Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

“Assessment is an act of interpretation, not just measurement.” I sure wish all #educators understood that, especially those who are “data-driven.”

I’m a fan of rubrics and other scaffolds as long as they fade... if our students cannot internalize what we are teaching to the point they cannot become independent, then what are we doing?

I will sometimes be obvious when I disengage, hoping the leader of the meeting recognizes it has taken a turn to waste of time.

If educators had made a stand against the unequivocally bad education policy decisions that have marked the 21st century we would be better positioned to manage many problems.

Calling faculty and staff “rock stars” is as offensive to me as calling students “kiddos.”

Reading/ writing/ math/ arts/ recess/ physical education, etc. cannot be part of any reward/ punishment system. I found myself in schools where leaders did not understand that. I never participated in their systems and started job searches as soon as their wackiness became clear.

Listen to your intuition, except when it is wrong.

I’ve been questioning a lot lately... maybe it’s time to listen to something other than Noam Chomsky while on my afternoon walks.

Sometimes work seems like 40 hours of working and 40 hours of responding to emails seeking status reports on projects they cannot complete because we are answering emails about them.

"When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their hopes, the seeds of political manipulation are sown." -Stephen Jay Gould

Note to self: Don’t demonstrate how to sign out of Google accounts during a Google Meet.

Learning how to operate a new bit of technology is the easy part. Learning how it can fail is harder part of supporting new technology.

“Your video will be posted once the closed captions are edited.”

“Can’t you post it now? I don’t need the captions.”

“No.”

My former colleague (a vehement and frequent climate change denier on social media) continues to complain he can’t find a job... in a field that requires significant capacity to interpret data. Should I tell him?

How you react when your virtual meetings go “off the rails” says much about your leadership.

Humans "are always seeking improvements in technology (e.g. to meet emerging needs or to improve efficiency, safety, or reliability)." The problem is the "improvements" are not always and not for everyone.

Technologies are dynamic and continually evolving due to new discoveries and the human drive for improvement.

A blog post on the recursive nature of technology, now with audio. https://hackscience.education/2018/08/29/technology-is-recursive/
#technology #edtech

I’m not sure who hasn’t heard this, but it is *not* acceptable to compose an email in all caps. If you send one to an IT person, assume you have just yelled at them in an unprofessional manner. If they respond politely, you are lucky.

“Learning [may] not happen by accident,” but it is often spontaneous, serendipitous, and contrary to the intended lessons. #education #teaching #school