In the first decade desktop computers were in schools, most teachers had little experience with computer technology, so dedicating professional development resources to train teachers in the basic operation of systems (tasks such launching applications, creating and editing documents, and saving and printing) was appropriate and necessary. Soon thereafter, the local area networks and the Read More
Category: Edtech for IT
Elevator Pitch: Leveraging #edtech
I used to recoil when the term “leverage” was applied to computers in educational settings; I had heard too many administrators and vendors describe how some tool could be “leveraged to improve student outcomes.” As we chatted while waiting for a meeting to begin, an English-teaching colleague pointed out that the word really does apply Read More
An Old Guy’s Story of Media
The need to train and retrain teachers has taken on increased importance as digital computers have arrived in schools. As an undergraduate student enrolled in a course on teaching methods, I made an appointment with the staff at a small media office and had them sign a sheet confirming that I successfully threaded a film Read More
It Isn’t Your Parents’ #edtech
For generations, a fundamental purpose of schools has been to give students experience using the dominant information technology and data sources. When the dominant data type was printed and scripted on paper, education took a very familiar format. Reading, writing, performing calculations on paper, and drawing on paper became the fundamental skills practiced as one Read More
File Formats
We have been teaching in online classrooms for decades now, and I still see faculty–many faculty–who take the files they create with their productivity suites and upload them for students. When they do this, they impose an unnecessary level of complexity on students. In some cases, they cannot open the files as they lack the Read More
Another Look at TPCK
Several years ago, I posted on TPCK. This post further develops my understanding of it. In 2006, scholars Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler from Michigan State University detailed the TPACK framework. According to this model, three types of knowledge affect educator’s use of technology. These three define seven independent and combined domains of knowledge. Read More
IT and School Curriculum Planning
Educators are constantly reviewing what they teach. Many regulatory agencies require curriculum documents to be updated, and professional organizations update curriculum suggestions as well. IT professionals are often expected to participate in some of these efforts. Although IT professionals will not make recommendations about what should be taught, they are asked to participate in curriculum Read More
What Makes School Unusual for IT Professionals
There are many types of institutions that are labeled “school.” In the United States, the public institutions that enroll students in kindergarten through grade 12 come to mind. Students typically enroll in these schools after they have turned five years old and graduate just after they have turned 18. Much that happens in these schools is observed Read More
On Student Users
Students, of course, comprise the greatest number of IT users in schools. When considered together, k-12 students represent a group with a very wide range of skill sets and needs. The youngest students have emerging literacy and numeracy skills, and their hands are too small to fit on full sized keyboards in the manner they Read More
Cheap, Good, Fast: Choose Two
Conflicting goals or purposes is a theme commonly encountered in technology planning. There is a well-established heuristic that originated in project management that is used by technology leaders to describe computer and network system design and purchase options for the organizational leaders. It is frequently with humor that technology leaders will say, “Cheap, good, fast, Read More