Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

When students access mainstream media, journalism sites, professional organizations' websites, or platforms like YouTube for schoolwork, they are also exposed to advertisements.

Objections to ad exposure in schools often center on the idea of commercializing students, who have little choice over the required lessons and materials.

Students' exposure to advertisements is an overlooked aspect of using IT in schools, as many online sources used for learning are funded by ads.

Educators, students, and parents object to requiring students to use online resources that are rich in advertisements while in school.

I used to work for a principal who accepted the dubious advice of a philanthropist (whose savior complex was explicit, “we save schools” was their tagline) over his staff. He reasoned, “their advice isn’t great, but they are paying the bills.”

Don’t be that principal.

Are "student-centered," "differentiated," and "individualized" education synonymous? Many teachers treat them that way, but they are very different:
https://www.hackscience.education/a-brief-field-guide-to-educational-adjectives/

A blog post differentiation differentiated , individualized, and student-centered teaching, now with audio:
https://www.hackscience.education/a-brief-field-guide-to-educational-adjectives/

Can we agree that "what you will learn" statements are really annoying and do nothing to help?

Some success comes despite the systems designed to promote it not because of them.

One thing I learned during 35 years working in schools: many teachers see a wide disconnect between teaching and learning in classrooms and the initiatives imposed by administrators. This is especially acute among those students recognize as the best teachers.

It seems being a data-driven leader means:
Leader: “The data says this.”
Other: Shows multiple data sources supporting the opposite.
Leader: “OK, but the data says this,” louder and slower.

“Look, this is simple….”
If you start with this phrase, you are wrong.

One reason I left k-12 education: I looked at the difference between my early retirement pension and my full retirement pension and realized I had no choice but to take the early retirement and get vested in another pension while I had time.

One of the primary qualifications for being a school leader seems to be the ability to look at reality and deny it.

Hey IT users… if you have been told to follow certain procedures, but you don’t, then it’s your fault it doesn’t work.

Do innovations come from Google/ Microsoft/ Apple and simulate behemoth companies?

Hey IT… if you fix it, but don’t tell anyone you haven’t really done your job.

Teachers who “focus on academics” ignore what makes this approach possible.

“This is going to be a paradigm shift” is not true (for education) if it still includes students, teachers, and curriculum in its current organization.

Yeah… natural selection is not a goal-oriented process. Things vary. Some variation benefits the organism in a time and place, some variation doesn’t. What’s left appears designed but it wasn’t.