WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.899 Welcome to the deep dive, where we get past the 00:00:02.899 --> 00:00:05.599 headlines. Today, we're looking at something 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:09.000 huge. Technology in schools. I mean, we all see 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:11.119 the potential, don't we? There's this big strategic 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:13.919 goal, get students ready, really participating 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:16.820 in the digital world. Seems straightforward. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:18.820 It does on the surface. But then there's the 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:20.719 reality. You know, even with all the investment, 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:23.019 all the effort, sometimes the tech in schools 00:00:23.019 --> 00:00:26.199 just... It doesn't quite hit the mark. Yeah, 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:28.320 it can be clunky or maybe not really effective 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:31.460 for what teachers need or maybe it misses certain 00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:34.100 grooves of students entirely. Exactly. And you 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:36.520 have to wonder why. Why does it sometimes fall 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:38.820 short when everyone wants it to succeed? Well, 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:40.560 that's what's interesting. Yeah. Today we're 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:42.859 digging into some insights from Gary Ackerman 00:00:42.859 --> 00:00:46.799 over at hackscience .education. And his big idea, 00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:49.060 it's not really about the tech itself fundamentally. 00:00:49.179 --> 00:00:53.240 It's about a lack of shared understanding between 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:55.600 the key people involved, the educators, the IT 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:57.619 folks, the administrators. It's fascinating, 00:00:57.659 --> 00:01:00.200 actually, how the source lays out these different 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:02.380 viewpoints. You see how people looking at the 00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:05.640 exact same situation can, well, understand it 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:07.879 completely differently. Right. And it causes 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:10.400 friction, not synergy. Exactly. It's not about 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:13.480 anyone being difficult. It's just different professional 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:15.980 lenses. That's such a key point. Different lenses, 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:19.719 not bad intentions. So our mission here today 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:22.560 is to unpack that, to pull out these core insights 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.500 so you can understand the hidden dynamics really 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:29.480 driving ed tech management. Ready to dive in? 00:01:29.540 --> 00:01:32.019 Let's do it. OK, so let's start with that strategic 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:34.760 goal again. Enabling students to fully participate 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:36.930 in the digital world. Now, for that to actually 00:01:36.930 --> 00:01:39.469 work, the source says, IT needs three things. 00:01:39.870 --> 00:01:42.969 It has to be used appropriately, configured properly, 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:46.269 and supported reasonably. Sounds simple enough. 00:01:46.489 --> 00:01:48.370 It sounds simple, but the source stresses that 00:01:48.370 --> 00:01:50.870 if you fall down on any one of those, the use, 00:01:50.969 --> 00:01:53.450 the configuration, or the support, the whole 00:01:53.450 --> 00:01:55.609 thing can become ineffective. It really threatens 00:01:55.609 --> 00:01:58.129 the overall efficacy. So schools try to address 00:01:58.129 --> 00:01:59.890 this right. They set up tech planning committees. 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:02.319 Yeah, they do. They bring in experts from different 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:05.239 areas, you know, teachers, IT staff, maybe an 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:07.680 administrator. The idea is to get everyone on 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.659 the same page. You'd think that would solve it. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:11.539 Get the right people in the room. You would think. 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:14.259 Yeah. But here's the paradox the source highlights. 00:02:15.020 --> 00:02:17.939 Even in schools with these committees, IT management 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:21.840 can still be inefficient or ineffective or incomplete. 00:02:22.020 --> 00:02:24.300 So the committee itself isn't the magic bullet. 00:02:24.699 --> 00:02:27.599 Apparently not always. The core issue, according 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:30.599 to Ackerman, goes deeper. It's this fundamental 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:34.180 lack of shared understanding among the disparate 00:02:34.180 --> 00:02:36.539 professionals involved. It's like they're speaking 00:02:36.539 --> 00:02:38.699 different professional languages, even when talking 00:02:38.699 --> 00:02:40.900 about the same tech. OK, let's really get into 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:44.000 that. This idea that educators, IT pros, and 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.080 administrators just understand technology differently. