AI has been here for a much longer than “ChatGPT” which has been garnering so much attention since late 2022. There have been a number of books and articles and special journal issues dedicated to the understanding it, considering its potential effects, and advising individuals and group on how to successfully navigate this new world. Read More
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Are They Learning? How Do We Know?
I posted a tweet recently that seemed to motivate folks to engage. I posted: What if students learn, but can't perform on assessments? — Dr. Gary Ackerman (@GaryAckermanPhD) November 23, 2023 The responses to my tweet suggest there are some educators have not yet abandoned the platform, and those who remain are thoughtful about the Read More
How Malware Protection Works
Because it is installed through stealth methods, one usually does not know their computer is infected, or even that a file which appears benign is in fact malware. Both IT professionals who manage enterprise networks and the individuals who manage desktop and laptop computers for their own use have options for installing and configuring software Read More
Cleaning Gary’s Library
Gary is cleaning out his library. Buy his books on ebay.
Vygotsky was Right
Alex Kozulin noted in the prologue to his book Vygotsky’s Psychology (1990), For Vygotsky, one’s psychology is the product of complex dynamics between the individual and his or her social environment, and new discoveries raise more questions that can only be understood using inclusive methods. For Vygtosky, learning is a social process.
Thinking About Free Speech and Echo Chambers
As I speak with students today, issues of free speech are important. Young people do appear to have a libertarian view, but they are not speaking and listening in a marketplace of ideas. The echo chamber is alive and well and severely limiting access to ideas. Further, young people (and those my age as well) Read More
Legacy Educators Are Like Legacy Programmers
Occasionally, we hear about a legacy computer system that is in danger of failure and the failure will be disastrous. Calls go out to long-retired programmers who had expertise in the long-abandoned language who make the necessary repairs. I imagine a time soon when similar calls will go out to teachers who remember teaching before Read More
Prompts for Replies
Students in online courses that include discussions frequently complain the task is a burden, the discussions are disappointing, and they contribute little to their building of new knowledge. Students report that the prompts used to focus discussions can make the board more interesting. If the prompt simply has them restate information from a text, they Read More
On Correct Answers
The multiple-choice question has been a staple of educational assessment for generations and that makes sense. They are easy to create (unless of course we design good ones) and they are easy to administer and to grade. Educators also find they are very comforting. We can have confidence that students who give the correct answer Read More
The Scientific Attitude
“What is science?” Is a question that has held the attention of philosophers for quite some time. At least that is the contention of Lee McIntyre in his 2019 The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience. The author reviews many of the problems in the field including demarcation (how do we clearly Read More