The term “wireless” can be applied to two types of IT networks that are commonly accessed by students and teachers. Individuals who carry smartphones and some tablet computers into school buildings connect those devices to the network of cellular phone towers. Those connections depend on the owner having an active account with a provider and Read More
Category: Technology
Papert’s Three Phases of Educational Technology
In 1994, Seymour Papert, the mathematician from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was a pioneer in using computer programming to teach mathematics to young children, suggested that the history of computers in schools could be deconstructed into three phases. First, there was a brief time when innovative educators had computers in their classrooms and Read More
Edtech for Edleaders: Choose Two
68: #edtech for Educational Leaders: Choose Two IT professionals confirm leaders, including educational leaders, want systems that are: Inexpensive; Designed and installed quickly; Of high quality. When faced with those three design needs, the IT professional usually responds with “choose two.” While this is often done in an attempt to introduce humor into the conversation, Read More
Edtech for Edleaders: IP Addresses
73: Edtech for Education Leaders: IP Addresses I continue to have conversations with school leaders who lack basic understanding of the technology they (accurately) claim is such a vital part of their schools. While I am encouraged that we have professionals who backgrounds in education running schools rather than professionals with backgrounds in IT running Read More
Diversifying the Fleet of School Computing Devices
74: Diversifying the Fleet of School Computing Devices School and technology leaders have interesting choices when purchasing devices for students and teachers that they did not have even a few years ago. Whereas they once purchased desktop or laptop computers, they can now choose from: Internet-only notebooks (i.e. Chromebooks)—These are inexpensive devices that are easy Read More
Hypothes.is
I have become numb to the messages, tweets, blog posts, and other social media summarizing “the top x tools to do y with technology.” The x is a number that is way too large… if you are pro-porting to be an expert by going public with your recommendation, then tell me *the best* tool in Read More
What Plato Said About Writing
75: What Plato Said About Writing The role of microcomputers in curriculum and instruction has been debated since they first arrived in schools; some advocate for quick adoption of every new tool while others advocate for avoiding digital technology altogether. Disparate perceptions of emerging information technologies among educators is not a new phenomenon. In his Read More
Understanding the Quality of #edtech
“So, is my school’s technology good enough?” is a question that principals and curriculum coordinators and superintendents ask—of course they don’t usually ask it when their IT coordinators or staff are within ear shot. The reality is that most school administrators do not have the expertise to assess the IT for which they are responsible. Read More
Three Choices When Faced with Technology
79: Three Choices When Faced with Technology Technology is a permanent part of society and culture. For decades, scholars who study technology and society have documented the active influences of technology on individuals who experience it and on institutions that reflect it in the organizations that emerge. These effects are particularly acute for educators. The Read More
Deconstructing #edtech
The question of just what should we educational technology professionals spend their time and energy doing and what school leaders should expect of the IT professionals they hire is one that has been raised by several within my network in the last year or so. The answer that I tend to give is this one: Read More