19: TPCK Framework 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 Read More
18: 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 Read More
162: Computers Listen and Shout Two capabilities of networked computers that can be anthropomorphized are listening and shouting. When humans listen they attend to the sounds in the air and attempt to differentiate meaningful sounds from noise. When humans speak or shout, they can communicate with those who are listening. This system requires only the Read More
20: Cheap, Fast, and Good: 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 Read More
When we are responsible for managing information technology networks, especially those that are used by children and those that contain data that needs special security, we take steps to control the data that makes it onto and out of our systems. In general, we deploy three types of protections. While these will not prevent all Read More
125: School Leaders, Technology, and “Spin” “Spin” is a fact of life for school leaders. They are faced with uncomfortable situations, and they must describe them in a positive light. I have seen this firsthand during my entire adult life which has been spent in education. It is difficult to ascertain if leaders believe their Read More
12: A Harsh Reality About IT and School Leaders Information technology. All schools need it. All schools have it. All schools hire individuals with expertise in managing it to… well… manage it. In this post, I describe a reality that many recognize in their schools, but they are reluctant to admit it. This post calls Read More
For much of the history of computers in schools, the “timeliness” of repairs was ill-defined and repair deadlines were not critical. When computers were only one or two per classroom and they were only marginally used in the curriculum, a computer being inoperable for a few days or even weeks posed little disruption to students’ Read More
As educational professionals, we have unusual access to computer systems and data. We are likely to be users of many computing devices. At work, you have classroom computers, computer rooms, library computers, and mobile devices that you and those around you use. These are the devices that are most tightly secured. There are sophisticated firewalls, Read More
Perhaps the most impressive capacities of computers are those related to information manipulation and analysis. Computers can remember with precision and longevity, and computers can follow algorithms at billions of steps per second. The keyboard strokes that become digital displays that humans recognize as words and sentences are actually a series of digital signals. Those Read More