Students, of course, comprise the greatest number of IT users in schools. When considered together, k-12 students represent a group with a very wide range of skill sets and needs. The youngest students have emerging literacy and numeracy skills, and their hands are too small to fit on full sized keyboards in the manner they Read More
Category: Technology
Computers Listen and Shout
Two capabilities of networked computers that can be anthropomorphized are listening and shouting. When humans listen they attend to the sounds in the air and attempt to differentiate meaningful sounds from noise. When humans speak or shout, they can communicate with those who are listening. This system requires only the anatomy and physiology of the Read More
Cheap, Good, Fast: Choose Two
Conflicting goals or purposes is a theme commonly encountered in technology planning. There is a well-established heuristic that originated in project management that is used by technology leaders to describe computer and network system design and purchase options for the organizational leaders. It is frequently with humor that technology leaders will say, “Cheap, good, fast, Read More
How We Protect Networks
When we are responsible for managing information technology networks, especially those that are used by children and those that contain data that needs special security, we take steps to control the data that makes it onto and out of our systems. In general, we deploy three types of protections. While these will not prevent all Read More
School Leaders, Technology, and “Spin”
“Spin” is a fact of life for school leaders. They are faced with uncomfortable situations, and they must describe them in a positive light. I have seen this firsthand during my entire adult life which has been spent in education. It is difficult to ascertain if leaders believe their spin or not. We should not Read More
A Harsh Reality About IT and School Leaders
Information technology. All schools need it. All schools have it. All schools hire individuals with expertise in managing it to… well… manage it. In this post, I describe a reality that many recognize in their schools, but they are reluctant to admit it. This post calls out the inability of school leaders to provide effective Read More
Efficiency of #edtech Repairs
For much of the history of computers in schools, the “timeliness” of repairs was ill-defined and repair deadlines were not critical. When computers were only one or two per classroom and they were only marginally used in the curriculum, a computer being inoperable for a few days or even weeks posed little disruption to students’ Read More
Thought on Network Security & Educators
As educational professionals, we have unusual access to computer systems and data. We are likely to be users of many computing devices. At work, you have classroom computers, computer rooms, library computers, and mobile devices that you and those around you use. These are the devices that are most tightly secured. There are sophisticated firewalls, Read More
What Computers Do
Perhaps the most impressive capacities of computers are those related to information manipulation and analysis. Computers can remember with precision and longevity, and computers can follow algorithms at billions of steps per second. The keyboard strokes that become digital displays that humans recognize as words and sentences are actually a series of digital signals. Those Read More
Let’s Diversify Computer Education
I heard through the grapevine—one comprising trusted individuals—that a former student was interviewing for a job as an IT professional. My name came up in their conversations as members of the interview team know me and knew the candidate had been my student. The message I got through the grapevine is that my former student Read More