Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams - and have the technology to make them real." Yeah... let's not rely on AI for insightful commentary .

On the Value of Theories
https://hackscience.education/2019/05/20/on-the-value-of-theories/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Internet access. Everyone who wants it, should have it for free.

On things I learned during 35 years in education: Every "this will change everything" method (and I mean every single one) did not.

Interesting brief podcast on jigsaw, a group reading protocol.
https://rss.com/podcasts/teachinglearninginnovation/1416515/

The nature of physical things is much more easily conceived when they are beheld coming gradually into existence, than they are only considered as produced at once in a finished and perfect state. - Descartes

Intellectually, religious emotions are not creative but conservative. They attach themselves readily to the current view of the world and consecrate it.” -John Dewey

"We are going to study x" is code for "we are changing it to what I want, but everyone is going to waste 6 months talking about it."

Some ideas are very tiresome. The anthropic principle is one of them.

@EVDHmn Ah, if such a network existed!! I am thinking about how educators and technology folks interact locally. We often apply strategies to problems that are inappropriate. We can engineering good IT for schools, but we cannot engineer effective education.

#edtech for #edleaders: Some IT Network Vocabulary
https://hackscience.education/2019/05/17/edtech-for-edleaders-some-it-network-vocabulary/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Technology leaders must recognize that the problems they solve, the methods they use, and even the language they use to describe problems are different from those encountered by educators.

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool."
-Richard P. Feynman

Regardless of how easy IT professionals think their systems are to use, it is the opinion of users that determine ease of use.

A fundamental characteristic of all systems (IT included) is degradation.

It Really is Different Now: A Teacher’s Story of Leaving
https://hackscience.education/2019/05/16/it-really-is-different-now-a-teachers-story-of-leaving/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

The result is almost every school IT system is unique; it is customized to reflect the state of the system when first adopted and the changes that have been made since.

Existing systems affect decisions, security, stability.

Leaders who don't realize this make bad decisions.

Watching folks rationalize bad decisions is something you get to do a lot when you work in education.

One thing I learned during 35 years in education: If the highest leaders in the organization don't enjoy spending time with students, they are ineffective.