For generations, one of the questions teachers must contemplate and answer for themselves is “What do I want my students to be able to do with the lessons I teach them?” As I have answered that question, I have come to view my answers along a continuum. My continuum of goals I have for students Read More
Author: Gary Ackerman
Students, Teachers, and Effective Lessons
The time since COVID, I have noticed a growing trend in posts related to teaching on social media. In a nutshell: Teachers are “complaining” the students are “doing nothing.” They are getting pushback suggesting they need to make their courses more interesting and engaging. This is certainly not a new trend—I recall both the complaints Read More
Text Written by AI: Five Questions and Answers
Students are using generative AI to write papers. It seems scholars are as well. (https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-this-doctor-wrote-dozens-of-science-papers-with-chatgpt) So, what are we to make of all of this? What is the future of intellectual works when they can be generated by AI? I wonder, first, how is this different from the other tools we use to extend human Read More
On Trusting Students
There are three signals that you have been hanging out (either physically or virtually) the people you should be. In the last week, I experienced all three. At the New England Educational Research Organization’s annual conference, I attended a session in which two papers were presented. The authors of these papers “proved” I was right Read More
Generative AI: Six Months In
I am no longer a full-time teacher, but I support a community of full-time and adjunct faculty and I am an adjunct faculty member. Throughout the almost 40 years of my professional life (I started my undergraduate preparation to be a teacher in the fall of 1983), I have been a user of technology in Read More
#edtech for IT: Digital Divides
Since about 2010, one-to-one computing and cloud-based computing have come to dominate school computing. In many schools, students carry Chromebook with them, and sometimes they take them home. (While the market share of educational computing devices is difficult to ascertain, estimates are that Chromebooks represent over 60% of the devices purchased for school users.) Some Read More
On Teachers’ Technology Knowledge
Technological knowledge refers to one’s ability to use digital tools. Over time, the tools that provide educational relevant capacity have expanded. Today, we include: Exactly which tools one uses depends on personal preferences, those used in one’s profession, and those provided by the school where one teaches. We can differentiate two types of technological Read More
On Training
Many professionals are drawn to education because they have been successful trainers in their field of work. Individuals who assume this role in business and industry are often motivated to share their expertise and experience, and access to these leaders who are instructors is one advantage that community college students enjoy. It is important for Read More
On Systems
All of the systems have common elements. By looking for these characteristics, and using these characteristics when studying the systems of interest, technologists, scientists, and engineers can more quickly solve problems and design solutions. Order. All systems are recognized by some sort of order, parts and boundaries can be recognized and measured. Order also gives Read More
On Using Data
We hear lots of folks talking about how data-driven they are today, but it seems these folks are often woefully unaware of the fundamental principles of data collection, analysis and presentation. Specific principles I see missing in “data-driven” folks are: If we are to claim to be data-driven in our decisions, then we are responsible Read More