Hello listeners! In this episode of The Culture Compute Podcast, I reflect from the Du Bois Library at UMass Amherst on the evolving landscape of educational technologies—specifically how synthetic data, on-device AI, and school phone policies are reshaping learning in real-time.

We explore:

• The promise of synthetic educational data for privacy and scale.

• How students respond to AI-generated vs. instructor feedback.

• Surprising findings from a large-scale study on school phone policies and adolescent mental health.

• And a sneak peek into my new STEM music project powered by generative AI.

Whether you’re a teacher, researcher, or curious learner, this episode dives deep into the future of learning with nuance and care.

🔗 Resources & Links Mentioned:

🎵 STEM Music Videos on YouTube – Equations & Echoes
https://www.youtube.com/@equations.echoes

📘 Khalil, M., Liu, Q., & Jovanovic, J. (2025)
AI for data generation in education: Towards learning and teaching support at scale
British Journal of Educational Technology
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13580

📘 Er, E., Akçapınar, G., Bayazıt, A., Noroozi, O., & Banihashem, S. K. (2024)
Assessing student perceptions and use of instructor versus AI‐generated feedback
British Journal of Educational Technology
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13558

📘 Goodyear, V. A., et al. (2025)
School phone policies and their association with mental wellbeing, phone use, and social media use (SMART Schools)
The Lancet Regional Health–Europe
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101211

Website: https://www.culturecomputepod.com/

Email: sgattupalli at umass dot edu

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Until next time, keep computing culture.