Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org
- On the web:
- https://hackscience.education/
Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation at a community college in New England
Retired k-12 science/ math/ technology teacher/ technology integration specialist/ coordinator
Joined Nov 2022
“I don’t care what the network lets me do, as long as I know what we can do and it works every time. Otherwise, I won’t trust it enough to plan my lessons around it.” That teacher's advice to school IT folks needs to be clearly understood.
Whereas access to mass media was controlled by the expense of printing or broadcasting a few decades ago, any of the two billion individuals who carry a smart phone can capture an image or video and publish it to a world-wide audience quickly (measured in seconds) and inexpensively (margin cost is near zero).
There is evidence that such periods during which one information technology replaces another that was dominant are marked by turmoil as social institutions adjust to new capabilities and new expectations; recent generation have been living at an extended period of change.
I have often wondered if my perception that I was not a strong math student was the result of the D that showed up on my report card in fourth grade; most of the students in my classes when I taught math perceived me to be a good math teacher, the data collected and reported about me as a child notwithstanding.
Ostensibly, data-driven education is undertaken in an attempt to apply the objective and reliable methods of science to education, thus remove doubt about what educators are doing.
In political discussions, it is often desired that participants agree. In order to reach compromise, participants in political debate can diverge from common understanding; while agreeing on the language, the participants disagree on the action being labeled.
Just as it is not appropriate to have a teacher providing network support, it is not appropriate to have a network administrator making educational decisions.
It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.
-- Richard P. Feynman
In science, values include valid and reliable data and open sharing of data.
Schools are perpetually beginning new practices, and none is ever allowed to have deep influences on pedagogy and student experiences.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
-- Albert Einstein
You know that instruction that was s important and meaningful for you? Other hated it.
Especially in this century, education has become the focus of much political attention.
A bonus episode in which I reflect on a story about a student and computing in schools. https://bit.ly/3XtSHFg
"If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin."
--Charles Darwin
"Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature."
--Michael Faraday
Seriously. Can we start assessing if our data is sufficient, meaningful, biased? Bad data leads to bad decisions , but that doesn't stop "data-driven" folks from using it.
"People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them."
--Eric Hoffer
- On the web:
- https://hackscience.education/
Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation at a community college in New England
Retired k-12 science/ math/ technology teacher/ technology integration specialist/ coordinator
Joined Nov 2022
