The Flight of a Butterfly Or the Path of a Bullet

My next book arrives in early March and I want readers and followers of this blog to be aware of it.

Readers will remember parts of this book showing up as first drafts in posts I published last year about exemplary teachers at various schools in Silicon Valley who integrated technologies into their daily lessons. Many readers commented on the descriptions of lessons of elementary and secondary school teachers across all academic subjects that I posted on this blog. In many cases, those comments were helpful in revising the first draft and choosing which of the descriptions should be in the book. I thank those readers who took the time to comment.

Here is the book cover. The full title takes up a lot of space on the cover. So be it.  Yes, that is a laptop upon which the butterfly is either alighting or fleeing.

Here is the publisher’s description of the book:

In this book, Larry Cuban looks at the uses and effects of digital technologies in K–12 classrooms, exploring if and how technology has transformed teaching and learning. In particular, he examines forty-one classrooms across six districts in Silicon Valley that have devoted special attention and resources to integrating digital technologies into their education practices.

Cuban observed all of the classrooms and interviewed each of the teachers in an effort to answer several straightforward, if also elusive, questions: Has technology integration been fully implemented and put into practice in these classrooms, and has this integration and implementation resulted in altered teaching practices? Ultimately, Cuban asks if the use of digital technologies has resulted in transformed teaching and learning in these classrooms.

The answers to these questions reflect Cuban’s assessment not only of digital technologies and their uses, but of the complex interrelations of policy and practice, and of the many—often unintended—consequences of reforms and initiatives in the education world. Similarly, his answers reflect his … understanding of change and continuity in education practice, and of the varying ways in which different actors in the education world—policy makers, school leaders, teachers, and others—understand, and sometimes misinterpret, those changes….

If any readers do get the book (through a library or purchase), read it ,and have some thoughts (critical or positive or a mix of both) about the argument, logic, and evidence I use, please let me know.