
Most AI platforms for kids stop at filtering harmful output. Real safety requires full parent visibility into every conversation—here's why that matters.
OpenAI's terms bar under-13s from ChatGPT. Here's what the policy actually says, why it exists, and what parents do when their kid needs generative AI anyway.
A concrete checklist for evaluating AI apps for kids: the 5-layer safety floor, age-adapted tone, output types, parent visibility, and compliance.
Most AI tools hand a kid a game in 60 seconds and then nothing to come back to. Here's why long-form projects — one ambitious build, iterated over weeks — are where the real skill forms, and what to look for.
A practical, age-by-age guide to teaching kids to use AI safely — the conversations and habits that matter more than any content filter.
Why the most leveraged skill for the next generation isn't syntax — it's the ability to describe, evaluate, and iterate with AI systems.
How K-12 districts can use ESSA Title IV-A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants) to fund AI literacy programs. Eligible activities, vendor alignment, and practical funding strategy.
What FERPA-alignment actually means for AI tools in K-12, what to ask vendors during procurement, and how the major K-12 AI literacy platforms compare in 2026.
How Xyplor and Code.org compare for K-12 AI literacy programs. Coverage, pedagogy, pricing, compliance, and the honest case for picking one over the other.
The design principles behind Xyplor — reflection loops, personalized journeys, a profile that compounds over time, and screen time that only counts when a kid is actually creating.