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The AI behind ChatGPT is making its way into educational apps.

In the last few days, two big names in edtech — Khan Academy and Duolingo — announced integration with the tech behind ChatGPT. 

For Khan Academy, the move came with plenty of caution: Its new assistive chatbot, Khanmigo, is in a pilot phase for a small number of students and educators, and others have to join a waitlist to get access. We’ve put in our request, and are waiting for our chance to check it out, but we did talk with Sal Khan, Khan Academy’s founder and CEO, for this week’s EdSurge Podcast about how educators are trying to tame ChatGPT.

Our friends at the online publication and online-course guide Class Central have a new review up of both Khanmigo and Duolingo’s new chatbot, Duolingo Max, and they note that both essentially plug in guided prompts to the bot behind ChatGPT. And both come with a price tag: Duolingo Max costs $30 per month or $168 per year, while Khan Academy says it will require users to donate at least $20 per month to access Khanmigo. 

These will likely be just the beginning, as OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, just released its API that lets companies integrate the AI system — though it seems there’s a waitlist for developers to do so.

Meanwhile, some school systems still ban ChatGPT — including New York City public schools — and it remains to be seen whether educators will embrace the technology as familiar names in edtech attempt to tame it. 

📰 HEADLINES

SUSTAINABLE ECE: Three leaders in the field weigh in on what it will take to build a sustainable system of early care and education in the United States. In the absence of significant public investment, they offer insights on viable alternatives, highlighting solutions they’re seeing in the field that seem promising and scalable.

WE FEAR WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW: As ChatGPT reveals the lengths schools and educators will go to prevent plagiarism among students, Voices of Change fellow Alice Domínguez suggests AI assistance and essay-writing tools may not be the enemy after all. After using ChatGPT in her classroom, she discusses what she learned and the real issues teachers should focus on. 

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: More child care programs are signing up to use mobile apps that allow for easy communication between teachers and families or that provide direct video access into the classroom. Experts say that while there are concerns about security and privacy, there is no one right way to approach the technology. Meanwhile, researchers who study early childhood education say that these tools can either empower classroom teachers — or increase their workplace stress.

📢 DEALS

Parchment, maker of a platform to manage digital credentials, has acquired Quottly, which helps students find accredited and transferable college courses for when they aren’t able to get seats in courses that fill the same requirements at their own institution. Details of the deal were not released.

Trala, an online music school company, said it closed an $8 million Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $15 million.

VitalSource, which offers tools for colleges and instructors to create digital courses and materials, has acquired Akademos, an online bookstore and platform for course content. 

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🎧 ON THE PODCAST

CAN CHATGPT BE TAMED?: Even before ChatGPT was released, AI experts were exploring how to detect language written by this new kind of bot. On this week’s EdSurge Podcast, we talk with one of those experts, and others who are seeking to build guardrails to help educators successfully adapt to the latest AI technology.

🏃 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

The Council of the Great City Schools has named Lily Wong Fillmore as the 2023 recipient of the Dr. Michael Casserly Legacy Award for Educational Courage and Justice. 

Stony Brook University has named Haresh Gurnani as the new dean of the College of Business.

👀 ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Course Hero, once an edtech unicorn valued at $3.6 billion, conducts layoffs. (TechCrunch)

The unraveling of the U.S. News college rankings. (The Wall Street Journal)

TikTok is adding a dedicated feed for STEM content. (TechCrunch)

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Events

Post an event   •   See all events and meetups 

AI in Education: An Interactive Webinar presented by Qualcomm |

March 29 | Online

Everyone is talking about AI in education. How are university leaders and educators being impacted? What is happening behind the scenes?

Credentialing for CTE and Industry 4.0 Training | March 29 | Online

Panel discussion for CTE educators on trends in industry and education including the introduction of industry-recognized credentials for training programs.

2023 ASCD Annual Conference | March 31 - April 3 | Denver, CO

Soar to New Heights at the 2023 ASCD Annual Conference! Learn, celebrate, and connect. Don’t miss this action-packed event with hundreds of educational movers, shakers, and change-makers. Supercharge as an educator ready to shape the future of education.

ISTELive 23 Conference and Expo | June 25 - 28 | Philadelphia, PA

At ISTELive 23, you'll discover what's next in education and explore ideas for using tech to revolutionize learning. Get inspired about teaching and learning as you reconnect with peers and meet an enthusiastic global community of educators! 

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