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A graphical image of a person in a yellow sweater, wearing headphones and holding a laptop with an AI logo on it. Images surround the laptop related to chemistry, physics, math and biology.

UC Irvine study reveals Californians’ mixed views on AI’s impact on youth

UC Irvine News
August 4, 2025
A new study conducted by University of California, Irvine researchers sheds light on Californians’ perceptions and concerns regarding the impact of generative AI on children and adolescents. The study – which surveyed 2,143 adults across the state, including 870 parents and guardians – reveals a complex landscape of opinions and usage patterns.

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5 panelists and one moderator speak at the front of an auditorium. The screen behind them displays their photos, names and titles/affiliations.

Igniting Student Potential: CLL Symposium Unites Researchers, Industry Leaders, and Educators Over AI’s Capacity for Self-Discovery and Empowered Learning

July 30, 2025
Earlier this year, the CLL hosted its spring symposium: AI for Learner Agency and Self-discovery: Insights and Inspiration from Research and Impact Partnerships. The invited speakers and panel, comprised of CLL researchers, practitioners from Anaheim Unified School District, and industry partners from Roadtrip Nation, joined in dynamic presentations on their interconnected work.
Connected Learning Alliance
Free Webinar: Neurodiversity & Connected Learning Rua Williams, Daisuke Okabe Mizuko Ito Kickoff Webinar for the Neurodiversity Potential Study Group (NeuPoteKen) June 2025. Japan | US.

ニューロダイバーシティとコネクテッド・ラーニング ーアセットベース・パラダイムが交差する異文化対話 / Neurodiversity and Connected Learning – A Cross-Cultural Dialogue on Intertwined Asset-Based Paradigms

July 26, 2025
What is neurodiversity and connected learning and how can they support a movement for inclusive education? What is the promise and peril of emerging technology and cultural differences in realizing this potential? These are some of the questions we explored on June 24, 2025 (June 25 JST), at our kick-off webinar for the Neurodiversity Potential Study Group (NeuPoteKen)...
Neurodiversity NPO

All News and Stories

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Publisher
Date

AI and kids: Rethinking screen time

Gillian Hayes, UC Irvine Vice Provost for Academic Personnel, and Mimi Ito, UC Irvine Connected Learning Lab Director, talk about why parents should lean into kids using AI.
CBS News
August 18, 2026

Should parents shield their kids from technology? Yes and no, experts say

Researchers and industry professional talk phone bans in schools, online spaces for kids and more during a UC Irvine panel discussion. Should children, whether it be in school or at home, have their technology use limited in some way? Well, it’s complicated, experts say.
The Orange County Register
July 18, 2026

Experts urge ‘developmental lens’ for AI

Some of the nation’s leading researchers and child development experts gathered July 16 at the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering at UC Irvine to make a clear case: when it comes to artificial intelligence and its impact on young people, the conversation must be grounded in science — not fear.
UC Irvine School of Social Ecology
July 17, 2026

A New Guide for Building Neurodiversity Oases for Connected Learning through Role Playing Games, FabLabs, Minecraft, BTS Fandom, and More

The two publications center on the concept of neurodiversity oases, environments that grow out of organic communities of interest—media fandoms, creative practices, and games—while intentionally layering in educational approaches that support inclusion, learning and development. Both publications are available open access on the Connected Learning Alliance website in English and Japanese.…
Connected Learning Alliance
May 20, 2026

Katie Salen Tekinbaş Awarded Public Voices Fellowship

Katie Salen Tekinbaş, professor and vice chair for graduate affairs in the Department of Informatics at UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), has been awarded a 2026 Public Voices Fellowship on Youth Well-being and Power from Hopelab.
UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences
May 4, 2026

How Can Arts Programs Help Young People Thrive?

