Equity Issues in Education


chalkboard reads

Leadership Changes Announced for Baumgartner, McCulloch, LaRue, Atkins, Revenaugh, Bratcher, Ramos, Loble, Levin, DeMont, Oran

Education organizations announcing leadership changes include BookNook, Wilson Language Training, United States Academic Esports League, Connections Academy aka Pearson Virtual Schools, Carnegie Learning, Sibme, 1EdTech, CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, Heinemann Publishing, and CoderZ.

a bar chart shows the top five areas that school districts have spent ESSER Funds on

As ESSER Spending Ramps Up, Experts Offer Tips to Make Sure Students Truly Benefit, Now and Later

The pace of K-12 school districts' spending of ESSER Funds has picked up significantly this school year, and education leaders and researchers have shared tips and guides to help district leaders efficiently evaluate — or re-evaluate — their options when making procurement decisions, to ensure students benefit and stakeholders don't come to see spending decisions as failures.

chalkboard image with words reading Grant Spotlight for K-12 Schools and Educators with THE Journal logo

ED's Magnet Schools Assistance Program Accepting Applications from LEAs Through May 15

Applications are now being accepted for the U.S. Department of Education’s Magnet Schools Assistance Program, which provides funding to eligible local education agencies to establish and operate magnet schools, with special curricula, to attract a diverse group of students and desegregate public schools.

seesaw logo and screenshot from their website page on K-5 computer science curriculum

Seesaw Debuts Elementary Computer Science Curriculum

Digital learning platform Seesaw has launched standards-aligned elementary computer science curriculum for grades K–5, offering interactive tools for students including audio, photos, video, text, and drawings in lessons that cover a wide range of disciplines and subjects, the company said.

Movers and Shakers crossed out and overwritten with the word Educators

Educators Tapped for National Awards and Honors

Several dozen educators were honored in recent weeks with awards from the National Science Teaching Association, the Council of Great City Schools, Curriculum Associates Inspire Award, Scholastic Teacher Fellow Cohort, and the National Alliance of Black School Educators.

Turnitin logo with ChatGPT and OpenAI logo icons

Turnitin Turns On AI Writing Detection Features for Educators

Starting today, plagiarism detection software Turnitin includes new live AI-writing detection features that “identify the use of AI writing tools including ChatGPT, with 98% confidence,” the company said.

Image shows THE Journal Insider podcast logo and the text reads Season 2 Episode 3 "The Sky Is Not Falling: Turnitin Urges Educators to ‘Meet the Moment’ of ChatGPT" alongside a quote from the podcast

The Sky Is Not Falling: Turnitin Urges Educators to 'Meet the Moment' of ChatGPT

Two former classroom teachers who have been working on Turnitin’s AI writing detection tool and related features to help educators better understand ChatGPT — and show them teachers how to use AI to save themselves time and how to tweak assignments so that ChatGPT cannot earn a good grade on writing homework — both believe that ChatGPT has presented a growth opportunity — or perhaps more of a growth demand — for writing instruction, which they explained in the March episode of THE Journal Insider podcast.

Image shows THE Journal Insider podcast logo and the text reads Season 2 Episode 3 "The Sky Is Not Falling: Turnitin Urges Educators to ‘Meet the Moment’ of ChatGPT" alongside a quote from the podcast

Is ChatGPT the End of Writing? Turnitin Believes It Could Actually Boost Students' Writing Instruction

Two former classroom teachers who have been working on Turnitin’s AI writing detection tool and related features to help educators better understand ChatGPT — and show them teachers how to use AI to save themselves time and how to tweak assignments so that ChatGPT cannot earn a good grade on writing homework — both believe that ChatGPT has presented a growth opportunity — or perhaps more of a growth demand — for writing instruction, which they explained in a podcast interview with THE Journal recently.

illustration created by DALL-E shows a teacher in front of a blackboard wielding a sword over a futuristic robot. Text reads "expert viewpoint" with logo for THEjournal.com

Why Our Technology Nonprofit is Embracing ChatGPT and AI in Education

A technology educator shares how her nonprofit is using ChatGPT to help students participating in Technovation programs go further in their brainstorming and ideation as they aim to develop AI-based solutions to real-world problems. Here’s a concrete example from our program: Students in one group were interested in developing technology-based solutions to food wastage and conservation, encouraging more students to read, exercise, and be more inclusive.

illustration created by DALL-E shows a teacher in front of a blackboard wielding a sword over a futuristic robot

Why Ed Tech is Not Endorsing a Ban on ChatGPT in Schools

Depending on who’s speaking, ChatGPT is projected to either further erode K-12 learning outcomes or it will boost writing instruction and overall learning outcomes when used with appropriate guardrails. Several education technology leaders explained to THE Journal why they fall in the second category and how K-12 education should and can embrace ChatGPT in classrooms.