In 1993, Seymour Papert imagined two time-traveling professionals from 100 years earlier; he speculated the physician would be flummoxed by the activity and the technology in the 20th century clinic, but the teacher would find the activity and the technology in a 20th century classroom very familiar. Papert based his speculations on the degree to Read More
Category: Technology
On QR Codes
We are beginning to see QR (quick response) codes more frequently. At least I am seeing them in advertisements and other places where we have heard for decades they were going to arrive. The idea behind a QR code is rather simple. A URL is changed into a square (or different shaped) composed of a Read More
edtech for IT: Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
In 2000, the United States federal government passed the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) which is intended to protect children from inappropriate information on the Internet. Specifically, CIPA requires schools that receive e-rate funds to install and maintain filters to restrict access to inappropriate sites. CIPA does allow the filter to be disabled when only adults are Read More
edtech for IT: On IT Users in Schools
Compared to IT users in business, IT users in schools are much different. They bring different skills to the IT they use, they need more flexibility more often than business users, and their needs change over time (only to return to the original need). These characteristics arise from the facts that students have emerging literacies; Read More
Edtech for IT: Scheduling Resources
Prior to the wide-spread adoption of one-to-one initiatives, most computing resources in schools were shared. As a result, it was necessary to adopt a strategy for scheduling time in the computer room, presentation spaces with high-quality projectors, and similar resources that existed in small numbers. Since one-to-one computing has become the norm in schools, the Read More
IT for Education Leaders: Networks
Because Google Workspaces and cloud-based data systems are used for all aspects of teaching and learning as well as school operations; secure, robust, and reliable network infrastructure is vital to schools. For many decisions about what to install and how to configure it, school IT professionals must engage educators and others who are affected by Read More
edtech for IT: Google Workspaces
Since it was introduced in 2005, then made available to schools at no cost a few years later, “Google Docs” has changed the educational technology landscape. Since then, the platform has undergone nearly continuous upgrading and updating, and renaming. In 2023, it is called Google Workspaces and the basic level of service which includes productivity Read More
On User Devices in Schools
Cell phones have been arriving in schools in the packets of students for the entirety of the 21st century. For most of this century, the cell phones they have been bringing into schools are smartphones which can distract students with a myriad of channels for communications and apps. Those channels for communication and apps can Read More
On Generative AI and Assignments
One bit of advice given to teachers that seems to be common in this year since generative AI stormed on to the educational landscape is “if your assignments can be done by ChatGPT, then it is time to update the assignment.” While that may be true, the reality is that few teachers want to hear Read More
Standardization of IT
Schools are characterized by large numbers of users all with similar technological needs. For example, in a school enrolling 500 students in the middle grades and providing one device for each student will need 500 identical devices. Deploying identical devices is particularly important for school populations as teachers must plan for all students to have Read More