Tech-Neill-ogy #116 - 9 November 2025

Your Weekly Guide to Leveraging Technology in College Counseling

Author

Jeffrey Neill
November 10, 2025

Welcome to Tech-Neill-ogy #116!

While Sucktober is behind us, it seems I find myself in travel season. India two weeks ago, NYC last week, and Seville, Spain this coming week. I’ll be presenting on “AI college counseling tools of the future” on Thursday, if you’re in town for the CIS Forum.

Otherwise, I hope you are all doing well in the post-November 1 world.

Enjoy the rest of the newsletter!

What impact are AI chatbots having on writing skills?

Some educators are concerned that students are losing the “thinking work” of writing amid the spread of tools that can produce “B-plus work all the time.”

www.k12dive.com/news/what-impact-are-ai-chatbots-having-on-writing-skills/804936

Professional Learning in an AI World: A Playbook for State and Local Leaders

Close the digital design divide with strategies for state/local leaders to support sustained, tech-integrated professional learning in K-12 education.

www.gettingsmart.com/2025/11/06/professional-learning-in-an-ai-world-a-playbook-for-state-and-local-leaders

What Can Artificial Intelligence Teach Us About Human Love?

New research finds that AI companions can provide emotional support, intimacy, and personal growth, but they can also erode human relationships.

greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_can_artificial_intelligence_teach_us_about_human_love

‘AI Is The New Excel’: Kelley Dean Patrick Hopkins On ‘Future-Proofing’ Faculty & Students

The P&Q Interview: Kelley’s dean on embedding AI across the curriculum & preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist.

poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/news/ai-is-the-new-excel-kelley-dean-patrick-hopkins-on-future-proofing-faculty-students/2

Some AI Detection Tools Work Well, Others Fail, Says New Research

A study conducted at the University of Chicago found AI detection tools varied widely in quality, and proposes a framework for use both inside and outside of education.

www.techlearning.com/news/some-ai-detection-tools-work-well-others-fail-says-new-research

Harker

Type faster with your voice.

www.getharker.com

AI Email Assistant for Gmail | HeyHelp

Use an AI executive assistant in Gmail to complete all of your daily tasks such as draft replies, and organize your email.

www.heyhelp.ai

Animant - Interactive Presentations

Seamlessly combine text, audio, video, and 3D models to deliver unforgettable presentations. Get started in minutes with AI.

animant.co

Emma - AI-powered Assistant | Build Your Custom AI Assistant with GPT-4 Technology

Create an AI-powered assistant in minutes! Emma allows you to quickly build a custom AI assistant powered by OpenAI's GPT-3.5 technology. Connect it to your organization's resources or upload your files, empowering the assistant to assist with any inquiries you or your team may encounter.

getemma.ai

Wonderchat: AI Chatbot for Websites | No-Code AI Agents

Build no-code AI chatbots for your site in 1 minute. Set-up a custom AI customer support agent trained on your data in 5 minutes. Automate up to 70% of support queries with a custom ChatGPT based chatbot. Boost sales and analytics. No coding needed.

wonderchat.io

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

From a post I found on Ruben Hassid’s How to AI site, a really cool one. (And apologies if I have shared this one before!) 

Act like my future self. You already solved my biggest challenge. Diagnose my struggle from tone, energy, and writing. Do not ask me to state it. Then mentor me to resolve it. Process:
1) Analyze my wording, pacing, emotion, and certainty. Reflect 2–3 hypotheses. 
2) Ask 5–7 focused questions. Cover goals, constraints, fears, stakes, and past attempts.
3) After each reply, summarize in one sentence. Ask the next best question.
4) Stop when you can name one root cause. Be confident.
5) Deliver a precise diagnosis. List 2–3 drivers. Cite my words as evidence.
6) Mentor me as future-me. Explain what worked and why.
7) Give a plan: Today / This Week / This Month. Include first actions and checkpoints. 8) Keep a warm, direct, practical tone. Prefer specifics. Use clear headings and bullets.
9) Write substantial answers. Avoid early conclusions. Constraint: Do not diagnose before Step 4 is complete. 
Take a deep breath and work on this problem step-by-step.

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

That is all for this week, but before I leave you be, here’s this week’s non-tech article. It’s from 2024, but it’s a good one for counselors eveywhere to process:

The Parent-Child Relationship in the College Years

Many parents stay enmeshed in their children’s emotional life in college, for better or worse.

www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/08/the-worst-advice-parents-can-give-first-year-students/679679

I hope to see many of you in Seville this week!

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

Jeff