The adjectives “robust” and “reliable” are used to describe IT networks. Robust describes the capacity of the network to connect users and provided them with the network information each request in a timely manner. A robust network will allow many users in a classroom to connect with little delay, and there will be little latency Read More
Category: Technology Planning
Shared Computing Resources in Schools
While computer rooms have largely fallen out of favor in schools (they were perceived to the removing computing from the classroom where most learning occurs), they continue to be maintained on many schools. As more diverse computing devices have emerged, computer rooms have become more important for providing capacity for specialized purposes that require sophisticated Read More
Improving Conceptual Artifacts
Conceptual artifacts are ideas that we use in planning, but these are ideas whose definitions never change. We are all familiar with the compromises that we make when planning and decision-making, but when planning is organized around conceptual artifacts, we do not compromise on what we mean. When planning with conceptual artifacts we cannot even Read More
Why Educational Design Research
A previous post described educational design research, a method for designing and understanding interventions: Educational Design Research: An Emerging Planning Tool In this post, I continue developing the rationale for using this method. Compared to other planning methods and other methods of gathering data and evidence, educational design research may be perceived as necessitating greater Read More
Barriers to #edtech Efficacy
If information technology is to be used to realize the strategic goal of allowing students to fully participate in the digital world, then it must be appropriately used, properly configured, and reasonably supported. Deficiencies in any of these aspects of technology management are a serious threat to the overall efficacy of the IT managers. To Read More
IT and Control
Early in the history of electronic digital computing, computers were large devices that filled rooms. During this phase of their evolution, the calculation to be performed by the computer was hard-wired into the circuits. Changing the calculation required technicians to physically reconfigure the circuits following the direction of the computer engineers. Lohr (2001) observed the Read More
Data Sources for Understanding #edtech
If we hope to make technology an easy-to-use and useful educational technology that is also secure and reliable, school and technology leaders must gather data to understand the information and instructional technology (I&IT) in schools: Users’ perspectives—There is a rich body of research that supports the conclusion that perceived ease of use and usefulness is Read More
Updating UTAUT Instrument
Technology acceptance is an idea that has recurred in this blog, and with good reason. I have used it as a guiding principle in the design of instructional technology for more than a decade. Specific posts where it is featured are: #edtech for #edleaders: Measuring Technology Acceptance The Application of Technology Acceptance to Educational Design Read More
Usability in #edtech
Usability is a factor that has been recognized as playing a role in the widespread adoption of ICT to meet the strategic and logistic goals of businesses and industries other than education. Designers recognize that usable systems decrease extraneous cognitive load, and thus facilitate knowledge building. In general, usability is associated with the extent to Read More
A Closer Look at Educational Data
Educational data has been a recurring theme on this blog. In this post, I continue considering the nature of data in education and the nature of data in science… comparing and contrasting the two. Constructs and Instruments Scientists are always specific about what they are measuring, and there are accepted methods for measuring these quantities. Read More