Category Archives: education

UofM student used AI makerspace to create app to detect sustainability of food

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I love a good makerspace story, especially in Minnesota! This one from the University of Minnesota caught my eye…

 [Student Daquari Hollins] started thinking, ‘Well, is there anything that exists that shows the sustainability practices of every product that you buy?’”

Hollins could not find an app on the market that offered that level of transparency, so he decided to build it himself.

The result is UConserve, a sustainability lifestyle app designed to give consumers immediate environmental transparency right at the grocery store shelf. By allowing users to scan the barcode of any domestic product, the application generates a screening-level estimate of its carbon footprint alongside deeper sustainability factors like acidification and eutrophication.

The tool bridges a critical gap for everyday shoppers trying to make ethical choices. In a time when socially conscious shoppers can find it difficult to understand a company’s carbon footprint, the app provides a glimpse into the hidden environmental toll of manufacturing, transportation and disposal.

He found a way at an AI Makerspace…

Turning his vision into a reality required bridging two historically isolated worlds: environmental data analysis and advanced computer science. When Hollins initially pitched the idea to peers in an environmental student group, he was met with skepticism. The work would likely be tedious to calculate an accurate environmental estimate for even a single item.

“I took that feedback in stride,” he says. “I was like, OK, it’s a huge undertaking, but that’s not impossible.”

To solve the scale problem, Hollins looked outside traditional sustainability disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach led him to the University of Minnesota’s AI Makerspace, where he collaborated with its manager, Joe Finnegan, and eventually consulted nationwide life-cycle assessment (LCA) professionals. By combining environmental science with machine learning, the team found a way to take massive, vetted government databases and translate them into an instantaneous mobile tool.

Located in Walter Library, the College of Science and Engineering’s AI Makerspace serves as a hybrid physical and digital sandbox designed to break down barriers for students from all academic backgrounds. Whether a student is studying computer science or philosophy, such as Hollins, the space provides free access to high-powered computing resources and expert guidance.

Former federal leader in Education Technology starts a conversation about tech in the classroom in the Star Tribune

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Anhil Hurkadli, former acting deputy director for the Office of Educational Technology and chief of staff for the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education, lives in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Star Tribune recently published an Opinion Piece from him on technology in the classroom…

The 2024 National Educational Technology Plan identified three digital “divides” that characterize more precisely where our intentions fall short: the digital access divide (who does or doesn’t have connectivity, content and devices); the digital-use divide (active or passive technology used to complete instructional tasks); and the digital design divide (systems providing ongoing, robust professional support to ensure all educators use technology more effectively, or not). A student, parent, educator or administrator can use this language to better pinpoint the specific issues technology is creating in their school community.

The letter goes on to offer some recommendations to students, parents, educators and district leaders. He also discussion the importance of policy…

Minnesota is exceptional in many ways, but we lag far behind as a state when it comes to educational technology policy. Gov. Tim Walz made attempts to close the digital-access divide during the pandemic, but little was done to ensure those new devices were used effectively (as teachers and parents who weathered the pandemic can attest). Since ChatGPT was released to the public in 2022, our state government and the Legislature have done little to set a unifying vision for technology or AI in education, or to provide guidance and resources to implement that vision.
We should expect that our next governor, our next commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education and our next state Legislature have informed, nuanced opinions about the issues involved and the political will to act. Thankfully, strong leadership exists at the local level. St. Cloud’s robust guidance to students, educators and families and Hopkins’ ”pedagogy over policing” approach stand out as regional exemplars.
These are collective opportunities and challenges that will take time to address, but we each play a role in solving them. Don’t spend another semester wishing someone else would do something about it. While the underlying issues may be difficult to identify (but easy to ignore), things will only get more complex. Just ask Claude how agentic AI or quantum computing will affect education.

Marshall Independent looks a local views on federal funding for local schools (E-Rate)

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The Marshall Independent reports…

Internet access has become a vital resource for public school districts and libraries. It’s something that goes beyond the classroom too, Marshall Public Schools staff said last week. Everything from communications and security systems to HVAC systems in schools also use internet connections.

“It’s not just about the internet. It’s the connectivity,” said MPS Director of Operations Tricia Stelter.

