Gary’s Blog

This in an excerpt from my 2026 book Efficacious Educational Technology. It is available under a Creative Commons license. My rationale if that theories are rules we should follow when designing educational technology systems. The “gold standard” of research used to develop theories is the double-blind random experiment. When researchers conduct experiments, they review existing theory and define Read More

Conditional release is a strategy whereby we make materials in our online course available to students only after a certain date or after they have done things we decide such as review other materials or even pass a test. This is a way we can force students to review materials or ensure they have learned Read More

An excerpt from by 2026 book: Efficacious Educational Technology. Find the references in the full version of the book. Despite educators’ complaints that students are disinterested learners, humans are active learners about what makes them curious. Johnson and Majewska (2022) define and summarize informal learning as a complex and largely voluntary activity that accounts for Read More

237: De-Biasing the Classroom: Why Your Personal Schooling Memories Can Blind You to Modern Learning Most adults share a common trait: we have spent thousands of hours sitting in classrooms. Because of this lifelong familiarity, it is incredibly easy to assume we instinctively understand what a school is, how it should function, and what “good” Read More

I have been asked about the potential for creating portfolios for a new organization. I the past, I created a series of documents outlining the work of work of creating portfolios. In an attempt to support my new colleagues, I am revising and posting some of the my earlier work. Regardless of the purpose of Read More

Diversity of Instructional Design Models/a> One of the most interesting aspects of teaching is the diversity of models that are appropriate in different classes. This is perhaps most noticeable amongst adults who start working in schools as a second career. These folks tend to believe “The Standard Model” of education is assumed to be, well, Read More