Is a college education still a worthwhile investment when it means taking on decades of debt? A growing portion of young Americans believe the benefits of their degrees don’t justify the price. With the Supreme Court blocking the Biden administration’s attempt to ease the burden of that debt, the situation is putting pressure on universities […] … learn more→
United States : Student debt, a threat to universities and a major political issue
I investigated millions of tweets from the Kremlin’s ‘troll factory’ and discovered classic propaganda techniques reimagined for the social media age
Gentlemen, we interfered, we interfere, and we will interfere … Carefully, precisely, surgically, and in our own way, as we know how. During our pinpoint operations, we will remove both kidneys and the liver at once. These are the words of the architect of Russian online disinformation, Yevgeny Prigozhin, speaking in November 2022, just before the […] … learn more→
Being bullied in high school can make teens less optimistic about the future
The effects of bullying on teens’ mental health are well-documented. But could bullying also shape their future aspirations? Our latest research reveals that teens who are bullied in ninth grade become more pessimistic about their educational and career prospects beyond high school. Specifically, being bullied increases teens’ risk for depression, which leaves them feeling hopeless about the future. As […] … learn more→
Indigenous students and faculty are on the rise — and universities have a moral obligation to support them
As we close out September, universities across Canada are well into their new year of learning. An exciting change is underway. An increasing number of First Nations, Inuit and Métis students have enrolled in post-secondary studies. Many universities are aware of this growing interest in post-secondary studies among Indigenous Peoples and have actively recruited from this […] … learn more→
Is AI a threat to language learning?
Is it still useful to learn foreign languages when we have smartphones equipped with automatic translators? If this hypothesis is worrying, it would seem that artificial intelligence also opens new avenues for learning different languages. In 2024, artificial intelligence company Open AI introduced GPT4-o, a new large language model capable of “reasoning” and interacting with text, images, […] … learn more→
Happy, sad or angry? AI can detect emotions in text according to new research
Artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to permeate many facets of the human experience. AI is not just a tool for analysing data – it’s transforming the way we communicate, work and live. From ChatGP through to AI video generators, the lines between technology and parts of our lives have become increasingly blurred. But do these […] … learn more→
Teachers feel most productive when they use AI for teaching strategies
Teachers can use generative AI in a variety of ways. They may use it to develop lesson plans and quizzes. Or teachers may rely on a generative AI tool, such as ChatGPT, for insight on how to teach a concept more effectively. In our new research, only the teachers doing both of those things reported feeling […] … learn more→
“The influence of education”: do diplomas have too much influence on our lives?
When social destinies are closely linked to diplomas, competition increases at the doors of the most sought-after sectors, academic pressure is reflected in families and inequalities between young people widen. Should we not then rethink our vision of merit, monopolized today by school? Few policies are as consensual as the educational policies implemented in France […] … learn more→
Online spaces are rife with toxicity. Well-designed AI tools can help clean them up
Imagine scrolling through social media or playing an online game, only to be interrupted by insulting and harassing comments. What if an artificial intelligence (AI) tool stepped in to remove the abuse before you even saw it? This isn’t science fiction. Commercial AI tools like ToxMod and Bodyguard.ai are already used to monitor interactions in real time across social […] … learn more→
‘We nicknamed it Eddy’: what do schools and teachers think of AI in classrooms?
It’s almost two years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022. Since then, educators worldwide have been grappling with what generative artificial intelligence might mean for classrooms and learning. ChatGPT has been met with both anxiety and a sense of optimism. While there has been a lot of discussion about what is happening in universities, there […] … learn more→