Education and technology workers said that’s a major reason why they’re concerned that the Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the federal E-Rate program, which gives schools discounts on internet service. Earlier this summer, the FCC said it will take comments on ways that the program can be updated – including whether it should be reformed or eliminated.

The article goes on to share comments from educators and others from Marshall and Lyons counties on their concerns about the future of the E-Rate program…

Sumption said about 32 school districts across southwest Minnesota, and most of the libraries in the Plum Creek regional library system, are affected by the E-Rate program. On average, they receive a total of about $2.24 million a year in E-Rate funding, he said.

Sumption said the E-Rate program has been “an equalizer” for schools and libraries around Minnesota.

“It’s just helped level the playing field, and gives everyone the chance to connect up,” he said.

Staff from both Marshall Public Schools and SWWC said E-Rate funding has a big impact on area schools.

U of M students create AI-generated butter busts at the MN State Fair

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Something fun for a Sunday, KARE 11 cover the AI-generated butter busts at the Minnesota State Fair…

For generations, Minnesota State Fair visitors have watched Princess Kay of the Milky Way and her court have their likenesses carved into butter. On Saturday, some fairgoers got the chance to see what they might look like in butter, too, with a little help from artificial intelligence.

The University of Minnesota’s Data Science and AI Hub offered visitors the chance to create 3D-printed plastic “butter busts” of themselves as part of an effort to get people talking about AI.

Unfortunately, it was a one-day only event, but what a great way to get people to talking to about AI with experts and experts-in-the-making.

A quick look at AI, business and training from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

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The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis reports…

The number of businesses currently using AI shows there’s potentially many workers to be trained. But much of the training needed is likely to be basic because most businesses that use AI don’t appear to be doing very much with it.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 22 percent of U.S. businesses used AI as of the end of July 2026. That’s a 4 percentage point increase since the beginning of the year.

Around the Ninth District, the share of businesses currently using AI ranges from 14 percent in North Dakota to 22 percent in Montana (see figure).

It seems like there’s interest…

Business demand for AI training appears strong, though much of it appears to be from businesses that aren’t sure about how to use the technology.

“What we’ve seen so far is the [client] organization wants to equip their people to use AI, but they don’t necessarily have an enterprise-wide strategy yet,” said the University of Minnesota’s Jahnke. “So they’re wanting to equip their employees with the basic knowledge with particular emphasis on how to use it ethically and a basic understanding of how AI works.”

And it’s growing…

Demand for training in AI skills is likely to grow with businesses’ growing use of the technology.

Over the next six months, the share of U.S. businesses using AI is expected to increase by 3 percentage points compared with July, based on Census Bureau surveys.

Among most Ninth District states, the expected increase is about 2 percentage points. Montana and North Dakota expected a decrease due to a growing number who expressed doubt that they would still be using AI.

Despite the technology’s limited impact on employment so far, there is a simmering fear in the public that massive job losses are not far off. Experts disagree on whether this is realistic, and where they land depends on how much artificial intelligence they think can replace human intelligence, and how soon.

Ayush Chopra, who developed a simulation of AI impact on the labor market while a grad student at MIT, said he doesn’t expect a “job catastrophe.” The simulation found that, among states, South Dakota had the highest concentration of jobs exposed to AI disruption, such as those in finance. By “exposure” he means that those jobs contain more tasks where AI can enhance human labor, not replace it.

If AI can improve productivity, that’s not a bad thing for South Dakota given the labor shortage, according to Hultman. The state’s unemployment rate in June was 2 percent, the lowest in the nation.

Do workers actually use Artificial Intelligence on the job?

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KSTP 9 looks into the question: Do workers actually use Artificial Intelligence on the job? (Apparently only a third of workers have used it.)…

Minnesota Schools are looking at AI policies. Examples from Morrison, Stearns and Ramsey Counties

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Last week, I wrote about one Minnesota student’s role in helping to craft a national artificial intelligence policy for schools. This week, I see that a few schools have been busy, as KSTP reports on a few. In Royalton (Morrison County)…

On Monday, the Royalton school board approved a new AI policy for its students and staff.

“There’s probably three themes,” LePard said. “One is safety for staff and students, and how they use things with AI, student academics and staff instruction.”

