Tinkering with algorithms

I read Franklin Foer's Facebook's War on Free Will the Guardian's "Long read" for Tuesday 19 September 2017. He recapped a familiar argument: you are Facebook's product. But when he hit "data science" I turned up my sensors. He says, "There’s a whole discipline, data science, to guide the writing and revision of algorithms". Then he … Continue reading Tinkering with algorithms

Interlibrary loan or Sci-Hub? A short saga

What follows is a short saga. Journal price inflation also adds significantly to staff time costs or reduced efficiency. I was searching for: Ashwin, P, Deem, R, & McAlpine, L 2016, 'Newer researchers in higher education: policy actors or policy subjects?', Studies In Higher Education, 41, 12, pp. 2184-2197 Our online subscription to Studies in … Continue reading Interlibrary loan or Sci-Hub? A short saga

Learning design: heroic goal in a held space

What was I trying to do in my talk to the Solstice conference 2016? In the talk, I analysed learning using metaphors of “Held space” (Plett 2015), The romantic or heroic quest (Wikipedia for summaries) And “heartwork” (Hogan 2011) or the concept of “emotional labour” (Koster2011). I wanted these to be seen in the light … Continue reading Learning design: heroic goal in a held space

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

A week of academic multimedia

It has been a week of academic multimedia .  Semi-successfully simulcasting a face-to-face workshop to remote participants using Adobe Connect. Creating a series of short audio posts about academic multimedia, continued here. Using a learning object (collection of videos and text) “Philosophy and Policy of Higher Education”, to introduce a flipped teaching session. And using … Continue reading A week of academic multimedia

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

Academic multimedia is where TEL becomes real

Learning technologies and technology enhanced learning are not quite the same thing. The position and semantic force of the words is different. Learning as adjective and learning as noun; technology as nominal object and technology as agent of change: learning enhanced by technology. There is a greater degree of abstraction in TEL, somewhat more particularity … Continue reading Academic multimedia is where TEL becomes real

Academic Multimedia

Academic multimedia. Something other than marks on paper or that virtual page.  Academic multimedia covers a range of practices across a spectrum of technologies, which may include: automatic recording (audio and sometimes video) of an event primarily designed for a face-to-face audience (e.g. a “normal” lecture, visiting or guest lecture). Desk based podcasts, screen casts, … Continue reading Academic Multimedia

Badges: Learning Gain or Just a Game, and what’s wrong with that?

Badges are Digital image files with text metadata stating criteria for which the badge has been earned. Badges are (presently) self-certified by Learner or Earner and  Self-certified by Provider or Issuer. Below are resources for a short session I ran for the Technology Experimentation Group (TEG). Badges assert achievement usually for employment or engagement or further educational/CPD purposes. … Continue reading Badges: Learning Gain or Just a Game, and what’s wrong with that?

The “enhancement debate” and TEL

Beginning a critical exploration of "enhancement". The “enhancement debate” clearly (to me) must be addressed within the scope of technology enhanced learning (TEL) debates. TEL is largely seen as an instrumental means of making the individual person (human being) more effective and efficient in the information economy, maybe more compliant to employability and managerial norms … Continue reading The “enhancement debate” and TEL