NASA has teamed up with Microsoft to create an AI chatbot called Earth Copilot. NASAâs Earth Copilot, which uses Azure OpenAI Service, has condensed NASA's vast scientific geospatial information and answers questions about Earth. This data can help drive scientific discoveries, inform policy decisions, and support industries like agriculture, urban planning, and disaster response. It lets users interact with NASAâs data repository through plain-language queries. They can ask questions such as âWhat was the impact of Hurricane Ian on Sanibel Island?â or âHow did the COVID-19 pandemic affect air quality in the US?â AI will then retrieve relevant datasets, making the process seamless and intuitive. NASAâs EARTHDATA VEDA Dashboard. The development of this AI prototype aligns with NASAâs Open Science initiative, which aims to make scientific research more transparent, inclusive, and collaborative. At the moment, the NASA Earth Copilot is only available to NASA scientists and researchers to explore and test its capabilities. After internal evaluations and testing, the NASA IMPACT team said they will explore its integration into the VEDA platform, which already offers access to some of the agencyâs data.
Linda McMahon, President-elect Donald J. Trumpâs pick for education secretary, will work on "sending Education back to the statesâ while reducing or eliminating the federal Department of Education. This was one of Trump's key education campaign pledges. With a slimmer educational rĂŠsumĂŠ than typical of candidates for the Secretary of Education position, she served 16 years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, where a student center is named for her. She also spent just over a year on the Connecticut State Board of Education, where she was one of fifteen members overseeing all public education in the state, including its technical high school system. Later, in 2010, she would resign to run as a Republican for a Senate seat. Linda McMahon, a leader of President-elect Donald Trumpâs transition team, is known for her many years in wrestling as the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). According to President Trump's statement, her approach to education is based on advocating for parents' and families' rights and universal school choice. This means that money typically flowing to public schools will instead go to families so they can spend it on private education. "As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand âChoiceâ to every State in America and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families," Mr. Trump said. On Tuesday, Ms. McMahon posted a message on social media praising âapprenticeship programsâ and highlighting their examples in Switzerland, which is often cited as a high-performing country whose model the United States should follow. She also has backed a House bill to make federal Pell Grants available for those pursuing skills training programs and technical education, not just traditional college degrees. The for-profit college sector applauded Ms. McMahonâs selection. âUnder her leadership, we are confident that the new Department of Education will take a more reasoned and thoughtful approach in addressing many of the overreaching and punitive regulations put forth by the Biden administration, especially those targeting career schools,â Jason Altmire, president of Career Education Colleges and Universities, a trade group that represents the for-profit sector, said in a statement. ⢠NYT: How Linda McMahon Might Approach the Dept. of Education â Comments of the audience
On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump named Linda McMahon the new Secretary of Education. "As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand 'Choice' to every State in America and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families," Trump said in a statement that described McMahon as a âfierce advocate for Parentsâ Rights." McMahon reposted Trump's announcement. Earlier in the day, she joined Trump and Elon Musk, who was named a co-chair of a new âDepartment of Government Efficiency,â at the SpaceX Starship launch in Texas. McMahon, 76, is a co-chair of Trump's presidential transition team. She is a former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive who served in the first Trump administration. She ran the Small Business Administration for much of his first term and is married to former WWE CEO Vince McMahon. If the Senate confirms her, McMahon will oversee a department that Trump said he planned to âget ridâ of as it currently exists and allow each state to âhandle educationâ individually. McMahon was head of the Small Business Administration during his first presidency before she stepped down from the Cabinet-level post in 2019 to lead the pro-Trump America First Action super PAC. Before she joined the first Trump administration, McMahon served on the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2009, before she resigned to make unsuccessful bids in 2010 and 2012 for U.S. Senate seats in the state. McMahon was one of Trump's top donors during the 2024 campaign, contributing more than $20 million to the Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC and $937,800 to his campaign and affiliated joint fundraising committees.
AI's integration into learning environments, research, administrative functions, and campus operations reshapes how institutions operate, faculty teach, students learn, and staff perform their roles. It's not about blindly accepting AI in higher education or banning its use. It is crucial to thoughtfully examine AI's impact on higher education, specifically on student success, financial sustainability, accountability, and equity. This is the main conclusion of researcher Joe Sabado, who shared research titled "AI in Higher EducationâFrameworks for Critical Inquiry and Innovation." This document, created using AI, guides institutions through AI's transformative process, helping them leverage this technology. It provides ten frameworks, offering valuable insights for all stakeholders: educators, administrators, policymakers, students, staff, and journalists. ⢠AI in Higher Education â Frameworks for Inquiry and Innovation (PDF)
Instructure Holdings, Inc., which manages the Canvas LMS, the leading learning platform, announced last week that it completed its sale to two investment firms, KKR and Dragoneer, for $4.8 billion (or $23.60 per share). As part of the transaction, Instructure's common stock was removed from trading on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). "Having KKR's support will help us double down on core markets, scale our global reach at a faster pace and unlock new opportunities as we continue to innovate and enhance Canvas and the Instructure Learning Ecosystem," said Steve Daly, CEO of Instructure. According to its data, the company expects to deliver $1B in revenue by 2028 with a platform that hosts 200 million learners from 100 countries and is supported by 1,000 partners. Currently, its annual revenue is below $500 million. Instructure has been publicly traded since 2021 after Thoma Bravo, its existing majority owner, briefly took it private for a year in 2020.
