Tech Proof: A Conditional Love Affair
You have to love the contradictions built into the English language -- how one word can have two meanings that are nearly opposite*. "Proof" is one of those words. Used in one way, "proof" is the case made for something being valid. Used another way, "proof" can mean keeping something unwanted from getting in (for example, mosquito-proof tent). As a school district director of technology and libraries, I appreciate both meanings of "proof."
Netbooks and Computing in the Clouds
At $350 per machine, I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that even in these tough economic times, quite a number of students will be getting a netbook as a gift this holiday season.
The Importance of an Aggregator
It is only slowly that I am using GoogleReader to stay current on information sources -- to have the news find me instead of me having to find the news.
Five for Fun
Lots of image “generators” are available on the Web. Most are free and easy to use -- so easy even a technology director can manage them. Here are five of my favorites.
And, Not Or
This school year, when asked if something should be x or y, try answering, "Yes -- x and y." Find an “and” solution that everyone can live with.
Fair Use of Fair Use
“Copyright instruction and enforcement needs to change from describing narrow limits to emphasizing how educators and students can fully -- and legally -- use copyrighted materials.”
Engage or Entertain?
“I am not convinced that today’s kids need constant entertainment any more or less than any of us do. But they are more insistent on learning that is engaging. We need to make engagement the focus of our instructional strategy improvements.”
Concerns About Creativity
“I have some concerns about creativity as the term is commonly used in schools, and teaching, and technology. I know I have a lot more to learn about enhancing and supporting creativity in education. Are any teacher-training resources being diverted from ‘raising test scores’ to ‘thinking outside the box?’”
Keeping Kids Internet Safe
Maintaining the concept of intellectual freedom, providing a healthy and educational online environment, and teaching students to be self-regulating Internet users should be the goals of all educators.
E-Books On Hand
“I’ve been looking forward to the next iteration of ‘the book’ -- when well-designed silicon replaces cellulose as the means for publishing -- for quite a long time.”
Filter Follies
What educators should know about using Internet filters.
Game On!
Does your district support or ban the use of games in classrooms and libraries?
Doug Johnson has been the Director of Media and Technology for the Mankato Public Schools since 1991 and has served as an adjunct faculty member of Minnesota State University, Mankato since 1990. His teaching experience has included work in grades K-12 in schools both here and in Saudi Arabia. He is the author of four books -- The Indispensable Librarian; The Indispensable Teacher's Guide to Computer Skills; Teaching Right from Wrong in the Digital Age; and Machines Are the Easy Part; People Are the Hard Part. His regular columns appear in Library Media Connection, Leading & Learning and The School Administrator magazines and his articles have appeared in more than 40 books and periodicals. Doug has conducted workshops and given presentations for more than 130 organizations throughout the United States as well as in Malaysia, Kenya, Thailand, Germany, Qatar, Canada, the UAE and Australia. He has held a variety of leadership positions in state and national organizations, including ISTE and AASL.
