Author: Gary Ackerman

Avoiding Phishing Schemes

I was recently asked to suggest tips for reducing the potential for folks to fall for phishing attempts. Here is what I proposed:

Thoughts on The Human Test

I just finished Ron Folman’s 2025 book The Human Test: How Predictability, Creativity, and the Quantum Mind Will Redefine Life in the Age of AI. Folman’s book opens with ahypothetical story of Eve, who was in his lab looking at atoms, and asked the question “Are they alive?” My mind immediately went to 10th grade Read More

Reflecting on Telephones

Another old piece, that still seems to have relevance: Human communication is influenced by the technology used to communicate. Ostensibly, this seems an obvious statement of a simple relationship. In the 21st century, we observe on a daily basis people (usually people young that we are– this statement is true of almost anyone who is Read More

Learning According to School

Here is another post motivated by my clean out of old files. In 2013, I prepared a conference presentation (which was never delivered due to a scheduling problem). In that presentation, I claimed the dominant model of learning that seemed to be accepted by schools was grounded on six assumptions: I believe the assumptions remain Read More

Troubleshooting Computers

Computers are here. Computer are not going away. Computers are complex systems. Complex systems break. It is not a matter of “if my computer malfunctions,” it is a matter of “when my computer malfunctions.” All educators must have some skill at troubleshooting some of the simple problems that can arise when using a computer. There Read More

Thoughts on Data from Two Decades Ago

As an educator, I cannot go to a meeting where “the data show” is used in one version or another. I appreciate the role of data when we draw conclusions. This character of my nature is deeply embedded in my professional life; it started with my undergraduate studies in science and continued during my life Read More

The Answer to Students Using AI Is Here, Just as It Always Was

I recently observed (but did not participate in) a conversation of higher education faculty and (to no one’s surprise) AI came up when they were asked about challenges they face. Although the research seems somewhat ambiguous, and the recommendations are even mor ambiguous, I think we can confidently assume that most of our students are using AI to complete their work.  Because I did not participate in the conversations, Read More

What Students Learn

Curriculum leaders have focused intently in recent years on outcomes. Education, they claim, must be directed by outcomes that are specific and measurable. While there is evidence such outcomes can contribute to learning in some settings, most educators counter there are other aspects of becoming educated that are equally or even more valuable, but that Read More

Supporting Teaching in an Age of AI 

A synopsis of a paper I developed at a conference earlier this spring: Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) arrived in schools in a serious way in the final months of 2022 when ChatGPT became widely available (Emmert-Streib, 2024). Since then, GAI has followed a pattern familiar to those who study technology. Commonly called the Gartner hype cycle (Dedehayir & Read More