Articles by: Erik Ofgang

Erik Ofgang

Erik Ofgang is a journalist, author and educator. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, The Atlantic and Associated Press. 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.

Encouraging Students to Become Content Creators

By Erik Ofgang

Creating content online helps students develop career readiness skills in an engaging manner.

How College Students Can Use IT Skills for U.S. Foreign Service

By Erik Ofgang

Undergraduate and graduate students with IT-related majors are eligible for the Foreign Affairs Information Technology Fellowship.

New CDC School Masking Study: What You Need to Know

By Erik Ofgang

Between mid-July and the end of August, schools in Arizona without mask requirements were much more likely to be the site of a COVID outbreak.

Class Crowdfunding: What You Need to Know

By Erik Ofgang

Educators have raised millions of dollars for their classrooms through crowdfunding.

School Ventilation & Cognition: Air Quality Is About More Than Covid

By Erik Ofgang

The research is clear: improving school ventilation improves test scores and student cognition.

What Is Microsoft Immersive Reader and How Does it Work? Best Tips and Tricks for Educators

By Erik Ofgang

Microsoft Immersive Reader can help students with reading and comprehension by reading to them and highlighting specific words.

Year-Round Schools: 5 Things To Know

By Erik Ofgang

Schools that employ a year-round or balanced calendar hope to limit learning loss and provide more resources and one-on-one attention for students.

How Emily Oster’s COVID-19 School Data Hub Can Help K-12

By Erik Ofgang

The COVID-19 School Data Hub has been launched by a team headed by Brown University economics professor Emily Oster to help answer questions about the pandemic’s impact on learning loss

How Machine Learning Is Having an Impact on Education

By Erik Ofgang

Discovery Education has partnered with Amazon Web Services to enhance its platform with machine learning. It’s one of many ways machine learning is being used in K-12 today.

Saliva COVID Tests: What Educators Need to Know

By Erik Ofgang

Saliva COVID tests are inexpensive, fast, and less cumbersome than nasal swabs, say spit test enthusiasts.

Chatbots in K-12: What You Need to Know

By Erik Ofgang

Chatbots, or digital AI assistants, are increasingly being used in K-12 as an equitable intervention to promote student engagement and retention

5 Edtech Research Trends & Needs For The Future

By Erik Ofgang

Equitable edtech, individualized learning, and innovation will be among the focuses of a new collaborative at the University of California, Irvine formed to research technology's potential in childhood learning.

Study: Productive Failure a Success in Education

By Erik Ofgang

Research suggests encouraging students to fail productively can help them learn new skills more efficiently.

Why Traditional Lectures Won’t End Anytime Soon in Higher Ed Despite Better Approaches Being Available

By Erik Ofgang

For years, research has shown that students learn more through active learning than from passive traditional lecture, but the old habit is hard to break.

ESOL Students: 6 Tips For Empowering Their Educations

By Erik Ofgang

Holding ESOL students to high standards while providing them with a culturally responsive education is crucial.

How Geoscience Students Are Saving Lives Globally

By Erik Ofgang

Geoscientists Without Borders works with researchers and their students globally to help solve humanitarian crises.

4 Lessons from Remote Learning

By Erik Ofgang

Despite its challenges, remote learning has changed in-person learning for the better, says one Kansas City educator.

What is “Test to Stay” and Can It Limit COVID Quarantines in Schools?

By Erik Ofgang

Results from a CDC study conducted in Utah suggested the Test to Stay strategy could keep more students in class, but concerns remain about rapid test accuracy.