Tech-Neill-ogy #104 - 10 August 2025

Your Weekly Guide to Leveraging Technology in College Counseling

Author

Jeffrey Neill
August 11, 2025

Welcome to Tech-Neill-ogy #104!

Happy Monday. Today is the first day of classes for my school. This is a day I tend to look more and more forward to over the preceding two weeks. It’s not quite the same without students around. That said, there’s quite a few interesting items to make note of in this week’s newsletter. Take a look! Enjoy!

What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones

Children who were raised on screens need more freedom out in the real world.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/08/kids-smartphones-play-freedom/683742

This free GPT-5 feature is flying under the radar - but it's a game changer for me

Everyone can use ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode now - yes, even free users.

www.zdnet.com/article/this-free-gpt-5-feature-is-flying-under-the-radar-but-its-a-game-changer-for-me

I Tried ChatGPT’s Study Mode And It’s Mostly Great

ChatGPT's new study mode is designed for tutoring college students. It's a big step in the right direction for AI.

www.techlearning.com/how-to/i-tried-chatgpts-study-mode-and-its-mostly-great

The Wrong Question About AI In Admissions

One of the most persistent questions enrollment leaders still ask about artificial intelligence is whether it will replace counselors. It comes up in strategy meetings, at conferences, and in quiet conversations between teams trying to understand what this moment means for the profession. It’s a fair question, but it’s also the wrong one.

www.enrollml.com/post/the-wrong-question-about-ai-in-admissions

Just thank ChatGPT: How teens turned a secret tool into a shared success

AI isn’t going away--it’s already the silent partner in many students’ academic journeys, and educators should support them.

www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2025/08/06/how-students-turned-an-ai-tool-into-a-shared-success

Introducing GPT-5

Our smartest, fastest, most useful model yet, with built-in thinking that puts expert-level intelligence in everyone’s hands.

openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5

Reword: AI Writer For People-First Articles

Reword helps you collaboratively write helpful, reliable, search optimized articles - With an AI article writer that's trained by live resources.

reword.com

BeeDone: AI Daily Planner Game

Maximize your productivity with BeeDone – the gamified app inspired by the best in self-help literature. Our AI-driven platform turns your goals into achievements through a fun, engaging experience. Join a community of achievers.

beedone.co

Todo.is - Your Productivity Command Center

AI-based task management!

todo.is

workppt : AI Presentations

Everything you need to quickly create and refine content with advanced AI. Workppt is able to create a compelling starting point for presentations in just minutes. The satisfaction of bringing your work to life and sharing it with the world.

ppt.softtooler.com

https://www.edficacy.co/ - Tell them Jeff sent you!

I just pulled this prompt together this weekend. I’ll let you know how it plays out. (While ChatGPT can accept .ics exports from Google, I could not get it to work, so most of the output is overlooking granular details that might exist in the comments, etc. I suspect that the .ics file is just too big to upload to ChatGPT…) 

Attached is my calendar as a PDF printout from Google. I would like you to review my schedule and provide a summary of what I need to consider in terms of priorities, concepts, and preparations for just the upcoming week. Then, each day at 4 a.m. for the rest of this week, please send me a brief email of the things I need to be aware of for the coming day as a "day ahead" brief. If you have any clarifying questions to better understand different calendar items, please ask now.

Please, if you have any great prompts or ideas, please share! Send me a note at [email protected].

Webinars & Live Events Page

Look here for upcoming webinars and other events (and recorded ones) by the College Essay Guy! New events are happening all the time…

www.collegeessayguy.com/webinars-live-events

If you know of any upcoming events related to AI or tech and college counseling/admissions, please let me know! There’s been a growth in these events that I find difficult to stay on top of!

If you haven’t been staying abreast of these developments, it is worth your time to see what’s coming:

Trump Begins Hunt for ‘Bogeyman’ in Admissions Data

The Trump administration will require colleges to share more detailed admissions data “to verify” that they’re not considering applicants’ race.

www.chronicle.com/article/trump-begins-hunt-for-bogeyman-in-admissions-data

Anyway, best wishes for a great week! Happy counseling!

Jeff