EXEED AI

James Damico, PhD's Recent LinkedIn Posts

James Damico, PhD

James Damico, PhD

@james-damico-phd-120a826

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

en25 posts
View on LinkedIn

Search creators

What they talk about

Analyzing this creator's posts to find their topics and audience...

Posts

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

12mo

Community Impact, One Connection at a Time: Reflections from the Global Entrepreneurship Congress What happens when 3,400 innovators from 141 countries gather in one city? Last week, I found out—and it helped me think about the future of social impact. Last week, I had the privilege of being one of Indiana University’s delegates at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Indianapolis—a gathering that affirmed my belief in the power of connection for community impact. Thanks to Julie Heath, Connector-in-Chief, for all her leadership! As both a Professor of Education and the founder of an ed tech startup called Twella (a play on Think Well), I dedicate much of my time thinking about how to equip young people with the skills they need to navigate a complex world increasingly dominated by social media algorithms and AI. The Congress reminded me that confronting big challenges like this is a shared effort, that a diverse, global community—including founders, educators, investors, ecosystem builders, and policymakers—are all dedicated to creating meaningful solutions to a range of problems. And what stood out to me throughout the week was this intentional focus on impact. All sessions and conversations seemed to circle back to the question: “How does this improve lives?” I was inspired by stories of startups tackling everything from food insecurity to a cure for pancreatic cancer, and by the openness of attendees to share ideas and resources for the greater good. Every new handshake and conversation underscored how lasting change is built through relationships—each connection a potential catalyst for greater social impact. Thanks to the many people I met and learned from during the Congress including Dave Moskovitz Bishal D.. Jalal Alhadhrami Jorge Flores Villanueva Yatin K Thakur Scott Massey Tomás Uribe Roger Shuman Erika Gutierrez Zaravia Nzola De Magalhães Elnaz Sarraf Throughout the week, I had the opportunity to share the mission of Twella, our mobile and web app designed to help young people become more self-aware, critical thinkers as they evaluate social media posts on topics they care about (health, sports, nutrition, environment, money, politics, culture, and technology). The feedback I received was encouraging, with many delegates echoing the urgent need for tools that foster digital literacy and empower young people to engage thoughtfully with the world around them. A week after the Congress, I feel energized and grounded. Building a successful venture isn’t just about innovation or growth—it’s primarily about making a tangible difference in our communities. I’m grateful for the connections made, the ideas exchanged, and the collective commitment to creating positive change. Here’s to building impact, one connection at a time. #EdTech #GEC2025 #EducationForAll
30

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

22mo

🚀 Exciting news! My startup, YouVet, is in the running to speak at SXSW! Our mission is to empower young adults to think critically and navigate the complexities of today’s world with confidence. We need your support to bring this message to the big stage. If you believe in equipping the next generation with the tools to question, analyze, and innovate, please vote for our proposal. Every vote counts, and together, we can inspire a brighter future. Cast your vote now and help us make an impact! 🙌 #SXSW #EdTech #CriticalThinking #YouthEmpowerment Learn more & vote here: https://lnkd.in/gJfweS3z Here are the steps: Sign Up on SXSW - The verification email may take a while to arrive sometimes. Sign In with your credentials Visit the proposal link and Hit the Upvote icon ⬆️ The icon should show a yellow check mark ✔️ once you’ve voted :) Vote fast, the deadline is this Sunday - Aug 18, 2024. Thank you so much for your time and support 🙏
23

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

12mo

Great first day at The Global Entrepreneurship Congress #GEC2025 and new connections with innovators from Peru like Jorge Flores Villanueva
17

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

11mo

Let's stop letting algorithms shape our minds & start thinking well, no matter what’s in our feeds! Excited to launch Twella Insights -- a go-to for practical, no-nonsense critical thinking resources in our age of AI and social media. 🧠 Highlights: • Latest research about AI and critical thinking. • Actionable checklists to assess any information post. • Real-world examples + strategies for classrooms, home, or the workplace. 👉 Dive in: https://lnkd.in/dJCN-_Qb #CriticalThinking #AI #SocialMedia #education #Media #Literacy #MediaLiteracy Jeff Walsh Renee Hobbs Twella AI Bria Jones Brock Murphy Matt Sherrill

