Erik Ofgang

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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

4 Proven Strategies for Teaching AI to Girls – and Anyone

By Erik Ofgang published 21 March 24

Simple strategies for effectively teaching AI to girls from Tara Chklovski, Founder and CEO of Technovation, and Shanika Hope, Director of Tech Education at Google

Classroom Tools

8 Ways to Create AI-Proof Writing Prompts

By Erik Ofgang published 18 March 24

ChatGPT and other AI tools are smart but I’m smarter ... okay maybe not, but these are strategies for writing AI-proof writing prompts that I’ve used effectively in my classes.

Best Deaf Awareness Lessons & Activities

By Diana Restifo published 13 March 24

The following free deaf history and awareness lessons and activities highlight the accomplishments of deaf people in the arts, education, sports, law, science, and music.

Classroom Tools

Creating A Comprehensive Cybersecurity Plan For Schools

By Erik Ofgang published 11 March 24

How Belton ISD in Texas created a comprehensive cybersecurity plan under CTO Shad McGaha

5 Tips for Teaching Yoga in Schools From A Superintendent of The Year

By Erik Ofgang published 8 March 24

Advice for successfully building yoga in schools from Massachusetts 2024 Superintendent of the year Barbara Malkas

Instead of Banning AI, ASU is Encouraging It With OpenAI Partnership

By Erik Ofgang published 7 March 24

ASU has partnered with OpenAI to study AI to better understand how it can most effectively be used by students and faculty for teaching, learning, research, and more.

5 Reasons To Teach With Taylor Swift

By Erik Ofgang published 4 March 24

We don’t know about you but this advice for teaching with Taylor Swift has us feeling 22

Study: Writing by Hand Leads To Better Brain Connectivity

By Erik Ofgang published 29 February 24

Students writing by hand have more active brains than when they typing, researchers recently found.

Sora: What Educators Need to Know About The Video Version of ChatGPT

By Erik Ofgang published 26 February 24

Sora, OpenAI’s new tool, can create photorealistic videos based on user prompts, which has many implications for teachers.

Classroom Tools

Cracking the 'Chicken and Egg' Dilemma: How Equitable Internships Can Propel Recent Graduates into Successful Careers

By Erik Ofgang published 22 February 24

The founding director of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation shares tips for promoting internships that are equitable and accessible to all.

Tech Tools Can Provide Premade Flashcards For Students. That’s Not a Good Thing, Says New Research

By Erik Ofgang published 21 February 24

Students who generate their own flashcards instead of using premade flashcard sets may improve their test scores by roughly the equivalent of a letter grade

Best Free QR Code Sites for Teachers

By Erik Ofgang published 15 February 24

These free sites to generate QR codes can be a great tool for teachers to distribute class material and other tasks

Classroom Tools

How to Help Students Overcome AI Hiring Algorithms

By Erik Ofgang published 14 February 24

Whether educators and their students get hired will increasingly be influenced by AI. Here’s what to know about bias and how you can beat the algorithms.

2024 Edtech Trends: Authenticity, Better Tools, and More AI (Of Course)

By Erik Ofgang published 13 February 24

Looking ahead to see what edtech trends may emerge in 2024

Teaching With the Apple Vision Pro

By Erik Ofgang published 12 February 24

It’s early days for the Apple Vision Pro, but educators already see the new technology's potential as well as its limitations.

Classroom Tools

It’s Counterintuitive But Pretesting Consistently Works, Says Research

By Erik Ofgang published 8 February 24

Research and tips for implementing pretesting in the classroom from Steven C. Pan, director of the Learning Sciences Laboratory at the National University of Singapore

Duet AI For Teaching: 6 Tips from Google’s Workspace for Education Manager

By Erik Ofgang published 7 February 24

Duet AI is now available through Google Education. Vivek Chachcha, product manager for Google Workspace for Education, share tips for teaching with Duet.

The FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program Could End. Here’s Why That Might Not Be Bad for Schools

By Erik Ofgang published 6 February 24

John Harrington, chief executive officer of Funds for Learning, discusses Affordable Connectivity and E-Rate.

Best Super Bowl Lessons and Activities

By Erik Ofgang published 2 February 24

The Super Bowl is an opportunity to kickoff some fun learning

Teachers Love 4-Day School Weeks. Do They Work?

By Erik Ofgang published 1 February 24

Four-day school weeks are increasingly being offered as a way to recruit teachers, but the research is mixed on the advantages and disadvantages of the schedule. Now some states are reconsidering it.

The Research-Practice Divide is Real. Here's How To Overcome It.

By Erik Ofgang published 30 January 24

Easy-to-implement strategies for both teachers and researchers to bridge the research-practice divide, from UMass Professor Torrey Trust

The 2024 National Educational Technology Plan is Out: Here’s What You Need to Know

By Erik Ofgang published 24 January 24

Released by the U.S. Department of Education for the first time since 2016, the new National Educational Technology Plan focuses on the digital access divide, digital use divide, and digital design divide.