In 1986, Larry Cuban, a professor of education at Stanford University, reviewed the history of radio, movies, and television in schools and he observed a common pattern. First, advocates argued the technology could be used to make teaching more efficient and more effective. Second, dubious research (frequently supported by the manufacturers of the technologies) was Read More
Category: Technology
Brief Introduction to Hashtags
I was amazed to encounter some educators recently who did now know what hashtags are… here is the answer I gave them. Hashtags are terms added to tweets that follow a # sign. These can be used to indicate the subject of a Tweet, so that different users can contribute to a topic; users can Read More
No One Has All of the #edtech Expertise
One lesson that has arisen from the spring of 2020 for educational technology professionals and the faculty and staff whose work gives ours purpose is (ostensibly) improved by ours is that no one individual has all of the expertise that is necessary for effective online or remote teaching and learning. While few will be surprised Read More
Education in Spring 2020: The Digital Divide
When I started working in educational technology, scholars and practitioners were concerned with the “digital divide” that existed in schools. Some populations (white, male, and rich) were more likely to have access to computers in schools. When it was first recognized, the digital divide was specific to access to hardware at school. Over time, schools Read More
Humans and Technology
My experiences have convinced me that computer-mediated communication is fundamental to life in the 21st century; humans adopt (with increasing rapidity) the information technologies in their environment and humans adapt their communication habits to the tools. Humans also exapt technology; they find new and unintended uses for technologies.
The Technology Fallacy
Books about “the digital future” are everywhere. I would look at my bookshelf and name some that have affected my thinking in the last few years (actually decades now), but they are in my office on the campus that has been closed for 10 weeks now. The Technology Fallacy: How People are the Real Key Read More
Profile of an Early Adopter
This is an excerpt from some work I did recently in which I described school leaders whose adoption of technology planning appeared to reflect Rogers’ (2003) stages of adoption of innovations. Our school had been struggling with some aspects of our educational technology. Both our teachers and our technology people were trying, but we seemed Read More
The Future of Change: How Technology Shapes Social Revolutions
For more than a generation, we have heard that “information technology is causing deep changes in how we communicate.” There has been a steady stream of literature supporting the claim, along with others who reject the claim. In the 2020 book, The Future of Change: How Technology Shapes Social Revolutions, Ray Brescia make the claim that Read More
In Case You Didn’t Know, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
I walked past the books in the discount retailer I was visiting to purchase storage supplies for my wife’s home office. When she arrived at the section she needed, she noticed I was not with her. When I finally caught up with her, she noticed the book in my hands: Walter Isaacson’s 2014 The Innovators: Read More
Conceptualizing Technology in Education
As information and computer technology (ICT) has become more deeply embedded in curriculum and instruction, technology planning has become an essential part of school leadership. School leaders are expected to take steps to ensure students use technology for diverse learning activities, so infrastructure must be installed and managed, and teachers must be trained in its Read More