He said teachers will be posting the guidelines in middle and high school classrooms.

He said they primarily fall into four quadrants.

“Anywhere from the continuum of no AI use to full AI use,” he explained. “And then somewhere in between there, whether it might be just brainstorming or it might be using it as a resource or a source in their schoolwork.”

Next week, he said, the district’s teachers and staff will begin reviewing the new policy.

Designed for students in middle and high school, Royalton’s new policy puts an emphasis on responsibility and transparency.

In St Cloud (Stearns County)…

“Our amazing superintendent was actually one of the first in Minnesota to … bring up an AI policy and to implement one in our school. So we kind of were the leaders of the line,” said Acho.

In St Paul (Ramsey County)…

Some schools, like the St. Paul district, are still working out their AI policy. St. Paul Public Schools told KSTP, “the Board of Education has created a goal for the district to adopt one by spring 2028. Here is the language of that goal:
“By the end of the 2027–2028 school year, the Board will adopt an Artificial Intelligence Governance Policy that addresses the safe, ethical, human-centered, equitable, environmentally responsible, and instructionally meaningful use of AI across teaching, learning, critical thinking, workforce readiness, accessibility, data privacy, academic integrity, staff support, and district operations. The policy will include expectations for public reporting on how SPPS is preparing students and staff to use, question, evaluate, and create with AI.”

In the meantime, SPPS says it has robust resources around responsible staff and student use of AI, available on its website.

Help for other districts…

Click here for the Minnesota Department of Education’s guiding principles for AI in the classroom.

Is it AI or is it art? And how do we differentiate? The Walker is looking into it

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MPR News covers a story about art gallery patrons accusing art of being “AI slop” and The Walker figuring out what to do with that. It’s a teachable moment for everyone involved – with teachers and learners writing the curriculum in real time…

The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is adding new explanatory language to an exhibition after visitors mistook an artist’s digitally rendered work for generative AI.

Joe Dobrow recently took his two children to the Walker. They wandered from exhibition to exhibition, eventually settling in front of a screen in a dark hallway.

The screen was looping the 2026 video “Field Recordings” by artist Olalekan Jeyifous. It is the first solo museum exhibition for the New York-based artist who is known for his immersive speculative world-building artworks. The video features realistically animated people in leafy riverine settings, sometimes in groups, sometimes with deer, sometimes tinkering with what seem like remnants of analog technology.

“My kids were fairly intrigued with it,” Dobrow said, but “it seemed to me to be almost entirely AI slop.”

Part of the solution…

The Walker, along with the rest of the museum world, is grappling with how to develop policy about the display and disclosure of AI-generated or AI-assisted art. “We are in the process of developing one,” she said.

Jasper and Huldisch said the new explanatory language for the exhibition will be installed this week.

“I recognize that AI usage raises very real ethical questions, and I understand why people want transparency around it,” Jeyifous said. “The difficulty right now is that we don’t have much nuance in the language to describe it. Saying that AI was utilized somewhere in a process can very quickly become perceived as ‘this artwork was entirely AI-generated,’ even when those are fundamentally different things. Disclosure can provide useful context, but it can also unintentionally become the lens through which the entire work is understood, regardless of how marginal that tool was to its production.”

Minnesota teen speaks about experience creating a national artificial intelligence policy

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MPR interviewed a student who was part of a national group creating a national artificial intelligence policy. It is a great look at what’s happening with AI and the views of schools and youth on using AI. It’s a reminder of the importance of digital literacy. Here’s a description of the interview, you can listen to it online…

This upcoming school year, districts across the country have a new tool they can use: A national artificial intelligence policy. It was created in July by 98 teens, representing all 50 states.

They gathered in Boston for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Day of AI, created a mock senate and drafted and passed their own legislation that helps schools navigate artificial intelligence. Representing Minnesota were students and staff from St. Cloud.

St. Cloud Tech High School student Bihmanji Acho and Principal Molly Kensy joined Minnesota Now to share more about the experience.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

University of Minnesota receives federal funding to advance AI breakthroughs

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The University of Minnesota announces...

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have had three projects selected for the U.S. Department of Energy’s inaugural Genesis Mission program, underscoring the University’s leadership in applying AI and advanced computing to address critical scientific and engineering challenges in energy, technology and national security.

