Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Hey #edtech vendors, I know the difference between marketing materials and research. Please don’t waste my time as a reviewer giving feedback on your “proposals” for presentations at conferences. Just buy a booth to exhibit and make some vendor presentations.

“Skepticism is not arrogance.” -Guy P. Harrison

But some folks sure act like skeptical people are.

Reading a book on social effects of technology... the stethoscope was originally viewed with derision... wait... what? #technology #technologyinnovation #innovation

Theories lead to oversimplification by those who do not understand them.

Claiming no responsibility for the consequences of the systems in which you work is untenable... especially for #teachers and #edleaders.

Inert information is organized in no way, interpreted with no theory, places in no context. It really had no purpose. #data

"To a man with a computer, everything looks like data." Yeah , Neil Postman seems to have been correct with this in 1992. #technology #data #datascience #DataDriven #education #leadership

“Tools have a way of intruding on even the most unified set of cultural beliefs.” Neil Postman seems accurate in this observation of #technology too.

I find it very peculiar when English teachers speak of students “getting a 79 on a paper.” Can we really quantify writing in that way? Can you really differentiate that paper from one that “gets” an 80?

Competence with new #technology should not be confused with wisdom or authority.

Those who design #technology rarely understand how it will be used. To conclude “technology does what it was designed to do” seems inaccurate.

Every #technology both benefits and burdens society.

The most interesting uses of #technology arise when we find new uses... those not intended by the inventor. In biology, these are exaptations. So, to advance technology... adopt (start using new stuff), adapt (what you do to leverage technology), and exapt (to find new uses).

Technology is probably not deterministic, but it sure has lots of momentum going in a direction. #technology #TechEthics #tech #technologies #technology

As #technology becomes a collection of "black boxes" user neither understand not care to understand, they relinquish control to those who do.

Ultimately, #technology is about extending human senses and capabilities.

“I’m using the curriculum map and all of the resources, but man does if have a fresh coat of paint and it smells like lemon.” #school #teachers #education

“The best uses of #technology can only emerge [once we] recognize that new machines are not inevitable and their uses are not ordained.” -David Nye

This is true of #edtech

Work is a social practice. Production or service to meet a perceived or real need.

When you try to translate your existing practice into the “new paradigm,” you don’t understand either. #teaching #education