Erik Ofgang

Erik Ofgang

Erik Ofgang is Tech & Learning contributor. A journalist, author and educator, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Smithsonian, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Forbes.com. He currently teaches at Western Connecticut State University’s MFA program. While a staff writer at Connecticut Magazine he won a Society of Professional Journalism Award for his education reporting. He is interested in how humans learn and how technology can make that more effective. 

Latest articles by Erik Ofgang

An illustration of a computer with the letters AI written.

Explaining Your School’s AI Approach To Parents

By Erik Ofgang published

As more and more schools are using AI, an award-winning educator shares tips for making sure parents are on board with it.

An image of a Google logo.

Gemini: Teaching With Google’s AI Chatbot

By Erik Ofgang published

Gemini, Google’s flagship generative AI model, can help educators with lesson planning and more, though it's not as effective as platforms specifically designed for education

Binary code on a computer

Ransomware 2.0: Recent Hacking Trends and How To Guard Against Them

By Erik Ofgang published

Ransomware methods and strategies are evolving but there are still low-cast interventions to counter these attacks.

A screenshot of OpenAI's logo

GPT-4.5: What Educators Need To Know About The New ChatGPT Model

By Erik Ofgang published

I tested OpenAI's latest and greatest large language model, GPT-4.5. Here's what I learned.

An image of various social media icons on a screen.

Mindful Social Media Use Can Reduce Negative Impact, Says Research

By Erik Ofgang published

A new study found that refraining from using social media improved the mental health of young adults, but so did reframing their relationship to these apps

An artist rendering of a wormhole

Teaching Quantum Mechanics In K-12

By Erik Ofgang published

Learning about quantum science can be a great way to prepare for a career in STEM

Class Companion

Class Companion: Teaching With The AI Grading and Tutor Tool

By Erik Ofgang published

We tested Class Companion, the GPT-4 powered AI tool, which is designed to assist educators in providing individualized feedback to students.

Classroom Tools
2025 written in a futuristic way.

4 Brand New AI Tools For 2025 With The Potential to Change Teaching

By Erik Ofgang published

2025 has already been a wild year for AI models and teaching.

ai teaching

One High School Teacher's Strategy For Using AI to Enhance Learning

By Erik Ofgang published

Kevin Hudson has encouraged his students to use AI in specific ways, and he’s seen their assignments improve as a result.

A screenshot from DeepSeek's homepage.

DeepSeek: Everything Educators Need to Know About The New AI Model

By Erik Ofgang published

DeepSeek R1 is a new reasoning AI model that has made the next generation of AI tools more readily available to students and teachers.

A screenshot from a session with LearnLM

Google’s New AI Tutor LearnLM Is Trained On Learning Science and It Shows

By Erik Ofgang published

I tested Google LearnLM and it’s the best AI tool for teaching that I’ve seen.

Classroom Tools
A side by side comparison of a large print book vs. a traditional print book.

Large Print Format Books Help Young Readers, Says New Research

By Erik Ofgang published

A study conducted by Project Tomorrow found large print books help student readers, even those without vision impairments.

A robot arm appearing to offer assistance.

AI In Education: 4 Ways To Avoid Falling Behind The Curve

By Erik Ofgang published

Arizona State University professor Andrew Maynard has tips for educators on keeping up with AI developments and harnessing its educational potential in the process.

A robot hand holds a lightbulb.

AI Prompt Writing For Middle School English

By Erik Ofgang published

Bill Henry, an 8th grade English teacher, shares prompts and advice for teaching English with the help of AI.

A chalk drawing of a student next to steps that ultimate lead to success.

The Remembered Success Effect: Adding Easier Math Questions Can Boost Student Motivation

By Erik Ofgang published

A new study of the remembered success effect finds that adding less challenging questions to the beginning or end of an assignment can improve student motivation.

best super bowl lessons and activities

Best Super Bowl Lessons and Activities

By Erik Ofgang last updated

The Super Bowl is an opportunity to kickoff some fun learning

A screenshot of various videos generated by Sora.

Sora: Is OpenAI's Video Generating Tool Helpful For Teaching?

By Erik Ofgang published

OpenAI’s new video-generating tool is impressive and flashy but needs work before it’s a realistic classroom option.

Google Classroom

4 New Teaching Features For Google Classroom: AI, Accessibility, and More

By Erik Ofgang published

Google Classroom AI updates and new accessibility features for Chromebooks are among the new features Google recently announced.

Classroom Tools
Grok

Grok: Using The AI Tool To Teach

By Erik Ofgang published

Grok — the AI tool from X and its polarizing owner, Elon Musk — offers similar teaching opportunities as other popular generative AI tools, but also has some unique features and advantages that set it apart.

Classroom Tools
An illustration of a robot and two prompt-writing black boxes.

4 Ways I Improved My AI Prompt Writing

By Erik Ofgang published

Writing effective AI prompts is an increasingly important skill for educators and their students.

A drone flying through the sky

Teaching With Drones: 6 Skills Students Can Learn

By Erik Ofgang published

Students learn coding, math, physics, cybersecurity, and other STEM lessons while becoming drone pilots.

7 Ways to Detect AI Writing

13 Ways to Detect AI Writing Without Technology

By Erik Ofgang last updated

As more of my students have submitted AI-generated work, I’ve gotten better at recognizing it.

Classroom Tools
ChatGPT

5 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Prepare for Class

By Erik Ofgang last updated

ChatGPT has a lot of potential to help educators with class prep.

A computer screen with the words ChatGPT

I Took OpenAI and Common Sense Media’s Free Course For Teachers

By Erik Ofgang published

The one-hour free course from OpenAI and Common Sense provides lots of good prompt writing advice and an overview of using AI as a teacher

A screenshot of the Perusall annotation tool in action.

Perusall: How To Use It To Teach

By Erik Ofgang published

Designed to harness the best of social media, Perusall is a digital annotation tool that helps students to complete assigned readings.

Classroom Tools
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