“We believe the University of Minnesota has a real opportunity — and a responsibility — to help shape how AI advances discovery and benefits society,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Gretchen Ritter. “These Genesis Mission awards are a testament to the strength of our collaborative research community and the extraordinary work of our faculty. We’re not just driving new understanding in a rapidly changing world, we’re preparing our students and researchers to lead with integrity and positioning Minnesota for the future.”

The University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering secured the three Genesis Mission Phase I awards. A highly competitive initiative that drew the largest response to a funding opportunity in the Department of Energy’s history, the program awarded 278 grants to researchers at 168 universities, 87 national laboratories, 19 companies and four nonprofit organizations. Phase I funding supports researchers as they develop and test research workflows that integrate AI with scientific discovery.

More information on the specific projects…

Using AI to unlock next-generation semiconductor devices
Uwe Kortshagen, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is leading a project aimed at transforming semiconductor manufacturing. Today’s chip fabrication processes require extreme precision but remain difficult to adapt to new materials. Kortshagen’s team will develop an AI-driven discovery engine to rapidly evaluate manufacturing approaches, identify sources of error and accelerate the development of next-generation semiconductor materials.

A new frontier for “digital twins”
Qizhi He, assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering, will lead a project aimed at transforming geothermal energy extraction. Using generative AI, the research team will develop a real-time “digital twin” of underground environments that can rapidly process sensor data and provide more accurate insights than current models. The technology will help energy operators make faster, better-informed decisions, improving efficiency while reducing costs.

Optimizing critical mineral extraction
Peter Kang, associate professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, is developing new approaches to recover critical minerals more efficiently and sustainably. His research focuses on “in situ” recovery, a process that extracts minerals by circulating fluids underground rather than through traditional mining. By combining lab experiments with next-generation AI, Kang and his team will better predict how fluids move through fractured rock and dissolve minerals, helping optimize recovery and improve extraction efficiency.

EVENT July 29: Protecting Schools and Libraries: The Cybersecurity Pilot Program and the Road Ahead

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From the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society…

Schools Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition

Wednesday, July 29, 2026 – 2:00pm to 3:00pm EST

Cybersecurity threats to schools and libraries are growing, and the stakes could not be higher. Student data, library patron records, and critical network infrastructure are all on the line. The FCC’s Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program is a meaningful first step toward addressing these concerns, but there’s much more to be done.

Join SHLB for a conversation about where the pilot stands today: how much has been funded, what services and equipment are supported, what schools and libraries are experiencing on the ground, and the program’s limitations that leave many institutions without the protection they need.

Then we turn to what comes next. Should cybersecurity be funded under E-Rate on a permanent basis and how? We will explore the options and make the case for why schools and libraries deserve a long-term solution.

This is going to be an exciting discussion with some of the sharpest minds working on this issue. Whether you are an anchor institution, practitioner, policymaker, or a community member, you will not want to miss it.

Protecting Schools and Libraries: The Cybersecurity Pilot Program and the Road Ahead

MN University professors are creating tools and toolkits to help communities understand impacts of data centers

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MN Daily reports on how university professors are supporting the communities by researching large-scale data center facilities’ community impacts. The article starts with a basic introduction to data centers and goes into explanation of how the university professors are (or could be) using their resources to help the community….

“There is a need for education and capacity building so that communities can effectively engage in this technically complicated space,” Chan said.

To fill this gap, University of Minnesota researchers are deploying their expertise.

There may be a tool to help provide third party data on water use…

Hydrology professor John Nieber and Geosyntec engineer Nigel Pickering are using data centers as a case study for a state-funded project assessing the cumulative impacts of small and hyperscale facilities on local water systems.

While 20 years of state water records are available, the challenge lies in modeling the physical impact. The researchers are using LiDAR and GIS, which are mapping technologies, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources data to map these subterranean effects.

The missing piece is transparent data from the tech companies on their exact internal water use, Pickering said, but the system could be built to ingest that data as soon as it becomes available.

“Collecting the spatial information [isn’t] going to be a big challenge,” Nieber said. “The challenge is accurately accounting for the specific behavior of individual data center designs.”

