Change Everything?
How would you run Instructional Technology differently, and how would that change everything in your District? What would you change to make things better in your district? Here ar
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Cry Freedom
"Can you trust your computer?" asks Richard Stallman, advocate of Free Software movement. In K 16 education, the question is, "Can we trust the teacher with the District's computer
Disturb Your Universe
"And let us also resolve that our new technologies — the Internet and the World Wide Web —will be used as
Don't Boil Your Family
Don't boil your family while trying to change the world. Dave Wakerley (Source) I believe
Finding Balance
Dick Westley writes, there are two Adams in the Bible, and these perspectives shape our entire culture and civilization. They reflect the divided state always at war. He describes
Freedom Itself
This conversation reminded me of the "set yourself on fire" post I wrote some time ago but now can't find...sigh. Abject Learning
Freedom to Speak
As I struggle with my own fear, my own self censoring, I realize how controlled many of us really are. I've been aware of this for a long time so there's no excuse for it. But bein
Human Sojourn
Let me tell you, of all the confessions I have listened to, I have not heard...nearly so much as I have heard discouragement. Discouragement of themselves, and of life. Discour
Idiot-Proof Technologies
One of my favorite expressions to rail against when I was a campus instructional technologist and teacher, was, "Idiot proof technology." That's right, we want technology so simple
Impossible Dream
My wife lovingly calls me Don Quixote sometimes. In return, I call
Inevitable
“The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, Sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too
Inventing Better Schools
Phillip Schlechty shares in his book, Inventing Better Schools. He writes: The business of schools is to design, create, and invent high quality, intellectually demanding wor
Living in Truth
In his book, Living In Truth, Vaclav Havel calls attention to the innocent act of a manager of a fruit and vegetable shop who puts in his window, among the onions and carrots, th
Observe Transformational Capability
To observe transformational capability, we cannot observe normal people doing normal things. We must observe people who are living by principle. To develop transformational capab
Placid Pools
Folks are excited about social networking tools. As teachers move to use these technologies, it forces a re exami
Practical Moodle Tips for Technology Administrators
Note: The following article first appeared in the May, 2009 issue of Education World: In [Moodle izing Yo
ReAssert Yourself
"I have an idea!," my daughter (between 2 and 3 at the time) would proclaim on long road trips, "Let's sing ABC!" What would follow would be a cute rendition of the ABC song. It ne
Remembering CBAM
Two years ago, a district I know well decided to invest in tablets and laptops for everyone. Due to a variety of factors (such as locking down the machines so that teachers/admin c
Resist
The pressure is insistent. "Write something educational." But what it really means is, "Write something safe. Write something no one will object to. In other words, write for educa
School Is Irrelevant
As I've been working on doing research, I occasionally run across articles that have stuff like this in them...and it hits me how appropriate this is for describing the malaise we'
Submit to the Need for Conflict
Patrick Lencioni and found this article entitled, Conquer Team Dysfunction. In the article, Lencioni shar
Weakness-Common Ground
When I walked into the open area where my team is housed, a young teacher was sitting alone in one of the waist high cubicles. She was speaking into her iAudio U2, recording a digi
You're the Silver Bullet
Read/Write web tools promise a lot, but why aren't people adopting them? If problem based learning is so great, and information literacy and problem solving approaches (like Big6),