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:48.080 They bring different backgrounds, different priorities 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:51.280 to the table. Absolutely. And it means even steps 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:54.960 that seem totally necessary for making tech reliable 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:57.830 and secure. Well, they're seen and understood 00:02:57.830 --> 00:03:00.590 in vastly different ways by each group. Right, 00:03:00.590 --> 00:03:03.430 and that's where the friction comes in. Let's 00:03:03.430 --> 00:03:06.169 look at some examples from this source. Complex 00:03:06.169 --> 00:03:10.009 passwords. Seems basic. How does IT see them? 00:03:10.530 --> 00:03:13.409 For the Ikey professional, it's simple. Complex 00:03:13.409 --> 00:03:15.909 passwords are just a basic, simple strategy for 00:03:15.909 --> 00:03:18.490 keeping the network secure. It's fundamental. 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:21.689 Non -negotiable for keeping things safe. Okay, 00:03:21.770 --> 00:03:23.930 it makes sense from their perspective, but then... 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:25.979 the teacher in the classroom. Ah, well, for the 00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:28.379 teacher, especially with younger kids, maybe 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:32.180 students with emerging keyboarding skills, those 00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:35.240 same passwords become a real impediment to quick 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:37.560 access. You can picture it, right? Little kids 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:39.719 struggling to type this complicated thing and 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:42.699 lesson time just evaporating. Exactly. It's not 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:45.039 a simple security measure from their viewpoint. 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:47.699 It's a barrier to learning. It eats into precious 00:03:47.699 --> 00:03:50.139 minutes. And it adds up. So that's passwords. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.080 What about, say, operating system updates? Another 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:55.879 classic example. IT professionals see the importance 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:58.960 of installing updates in a timely manner as an 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.560 essential step of keeping systems secure, thus 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:03.460 reliably available. It's just good practice, 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:05.819 like digital hygiene. Keeps things running smoothly, 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:09.180 securely from their perspective. Yes. But then 00:04:09.180 --> 00:04:13.650 you have the teacher who's lesson gets delayed 00:04:13.650 --> 00:04:16.050 as they wait for computers to finish installing 00:04:16.050 --> 00:04:19.009 updates. Oh yeah, the dreaded updating do not 00:04:19.009 --> 00:04:20.769 turn off your computer screen right when you 00:04:20.769 --> 00:04:24.009 need it. Right. So from the teacher's perspective, 00:04:24.430 --> 00:04:27.610 those same essential updates are seen as interfering 00:04:27.610 --> 00:04:30.889 with the reliability of the machines. The timing 00:04:30.889 --> 00:04:33.949 makes them unreliable for teaching. It's the 00:04:33.949 --> 00:04:36.290 same action viewed completely differently based 00:04:36.290 --> 00:04:39.089 on your role and immediate needs, though the 00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:41.750 source does mention, thankfully, that this is 00:04:41.750 --> 00:04:44.149 getting a bit better with internet -only notebooks. 00:04:44.730 --> 00:04:46.910 Updates are less disruptive there. That's true, 00:04:46.910 --> 00:04:49.470 a small positive trend. Okay, one more example. 00:04:49.689 --> 00:04:52.009 Tablets for students. Right, so you might have 00:04:52.009 --> 00:04:53.850 a school administrator, maybe they love their 00:04:53.850 --> 00:04:55.930 personal tablet, uses it all the time. Seems 00:04:55.930 --> 00:04:57.829 like a great tool. Yeah, so they might suggest, 00:04:57.850 --> 00:05:00.209 hey, let's buy tablets for the students. Seems 00:05:00.209 --> 00:05:02.850 modern, engaging. But then IT gets involved. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:06.019 And the IT professionals often push back against 00:05:06.019 --> 00:05:09.180 his or her suggestion tablets be purchased for 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:11.839 students, not because they hate tablets, but 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.920 because of the difficulty of managing those devices 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:18.180 in multi -user environments. Ah, so it's the 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:21.319 logistics. Charging them, updating them, keeping 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.100 track of them, dealing with accounts when many 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:26.740 kids use the same device. Exactly. It's a whole 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:28.819 different set of challenges that the administrator, 00:05:29.139 --> 00:05:31.879 using their personal device, might not even think 00:05:31.879 --> 00:05:34.439 about. So these examples really highlight the 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.279 core issue. They do. Negotiating what counts 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:40.560 as appropriate use, proper configuration, reasonable 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.079 support, it becomes incredibly hard when everyone 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.519 involved has these different perspectives, different 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:48.980 working definitions of terms, and frankly different 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:51.160 interpretations of the same situation. It's like 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:52.939 they're all looking at the same elephant but 00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:55.120 one feels the trunk, one feels the leg, one feels 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:57.180 the tail. That's a good analogy and they all 00:05:57.180 --> 00:05:58.980 have a piece of the truth but not the whole picture. