Right now in the UK we are focused on climate change. Why? Because we just broke previous temperature records – we hit 40°C– for colleagues in the US, that’s 104°F. I’m not going to debate climate change here; it’s real and if you think it isn’t you’re an idiot, or you’re an idiot and you’re…
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Chasing Unicorns: how the EdTech Unicorn Pin came to be
Three of us sat together at “yet another edtech conference” we were probably listening to a wild-eyed techno-solutionist deliver an “ode to the new LMS”, or newly converted academic to the cult of VR, or it may have been the “and now a word from our sponsors” session, where another company starts telling academics how…
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Learning from students and staff during the pandemic: A talk for #ESLTIS21
The #ESLTIS21 (Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship) conference took place on 10th September, I was privileged to be invited to speak about some of the research that I have done during the Pandemic. I also want to give a shout out to colleagues who I’ve worked with on that research including Donna Lanclos, Jasmine…
Read moreWhat does the premium on “presence” actually cost?
Joe Biden’s recent pronouncement on “broadband is infrastructure” amplifies the message that our lives are connected in significant ways in digital systems. And, in a report, the United Nations Human Rights Council said: Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and…
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Stop normalising pandemic practices!
Robin De Rosa tweeted out a link to an article, and her comment tells you all you need to know about the article. But, as I was waiting to see the dentist, I thought I’d read it anyway. The article is effectively an interview with a Marketing Professor, it reads like the journalist sent a…
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Thinking about effective remote working and social connectivity
This post was updated on 9th Feb 2021 – see bottom for extra content. During lockdown there has been a lot written around online learning, and I think it would be a fair characterisation to say that the “great pivot” of 2020 was primarily a tsunami of “content push”. This is not a criticism, the…
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Reflections Week Twelve: People wanted help, we gave them guidance
We often see individual requests for help, we see staff trying to make things work. One area that is well supported by both IT and Learning Tech teams is the kind of inquiry that leads to a “push this button” type response. For example, how do I narrate a PowerPoint? How do I upload this…
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Reflections Week Nine: Engagement and Experience
I have been in conversation with that Dave Cormier, I found myself on a recent walk out in the countryside near where I live looking around and saying to myself “that’s a rhizome, and that’s a rhizome, and that’s a rhizome…” But also I have been working with colleagues around thinking about education visions (yes…
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Reflections Week Six: leaning into, and on, the network
This week has been really busy, mostly doing research around academic behaviours during the crisis. We’re learning really important stuff and we hope to be able to share early findings soon and publish later in the year. And this is a short reflection, prompted by the conversations with academics, and my own engagement with people.…
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Reflections Week Four: changes and choices
Well it’s now Week four… We’re starting to reflect and understand a little more about how we work in this situation. Maybe. Maybe for some, not so much for others. Most of my current work is now focused on the future, looking at what we are doing now, looking at the impact and the ramifications.…
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