For some decades, I advocated for “technology-rich” schools. My work was supporting IT infrastructure and teaching teachers to use technology. At the time, we were all concerned with the “digital divide,” the fact that schools in affluent communities had plenty of devices and connections compared to the scant digital resources in schools located in poor Read More
Category: Technology
“Is necessity the mother of invention?”
David Nye (2006) a historian of technology from Denmark observed that “the central purpose of technologies has not been to provide necessities, such as food and shelter, for humans had achieved these goals very early in their existence” (2). Nye and others find that the adage “necessity is the mother of invention” is just the Read More
Technology and Humans
A few years ago, I enrolled in a few massive open online courses (MOOC’s) so that I could more completely understand these opportunities for learners. In the time since, I have enrolled in many others, and completed a few. While cleaning out my YouTube videos, I rediscovered the video artifact I created for E-learning and Read More
Technology is Recursive
Every technology comprises other technologies. As a result, any technology can be deconstructed into its component technologies, and each technology can be understood as part of a larger complex of technologies. Scholars refer to systems that occur at multiple levels in this manner as “recursive.” Although related and connected, the component technologies can be considered Read More
Efficacious #edtech
If information technology is to be used to realize the strategic goal of allowing students to fully participate in the digital world, then it must be appropriately used, properly configured, and reasonably supported. Deficiencies in any of these aspects of technology management are a serious threat to the overall efficacy of the IT managers. To Read More
#Edtech for #Edleaders: Whom to Hire: Technology Integration Specialists
For decades, those responsible for organizing and presenting in-service professional development for educators have used a variety of models for providing learning experiences for teachers, and these have been designed to support all aspects of TPCK and to accommodate the needs of individual learners. These activities tended to reflect training in other professional organizations (especially Read More
Technologies and Structural Deepening
When a technology developed for one purpose is applied to another purpose, the receiving technology is said to be structurally deeper as it becomes more complex than it was before the new module was added. Structural deepening can arise from several different causes: Users of a technology will actively seek to improve the performance of Read More
#Edtech for #Edleaders: Network Planning and Installation
96: #Edtech for #Edleaders: Network Planning and Installation An information technology network is much like other technologies as the expertise needed to design and build it is much more specialized and expensive to than the expertise needed to manage and operate it once it exists. Consider how an IT system in a school is similar Read More
Edtech for Edleaders: Whom to Hire: Data Specialists
A relatively new specialist to join the IT staff is the data specialist. The need for this specialist arises from both the skills necessary to manage the databases in which demographic, health, behavioral, academic, and other information that is housed regarding students and the increasing demand for data-driven practices. Schools store vast amounts of data Read More
#Edtech for #Edleaders: Beta-Testing
“Beta-testing” is a term that is kicked around in the vernacular and in the popular culture, but it is actually a part of the system design and deployment work of IT professionals that is taken very seriously by the most successful IT designers. Beta-testing refers to the stage in design when the system is first Read More