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:01.759 Okay, this is where, for me, it gets really insightful. 00:06:02.459 --> 00:06:05.519 The source introduces this concept from Riddle 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:09.379 and Weber from way back in 1973 to add another 00:06:09.379 --> 00:06:12.620 layer. The difference between tame and wicked 00:06:12.620 --> 00:06:15.339 problems. Yes, this distinction is incredibly 00:06:15.339 --> 00:06:17.660 powerful for understanding why the perspectives 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.480 are so different. It's not just opinion, it's 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:23.100 rooted in the nature of the work itself. So, 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:26.040 explain TAME problems first. What falls into 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:28.319 that category here? According to the source, 00:06:28.459 --> 00:06:31.459 designing IT systems is generally a TAME problem. 00:06:31.699 --> 00:06:34.379 Now, TAME doesn't mean easy, necessarily. Right, 00:06:34.420 --> 00:06:37.360 not simple, but solvable. Exactly. It's a problem 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:39.480 that can be clearly defined, it's understood. 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:42.620 There are known procedures to solve it. IT professionals 00:06:42.620 --> 00:06:44.500 can usually describe their networks clearly. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:46.620 The methods for building and fixing networks 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:49.019 are pretty well established and transferable. 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:52.839 Crucially, IT systems can be tested and redesigned 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:55.120 before they're deployed to users. You can work 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:56.980 out the kinks in a controlled environment before 00:06:56.980 --> 00:06:59.120 it hits the classroom. Okay, so that's tame. 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:02.279 Now contrast that with teaching. The source calls 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:05.120 that a wicked problem. What makes it wicked? 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:07.939 Wicked problems are fundamentally different. 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:11.259 Teaching is not clearly understood in the same 00:07:11.259 --> 00:07:14.449 way an IT network is. Its effectiveness depends 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:17.829 on multiple and interconnected factors, many 00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:20.230 of which are incompletely known. Like student 00:07:20.230 --> 00:07:23.029 background, motivation, classroom dynamics, even 00:07:23.029 --> 00:07:24.949 how the students slept the night before. All 00:07:24.949 --> 00:07:28.329 of that. And different people, parents, administrators, 00:07:28.509 --> 00:07:31.370 even other teachers, will judge the same outcomes 00:07:31.370 --> 00:07:33.750 differently. Was that lesson successful? Depends 00:07:33.750 --> 00:07:35.470 who you ask and what criteria they're using. 00:07:35.670 --> 00:07:38.410 And the source links successful teaching to learning, 00:07:38.629 --> 00:07:41.000 which is complex itself. Absolutely. Learning 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:43.279 is physiological, psychological, and social. 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:46.500 And as many educators will tell you, even the 00:07:46.500 --> 00:07:48.519 best teaching does not always influence learning 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:51.579 in the intended manner. There's an inherent unpredictability. 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.360 You can't beta test a lesson plan quite like 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.939 you can software. It's much messier, less defined. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:59.399 Much messier. No single right solution. And the 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:02.379 third group, school leadership. School leadership 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:06.199 is described as also being complex. But in a 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:08.800 different way, it's largely a political process. 00:08:09.050 --> 00:08:12.149 Its success often hinges on things like perceptions, 00:08:12.490 --> 00:08:15.470 power, and priorities. Managing stakeholders, 00:08:15.709 --> 00:08:18.790 balancing competing demands. That's a different 00:08:18.790 --> 00:08:21.910 kind of challenge again. So we have IT dealing 00:08:21.910 --> 00:08:25.110 with largely tame problems, teachers grappling 00:08:25.110 --> 00:08:28.230 with wicked problems, and administrators navigating 00:08:28.230 --> 00:08:31.470 political landscapes. Precisely. And these fundamental 00:08:31.470 --> 00:08:33.169 differences in the nature of the problems they 00:08:33.169 --> 00:08:35.909 solve every day deeply shape their perspectives, 00:08:36.070 --> 00:08:38.090 their approaches, and their understanding of 00:08:38.090 --> 00:08:40.289 what's reasonable or important when it comes 00:08:40.289 --> 00:08:42.250 to technology management. They're not just coming 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:44.009 from different departments. They're operating 00:08:44.009 --> 00:08:46.269 in fundamentally different problem -solving universes. 