User accounts can be added to one or more groups that are configured on the network operating systems as well. These can be set by whatever rules the network administrator decides; of course, in schools, teachers are often assigned to groups based on the subject areas taught and grade levels taught, so they will be Read More
Network security would be very easy if no one ever needed to use computers or data. From a security point of view, it is unfortunate that people use networked computers. The reality is that we need networked computers and that data stored on them to do our work as educators. IT designers consider confidentiality, integrity, Read More
IT Skills and Educators In the first decade desktop computers were in schools, most teachers had little experience with computer technology, so dedicating professional development resources to train teachers in the basic operation of systems (tasks such launching applications, creating and editing documents, and saving and printing) was appropriate and necessary. Soon thereafter, the local Read More
I used to recoil when the term “leverage” was applied to computers in educational settings; I had heard too many administrators and vendors describe how some tool could be “leveraged to improve student outcomes.” As we chatted while waiting for a meeting to begin, an English-teaching colleague pointed out that the word really does apply Read More
The need to train and retrain teachers has taken on increased importance as digital computers have arrived in schools. As an undergraduate student enrolled in a course on teaching methods, I made an appointment with the staff at a small media office and had them sign a sheet confirming that I successfully threaded a film Read More
22: This Isn’t You Parents’ Educational Technology | RSS.com For generations, a fundamental purpose of schools has been to give students experience using the dominant information technology and data sources. When the dominant data type was printed and scripted on paper, education took a very familiar format. Reading, writing, performing calculations on paper, and drawing Read More
When the leadership team comprises individuals who admit they are not “technology people,” they will often defer to the technology leader on all decisions other than budgets. They reason, “as long as they have the budget, I trust them to keep stuff up and running.” This makes sense as education leaders lack the expertise to Read More
We have been teaching in online classrooms for decades now, and I still see faculty–many faculty–who take the files they create with their productivity suites and upload them for students. When they do this, they impose an unnecessary level of complexity on students. In some cases, they cannot open the files as they lack the Read More
19: TPCK Framework Several years ago, I posted on TPCK. This post further develops my understanding of it. In 2006, scholars Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler from Michigan State University detailed the TPACK framework. According to this model, three types of knowledge affect educator’s use of technology. These three define seven independent and combined Read More
18: On Student Users Students, of course, comprise the greatest number of IT users in schools. When considered together, k-12 students represent a group with a very wide range of skill sets and needs. The youngest students have emerging literacy and numeracy skills, and their hands are too small to fit on full sized keyboards Read More