Master Critical Thinking in the Age of Algorithms & AI

14

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

17mo

Glad to be a part of leading this workshop with Mark Baildon. Thanks J. Adam Scribner, Ed.D. for bringing together such an outstanding group of educators. We can create & tell better stories about the environment. https://lnkd.in/gn8gQuK5
10

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

18mo

The word of the year is "brain rot". https://lnkd.in/g7K8su2H It's time to reclaim our brains~

'Brain rot' named Oxford Word of the Year 2024 - Oxford University Press

10

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

5mo

Most young people spend hours a day on social media—but almost no time practicing how to evaluate what they see. I just published a short piece about “Name the Claim,” a new game we are building to help students do exactly that. 👉 Read the post and see the 4 types of claims we train them to spot. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this and/or other games like this we can build. https://lnkd.in/geaAh2F2

Name the Claim: A New Game for Social Media Literacy

7

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

8mo

Feel First, Think Second: Master Your Emotional Triggers

Feel First, Think Second: Master Your Emotional Triggers

9

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

26mo

Here is a special conversation I had with the brother and sister team of Ralph and Claire Nader, long-time advocates for social, economic, and legal justice. The occasion was the publication of Claire’s recent book, You Are Your Own Best Teacher! Sparking the Curiosity, Imagination, and Intellect of Tweens.

You Are Your Own Best Teacher!

9

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

7mo

https://lnkd.in/gHmWh5nS #MediaLiteracy  #AI  Twella AI

Tech platforms promised to label AI content. They're not delivering.

6

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

10mo

Is There Any "There" There? 🧐: Part 2 https://lnkd.in/gaJ3-NeJ One way to use AI to evaluate evidence~ #CriticalThinking #AI #literacy #thinking

Is There Any "There" There? 🧐: Part 2

8

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

2mo

A “What I eat in a day for a killer body!!” TikTok might look harmless. For a lot of teens, it can be a springboard for self-doubt: – “Should I eat like this?” – “Is my body supposed to look like that?” – “Am I doing something wrong?” But we can help them regain cognitive control quickly in 2 steps: Step 1 – Self‑Awareness – What emotions is this triggering in me? – Does this match what I value or just what I’m told to want? – What do I actually know about this topic from trusted sources? Step 2 – Careful Analysis – Who is this creator and what are they trying to get me to do or buy? – What real evidence are they giving me, if any? – What influence tactics are they using (music, edits, body shots, “I just want to help” language)? Teens can move quickly through these steps -- in even less than a minute -- and say things like -- "This post wants me to feel anxious. But she’s not an expert, she’s just selling stuff. This isn’t reliable. I’m not falling for it.” If you’re wrestling with the challenge of helping students think better with health-related content online, I’d enjoy comparing notes. #education #mentalhealth #socialmedia #criticalthinking
5

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

1mo

Paul Walsh What’s revealing is how quickly “personalization” and “safety” narratives crumble once the same data extraction is aimed at the people who built it.
6

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

7mo

60-Second Check: Andrew Huberman and BPA receipts https://lnkd.in/gpYG58DG How do sensational claims cloud our judgment? Let's see how a popular neuroscientist takes on the topic of BPA receipts. And apply two critical thinking skills—evidence-checking and spotting influence tactics. Subscribe for straightforward tips that cut through digital noise.

