Author: George Roberts

The first day of the PCTHE

We must have been given the worst teaching room in the University (Gibbs 2.15). It was on the edge of a building site with fork lifts reversing all morning. The room was the only unrefurbished one on this floor of the building. The seating was really poor quality: ripped seats, gum on the floor. There … Continue reading The first day of the PCTHE

Social Media and the Harrisburg Experiment

Last week the social media networks and the printed press, too, were buzzing with news that Harrisburg University of Science and Technology was blocking access to all social media sites for the week. There were predictable reactions from all sides. But ultimately interesting questions could be asked and there is probably something worth studying about … Continue reading Social Media and the Harrisburg Experiment

Reflections on the eve of a new academic year

There is still a hard day's work ahead before the introduction to the PCTHE for 2010-11. For some reason the VLE and wiki are not developing themselves. Packs for the day do not seem to be reproducing like the little bunnies I wish they were. The to-do list of best intentions is shrinking to only … Continue reading Reflections on the eve of a new academic year

For-profit higher education – follow the monopoly money

BPP University College (http://www.bppuc.com/) has enrolled 5000 people in the UK this year. Western International University (http://www.west.edu/) is a leading for-profit in the US expanding into Europe, Asia, and South America. Both are owned by the same parent company, Apollo Global (http://bit.ly/cp0mbI). Apollo Global is also the parent of the University of Phoenix (http://www.phoenix.edu/). Apollo … Continue reading For-profit higher education – follow the monopoly money

Writing a Course Review

I recently met with a student who had been unsuccessful in achieving the criteria for one of the assignments on the PCTHE. Most of my comments are of a general nature regarding the writing of a course review, so I thought I would post them. Back up your assertions with evidence. As teachers and students … Continue reading Writing a Course Review

Stanford University Program on Liberation Technology

Lying at the intersection of social science, computer science, and engineering, the Program on Liberation Technology seeks to understand how information technology can be used to defend human rights, improve governance, empower the poor, promote economic development, and pursue a variety of other social goods. The Program will examine technical, legal, political, and social obstacles … Continue reading Stanford University Program on Liberation Technology

From community folksonomy to epistemology in a few clicks via @psychemedia http://bit.ly/a9aETq #altc2010

Possibly the most useful post (ever?), showing how using Twitter can delineate communities of interest and lead from ephemeral and transitory utterances to more stable representations of (still dynamic) useful knowledge http://bit.ly/a9aETqIt does, of course depend on people using conventions (Twitter hashtags) consistently. The rebels at ALT-C who resented the waste of three characters and … Continue reading From community folksonomy to epistemology in a few clicks via @psychemedia http://bit.ly/a9aETq #altc2010

Course Leader’s Blog

As we get ready for the academic year 2010-11, I am preparing our Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education. This involves: updating the Handbook for this instance of the course for the last time. We will be revalidating a new PCTHE for 2011-12; updating the VLE (Brookes Virtual/Blackboard) and Wiki (Confluence). There are … Continue reading Course Leader’s Blog