Gary’s Blog

“In cultures that lack writing, all individuals participate in the communication life of the group without need for special training or skill. Once writing is introduced, a hierarchy of political power becomes possible with the more skilled readers and writers holding a greater share of the power. Abstract concepts such as property, law based on Read More

School and technology leaders generally concur that the IT systems in schools should be of high quality (for now, we can define “high quality” as being functioning and used for relevant purposes). Quality is also understood to be a measure that has no ceiling; one can always makes changes that will improve the degree to Read More

I was recently asked to suggest tips for reducing the potential for folks to fall for phishing attempts. Here is what I proposed:

I just finished Ron Folman’s 2025 book The Human Test: How Predictability, Creativity, and the Quantum Mind Will Redefine Life in the Age of AI. Folman’s book opens with ahypothetical story of Eve, who was in his lab looking at atoms, and asked the question “Are they alive?” My mind immediately went to 10th grade Read More

Another old piece, that still seems to have relevance: Human communication is influenced by the technology used to communicate. Ostensibly, this seems an obvious statement of a simple relationship. In the 21st century, we observe on a daily basis people (usually people young that we are– this statement is true of almost anyone who is Read More

Here is another post motivated by my clean out of old files. In 2013, I prepared a conference presentation (which was never delivered due to a scheduling problem). In that presentation, I claimed the dominant model of learning that seemed to be accepted by schools was grounded on six assumptions: I believe the assumptions remain Read More