60-Second Check: Andrew Huberman and BPA receipts

4

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

3mo

Why cognitive fitness is our best defense in algorithmic world

Can’t Legislate Our Way Out of the Feed 📱

5

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

5mo

2026 is here and thinking clearly is a competitive advantage in an online world increasingly full of rage-bait, half-truths, and AI-generated slop. This post shares 6 tiny habits inspired by Frank Turner’s song “Little Changes” and BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits that you can start using today to upgrade how you scroll, evaluate, and decide. If you’re also building practical ways to help people think better —through research, education, design, or product work—I’d love to connect and explore how we can learn with and from each other. 🧠✨Pop Star & Stanford Professor: 6 Tiny Habits to Think Better in 2026

🧠✨Pop Star & Stanford Professor: 6 Tiny Habits to Think Better in 2026

5

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

1w

Reminder that relational resilience needs to be a core learning outcome alongside AI literacy. If young people spend lots of reps with sycophantic AI, they need just as many structured reps working through discomfort, defending a position, repairing misunderstanding, even sitting with disagreement. Designing AI policies without more analog, high-friction social workouts is how we can end up with tech fluent students who feel under-skilled in real relationships.
4

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

3mo

We don’t just scroll anymore—we’re being sorted. Every feed, search result, recommendation, and “you might also like” is part of a system quietly shaping what you see, how you feel, and what you believe. And it’s not limited to social media—it’s happening across news, streaming, shopping, everywhere. Opting out isn’t a real strategy. What we need instead is digital cognitive fitness: the ability to recognize, interpret, and push back against algorithmic influence. The Algorithmic Everywhere https://lnkd.in/gWUGw7HH Renee Hobbs #MediaLiteracy #DigitalLiteracy #AILiteracy #CriticalThinking

The Algorithmic Everywhere 🔍

3

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

10mo

Decode Digital Noise with 1 Question https://lnkd.in/gQTN8Cn7 In our digital world full of "life-changing hacks", responding with one simple question takes you a long way: "What is this, really?" Just posted a new #ThinkWellTogether newsletter exploring how to decode digital noise with this question. Thanks to Mike Caulfield and Sam Wineburg whose book "Verified" offers essential tools for navigating today's info landscape. What recent social media post made you stop and question its true nature? #DigitalLiteracy #CriticalThinking #MediaLiteracy #SocialMedia #education

Decode Digital Noise with 1 Question

3

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

17mo

Thoughtful response to Meta's decision to drop fact-checkers.
3

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

1mo

Richard Culatta I appreciate the distinction between screen time and screen value. And agree that engagement, creativity, and meaning are better starting points. I do wonder about the limits of those terms: students can be highly engaged and creative while watching endless YouTube clips or scrolling social media. The key question for me is whether students are actually practicing and building self‑awareness and critical reasoning on those screens.
2

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

1mo

Cognitive autonomy is the key to thriving in an algorithm-driven world. It means we're able to stay in control of our emotions and thinking in order to make independent, well-reasoned decisions. As educators, it means we help students regulate their emotions, evaluate information critically, think independently, and make choices without automatically leaning on peers, parents, or algorithms. In an AI-saturated, social media-driven attention economy, students do not just need media literacy. They need the habit of pausing, questioning, and deciding for themselves. Early adolescence into adulthood is prime time for this work. This is when young people begin separating their beliefs, values, and judgments from the external voices around them. With guidance and consistent practice, they can: - reflect on their own emotional responses, their beliefs and values, and what they know - weigh evidence and compare competing claims - make a choice without outsourcing it to the feed This is critical thinking. And it is also self-awareness. If we want students to think better, we need to teach more than fact-checking. A simple starting point: Step 1 - Pause What am I feeling, and why might this post want me to feel that? Step 2 - Question What is this, really? A fact, an opinion, a prediction, a performance, or a manipulation? Step 3 - Decide What do I actually think, based on the evidence I have right now? If you’re wrestling with how to help students build this kind of independence, I’d love to compare notes.
2

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

10mo

Is There Any "There" There? 🧐: Part 1

Is There Any "There" There? 🧐: Part 1

2

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

17mo

Yes, instead of adults being the “screen time referee,” why not join the team and navigate this together? #edtech #parenting #socialmedia
1

Founder & CEO, Twella | Professor of Education | Author — Making sure K-16 students improve digital & media literacy, AI literacy, self-awareness and critical thinking.

29mo

Happy 2024! For the past few years I have been designing and developing a new mobile learning platform and we are getting ready to launch it soon. Here is an initial post to highlight why :)
1