In 2018, one of my high school classmates wrote Educational Inequality and School Finance: Why Money Matters for America’s Students (Baker, 2018) in which he takes a close look at the myth “we are spending more, but getting less” out of our school budgets in the United States. Looking back on more than 30 years Read More
Category: Schools
The Coming Revolution in Education
If you knew me, you would not be surprised to hear that I have a book on my “to read” pile named The Revolution in the Schools. The edited volume begins in a promising manner; the second paragraph of the Introduction states: Revolution always look impossible before the fact, inevitable afterward. So it is with the Read More
A Little #edtech History: Connecting Schools
Once the World Wide Web became available in the mid-1990’s, the Internet changed from being a resource for academic and government researchers to being a tool for commerce and the people. Many educators recognized the World Wide Web as an opportunity for students to access previously unavailable resources. Because few schools had the network infrastructure Read More
A Little #edtech History: Computers Arrive on Desktops
In the 1970’s computers entered the consumer market, and hobbyists began purchasing computers. By 1982, personal computers could be purchased for less than $1000, and amateur enthusiasts (including children) were writing their own programs to satisfy their own interests and curiosities. In that year, Joseph Deken, a statistician working at Stanford University who had received Read More
Ethics and Data Collection in Schools
A part of all education research is recognizing one’s responsibility to proceed in a manner that respects the subjects, the process, and the community. Ethical researchers do not endanger the physical or emotional health of subjects, and they take steps to ensure the privacy of subjects and preserve subjects’ right to withdraw without penalty. Also, Read More
Jerome Bruner’s Observation of Education
In describing education as a social invention, Bruner (1966) suggested each generation of educators engages in a process of revising educational theory and realigning the resulting practice in response to changes in human understanding. Bruner reasoned (a) the need to update education arises from advances in understanding of human growth, development, and learning; (b) advances Read More
The Purposes of Education
In response to several diverse factors, the curriculum in K-12 schools has expanded in recent decades so that it now includes topics such as advanced mathematics including computer programming, a broad survey of the sciences including the social sciences, foreign languages, performing arts, visual arts, physical education, health, and the trades. Despite evidence that experiences Read More
Curriculum Repositories Defined
Teachers’ capacity to use technology in classrooms is also improved by the easy availability of technology-based activities and lessons that are aligned with their curriculum needs. Dexter, Morgan, Jones, and Meyer (2016) observed that accessible resources (those that could be incorporated into classrooms with minimal adaptation) were associated with greater use of technologies. This led Read More
UNITY Project– An Art Installation
A high school art teacher worked with his students and the entire student body to create this piece: In the center is the school’s flagpole… it is in the center of the walkway to the main entrance. Surrounding the pole are smaller ones which are labeled. Students tie a string to the pole, then go Read More
Misbehavior, Unethical Behavior, and Grades
I observed an interesting conversation recently. A teacher had observed a student cheating during an assessment. She brought it to the attention of a school administrator as she had contacted the student’s parents (which she is expected to do in this situation). The conversation quickly turned to the consequences. The teacher intended to not allow Read More