Their tool will model how data centers consume and redistribute water, transforming unknown environmental risks into quantifiable metrics so communities can make informed choices.

Professors are working on a toolkit for local policymakers…

[Humphrey School assistant professor Elise] Harrington and University law professor James Coleman are analyzing data center development around the country to create a decision-making toolkit for local leaders.

“Our role is not to advocate that local governments should be for or against data centers, but that they need the best information to make the right decision in close collaboration and coordination with their own residents and their own community members,” Harrington said.

Designed as a customizable menu of options, the toolkit overlays a data-center lens onto existing municipal frameworks like land use, zoning and moratoria. However, because cities lack authority over major utilities, asking the right questions is vital. Water metrics are intuitive for cities operating local water utilities, Harrington noted, but navigating the electricity sector remains a significant blind spot.

School and libraries are working to preserve E-Rate funding

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Broadband Breakfast reports…

 A campaign to preserve the nation’s largest school and library broadband subsidy is intensifying.

Advocates have launched a coordinated effort to mobilize opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed changes to E-Rate, the $2.5 billion federal program that helps more than 100,000 schools and 11,000 libraries pay for broadband service. Supporters said the FCC’s proceeding, adopted June 25, poses the most serious threat to the program in decades.

Mankato Free Press says Generation Alpha choosing AI-compatible professions

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The Mankato Press reports…

While headlines are filled with fears of jobs being lost to artificial intelligence, the classrooms at institutions such as South Central College will soon be filled with students studying for jobs that won’t be eliminated by AI.
…
Specifically, it’s for Generation Alpha, which AI application Gemini describes as students born between 2013 and 2024, that post-secondary schools are preparing for now. That age group includes Post-Secondary Education Option students able to get credit while finishing high school.

Preceding them are baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and Generation Z/Zoomers, each with their own characteristics represented in society.

As people who have grown up in a world of AI, streaming media and virtual realities, Generation Alpha is looking ahead, choosing professions that are, as Raju described them, “AI adjacent” or “AI compatible.” Ultimately, however, not susceptible to being eliminated by AI.

What does that mean on a practical basis?

The New York Post reported a survey commissioned by footwear maker Red Wing and conducted by Talker Research that shows this.

In a survey of 2,000 parents of Generation Alpha children ages 5-16, it was found 85% were already thinking about jobs and wanting them to be hands on. Specifically, 90% want jobs where they can help people and 87% want them to be creative positions.

This describes many of the jobs that Raju described as working with AI but needing a human touch. That includes jobs such as barber, HVAC installer or medical technician where AI can be used to analyze the situation and solution, but cannot actually do them.

It also describes many of the jobs that were emphasized when schools such as SCC were called vocational schools and today are referred to as community and technical colleges, as well as jobs that have been in greater demand as students pursued four-year degrees instead of technical education.

Folks in education are concerned about losing E-Rate funding for broadband in schools

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Gov Tech reports…

A few weeks after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr called for a broad review of the 30-year-old federal E-rate program, the FCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking June 26 that floated the idea of ending the program. Education leaders and experts on the digital divide have since weighed in, arguing that would be a grave mistake.
The E-rate program, which provides financial support to schools and libraries for broadband connectivity, was established in 1996 and funded starting in 1997. At that time, 65 percent of U.S. public schools had Internet access, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The FCC’s notice asked whether the program has fulfilled Congress’ original objective of bringing Internet access to schools and libraries, given that “virtually all schools report having broadband connectivity and Wi-Fi.” It also cited ill effects of screen time as a reason to rethink the program.
Indeed, rates of digital connectivity have grown since E-rate’s introduction. The FCC’s notice cited a 2019 State of the States report from the nonprofit EducationSuperHighway that found 99 percent of K-12 schools had high-speed Internet access. In 2023, researchers found that 96 percent of New York public schools were connected.

Some detail that might help the E-Rate…

The FCC’s notice acknowledges that the Congressional mandate that created the E-rate program does not empower the FCC to terminate the program, but advocates are still worried. Education and library organizations argue that the framing of the FCC’s notice misunderstands that digital connectivity requires ongoing maintenance, that the program’s success is evidence of its importance, and that cybersecurity threats and evolving technologies necessitate ongoing work.