Computers break; they break frequently. Timely repairs of IT systems are essential in schools. For much of the history of computers in schools, the “timeliness” of repairs was ill-defined and not critical. The strategic goal of schools is ostensibly to “help students learn to consume and create information.” When most information was created and consumed Read More
Category: Technology
Three Questions about Technology Planning
School and technology planners must answer three questions: “What are we doing?” “Why are we doing it?” and “How shall we do it?” Planners typically address those questions in the order written. The “what” question has greatest urgency as it determines the actions that will be taken by technicians and teachers, thus the experiences of Read More
The Paradox of Moving Goals
Goals seem a natural part of human organizations and design; we define what we want, then take steps to achieve what we want. Those who have been involved with defining or achieving goals are likely familiar with the phenomenon of “moving goals.” We observe this when a goal is defined and when we are getting Read More
On Social and Technology-Rich Education
Education. Ever since there have been humans, they have invented methods of teaching. The need to teach arises from our nature as social and technology-using creatures. Humans need to teach the young how to survive (what to eat and how to find it, how to modify the world for survival and comfort, and what is Read More
The Problem with #edtech Integration
In the 2006 edition of a popular textbook for courses designed for educators learning to create technology-rich classrooms, Robyler (2006) defined integrating educational technology as “the process of determining which electronic tools and which methods of implementing them are appropriate responses to given classroom situations and problems” (p. 9). This idea had been a staple Read More
On #edtech Management
Management refers to those organizational practices that affect how decisions are made and how resources are used. The arrival of computers in schools did add another to the management tasks necessary in schools as it became necessary to draft and approve policies related to technology (acceptable use policies for example), to plan for both large Read More
On #edtech Changes
Comparing the first desktop computers used in schools to the computing devices available to students and teachers today, one can see important differences in the nature of the computing tasks that can be done, the rapidity and ease of data sharing, and the amount of data that can be shared, as well as the senses Read More
#edtech Access isn’t Sufficient
In 1993, Seymour Papert imagined two time-traveling professionals from 100 years earlier; he speculated the physician would be flummoxed by the technology as well as the work of doctors and nurses in the 20th century clinic, but the teacher would find the technology and the work in a 20th century classroom very familiar. Papert based Read More
When Computers Started School
Historians of technology trace the beginnings of computers from the analytic machine of Charles Babbage in the 19th century. The history of electronic digital computing is usually measured from the creation of Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the computer built to handle the massive computations necessary for military applications (including for the Manhattan Project Read More
Humans and Computers
My social media feeds have been filled with many stories about “the next big thing” in technology and education. I suppose we expect such lists to be popular at important (and arbitrary) transitions like the end of one decade and the beginning of next. (For me, I am a few short weeks from working as Read More