When IT teams are evaluating technologies for the classroom, the teacher's perspective shouldn’t be discounted. Teachers have a unique — and likely the best-informed — view of which tools will engage students and which will be distracting.
Intrusions into education networks have never been more rampant. And at this point, information security is the top concern among IT leaders and administration in K–12 districts. What's more, there is the distinct possibility that AI will compound the problem, while also being used to help deal with threats.
Since ChatGPT's introduction last autumn, educators have been thinking through the potential impact of generative AI on education. While its full transformative potential remains uncertain, AI shows promise for teachers grappling with resource constraints and demanding workloads. Here’s a closer look at the concurrent AI landscape in schools — and a prediction of what the future holds.
Tech Tactics in Education speaker Kevin Lewis on his journey from school security and IT support staffer to data privacy advocate — and his mission to bring greater transparency and accountability to ed tech privacy practices
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 08/15/23
Technology can not only save money and administrative resources for school districts, but it can also lead to improved accuracy, real-time reporting and budget management capabilities, and speedier purchasing and accounts payable processes. Here, one district CFO shares his insights on digitally transforming finances in K–12.
With nearly half of the nation’s new teachers still graduating without an understanding of high-quality reading instruction, former classroom teacher-turned-literacy coach Kathleen Law discusses why — now more than ever — every teacher prep program in the country should include the Science of Reading and give future teachers the foundational tools they need to help struggling readers.
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 05/04/23
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.
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 04/11/23
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.
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 03/27/23
A Funds For Learning E-rate expert shares what K–12 procurement officers and IT leaders need to know so they can be prepared to apply for the expanded funds if and when the FCC decides to expand the E-rate eligible services list — particularly if the expansion plan of choice means that the amount of E-rate funds to cover modern cybersecurity services is limited, at least for the first few years.
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 03/23/23
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.
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 03/22/23