Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

The debates about what we should teach students, are all the same. They seek to answer the question "which technologies are the correct ones for students to learn?"

"There is always a well-known solution to every human problem--neat, .plausible, and wrong."
- H. L. Mencken

Wonder is what we call the thinking in which we conduct thought experiments. It is valuable in many situations. Too bad school does not appreciate its role in solving important and troubling problems.

Wisdom begins with wonder. - Socrates

May all writers have the time to write a shorter book : )

Maybe we can get Microsoft to change the default "alt text" for images... I suggest "The author was too lazy to change this." Maybe that would shame us into making files accessible.

So, I had a goal of getting my current draft of my introduction and chapter 1 to 10,000 words by the end of the day... had only 30 word to go. Significant rewrite of one section... “alright, here we go,” I thought. Select the chapters... word count is still 9970. Seriously?

If your trendy new pedagogy does not shift away from teacher-dominated delivery of content, it is just a flashy way to fail. #teaching

When you realize #education is designed to force your to challenge your beliefs rather than confirm your beliefs, you are finally getting the point.

It may seem unnecessary to state it, but schools are places where children are present. Lots of children. Children who reflect the social, racial, ethnic, and other characteristics of the local population.

Lysenko's influence led to the suppression and imprisonment of many geneticists who opposed his views, including the renowned botanist Nikolai Vavilov. Just in case any one cares.

A post for students studying databases:
https://hackscience.education/2025/06/09/data-information-and-databases/

I’m try to decrease the number of autocorrect and other typos that are making it into my posts. It looks like this will be a serious time commitment.

Thinking and learning is an emotion and cultural and cognitive endeavor... teachers who focus on one aspect to the exclusion of the others will fail. #education #teaching #teachertips

I’ve seen an increase in “blame the user” among IT in recent years... it is synchronous with “blame the IT” among users.

When AI and technology help me find “that paper I read ‘a while ago’ that seemed to support my point in the paragraph that was opposite the graph that showed something, and I think it was near the bottom of the page,” but with fewer details, I will be happy.

If doing qualitative research has taught me anything it is that perceptions are reality.

You know those educators who advocate a single method for all purposes... they annoy me. #education

Never underestimate the value of a critic.

Skeptics are leaders’ most valued assets... they point out weaknesses... laggards and the “this is they way we have always done it crowd” are not skeptics. #leadership