About 15 years ago, there was a book and article entitled Change or Die that was widely popular and that was discussed at every conference and meeting we attended for a season or two. The thesis of the book and article was simple: When faced with the choice of changing one’s behavior or dying, many humans Read More
Author: Gary Ackerman
#edtech for #edleaders: Facilitating Conditions
While educators who work in technology-rich places and spaces are likely to become more independent and capable to using it, there are aspects of maintaining technology that are beyond the expertise of educators. This is particularly true of those parts of the technology that can be disastrous to other users if they are misconfigured. Also, Read More
Some Thoughts on Online Learning
Cleaning out some files, I found one that contained a post for a blog for which I used to write. This was in my “to post” folder when I stopped blogging for the organization that sponsored the blog. I earned my Master of Arts in Education in 2000 at the local state college, and I Read More
Information Technology in Schools: An Emerging Rationale
Since computers entered the educational market in the late 1970’s, there has been debate about their appropriate role in schools. While some advocate for quick adoption of every new emerging tool, others advocate for avoiding digital technology altogether. Between those extremes we find the more rationale observers who advocate for purposeful and thoughtful approaches to Read More
My Extended Elevator Pitch on Managing #edtech
Managing school ICT must be a very collaborative effort. Many individuals are involved with steering management decisions and these individuals are charged with the greatest vision, yet the least authority. Other individuals are charged with making decisions related to legal issues and financial decision-making, and other still are involved with building and maintain the ICT Read More
My Elevator Pitch on Well-Managed Technology
In general, we can conclude that technology is being well managed when it allows users to be more productive than they would be otherwise. Because management includes financial planning, however, well-managed technology balances productivity and expectations with cost, so it does not exceed the capacity of the organizations to fund efforts. Good management requires effective Read More
What it Means to be Knowledgeable
Schooling (at whatever level it is experienced) is intended to help students become knowledgeable. Being knowledgeable is a construct we could spend many pages exploring, but let’s assume that whatever readers might have in mind is a sufficient proxy for this multi-dimensional aspect of human life. The nature of knowledge has changed over the course Read More
Time and Technology
For dramatic effect, many writers use the phrase “time has been annihilated” by modern ICT. While that seems hyperbole, it does seem reasonable to conclude that time in classrooms is changing. Tasks that once took noticeable time can be accomplished immediately and effortlessly (grading multiple choice quizzes and plotting graphs are two examples that come Read More
Leaders and Inside Expertise
Organizations plan. Especially in the last several decades as information technology globalization, and other factors have changed the nature of economic, political, and cultural interaction; leaders have sought to engage members in the work of reinventing what they do and how they do it. In some cases, these efforts are successful; in other cases, they Read More
Technology in Support of Diverse Assessment
Cleaning up some files recently, I discovered I had left this off my CV. Ackerman, G. (2017). Technology in support of diverse assessment. In M. Simonson & D. Seepersaud (Eds.). Proceedings of the 40th Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Paper presented at AECT Conference, Jacksonville, FL.