Recent decades have found educators sharply focusing on performance. This arises from the dominance of standards to guide curriculum. At all levels of education, we define what it is that students are supposed to know and do, translate that into learning objectives, then check students’ performance on assessments that (ostensibly) measure the degree to which Read More
Author: Gary Ackerman
Technology Literacy
Technology literacy has been on my mind. My definition is inexact, but I can recognize it in people. You might be able to judge your own technology literacy by reflecting on how you react to new technology. For this post, I am going to ignore those who enthusiastically accept any new device. These folks are goo to Read More
A Gap in Education
The foundational idea of education is that students are able to “do something” after the process is complete that they could not do before. What students can do depends on the experiences that comprise their education. There seems to be two competing versions of what we hope our students will be able to do after Read More
On Data Collection
“Data” has become the mantra of educators for more than a generation. In my observations of these folks, there seems to be little regard for the quality of our data or the ethics whereby it is collected. Forty years ago, the OECD published eight principles of data collection that still provide good guidance… as long Read More
On Doing Nothing
Decision making is an interesting activity. Ostensibly, we want leaders who step up and take action. We seek decisive leaders who step up and “get something done.” The reality, however, is that we often find those who make the best decisions do nothing… at least initially. Obviously, there are emergency situations in which one must Read More
Lessons Learned from a Lesson on the Freedom of Speech
Like many, I have been thinking a lot about freedom of speech lately. My purpose in this post is not to comment on that freedom. I have always been a strong advocate for free speech, but speech and actions are not the same. These events have brought me back to my high school days. I know how faulty Read More
Adding a Video Introduction to Your Virtual Classroom
The one feature of my online classroom that students always say they appreciate is the video introductions. (I teach completely online courses at a community college that offers face-to-face, hybrid, and online versions of courses I teach. My students typically are taking most of their courses in each of those three modalities.) There are three Read More
Being Data-Driven is Nothing to Brag About
Being Data-Driven is Nothing to Brag About (c) 2016 Dr. Gary L. Ackerman “Data-driven” has been the mantra of educators for the last generation. This mantra captures the practice of using students’ performance on tests to make instructional decisions. This model can be criticized for several reasons including the dubious reliability and validity of tests, Read More
High-Quality Online Courses #4: File Formats & Devices
Instructors have many options when creating materials for students. They may have various operating systems, productivity suites, and media creation applications on their devices. Students may not have the same devices and applications installed on their computers and devices as their instructors have. As a result, students may not be able to open files that Read More
Naming Chunks and Items: Thinking About High-Quality Virtual Classrooms #4
The names given to chunks can contribute to the ease of navigating your online classroom. By giving chunks meaningful and descriptive names, instructors both make it easier to find materials and introduce organizing themes to the course. Consider these names that could be applied to a course in which students are learning to use various Read More