Animation still showing a ballet dancer and the "constellation of benefits" youth arts programs can offer.
How do community arts programs help young people thrive as adults? Researchers at the University of California, Irvine interviewed people in three countries who had participated in youth arts programs 10 to 20 years earlier. Their report, Creative Expression, Caring Relationships, and Career Pathways: A Guide to Youth Outcomes in Community Arts Programs, lays out the myriad ways in which arts…
Wallace Foundation
March 17, 2026

Cultivating Belonging and Craft: CLL Symposium Highlights Otaku Communities as Global Platforms for Neurodiversity Inclusive Learning

photo of Daisuke Okabe, Kohei Kato and Henry Jenkins at the front of an auditorium, speaking on a panel. Behind them is a translation of their conversation in English and Japanese.
Last November, the Connected Learning Lab (CLL) brought together international media scholars and researchers for the symposium Otaku Communities as Platforms for Neurodiversity Inclusive Learning – a Cross Cultural Dialogue. The event explored how fan cultures – long stigmatized in mainstream society – are being reimagined as vital learning spaces for neurodivergent youth to find refuge…
The Connected Learning Alliance
February 23, 2026

Creative Expression, Caring Relationships, and Career Pathways

Creative Expression, Caring Relationships, and Career Pathways: A Guide to Youth Outcomes in Community Arts Programs
New report identifies long-term benefits of youth participation in community arts programs, from well-being to future trajectories — Community-based youth arts programs have been shown to provide important, engaging, and empowering experiences for young people. But often, when asked to demonstrate their impact, programs must rely on the anecdotal experiences of participants in their particular…
Wallace Foundation
November 18, 2025
1
AI and kids: Rethinking screen time
August 18, 2026
Gillian Hayes, UC Irvine Vice Provost for Academic Personnel, and Mimi Ito, UC Irvine Connected Learning Lab Director, talk about why parents should lean into kids using AI.
CBS News
Should parents shield their kids from technology? Yes and no, experts say
July 18, 2026
Researchers and industry professional talk phone bans in schools, online spaces for kids and more during a UC Irvine panel discussion. Should children, whether it be in school or at home, have their technology use limited in some way? Well, it’s complicated, experts say.
The Orange County Register
Experts urge ‘developmental lens’ for AI
July 17, 2026
Some of the nation’s leading researchers and child development experts gathered July 16 at the Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering at UC Irvine to make a clear case: when it comes to artificial intelligence and its impact on young people, the conversation must be grounded in science — not fear.
UC Irvine School of Social Ecology
A New Guide for Building Neurodiversity Oases for Connected Learning through Role Playing Games, FabLabs, Minecraft, BTS Fandom, and More
May 20, 2026
The two publications center on the concept of neurodiversity oases, environments that grow out of organic communities of interest—media fandoms, creative practices, and games—while intentionally layering in educational approaches that support inclusion, learning and development. Both publications are available open access on the Connected Learning Alliance website in English and Japanese.…
Connected Learning Alliance
Katie Salen Tekinbaş Awarded Public Voices Fellowship
May 4, 2026
Katie Salen Tekinbaş, professor and vice chair for graduate affairs in the Department of Informatics at UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), has been awarded a 2026 Public Voices Fellowship on Youth Well-being and Power from Hopelab.
UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences
Animation still showing a ballet dancer and the "constellation of benefits" youth arts programs can offer.
How Can Arts Programs Help Young People Thrive?
March 17, 2026
How do community arts programs help young people thrive as adults? Researchers at the University of California, Irvine interviewed people in three countries who had participated in youth arts programs 10 to 20 years earlier. Their report, Creative Expression, Caring Relationships, and Career Pathways: A Guide to Youth Outcomes in Community Arts Programs, lays out the myriad ways in which arts…
Wallace Foundation
photo of Daisuke Okabe, Kohei Kato and Henry Jenkins at the front of an auditorium, speaking on a panel. Behind them is a translation of their conversation in English and Japanese.
Cultivating Belonging and Craft: CLL Symposium Highlights Otaku Communities as Global Platforms for Neurodiversity Inclusive Learning
February 23, 2026
Last November, the Connected Learning Lab (CLL) brought together international media scholars and researchers for the symposium Otaku Communities as Platforms for Neurodiversity Inclusive Learning – a Cross Cultural Dialogue. The event explored how fan cultures – long stigmatized in mainstream society – are being reimagined as vital learning spaces for neurodivergent youth to find refuge…
The Connected Learning Alliance
Creative Expression, Caring Relationships, and Career Pathways: A Guide to Youth Outcomes in Community Arts Programs
Creative Expression, Caring Relationships, and Career Pathways
November 18, 2025
New report identifies long-term benefits of youth participation in community arts programs, from well-being to future trajectories — Community-based youth arts programs have been shown to provide important, engaging, and empowering experiences for young people. But often, when asked to demonstrate their impact, programs must rely on the anecdotal experiences of participants in their particular…
Wallace Foundation
1

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