Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Online learners are no different from face-to-face learners. While individuals in each group do select their preferred classroom for recognized reasons (e.g. online learners’ preference for flexible attendance schedules), the best students in both settings are those who engage with the content, classmates, and the teacher.

Sites created by anonymous publishers or businesses or organizations are updated according to the whim of the author(s) and can be easily copied. Fact and opinion, fantasy and sarcasm are not clearly identifiable on these sites, so should be avoided except for entertainment.

Organizations often standardize on a subset of technology tools to manage costs and improve collaboration... and limit what can be done.

How do We Integrate “ChatGPT?”
https://hackscience.education/2024/11/18/how-do-we-integrate-chatgpt/

Many educational reforms focus solely on changing curriculum and instruction without challenging the underlying assumptions about teaching and learning. Those assumptions are not always valid.

Horizontal reform involves a cycle of introducing new initiatives with little support or rationale, encountering problems, and then abandoning or replacing them before they can have a lasting impact. This creates a constant churn of new practices without any real change in pedagogy or student experiences.

Successfully integrating technology in any classrooms requires a nuanced understanding of teacher needs and motivations.

"Snake oil" can be applied to anything that doesn't (and often can't) work as advertised. We need to use it more widely than we do.

The rapid evolution of technology and curriculum necessitates continuous adaptation and refinement of support systems.

Increases teacher buy-in by demonstrating the value of technology within their own curriculum.

After beginning to use technology acceptance to me decisions in his school, a principal observed: "If teachers or students tell me something is hard or complicated, we know what needs to be changed and we know things are not fixed until they are easy to use."

If user are not confident the IT is reliable, they won't use it.

Data is fine, but if it isn't ethically collected and properly interpreted, it is a waste at best, and likely harmful.

Laws are different from regulations. Policies are different from procedures. Standards are different from all of them.

Remember Goodhart’s Law — when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. We need to make decisions in its light more frequently than we do.

“Have AI write your resume and cover letter to get it past the AI scanning tools.”

Is this where “data-driven” decisions have taken us?

“AI resume screeners are terrific at rejecting qualified candidates.”

Algorithms are unforgiving when making decisions.