214: Configuration Matters with School IT All IT users know the systems work well sometimes and they don’t work well other times. Systems function well only when they are properly configured, and IT professionals (usually) complete formal programs of study to learn the craft of configuring IT and pass professional exams to verify they know Read More
Innovation is defined as “doing things differently.” In education, leaders, including technology leaders, must negotiate a balance between existing practices and innovation. Educators are professionals who are deeply invested in what they do and how they do it. While “we have always done or this way” is too often given excuse for not implementing new practices, including those thought to be improvements, it is also given Read More
echnology comprises hardware, software, network infrastructure, cloud platforms, and personnel resources. IT leaders must be prepared to accurately assess each when making technology procurement decisions. The assessment must integrate both internal and external factors. The internal factors are grounded in the contingencies described in a previous section. Software, for example, has system requirements, and if the existing hardware and operating systems do not meet those requirements, and there are not sufficient funds Read More
This post was motivated by a quote (see it below) from an unpublished piece I wrote a few years ago. Individuals who have developed the skills we once taught as a liberal education seems to be exactly what we need in society right now. We could also use educators, law makers, regulators, philanthropists, and other Read More
Fifteen years ago, I was teaching high school courses. I used to give my students “how to write essay questions” advice when they were preparing for exams. Near the end of one seasons, a senior asked me, “How come no one ever told us this?” As a result, I created this file. I wonder if Read More
203: An #edtech Problem No One Talks About This is an excerpt from a chapter I wrote a few years ago (this is not the version that went into the version). It contains what I believe is a problem preventing much progress in using educational technology effectively. The TL;DR version: School leaders are reluctant to Read More
I have been cleaning out old digital files. Here is an interesting piece I found:
This is another post that I wrote after reading old papers written when I was a graduate student… this one from 1999. Our goal for students is typically understanding; we don’t want our students to simply recall, we hope to see in them knowledge of facts and comprehension on concepts. But maybe we don’t. Actually, Read More
Almost all management and leadership teams focus on their work by establishing goals. It is reasoned that decisions and actions in the organization must be directed towards the desired state described by the goals. Just like in all organizations, goals and the actions undertaken to achieve them do exist on several levels. It is important to examine the nature of the Read More
During one week when I was managing IT for a small rural school, I encountered two examples of how educators do not understand the nature of enterprise systems. On Monday, a teacher brought me a sale paper for a local box store retailer (it was early in the holiday gift buying season). She told me she had $300 Read More