If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? If a student uses AI to write and nobody notices, does it matter? I’ll admit: the latter question is hard for me to ask, as a former journalist here at EdSurge who built a career on writing. But AI writing is proliferating across professions. Marketers use it for advertising copy; financial analysts for synthesizing information. More than 4 in 5 teachers have used ChatGPT. Even in industries with stringent standards for human originality, AI is making inroads. The winner of a prestigious Japanese literary award used ChatGPT ..read more

Around this time four years ago, a seismic event was rippling across education. In April 2020, teachers were beginning to realize that their schools’ closures would not be all that temporary. They’d need to make do with haphazard plans for distance learning through the end of the school year — perhaps longer. For most educators, the pandemic was a defining moment in their careers, a situation more disruptive than they could’ve imagined. For first-year teachers, it was baptism by fire. In summer 2020, EdSurge profiled nine first-year teachers to understand what it was like for them to launch th ..read more

For more than 15 years, a group of companies known as Online Program Management providers, or OPMs, have been helping colleges build online degree programs. And most of them have relied on an unusual arrangement — where the companies put up the financial backing to help colleges launch programs in exchange for a large portion of tuition revenue. It’s a model that has long raised eyebrows in higher ed, and now it’s one that is under scrutiny from federal agencies. New regulations under consideration in the U.S. Department of Education would require OPMs to give up revenue-sharing and adopt the ..read more

This article is part of a three-article series dedicated to harnessing powerful technology for powerful learning. In the articles, we share the perspectives of HP Teaching Fellows. Read the other articles here and here. Educators can harness content creation as a powerful tool to foster creativity and inclusion in the classroom by implementing a variety of strategies that engage students, cater to diverse learning needs and encourage a culture of collaboration and respect. By incorporating a range of media formats, such as videos, podcasts, digital storytelling and interactive presentations, e ..read more

The threat of climate change has exposed more homes to flooding and wildfires, and it has intensified heat waves that prompt farmers to lose crop yields and a way to sustain a living. Climate change, among many issues, worries Barbara Schneider as she thinks about whether younger generations will be prepared to face scientific challenges altering the world. “I have been very concerned about the lack of engagement that young people have in science, especially because of the issue of climate change, the problems of scientific literacy, the ability to understand misinformation, and how young peop ..read more

For Maria Artica, a first-year student at Richard Bland College, a two-year college in Virginia, enrolling was like stepping “into a new world.” Artica, who is Hispanic, is pursuing an associate degree in life science and plans to become a doctor. A first-generation college student, she was told that higher ed would lead to a better life. But there isn’t a lot of help available for paying for education, she says. That makes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA — a gateway to loans, grants and other money — her “main reliable source” of funding. While she had no experience wit ..read more

The edtech market is saturated with various tools designed to improve children’s literacy from e-readers to apps to digital libraries. Over the past few years, more literacy tools have been using generative AI, either to accelerate children’s reading proficiency or to stimulate more reading interest. Recently, a new kind of tool has emerged. Referred to as AI-powered reading coaches, assistants or tutors, these tools use generative AI to provide learners with personalized reading practice, stories, feedback and support. Some of these tools focus on a specific learning objective, such as phonic ..read more

Remember all the hype around the metaverse in education? Just two years ago it seemed like a 3D virtual realm for education was imminent: Facebook had changed its name to Meta, to signal its giant bet on the VR space, and it had launched TV ads showing classes happening in new immersive worlds; several college campuses started building replicas of their physical campuses in VR spaces, in part with money from Meta; and think tanks were issuing reports on how to best harness VR spaces for education. (EdSurge receives philanthropic support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is co-owned ..read more

The number of Latino students who are going to college is on the rise, and they don’t all fit the profile of what institutions might consider the typical freshmen on campus. They’re more likely to be first-generation, working to support themselves and caring for dependents than other college students, according to a new analysis by Excelencia in Education. The nonprofit researches and promotes policies around Latinos in higher education. “Our intent in putting this compilation together was to not only clarify the current profile of our students, but hopefully inform and compel thoughts about w ..read more

High-quality instructional materials (HQIMs) are educational resources designed to effectively support student learning. They can include textbooks, lesson plans, digital resources and other materials carefully crafted to meet the needs of diverse learners and facilitate meaningful learning experiences. By using HQIMs, educators can enhance the quality of instruction, support differentiated learning and improve overall learning outcomes. While the concept of HQIM has been established and embraced in other core academic disciplines, applying this concept to social studies has been more complex ..read more