Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

I feigned cynicism over my career to hide the fact that I was really trying to understand what we were doing in a deep way. The last several years, my cynicism has turned more authentic and I wonder aloud "what are we doing here?" often.

One things I learned during 35 years in education: Discussing and reflecting is important for learning, but if your students never get to actually doing something with their new knowledge, then they fail to see the point.

Imagine if folks actually did what they were taught in cybersecurity trainings.

Someone came to our house last weekend... they wanted to watch football... we watched the Vans Pipeline Masters... they were welcome to leave.

Note from IT: We never send messages that it is URGENT you attend to anything. Don't fall for it.

“The study was done on a small and large homogenous population, but there is no reason to believe it doesn’t apply to everyone.” 🤦‍♂️

Teachers’ Inability to Deal with Ambiguity
https://hackscience.education/2018/11/01/teachers-inability-to-deal-with-ambiguity/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

“We need this technology tool” is often followed by “this is too hard to use” and (if you listen carefully) technology professionals saying “we told you so.”

The New Digital Divide
https://hackscience.education/2018/10/31/the-new-digital-divide/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

“We have always done it this way” is sometimes the result of technology limitations. Recognizing those situations can be a challenge.

Some people should not have multiple monitors on their computers. It just distracts them and gives them more space on which to loose stuff.

If you think the answer is simple, you don’t understand the problem.

Bridging Gaps: Research and Instruction
https://hackscience.education/2018/10/30/bridging-gaps-research-and-instruction/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

How you ask the question. How you define “success.” Which statistics you choose. Those all determine what is “proven.”

The growth mindset but apply it to interests and curiosity… yup, that seems a good idea.

“The study was done on a small and large homogenous population, but there is no reason to believe it doesn’t apply to everyone.” 🤦‍♂️

If you ignore what makes you moderately uncomfortable, then you are avoiding the truth.

“I’m too busy to do my job” is increasingly common from leaders.

Red Herrings
https://hackscience.education/2018/10/23/red-herrings/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

The popularity of ideas doesn’t matter. If they are not supported by observation, they are wrong. If they are contrary to what the leader believes, they will not be allowed.