To our digital thriving community,

In this season of gratitude and reflection, we’re feeling all the warm and fuzzies thanks to our community 🤗. Our team has been here, there, and everywhere getting to spend time IRL with incredible educators, youth, collaborators, and peers.

An Early #GivingTuesday Gift!
​We’ve been thinking as a team about the ways we can give back to the communities that fill our cups. Thanks to generous new funding, we’re able to do that by offering free enrollment opportunities for our asynchronous course: 8 Mindshifts for Teaching Digital Well-being.

This online course helps educators reimagine their approach to teaching digital well-being, develop strategies for digital thriving, and bring reflective, evidenced-based practices into classrooms and communities.

We’re thrilled to offer an abundance of no-cost enrollment opportunities to educators who are curious to shift from tech ref to empowering coach in the classroom. If you or someone you know is interested in applying, simply fill out this brief form (8-10 mins!). Your responses will help us understand how you are navigating technology and AI — so we can continue to design educator- (and youth-) informed resources.

Whatever this time of year looks like for you, we hope it fills your cup as we close out 2025.

Want to see what we’ve been up to? Read on for more about how we’re both connecting and reflecting with the communities that help us thrive.

Giant Step Teen Conference

200+ teen students, 30 educators, and four CDTers gathered at Wayne State University late last month for WSU’s annual Giant Step Teen Conference. And wow! The conversations, collaborations, and connections were full of insights about how technology is showing up in young people’s lives and classrooms.

It was a joy to lead the professional development session for educator attendees, where we explored our IMAGINE AI resources. We even found time for a youth listening session to hear about how Detroit-area teens are navigating AI and technology in their lives. One through line we heard from both educators and teens? Just how much the relationship between student and teacher matters in how they show up for one another.

Fellows Convening

Not long after, the full CDT team came together with our four newest Fellows and “Forever Fellows” from the previous cohort to host our annual in-person Digital Thriving Fellows Convening in Cambridge. Joyful, energizing, and deeply inspiring — just a few words to capture the momentum we’re carrying with us from our time together.

We supported the new fellows as they kicked off their projects and heard from our Forever Fellows who shared reflections on their projects from last year and how they’re continuing their impact. We left feeling inspired — reminded of the many ways this community continues to imagine a thriving future for the next generation.

And yes, we held our annual “Wanding Ceremony” to encourage everyone in our CDT community to expect magic, and chase it 🪄.

IMAGINE AI Retreat

Our IMAGINE AI portfolio of work has allowed us to listen deeply about the ways AI is both unlocking new possibilities and creating new friction for students and educators alike. Both express feelings of worry and wonder: worry about their own AI use and wonder about how others are using it, too. This familiar dilemma was the inspiration for a series of IMAGINE AI Workshops held as part of an offsite retreat we hosted last week.
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Together, alongside intergenerational researchers, educators, young changemakers, and peers in youth mental health + tech, we considered ways we might “name to tame” experiences with AI (inspired by our “Thinking Traps Glossary” resource!). We walked away with a list of 50+ terms that we will continue to iterate on and explore with teens in our research. But more than that, we walked away with an affirming feeling that there are so many kind, bright people working across disciplines to advocate for a better future (and present) for the next generation. What an honor to be in such great company 💜.

As we look ahead to 2026, we’re filled with gratitude for everyone in our community who keeps us learning, questioning, and imagining. Thank you for being part of this journey toward digital thriving — where curiosity, care, and connection light the way ✨.

With appreciation, curiosity, and endless wonder —
​The Center for Digital Thriving Team

The Center for Digital Thriving is a research and innovation center based at Project Zero at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Our mission is to create knowledge and research-based resources that help people – especially youth – thrive in a tech-filled world.

Join us on our nascent socials for updates. 🌱

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