Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

A society with greater education tends to have a provide a better life for its members (I value lower child mortality, long life, greater equity, fewer wars, and similar benefits associated with greater education). Moving away from it threatens all of us.

Clear hierarchical relationships between students and teachers, the role of teacher as isolated expert, stable literacy skills, and well-established authorities as mediators of curriculum are examples of the structures and organizations that have served generations of educators that are being challenged by the landscape of social media.

The education like I received (40-50 years ago) is a far less value than it was. We need better models for our classrooms.

Educators have a responsibility to give students experience using IT... generative AI included.

"The technology doesn't work." We need to start checkin gout those claims. They are usually lying.

The typical definition of malware specifies that the software is designed to be malicious—to steal data or to use the resources for bad purposes. Many IT folks treat any software they don't want on their systems as malware. When I say they "treat" it as malware, I mean they take steps to prevent it from being installed, identify where it is installed and remove it when it is found. 

I see your data. I understand the point you are making it. I am ignoring you because your point isn't supported by your data.

Like it or not, your life is quantified by those who are not telling you what they are doing.

Look at all of your course outcomes. If curiosity isn't on the list, its incomplete.

The best technology leaders are the ones who accommodate reasonable requests, so they don’t become “the department of no.”

Are they assessing the system? or are they finding that which is unfamiliar?

Leaders who make decisions so that everyone conforms to their comfort level... they really tick me off.

If you don't understand the effects of you decisions, you have no business making them.

The way the system is configured affects how users log on, which applications and data sources are available, how secure it is, and the degree to which they can use it to support business functions.

When I started in education, tech-savvy teachers could reasonably manage one or two devices in each classroom in their spare time. I know because I did it.

White-collar work, much blue-collar work, and popular culture are dominated by digital data and electronic digital computing.

As a teacher and educational technology professional, I have watched educators use IT that was well-managed, and I have watched them use IT that is poorly managed. I have watched school leaders struggle to provide effective leadership to, supervision of, and evaluation of IT professionals.

It is difficult to ascertain if leaders believe their spin or not. We should not blame them for appearing delusional, in many cases. Their boss or other politically powerful individuals want the narrative of the spin to be true, so they actively participate.

“Spin” is a fact of life for school leaders. They are faced with uncomfortable situations, and they must describe them in a positive light.

As a student, I attended a high school that had four computers available for students (my classmates’ recollections confirm my memories). I was thoroughly unimpressed with the devices.