Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Can we please stop reporting “averages?” Seriously, you learned before middle school the different ways to describe data sets.

Some of us who have spent a lifetime teaching, paying attention to students, and doing “r & d” to improve our practice knew. Unfortunately, we lack the “expertise” to be experts, so our knowledge never was used. #education #remoteteaching #HigherEducation #highschool

When I was paid in the low $20k per year as a teacher in the early 1990’s and there was a loud “teachers are just expensive baby sitters” group in the community. Students and I calculated would have been paid over $60k if I was paid at their minimum baby sitting rate.

“Logical contortions” is my new favorite term.

Recording tutorial videos, I’m more aware of the extra words we add to our speech... and how distracting they are (when one listens for them).

Whatever #education #school looks like in the fall, the one thing that is clear is that *critical thinking* and scientific literacy must be a priority.

What is your plan if you don’t have time to “deliver all of the content?” #teaching #highschool #highered

“Guess What I’m Thinking Disguised as Brainstorming” is a game that finds the leader holding a microphone minimizing all contributions until the desired answer is given is my least favorite office game.

Can we all stop using “reach out?” I know... I’m guilty too, but it seems a vacuous term. Are you asking for help? Seeking an update? Placing an order? Giving me a project? Be specific about your intentions in your language.

Let’s be clear... becoming knowledgeable is more than being able to recognize and restate information.

If you were misguided in your first decision and you take criticism so you decide to back track, then you should not frame the clarification as “you misunderstood what we said.”

Innumeracy is still a thing that should concern us.

Leaders really don’t want questioners in management.

Fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves.... Bertrand Russell was right

A blog post on efficacious #edtech:
https://hackscience.education/2018/08/15/efficacious-edtech/

School leadership is largely a political process, where its success and manner depend entirely on perceptions, power, and priorities.

Designing IT systems is a tame problem: it is understood, solvable with known procedures, and can be tested before deployment. Teaching, in contrast, is a wicked problem: it is not clearly understood, involves multiple interconnected factors, and different individuals judge outcomes differently.

Efficacious IT management is also made more difficult by the disparate approaches to problems solved by technology professionals, teachers, and school administrators

Negotiating what is appropriate, proper, and reasonable in IT is difficult when participants approach problems from different perspectives.

Complex passwords: IT professionals see them as a simple security strategy, but teachers perceive them as an impediment to quick access for students.