Tag: teaching

Small cosmos: virtual hypertext

Sometimes poems are not ABOUT one thing. But, I cannot say they simply ARE; the mere fact of their existence counts for little. It is not enough that a collection of words gets splattered on a page. I think of a poem as a small cosmos. Poems are both LIKE a small cosmos as well … Continue reading Small cosmos: virtual hypertext

Reflection in action: professional development study visits

How close to the moment can you get? "Be here now,"  urges 1960s psychologist Richard Alpert. A mythical Google aspires to a perfect concurrent rendering of this reality: in real-time, in software. How much rewinding can we do before anyone notices the pause for thought? Reflection in action often has the effect of: "Oops! Don't … Continue reading Reflection in action: professional development study visits

Beginning of term

Systems or people? We can model learning in order to develop ways for our machines to acquire, store, process and apply data: information gathered from the world around. Although I put it as a vague question of preference at the start of this essay, it has many ramifications. Are people not just quite complex systems? … Continue reading Beginning of term

One notebook warning

One notebook I write. Not as much or as well as I should. But I write. Two very broad forms interest me: poetry and philosophy of learning, knowledge, theory. What is true and good? Do these concepts mean anything? I believe they do. My job, and much of this writing, here, has to do with … Continue reading One notebook warning

How much of what kind of assessment?

Chris Rust and Mandy Jack initiated an exchange about assessment volume, kind and equivalence on the SEDA maillist. Hours are most easily countable (and even that is not easy). There are also the number of assessment points and the "weight" given to each assessed point. Chris asserted that: the only meaningful comparison is student hours … Continue reading How much of what kind of assessment?

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

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

FSLT16 Week 1

Week one has flown by like a simile. There are 58 participants on the course of whom 22 are doing the module for academic credit (10 credits, level 7) towards a PG Cert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (PCTHE). Sixteen (16) of the assessed participants are from Brookes and six are from other … Continue reading FSLT16 Week 1

FSLT16 Joining Instructions

First Steps into Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (#fslt16) 20 January - 26 February 2016 Hello all Thank you for your interest in First Steps into Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (#fslt16). Welcome to the course. These "Joining instructions" should help you to get started. Because this is an open course, available to … Continue reading FSLT16 Joining Instructions