Project Zero Australia & the Centre for Digital Thriving present
a free, online interactive learning session

What is AI Agency?

and how can I build it for myself and my students?

29th April - 7 am - 8:30 am (Australian Eastern Standard Time) - Online and Free

Register Now Online

Students are already among the largest users of generative AI — yet most schools lack clear guidance on how to use it, leaving educators to referee and coach a game they are still learning to play. Too often, assumptions fill the void: many adults believe students turn to AI only to cheat, overlooking the pressures they face and the genuine support they seek from these tools. This disconnect breeds secrecy, stigma, and frustration at the very moment AI could be opening the door to meaningful conversations about learning and well-being.

This interactive session, led by the Center for Digital Thriving — a part of Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education — invites educators to move beyond binary “allowed vs. banned” narratives of AI and toward a values-driven, human-centered approach. Drawing on more than a decade of research on adolescent digital well-being and new studies on student perspectives on AI, facilitators will share insights and frameworks that make AI use visible. 

Participants will engage with and learn about classroom-ready activities that surface hidden use, ground conversations in values, and navigate grey areas. Together, these practices support co-created classroom norms that strengthen student learning, well-being, and connection.

Objectives:

  • Introduce student perspectives on AI and digital well-being

  • Explore why binary “allowed vs. banned” approaches fall short

  • Engage with and learn about classroom activities that foster openness and trust

  • Learn strategies to co-create AI agreements and classroom norms with students

  • Build confidence to approach AI as shared inquiry that supports student well-being

Emily Weinstein

Emily Weinstein is co-founder of the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Principal Investigator at Project Zero, and Researcher-in-Residence at In Tandem. For the last fifteen years, her research has focused on listening to young people to understand and elevate their perspectives on new technologies, including social media and—more recently—generative AI. She wrote the book Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (and Adults Are Missing) (MIT Press, 2022) with her colleague Carrie James, and she’s currently working on a new book about Digital Resilience (Simon Element, forthcoming in 2027). Emily routinely advocates for approaches that amplify digital agency, and she is especially committed to translational science projects to create usable resources.
(More at https://digitalthriving.gse.harvard.edu/) 

Carrie James

Carrie James is Co-Director of Project Zero and Managing Director of the Center for Digital Thriving at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A sociologist by training, for over a decade, Carrie has led research and educational initiatives focused on young people’s experiences in digital life, with particular attention to ethical dilemmas, civic participation, and strategies to support well-being. With Emily Weinstein, she is co-author of the book, Behind Their Screens: What Teens are Facing (and Adults are Missing) (MIT Press, 2022). Carrie is passionate about partnering with youth and educators to build practical resources that can help young people thrive in a connected world. She has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Sociology from NYU and is a parent to two (technology-loving) daughters, ages 16 and 20.

Beck Tench

Beck Tench is a co-founder of the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Principal Investigator at Project Zero. A former science museum exhibit designer, Beck brings a participatory, design-driven lens to research on young people's relationships with technology. She co-leads the IMAGINE project, developing classroom resources and research that help educators experience their own agency with AI and support agency in their students. Beck is committed to helping people see technology clearly and have hope that we can make things better because we're not alone. Beck has a Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Washington. She lives in a strawbale home with her wife, dog, and four quail on Bainbridge Island.

Nurturing Belonging and Agency in a Culture of Thinking

Save The Date

Saturday 13th June - 8 am to 12:30 pm

Brisbane Girls Grammar School

This conference will feature Dr Ron Ritchhart as keynote speaker, along with a wide variety of small group sessions facilitated by practising educators inspired by Project Zero ideas. Creating a new story of learning at school and in our classrooms begins with a safe environment that creates a sense of belonging and affords students agency in their learning. This is ongoing throughout the school year.

Dr Ron Ritchhart

Keynote Presenter

Dr Ritchhart will pose questions about the eight cultural forces, suitable teaching and research-based practices and how we create a sense of belonging in the classroom and nurture inclusivity. Workshop sessions will address one or more of the following throughlines:

- How can we nurture a culture of belonging and agency for teachers and students?
- How can teaching practices support students to feel confident and to thrive as learners?
- How might we help learners cultivate dispositions that support engagement with others, with ideas and in action?