Since I joined Twitter in 2008, I’ve seen it evolve and transform in ways that I liked and in ways I did not. I’ve also evolved as a Twitter user and social media user in general. But recently, I really took time to examine my Twitter feed, and I really did not like what I…
Social media is broken. No matter what evangelistic talk you hear from the brotherhood-for-the-advancement-of-social-media, it has some serious problems that educational leaders would do well to examine closely. Often promoted as the media for school leaders to “get their message out,” social media has become a polluted cesspool of misinformation, incivility, and deception. It is…
What is the real issue with social media? Set aside the fact that entities like Facebook are selling our personal data to the highest bidder. Ignore the practice of the perpetual eavesdropping of these companies in our personal lives. What the real issue is with social media is simple: You can’t believe anything you see.…
Does anyone else notice how “cult-like” ed tech leaders and supporters can be? They constantly proclaim salvation by technology for every educational ailment that we face. Yet, we’ve been on this “ed-tech binge” since perhaps the mid-1990s with very little to show for it. Why? Perhaps it boils down to a simple fact: whether students…
There was time I downloaded e-books with a madness. There was something exciting perhaps about instantaneously getting access to that new title or some older book I was intending to read. I’ve even blogged about the wonders of ebooks on this blog at some point in the past. Now, I seldom read ebooks and increasingly…
Since I began blogging a few years back, I’ve always eschewed all these offers from companies and individuals for “branded content” to post here. I could have perhaps made much more money from blogging. The pennies one receives from allowing ads alone hardly amount to any kind of income. I’m even embarrassed to admit how…
Today, I received another one of those sales-pitch emails from some company using deceptive tactics to promote their products. They made it appear in their email that my failure to complete their survey would have some kind of consequences. I marked their email “Spam” and simply replied: “I am not sure it is good practices…
Over the years I have received many requests for ‘paid blog posts’ asking me to promote this product or that particular program. I can honestly say I have always turned them down. While I could make money by doing so, I’ve always posted about those products I have personally used, and about those issues that…
“The idea that education is best served by standardizing method, content, goals, and evaluation procedures leads to another consequence. It tends to convert education into a race.” Elliot Eisner, “Reimagining Schools” The problem with converting education into a “race” it is impossible, without being a fortune teller, where that finish line should be. If we…
“The problem with conformity in education is that people are not standardized to begin with.” Sir Ken Robinson, Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Transforming Education Let’s face it, our public education system is still all about conformity and standardization. We talk a lot of rot about “innovation” and “thinking outside of the box,” but…