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:48.889 That really puts the lack of shared understanding 00:08:48.889 --> 00:08:52.149 into a much deeper context. It does. And because 00:08:52.149 --> 00:08:53.809 of these fundamental differences in their work, 00:08:53.929 --> 00:08:56.350 the tame versus wicked nature, the day -to -day 00:08:56.350 --> 00:08:59.090 realities, these professionals often end up in 00:08:59.090 --> 00:09:02.179 silos. The source calls it the silo effect. Makes 00:09:02.179 --> 00:09:03.820 sense. They work in different places. Usually, 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:05.740 yeah. Different offices, different classrooms. 00:09:06.299 --> 00:09:08.960 Using different skills. Applying very different 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:11.559 kinds of knowledge specific to their fields. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:14.059 Focused on different kinds of problems. Exactly. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.600 They're literally separated by the nature of 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:18.980 their work and often by physical space, too. 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.799 So bringing it all together, what does this mean 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:25.500 for actually making IT work effectively in schools, 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:29.500 for achieving that original strategic goal? Well, 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:33.840 it means that while each group IT teachers, administrators 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:38.919 has its own valid necessary logistic goals. Keeping 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:41.399 the network up, delivering engaging lessons, 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:44.100 managing budgets. The critical point the source 00:09:44.100 --> 00:09:46.620 makes is that the nature of those goals and their 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:49.159 connection to the strategic goal must be understood 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:52.080 collectively if IT management is to be efficacious. 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:54.509 Right. It's not enough for IT to just focus on 00:09:54.509 --> 00:09:57.350 network uptime or teachers to focus only on their 00:09:57.350 --> 00:09:59.330 classroom needs or admins on the budget line. 00:09:59.470 --> 00:10:01.850 They need to see how their piece and the nature 00:10:01.850 --> 00:10:03.789 of their piece, whether it's tame or wicked, 00:10:04.049 --> 00:10:06.450 fits into the bigger picture of enabling student 00:10:06.450 --> 00:10:08.899 participation in the digital world. That's the 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:11.519 key takeaway. It's about fostering that shared 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.360 understanding of the overall mission and, crucially, 00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:17.919 appreciating how the very different contributions 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:21.179 and challenges of each group relate to it. Without 00:10:21.179 --> 00:10:23.820 that collective view, you get friction, inefficiency, 00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:26.740 and missed opportunities. So just to wrap up 00:10:26.740 --> 00:10:29.539 what we've explored in this deep dive. The challenge 00:10:29.539 --> 00:10:32.139 with making EdTech truly effective isn't always 00:10:32.139 --> 00:10:34.899 the tech itself, is it? No, often it's much more 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:37.500 human, more organizational. It's about bridging 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:40.159 these fundamental gaps in understanding between 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:43.000 the IT teams, the educators in the classrooms, 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:45.860 and the school leaders, recognizing they're coming 00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:48.600 from different places. And importantly, that 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:50.580 they're tackling fundamentally different kinds 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.840 of problems, some tame, others wicked. Understanding 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:56.639 that difference seems crucial. It really is. 00:10:56.759 --> 00:10:58.960 You know, knowledge is one thing, but it's most 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:01.440 valuable when it's actually understood and applied. 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:03.879 And thinking critically about why things are 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:05.960 the way they are, especially in complex collaborations 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:08.820 like this, is so important today with information 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:11.120 coming at us from all directions. It requires 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:13.639 seeing the nuances, recognizing that not all 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.159 problems are created equal. Precisely. Which 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:18.399 leaves us with a final thought for you, the listener, 00:11:18.580 --> 00:11:22.470 something to maybe reflect on. How might... Recognizing 00:11:22.470 --> 00:11:24.570 this difference, the difference between tame 00:11:24.570 --> 00:11:27.730 and wicked problems, how might that change the 00:11:27.730 --> 00:11:30.110 way we approach any kind of collaborative project, 00:11:30.149 --> 00:11:32.470 not just in schools, but maybe in your own workplace 00:11:32.470 --> 00:11:35.690 or community, especially within complex organizations? 00:11:36.730 --> 00:11:38.710 That's a really interesting question to ponder. 00:11:38.870 --> 00:11:40.549 Something to think about. That's all for this 00:11:40.549 --> 00:11:41.049 deep dive.