Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Successful #onlinelearning develops as we help #students ask specific questions... just like we do in face-to-face classrooms.

“I don’t understand it, therefore it is false.” Yeah... when I hear that in #leaders, I slowly back away.

The number of “data driven leaders” who cannot interpret different types of distributions is distressing.

“I didn’t measure what I thought I would, so I must have measured wrong,” is a conclusion that is too commonly drawn.

What if low test scores result from a bad test and not poor preparation?

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

For a difficulty to be desirable, it must be challenging but solvable by the learner. If the learner lacks the necessary background knowledge or skills, the difficulty becomes undesirable and won't promote learning. #OptimalChallenge

Data privacy requires active protection. Practice data minimization (collect only what's necessary) and use privacy-enhancing technologies like masking and tokenization to safeguard sensitive information.

Modern security relies heavily on cryptography. It's essential for ensuring confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and nonrepudiation. Be aware of downgrade attacks that force systems to less secure modes.

Social engineering relies on human weaknesses, not just tech flaws. Principles like authority, urgency, and trust are key tools for attackers to elicit information or prompt actions.

Edtech leaders, listen up! When designing IT systems, IT professionals often present a "choose two" scenario: you can't have inexpensive, designed quickly, AND high quality simultaneously.

Watch out for the "illusion of comprehension". Conditions like massed practice or rereading can give a false sense of understanding due to familiarity, but this doesn't guarantee real learning or retention for future exams. #Metacognition

"The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question."

Stephen Jay Gould

A post about cleaning data for students in my database course:
https://hackscience.education/2025/07/08/cleaning-data/

Socrates famously compared written text to a painting: both appear alive but maintain "a most majestic silence" if questioned. Written words "go on telling just the same thing forever," unable to provide further instruction or clarification. #Socrates #Communication

Want to learn effectively? Desirable difficulties are learning strategies that "make things hard on yourself, but in a good way". This includes varying study conditions, interleaving topics, spacing sessions, and using tests as learning events. #LearningScience

The debate on AI's societal impact is widespread, and AI safety and ethics are now being worked on by companies and universities.

John Maynard Keynes's 1930 prediction of a 15-hour workweek due to productivity gains has not come true... has it?

Laplace's demon is a mythical entity that knows every particle's location & momentum in the universe, allowing it to predict all past and future states based on physical laws.

Societies have a proven track record of increasing safety and reducing accidents over time, demonstrating how human norms and feedback mechanisms can effectively domesticate technology for human benefit. Maybe there is hope?