Education is based on a simple idea: We want to make people smart. “Smart” is the general term that we use to describe an individual who has greater than usual cognitive skill and knowledge; public education is intended to ensure a minimal level of “smart” for each individual in our society. As we understand it, Read More
Of the digital information technology available in schools a part is used by teachers and learners for their interactions; this is the technology I define as instructional technology. The technology that falls into this category must be affordable, usable, and operational and used to engage learners. Affordable. Traditionally, schools have small budgets for technology, and Read More
When using test-preparation software, skills-building websites, typing tutors, and similar tools, students are experiencing teaching by technology. For previous generations of technology-using teachers, “edutainment” software was a popular method for teaching by technology. This software found students (for example) playing games in which they earned points by quickly answering math problems. One of the more popular uses Read More
Another observation from ca. 2008: 206:On Information For educators, the penetration of computer networks into the classroom has been simultaneously a great advantage and a great distraction. Using media in previous generations, teachers could be sure an editor working within some system of accountability had approved the information, and one could be reasonably sure that Read More
I recently discovered this prargraph that I wrote about 15 years ago. I was prescient: The milieu of information sources is further complicated by the fact that the hardware and software necessary to publish to the Internet is available on even the most modest computer systems in use today, and that connections to the Internet Read More
Prior to the invention of digital electronic computers, humans had a long history of using information technologies. Even before the invention of writing, humans were inventing soft technologies for string information outside of a single human brain. Pre-literate cultures used communal storytelling, myths, and poems are all inventions used in cultures to share and store Read More
Teaching with technology has been called technology integration in many sources. This finds teachers incorporating technology into the lessons they would teach without technology. In addition to adopting technology to present the lesson, teaching with technology often finds the teachers adapting the lesson. They will both make planning decisions about the lessons based on the technology tools Read More
Teaching about technology was common when computers first arrived in educational markets. Called computer literacy at the time, it focused on teaching students the names and functions of systems rather than how to use them. This was a very reasonable approach at the time as few individuals had computers in their homes and one of the most Read More
No IT professional wants users of their systems to be ineffective and complaining. This poses a difficulty for IT professionals who move from business in to education. IT professionals will notice differences (some nuanced and some significant) between the needs and expectations of IT users in business and IT in school. With the more complete Read More
204: A Privacy Story One of those emails arrived in my inbox recently that cause me to start a response, then another. One the third restart, I sent him an invite to a virtual meeting, started it, and waited for him to join. He summarized the situation he was facing: The story is not troubling Read More