youtube-nocookie.com and open.spotify.com, or use the options below.This week on TechCheck for grades 6–8: Clover School District in South Carolina paused student access to most AI tools but kept SchoolAI, citing responsible use and student data; The REFINERY in Fort Wayne gives about 200 students on 15 FIRST robotics teams tools, mentors and a full-size field; AI tools helped researchers find two critical, decade-old PHP flaws nicknamed PHP2Shell, patched October 21; fact-checkers used reverse image search to show viral Pink Panther protest images were AI fakes built from older real photos; and the open-source Godot 4.8 game engine entered beta with 1,523 fixes from 340 contributors. Systems-thinking- and debate-ready. IN THIS EPISODE
A reusable 6–8 worksheet and a copy-your-own Google Form. Same template every week, so students learn the routine once.
5 quick polls, a story-of-the-week vote, and a 4-question quiz. Answers are anonymous and count toward your class on the grade-band leaderboard. Open until November 1.
Middle School Innovators
Apple and Spotify carry the full show; use the feed URL for a Grades 6–8-only subscription.
📺 This week on TechCheck for grades 6–8: Frederick County, Maryland's school board voted 6-1 to ban student generative AI …
8 min 📺 🎧 This week on TechCheck for grades 6–8: Common Sense Media rated ChatGPT for Teens 'Unacceptable Risk' after 4,000+ test …