4.13.2026 CELaRAI Convening
Following AERA, the CELaRAI team organized a convening session at UCLA that brought together researchers, practitioners, and partners to discuss the next phase of work on human-centered AI in early literacy. The event focused on sharing progress across projects, identifying common challenges, and exploring opportunities for collaboration, with an emphasis on aligning research, design, and practice to support equitable and responsible AI integration in learning environments.
4.10.2026 Innovating K-12 Teaching and Learning with Generative AI
At AERA 2026 in Los Angeles, CELaRAI organized a powerful session that brought together all four IES-funded R&D centers focused on AI and learning. The session drew a standing-room-only audience and sparked thoughtful discussion on the opportunities and challenges of designing responsible, human-centered AI for education.
4.9.2026 AERA Highlights
PlayfulAI Lab had a vibrant presence at AERA 2026 in Los Angeles, with contributions across multiple sessions and formats. Both Graces, Joy, Yuya, Junye, and Dr. Wang participated in roundtable, symposium, paper, and poster sessions, showcasing the lab’s ongoing research and engagement with the field. It was a dynamic and energizing conference for our team, filled with meaningful conversations and valuable connections with the broader research community.
3.31.2026 Poster Presentation
At the symposium, our lab members shared two poster presentations highlighting current research in literacy, AI, and educational leadership. Grace Xu, Joy, and team members from CELaRAI presented Evaluating AI-Supported Early Literacy Applications: A Multi-Domain Rubric. Joy and Celine also presented The Multiple Moral Orders of School Leaders in Seeking a “Happy Medium” in K–12.
3.31.2026 Grace Xu’s Presentation
Grace Xu recently helped plan and present at the GSE Symposium, Human-AI Collaboration & Agency, which brought together more than 160 attendees for conversations on human sensemaking and AI. As part of CELaRAI, she also presented a paper and poster on early literacy educational apps, highlighting the importance of examining digital tools from multiple perspectives to support children’s developing skills and agency.
3.31.2026 Dr. Wang Delivered Keynote at UB GSE Symposium
Dr. X. Christine Wang gave the keynote speech titled “Ethics of Care in Designing AI and AI Education for and with Children.” This keynote situates early childhood as both a boundary case and a high-stakes context for examining AI ethics in education. This talk illustrates how ethical commitments can be embedded in the co-design of AI systems and AI learning experiences with children, caregivers, and educators.
3.24.2026 UB forum examines the future of AI in education
At a recent forum hosted by the Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI) and led by Dr. X. Christine Wang, researchers, educators and community partners explored issues like trust, transparency and meaningful classroom impact. The event featured Jeremy Roschelle’s keynote, “AI and Education: Identifying Hard Challenges Worthy of Sustained Partnerships.” Read more…
Dr. Wang to Deliver Keynote at UB GSE Symposium
Dr. X. Christine Wang will serve as keynote speaker at UB’s 2026 Graduate School of Education Student Research Symposium on March 31, 2026, which is themed “Human–AI Collaboration & Agency.” Her keynote is titled “Ethics of Care in Designing AI and AI Education for and with Children.”
3.2.2026 Welcome Amina to the team!
Amina Owusu is a Psychology major at UB, with an academic focus in Educational Leadership and Policy. Her interests center on child development, resilience, and the role of educational systems in promoting equitable outcomes for youth. As a Research Assistant on the Roots of Resilience project, Amina supports initiatives that foster children’s well-being, community engagement, and early AI literacy through collaborative university–school–community partnerships.
2.20.2026 CISI Funding
Our lab is excited to share that “Roots of Resilience: Building a University–School–Community Partnership for Child Well-being and Early AI Literacy” has been awarded a University at Buffalo CTSI Community Partnership Development Seed Grant. In partnership with Buffalo Public School #99 and the Buffalo Urban League, this project will support children’s well-being, resilience, and early AI literacy through playful, community-engaged learning. Read more
2.18.2026 Happy the Year of the Horse!
We had a lab dinner to celebrate the Chinese New Year together. Wishing everyone a joyful, healthy, and successful Year of the Fire Horse! May it bring new energy, good luck, and wonderful moments ahead!
2.13.2026 ICLS 2026 Acceptance 
Our lab is excited to share that we’ve had two pieces accepted to ICLS 2026: the symposium paper “Children, Teachers, and Robots Network: A Sociomaterial Analysis of Agency in Early Childhood Classrooms” and the short paper “Parental Multimodal Revoicing: Guiding Children in Computational Thinking Learning.”