Erik Ofgang

Social Links Navigation

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

AI In Education Executive Order: What You Need To Know

By Erik Ofgang published 19 May 25

The President’s executive order calls for AI literacy, a national AI challenge, and more.

4 Reasons To Use Claude AI to Teach

By Erik Ofgang published 12 May 25

Features that make Claude AI appealing to educators include a focus on privacy and conversational style.

Classroom Tools

Using Technology To Teach CTE To Incarcerated Students

By Erik Ofgang published 12 May 25

The Placer School for Adults is using technology to let students train and gain certificates in various CTE fields.

Using 3D Printing and Student Input to Aid Accessibility

By Erik Ofgang published 5 May 25

3D printing has provided young adults at one nonprofit an opportunity to design and build their own assistive technology.

A futuristic artest rendering of quantum spaces.

Quantum Computing In Education: 5 Things To Know

By Erik Ofgang published 5 May 25

The AI revolution in schools may soon be supercharged by the power of quantum computing

Classroom Tools

Cross-Age Tutoring: Student Tutors Teach Others And Themselves

By Erik Ofgang published 2 May 25

A new study found that cross-age tutoring leads to improvements in both tutees and tutors.

Getting A Teaching Job: Cutting Through Digital Clutter By Telling Your Story

By Erik Ofgang published 24 April 25

By talking about myself in the right way, I've found new opportunities in education and beyond.

The cover of David Sobel's book: "Childhood and Nature: Design Principles for Educators."

Design Principles for Outdoor Teaching

By Erik Ofgang published 21 April 25

A new edition of a classic book on outdoor learning guides educators on creating lessons that harness students’ natural love of nature.

Do Students Learn More Writing or Typing?

By Erik Ofgang published 17 April 25

The answer of writing or typing is complicated, says a cognitive scientist, and has been oversimplified in the past.

OpenAI’s New Viral Art-Generating Tool and Its Potential for Teaching

By Erik Ofgang published 15 April 25

OpenAI’s new and improved art-generating capabilities have led to a Studio Ghibli-style viral trend and millions of users. What does it mean for the classroom?

Student-Led Security Operation Centers

By Erik Ofgang published 7 April 25

A growing number of universities are employing students at their Security Operations Center. Here’s what that looks like in practice.

ChatGPT Talks Now. What Does That Mean For Teaching?

By Erik Ofgang published 2 April 25

OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode ChatGPT assistant is light years ahead of more common voice assistants, and can sometimes be so lifelike, it’s spooky.

Competency-Based Learning and Microcredentials

By Erik Ofgang published 31 March 25

Competency-based learning is an important teaching strategy for students and teacher professional development. The strategy also connects naturally with microcredentials.

An illustration of a computer with the letters AI written.

Explaining Your School’s AI Approach To Parents

By Erik Ofgang published 24 March 25

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

Gemini: Teaching With Google’s AI Chatbot

By Erik Ofgang published 20 March 25

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

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

By Erik Ofgang published 17 March 25

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

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

By Erik Ofgang published 17 March 25

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 11 March 25

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