Lawrence Lessig, a law professor at Harvard, founded the Creative Commons in 2001. This non-profit organization supports authors who apply Creative Commons licenses to the works they create. While materials published under any Creative Commons license (as of 2022 there are seven different licenses) are available at no cost, they are still copyrighted, but—depending on Read More
Category: Technology
edtech for IT: What They Teach- Coding
Coding, of course, refers to teaching students how to program. Coding can be it’s own subject in school (such as high schools participating the Advanced Placement Computer Science courses), it can be incorporated into other lessons (such as middle school math students coding with Scratch in mathematics courses), or it can be the focus of Read More
My Response to ChatPGT
Some colleagues in IT departments and I had a chat about ChatGPT and similar tools yesterday. It was interesting to get the perspective of those who work primarily in IT rather than in education. As our chat ended, we were considering how to respond to calls to block access on our institutional networks. Here is Read More
#edtech for #IT: On Instructional Technology
Of the digital information technology available in schools a part is used by teachers and learners for their interactions; this is the technology I define as instructional technology. The technology that falls into this category must be affordable, usable, and operational and used to engage learners. Affordable. Traditionally, schools have small budgets for technology, and Read More
Teaching by Technology
When using test-preparation software, skills-building websites, typing tutors, and similar tools, students are experiencing teaching by technology. For previous generations of technology-using teachers, “edutainment” software was a popular method for teaching by technology. This software found students (for example) playing games in which they earned points by quickly answering math problems. One of the more popular uses Read More
On Information
Another observation from ca. 2008: For educators, the penetration of computer networks into the classroom has been simultaneously a great advantage and a great distraction. Using media in previous generations, teachers could be sure an editor working within some system of accountability had approved the information, and one could be reasonably sure that media selected Read More
On Internet Publishing
I recently discovered this prargraph that I wrote about 15 years ago. I was prescient: The milieu of information sources is further complicated by the fact that the hardware and software necessary to publish to the Internet is available on even the most modest computer systems in use today, and that connections to the Internet Read More
On Human Communication Technology
Prior to the invention of digital electronic computers, humans had a long history of using information technologies. Even before the invention of writing, humans were inventing soft technologies for string information outside of a single human brain. Pre-literate cultures used communal storytelling, myths, and poems are all inventions used in cultures to share and store Read More
Teaching with Technology
Teaching with technology has been called technology integration in many sources. This finds teachers incorporating technology into the lessons they would teach without technology. In addition to adopting technology to present the lesson, teaching with technology often finds the teachers adapting the lesson. They will both make planning decisions about the lessons based on the technology tools Read More
Teaching About Technology
Teaching about technology was common when computers first arrived in educational markets. Called computer literacy at the time, it focused on teaching students the names and functions of systems rather than how to use them. This was a very reasonable approach at the time as few individuals had computers in their homes and one of the most Read More