37: Natural Technology | RSS.com Technology has been a part of human existence since our species first evolved. Anthropologist Timothy Taylor (2010) approached a tautology when he suggested that “the intelligence that makes us inventive was enabled by inventions: the baby sling, the stone blade, and the cooking hearth” (194), but he continued “these are Read More
Author: Gary Ackerman
Three Questions about Assessment
45: Three Questions About Assessment These ideas are further supported in Technology in Support of Diverse Assessment which was prepared for the 2017 AECT Annual Conference. “Assessment” has been an important aspect of teaching and learning (or perhaps more accurately, it has been a buzzword garnering much attention) for most of my career in education. Advocates for Read More
The (Overturned) Standard Model of Education
47: The (Overturned) Standard Model of Education Words are powerful tools for human thought; once “something” is named it can be recognized and humans can both communicate about it and interact with the concept in a way they could not previously. When the named thing is not an object, but an action (or collection of Read More
IT and Users: An Inverse Relationship
Leaders often defer to the IT professionals when it comes to making decision about which IT systems to obtain and how to configure them. Unfortunately for those who want to avoid using up valuable synapses with information about IT systems, leaders are assuming an increasing role in making technology decisions. The reason leader must participate Read More
Curriculum Repository
A curriculum repository is a web site where one finds a collection of resources to support teaching and learning. In the ideal realization, it will be a file sharing site (with tagged and searchable contents) as well as tools for interaction. There are a wide range of repositories available for any users, but local school Read More
Training, Learning, Design
In educational technology, there are three distinct types of professional development activities that comprise a comprehensive system to support teachers as they become competent and confident users of information technology in their classrooms. School and technology leaders who: Train teachers to use systems; Facilitate learning about technology; Actively support design of technology-rich learning; tend to Read More
The Future of Work
Since the turn of the century, a seemingly never-ending series of advocates have told whoever will listen about the changing nature of work in the coming decades. Graphs such as this one I adapted from Levy and Murname (2005) seems to convey the typical message: In general, these advocates predict employers will value different skills Read More
Organizational Frames
48: Organizational Frames Leaders seek to affect change; they identify those parts of the organization that must become more efficient or more effective. Efficient operation means outcomes and goals are met more quickly by consuming fewer resources. More effective operation means the outcomes are more closely aligned with the intended outcomes. Leaders also seek to Read More
Technology Acceptance– Understanding Decisions to Use IT
49: Technology Acceptance Model This except is from my book Efficacious Technology Management: A Guide for School Leaders Technology acceptance model was first elucidated to understand the observation “that performance gains are often obstructed by users’ unwillingness to accept and use available systems” (Davis, 1989 p. 319), and it has been used to study decisions Read More
Educational Design Research: An Emerging Planning Tool
50: Educational Design Research: A Planning Tool for Schools Schools are institutions that leaders seek to improve. They take actions so that operations are more efficient; they take actions so that outcomes are more closely aligned with goals than they currently are. They also take actions so that new goals are achieved. Whether the improvements Read More