Control and Thinking
“When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions.” – The Mis-Education of the Negro, Carter G. Woodson via Elisabeth Glassco
Breaking News: TxASCD Closes Its Doors #EduSky #Texas
A breaking news announcement from Texas ASCD organization: December 18, 2024 Dear Texas ASCD Community, After 77 years of dedicated support and service to educators across our great state, Texas ASCD will officially close its doors on December 31, 2024. We do so with much gratitude to all of our …
AI Grading: A Few Thoughts #ethical
In the AI for Teachers Facebook group, Richard Noble shared the following: Is it unethical for teachers to use artificial intelligence to grade papers if they have forbidden their students from using it for their assignments? That was the question a teacher asked Kwame Anthony Appiah in a recent …
Value in the Friction AND #AI Skills #EduSky
This quote from Nathaniel Myers: “I want them to undergo the writing process for themselves in ways that aren’t immediately turning to a tool that’s helping them write, because there’s value in the friction that’s a part of that work and learning that happens in writing without those tools,” Myers …
Eat your Veggies, Avoid Depression
Fascinating… A high intake of both fruit and vegetables was associated with lower depressive symptoms over time compared to a low intake. A moderate intake of veggies, but not fruit, was also associated with lower depressive symptoms versus low intakes. “The findings present another …
The Power of the Pen #Handwriting #EduSky
One of my favorite quotes is, “What the hand does, the mind remembers." It’s a reminder that handwriting is such a powerful tool. I’m fascinated by it, because, for many years, I relied on typing to take notes. It feels like that Edward Hays story of a guy with a magic …
The Scientific Consensus: Ed Tech, SAMR, etc
Fashion isn’t my thing. I wear similar outfits from day to day, often with boring uniformity. Has Ed Tech ever been any more than changing fashion? In my ongoing exploration of whether Ed Tech has fallen out of favor (and if it has, what should we be spending our electrons on?), James Abela …
MyNotes: What is Stoicism? #Stoicism
An impulse purchase, I picked up a copy of Tanner Campbell’s and Kai Whiting’s book, What is Stoicism? A brief and accessible overview. I’ve read some of Ryan Holiday’s stuff, as well as various translations of Epictetus' work (not Discourses, though). Tanner was kind enough …
Ed Tech Backlash #EduSky #edtech
Ouch. Is there a backlash against Ed Tech going on, a realization that the evidence for Ed Tech is light, while it has been shown to be less than effective? If that’s so, why such a big push for Ed Tech at big events? Love to hear your thoughts. ‘We’re drinking the Kool-Aid’: Teacher fights …
From One Uncertainty to the Next
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reflecting on the issue of AI. My problem is that my reflections occur at odd moments, like while I’m watching television or reading a book. Or working on a project. It takes forever for these drops of insight to accumulate into a pool. I don’t …
Federal Court Ruled Against Parents in #AI Case
Will this be celebrated by those who favor parents' running schools or not? You know, those parents running to take over school boards so they can push their beliefs and narrow (hey, it’s the narrow gate, no?) beliefs on their community’s children? Or will this be hailed as a victory by …
Indoctrinating Texas Children
Bradford Vivian writes on BlueSky: Bible-based alternatives already exist throughout the nation—in private schools for that purpose. The issue here isn’t creating an alternative, or free speech, but using public funds to promote a favored religion in schools starting in kindergarten. I …
When Learning Matters, Don’t Use AI
“The essay is a method for thinking… AI can generate an essay in response to a prompt, but this does not mean that students should stop learning how to write essays for themselves. We do not assign essays so that there will be more student essays in the world. The point of the …
#AI: Expertise Paradox #Edusky
Associate Professor Jonathan Boymal highlights a new study. Here is one excerpt that jumps out me: The Expertise Paradox: “The paradox of expertise is that while generative Al assists in executing tasks requiring lower-level thinking skills, this advantage paradoxically hinders a learner’s …
If Adam Picked the Apple Poem
I shared this poem with my daughter. I got a laugh and a moment of reflection… Text in Image Here’s the text from the image: Title: “IF ADAM PICKED THE APPLE” Author: DANIELLE COFFYN (from North Meridian Review) There would be a parade, a celebration, a holiday to commemorate the …
The Games People Play
What Is the First Thing Remarkably Successful People Do? Figure Out Which Game They’re Actually Playing Then you can determine how to win the game you not only want to play, but need to play. …
A Principled Stand Against #AI #EduSky
As a whole, this piece (Refusing GenAI in Writing Studies) was unconvincing. I found it stuffy, ivory towerish, and yet…the longer I reflect on it, the more little pieces of it grow on me. Critical Thinking One example includes this quote from Vee, as cited: “Large language models such as ChatGPT …
What Americans Wanted
Americans are getting what they want. Who am I to speak against the overwhelming majority? The morning after the election, I went back to work. “Hard work keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit,” says Helena Rubinstein. She makes sense in that quote. Did I feel a passing sense of …
Fear of Fascism
“Two major media companies, the Washington Post and the LA Times, made decisions to capitulate to the man they fear will be elected president before a single vote has been counted. They decided not to run editorials endorsing their preferred candidate for president, Kamala Harris, because the owners …
A Mesh of Possibility
Where we were apart, we are now together, a dense mesh of possibility. -Stephen Downes Love this quote! For me, it highlights the importance of reconciliation.
How To Vote: An Instruction Generator for College Students
How To Vote: An Instruction Generator for College Students This Ai-powered app draws a custom flowchart to help your students choose when and where to vote. Learn more about it via Jon Ippolito Try it out - [**voting-flowchart.streamlit.app/**](https://voting-flowchart.streamlit.app/)
A Hoard of Ideas
“Ideas that are hoarded help no one. Success follows generosity.” -James Clear, The 3-2-1 Newsletter and author of Atomic Habits This is a wonderful quote from James Clear. I am often reminded of the times school districts and organizations decided, “No, we are not going to share …
The Last Barf Bag: A Tribute to a Cultural Icon
Hi, I’m Peggy Reimers. I look forward to receiving the Staff Picks email from Vimeo. In the latest email, one title really caught my attention: “The Last Barf Bag: A Tribute to a Cultural Icon.” This 13:38-minute video dives into the quirky world of barf bag collectors and their …
ETHICAL: Test Quandary
Scenario I was out today and got an email from my sub. I’ve never gotten a note like this and I don’t know how to handle it. One student decided to use his phone while finishing his test today. Another decided he wasn’t even going to start the test because he didn’t study. The list goes on. Students …
ETHICAL: Lack of Response
Here’s yet another application of the ETHICAL model. As you may recall, I dropped the ETHICAL Model into Perplexity Spaces. Now, I just need to drop in the scenario to get an analysis. Having relied on Claude Projects, I am quite pleased with Perplexity’s Spaces. It’s handling the …