On Monday, March 9, 2020, Governor Mike DeWine announced that three cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Ohio. Two days later, he reported that Ohio had four cases. I was confused. Does that mean Ohio now had seven cases, or does the second announcement include the three previously reported? When I figured out that seven was the total, I knew we had a problem. … Continue reading Detecting AI
It’s a casual throwaway line. You can listen to us anywhere that you get your podcasts… It is a radical statement. It is a political statement. It is a technical architectural statement. Because what it represents is a system that was designed to let anybody run their own podcast, and to be able to consume it without regard to one company controlling it… I have … Continue reading Anywhere You Get Your Podcasts
It’s been 20 years since I bought my first car with an in-dash navigation system. It was magic. Type in a destination, and it’ll show you a map with turn-by-turn directions telling you how to get there. “This will make you stupid,” one of my colleagues exclaimed at the time. “You don’t need to know anything.” And it’s true in the sense that I don’t … Continue reading Recalculating…
I kind of fell into the world of personal learning networks. I didn’t know, back in 2005, that I was curating a group of professionals with whom I would exchange ideas, or that it would become the most valuable professional learning experience of my career. I just knew that there were interesting people talking about challenging ideas, and that the things they were struggling with … Continue reading Asynchronous Learning Networks
Report cards went out last Friday. In our schools, 17% of our students earned an “A-” in English. What does that mean, exactly? Did 17% of our students learn most (but not all) of the stuff they were supposed to learn? Did 17% of our students turn in most (but not all) of the work that was assigned to them? Did this group of students … Continue reading What Do You Do With a B+ in English?
Artificial Intelligence is here. It’s embedded in the tools we use every day. There’s no practical way to block it in schools, and there’s no reliable method for detecting its use. We know our students are going to use it whether we want them to or not, and we know that there are lots of issues around privacy, safety, ethics, and security that we should … Continue reading What Should We Do About AI?
There are not many transformative technologies. In my role, I’ve become desensitized to the hype of new technologies. Yes, I know. This new shiny thing is going to revolutionize the way we live our lives. It’s going to redefine public education. It will fundamentally change the way humans interact with each other. Sure. But next year, there will be a new shiny thing and we’ll … Continue reading The Fundamental Realities of AI
Last week, I attended an Artificial Intelligence forum sponsored by OhioX and InnovateOhio. The event included a couple demonstrations, including one on how AI can be used for marketing, and one on Microsoft’s approach to AI. But the primary focus of the event was two panel discussions: healthcare and education. The healthcare discussion consisted of representatives from Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, and Pandata, a company … Continue reading If Only
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Preamble, United States Constitution The Preamble to the US Constitution defines what the … Continue reading Mission Driven
Here is the question that was put to 113,000 doctors, from border to border and coast to coast: ‘What cigarette do you smoke, doctor?’ Three of America’s leading independent research organizations did the asking. And the brand named most was Camel. Well, doctors like all of us smoke for pleasure. Camel’s rich, full flavor appeals to their taste. And Camel’s cool mildness registers with their … Continue reading Is it Time to Quit Smoking?
We’re not hungry. Over my career, I’ve often used the metaphor of feeding the hungry in my approach to technology use in the classroom. Some teachers and school leaders are eager and ready to try new things. We certainly want to support that. Others are struggling just to keep their heads above water. We need to support them, too, and perhaps through them a lifeline … Continue reading Appetites
The US congress is considering legislation that would ban TikTok in the United States. TikTok is an app that lets people create and share short videos. It’s used almost exclusively on mobile phones, and it includes filters, stickers, sound effects, and lots of other candy to help people easily create and share creative content. In other words, it’s very similar to dozens of other apps. … Continue reading Spies Like Us
Taste of Tech 