Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Secure systems limit changes to prevent threats but may hinder flexibility, while open systems offer greater user freedom but increase vulnerability. School leaders must balance security and accessibility, often facing pushback from teachers desiring more open systems for pedagogical purposes.

"Aeropagetica" advocated against restrictions on publishing, symbolizing free speech. Modern digital devices, particularly smartphones, represent extreme "aeropagetica" as they enable anyone to easily create and share information globally, highlighting their democratizing effect on information dissemination.

The primary purpose of formal education is to prepare young people to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of society.

Strong leadership support, both from school administrators and influential teachers, can significantly impact the success of technology initiatives.

Teachers who feel empowered to explore, adapt, and implement technology in ways that align with their teaching goals are more likely to embrace and effectively utilize it.

Schools successful in #edtech implement a cycle where technology-related issues are addressed by considering both the technical fix and its impact on effort and performance expectancy for teachers and students.

Data classification involves categorizing data based on its sensitivity and risk level. Common classifications include:
Public: Data intended for public consumption.
Internal: Data for use within the organization.
Sensitive: Data with privacy or confidentiality implications.
Highly Sensitive: Data subject to strict compliance obligations.

Understanding data classification is crucial for defining access controls, security measures, retention policies, and breach reporting requirements.

Data regulation is essentially a business function that ensures data quality, security, privacy, and regulatory compliance. I am not sure all "data driven" folks attend to it.

The process by which a trait or technology, originally evolved or designed for one purpose, is co-opted for a different purpose. They are much more common than we recognize .

"Non-zero-sum" solutions aim to create win-win situations where all stakeholders benefit, though perhaps unequally, by maximizing choice and diversity in solutions.

Successful technology transfer depends on the receiving population lacking a pre-existing technology for that purpose, and having a culture receptive to its changes. Factors include existing skills, taboos, and threats to expertise or hierarchies.

Open source technologies can be advantageous for rural schools facing challenges like limited budgets and staffing:
- It eliminates the need to purchase expensive licenses, freeing up funds for other resources.
- It allows schools to tailor tools to their specific needs and context, unlike closed, proprietary systems.
- A vibrant community of developers and users offers assistance and resources, fostering collaboration among schools.

Encode data using an encryption key, making it unreadable without the key. Data should be encrypted both at rest (stored data) and in transit (data being transferred).

“If you thought that science was certain - well, that is just an error on your part.”
― Richard P. Feynman

“I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.”
― Richard Feynman

"Chatbots are floppy disks" is the best thing I heard all day.

Traditional planning models, focusing on setting predetermined goals and measuring outcomes through standardized tests, are ill-suited for addressing the complexities of education. These models often mistake correlation for causation and ignore the influence of multiple factors.

Teachers hate "reinventing the wheel ," but directly transferring solutions from one educational context to another often proves ineffective due to the unique social, cultural, and economic factors at play. Solutions must be adapted and customized to fit the specific needs and resources of the receiving environment.

Technologies are not neutral because they shape how we think, act, and interact with the world. They influence our values, beliefs, and social structures. For example, digital technologies have profoundly impacted communication, information access, and learning processes.

"Wicked problems," like those found in education, defy simple solutions, resist objective measurement, and are influenced by diverse and often conflicting perspectives.