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Digital Promise

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AI and Emerging Tech

Prioritizing a human-centered approach to technology in education

Digital Promise brings research, classroom practice, and technology together to ensure innovation serves student well-being and expands opportunity for every learner.
A teacher crouches next to a young student on their laptop

Guided by Evidence, Centered on Learners

Digital Promise investigates how artificial intelligence and emerging technology can safely and effectively enhance teaching and learning. Grounded in research and driven by our commitment to Powerful Learning, we partner with educators, researchers, and developers, we help school systems thoughtfully navigate emerging technology and tools, including artificial intelligence. We evaluate real-world impact to ensure equitable tech adoption, keeping the humans at the center while expanding opportunities for every learner. Our evidence-based approach empowers leaders to prioritize equity, safety, and pedagogical purpose.

Digital Promise’s Work in Emerging Technology

Through research hubs, collaborative projects, and field partnerships, we aim to turn possibilities into improved outcomes for students. We engage in research-practice-industry  partnerships, develop technology frameworks, and lead AI-focused initiatives designed to support practitioners and learners in everyday classrooms.

Artificial Intelligence in Education

We believe artificial intelligence holds immense promise to help us solve complex and persistent challenges in education. Our human-centered approach ensures that AI serves as a powerful tool to augment, rather than replace, the roles of teachers and learners. 

Through our community-engaged research, our collaborative work with school districts and edtech developers, and national R&D centers, we are leading the charge to leverage AI’s potential for all learners.

Jean-Claude Brizard shares insights on harnessing the transformative potential of AI in education while ensuring an equitable, human-centered focus that augments teacher expertise and supports student agency.
Jeremy Roschelle shares how grounding emerging technologies in the science of learning helps ensure AI tools serve teachers and elevate student engagement.

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Programs

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Digital Transformation landing page header image showing illustration of diverse group of people using tech

Digital Transformation

The digital transformation of teaching and learning can pull us at greater scale into more effective learner-centered frameworks.

U-GAIN Reading

The Using Generative Artificial Intelligence for Reading R&D Center (U-GAIN Reading) is a research and development hub that investigates how to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to improve elementary school reading instruction.

EngageAI

The EngageAI Institute conducts research on narrative-centered learning technologies, adaptive collaborative learning, and multimodal learning analytics to create deeply engaging collaborative story-based learning experiences.
Four students at a classroom table with tablets, behind a sign reading "Science and Math Goals."

Powerful Learning with Emerging Technologies

Digital Promise’s Framework for Powerful Learning with Emerging Technology articulates a vision for the role of AI and emerging technology-enabled tools within learning environments.

K-12 AI Infrastructure Program

Digital Promise and its partners—Learning Data Insights, DrivenData, the Massive Data Institute at Georgetown University, and Catalyst @ Penn GSE—have launched the K-12 AI Infrastructure Program, a four-year, $26 million effort to make artificial intelligence more accurate and useful in schools. The initiative will provide grants to build free, open-access datasets, computer models, and testing standards that align AI tools with proven teaching and learning methods.

Alabama Cybersecurity Pathways

Digital Promise launched our work in East Alabama by supporting the Talladega County Board of Education in building a Cybersecurity Pathways program—laying the groundwork for regional cross-sector alliances and scalable school-to-work pipelines across the state.