In locations where computers, laptops, the Internet, handhelds, and related devices have penetrated into the consumer market, ICT has become a transparent part of life making it difficult to perceive its strong sociocultural influences. From inside one of those cultures, we hardly recognize the extent to which ICT changes how businesses buy and sell, performers Read More
Technology systems are very valuable. Even a modest system can represent an investment of tens of thousands of dollars for network devices (routers, switches, access points, servers, and similar devices that users never see). The cost of software to keep the devices functioning is frequently thousands of dollars per year as well. Including personnel and Read More
“Cloud computing” is the vernacular term for computing services that are provided via a World Wide Web interface. As mobile devices have become more popular, cloud computing has become popular as well. Despite the impressive computing capacity that is available in mobile devices, they have less capacity than a laptop or desktop computer with a Read More
The central feature of every portfolio are the artifacts which are those examples and fragments of work that illustrate the learners’ skills, knowledge, and habits. It is important to note that with some exceptions, artifacts are fragments of work. Rather than including the entire paper, one will include only the abstract or the conclusion, or Read More
Vannever Bush was a scholar involved with the invention and development of electronic digital computers. In his 1945 article “As We May Think,” he predicted that computers would allow information workers to navigate and contribute to nearly infinite information pathways. He predicted workers would use a device called a memex to navigate and create paths Read More
Over the decades I have been working with digital technologies, teachers, and learners; electronic portfolios have been a recurring topic. The story usually plays out like this: I arrive in a school (maybe k-12, maybe college) and there are groups (often departments in colleges) in which there is interest in adopting electronic portfolios. I hear, Read More
The selection of technology can be a wicked problem for a community. The devices or software available are likely to have some features that are needed but are underdeveloped in the available tools, while other features that are less important will be highly developed. As a result, a poor technology selection can leave some important Read More
As a student, I attended a high school that had four computers available for students (my classmates’ recollections confirm my memories). I was thoroughly unimpressed with the devices. I had fun playing the game in which I tried to hit my opponent’s castle with projectiles. Ostensibly, the game was played to reinforce the lessons taught Read More
Multitasking is the mythic capability of people to perform more than one task at a time. A youngster who is messaging a friend on a computer computer, carrying on a text message conversation with another friend on a phone, and listening to music all while doing homework is multitasking. (So is that youngster’s parent who Read More
Yochai Benkler, a professor at Harvard Law School (2006) observed “the change brought about by the networked information environment is deep. It is structural. It goes to the very foundations of how liberal markets and liberal democracies have coevolved for almost two centuries” (p. 1). Reference Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks: How social Read More