Lots to do: thoughts on the task ahead

The task, for me, the lots to-do is to transform theory to practice. That is, education development aims not just to bring about correct understanding but to create social and political conditions (that is, community) more conducive to human flourishing than the present ones. I became a Football Coach last winter and now help run … Continue reading Lots to do: thoughts on the task ahead

Backpacks, badges and epistemology: an interesting conversation that leads to happily ever after

Grant (2014) asks in the title to her book about digital badges, "What Counts as Learning?" This succinctly expresses the question of higher education and explains the continuing interest in badges, and in learning technologies in general. The fact this is less explored, gives me an opportunity to explore both learning technology and epistemology. I have developed … Continue reading Backpacks, badges and epistemology: an interesting conversation that leads to happily ever after

Dialogic multimedia

What kicked me off on this audio exploration of academic multimedia? Two things. First and proximal cause: when I reported that my colleagues and I had been asked if we could give workshops on technology enhanced learning (TEL) the suggestion was scoffed. Why give workshops when you could do a series of three minute talking … Continue reading Dialogic multimedia

Widening Participation Working Group Away Day (Oxford Brookes University)

Semi-live notes from very interesting and data filled Oxford Brookes University Widening Participation Working Group Away Day at Marston Road. (Of 30 people in the room only one obviously black man and two Asian women. Matches our BME student profile? c. 10%) The day was framed by demographics about where Brookes sits, and politics in … Continue reading Widening Participation Working Group Away Day (Oxford Brookes University)

Open online courses: ALT MOOC SIG

Semi-live blog I am attending the ALT MOOC SIG. There is a question to be answered by everyone, who receives an income from an institution, and who asks that institution to do something for no remuneration. Why should that activity be subsidised? Who should subsidise it? In the past it has largely been the state … Continue reading Open online courses: ALT MOOC SIG

College of Higher Education: a third space or a thousand miles?

Colleges of (or including) higher education teach - among other courses at other levels - courses leading to degrees of higher education: Foundation Degrees (UK QCF levels 4 and 5), Bachelors Degrees (sometimes just called higher education degree, UK QCF levels 4, 5, 6) and Post Graduate Certificates, Diplomas and Masters Degrees (UK QCF level … Continue reading College of Higher Education: a third space or a thousand miles?

Fascinating bi-modality in charts of social media use by young Europeans via @GrahamAttwell

European survey data on how young people are using social media. via pontydysgu.org Either they use it or they don't. Not much middle ground. 25% use the Internet more than 20 hours a week; 30% less than 5 hours. Well, it is more complex than that, of course, but even stronger bimodality is showm with … Continue reading Fascinating bi-modality in charts of social media use by young Europeans via @GrahamAttwell

how HESA normalises black, mixed and other ethnic group graduates to reduce their impact by a quarter! http://bit.ly/gsVwv

Or, at least that is one possible reading of this following example from HESA's Guidelines for the use of the DLHE Longitudinal Survey Dataset. To illustrate how this is done:Black, mixed and other ethnic group graduates accounted for 21.9% of the selected Sample A. From the initial census it is known that these graduates represent … Continue reading how HESA normalises black, mixed and other ethnic group graduates to reduce their impact by a quarter! http://bit.ly/gsVwv

Josie Fraser (@josiefraser) on 3 ways to characterise online identity

There are three main ways we can characterise most peoples online internet and mobile activity and presence. Let me state up front that these distinctions are purposely blunt, but do act as effective and critical distinctions, especially when talking to people about how and why they can manage their online identities. via fraser.typepad.com Josie Fraser … Continue reading Josie Fraser (@josiefraser) on 3 ways to characterise online identity

passaggiato continuo: work life balance

I was talking with our Head of Elearning at Brookes about why I find Twitter a-good-thing. He worked for many years in Italy. I described Twitter as the passaggiato of the Internet. I have also heard it described as the virtual office corridor or the space around the water cooler. But, this led me to … Continue reading passaggiato continuo: work life balance