Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Nonplussed is a word I never looked up until today. The two definitions seem contrary. I guess I still don’t know what it means.

How do you know?

Some folks are offended by this question. They annoy me.

The Transition to #edtech
https://hackscience.education/2019/07/25/the-transition-to-edtech/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Sometimes you are the least qualified to decide what you need. It’s not bullying or control, it’s objective observation.

“Technology take inventiveness and imagination out of teaching.” No, standards and the data worship did that.

They investigate questions, gather experience, immerse themselves in their data which captures the part of the world that holds their interest. From their data, they identify generalizations that appear to be supported by their data and they seek to apply those generalizations to other situations.

“They are producing test-grading machines….” So proclaimed the author in 1970. This is not new folks.

“Education is a long, slow, uncertain process….” Some folks have it right. Even in 1970, they had it right.

“Individuals’ brains are critically shaped by social relationships, and the information they learn through these relationships supports both their emotions and their knowledge about facts, procedures, motivation, and interests."

On Communication
https://hackscience.education/2019/07/23/on-communication/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

I predict teachers will become mentors and coaches. They will give advice and direction on techniques of learning rather than providers of information.

I predict formal education will become more important, but traditional schools will become less important.

“Effective schools” is a nebulous term. We could define schools in which students earn top scores on standardized tests as effective; likewise, we could define schools in which students write cogent essays (or create paintings, music, and dance) expounding the evils of standardized tests as effective.

Elevator Pitch on Multitasking
https://hackscience.education/2019/07/23/elevator-pitch-on-multitasking/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

Previously, educators and scholar presumed learners were “blank slates” when they arrived in classrooms, and teachers began to transfer the necessary information with little concern over what was already there.

My advice to school leaders is to stop listening to the policy-makers who would have you shirk your duties to prepare your students for their future and society’s future.

By including participation, engagement, flexibility, adaptability, and similar soft skills in our assessment and evaluation of students we are communicating to them these are valuable skills to develop. By removing these from their evaluation, educators are ignoring the most important skills students can develop.

One thing I learned in 35 years in education: I know that many teachers only want to teach those who don’t need to be taught.

I am a cynic when hearing complaints. I know that employers who offer low wages are going to attract the least well-prepared individuals.

Interactions with Leaders
https://hackscience.education/2019/07/19/interactions-with-leaders/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon