Search results for "learning "
Broken university
Thursday, 01 May, 2008 - 17:49
I have a lot of other stuff to write about, and I will get around to it. In the meantime, I just want to note an observation which occurred to me recently. A moment of realisation.
I've been delving into writing code for collective intelligence, and as I worked through some of the intellectual ideas behind the various algorithms and principles, it occurred to me that universities are exactly the sorts of place where collective intelligence does not emerge.
Despite the fact that universities form a hub and focus for people who value intelligence, and sometimes, even creative thinking, actually the entire tertiary education system is set up to discourage collectivity, and incentivise secrecy and competition.
Universities do not exist for the benefit of learners, they exist for the benefit of researchers. Reward systems recognise research and publication, exercises which demand 'originality' and 'novelty' - which discourage people from sharing their ideas - and scarcely notice pedagogy. Researchers talk more about whose ideas are whose rather than what those ideas are.
The minor army of people who are there because they want to help people to learn are invisible, unrecognised, overlooked, ignored, tolerated. How have we managed to have such broken universities?
Old audiences, new producers
Wednesday, 21 February, 2007 - 15:25
MA Radio Production Seminar, Bournemouth Media School, 12 Feb 2007: Old audiences, new producers
In a time of hypermediacy, in which forms and genres are in flux, and experiments can happen, it's worth considering, what is radio, what is sound, what is art, and what is / might be the intersection? What happens when you hand your schedule over to the wisdom of the crowd? What are the people we used to call the audience now making and doing? What is the difference between amateur and professional? Here are some links to get you thinking...
- Let them sing it for you
- Sound Art at Wikipedia
- Soundseeing at AudioCollective
- Own [Sound] Art Podcast
- Learn on the go podcasts
- Open Culture Podcast directory
- Podcast Directory Genre List
- Silence Radio
- Podcasting resources
- UBUWEB sound archive
- Martin Luther King at Jewish Journal
- RSS feed for most popular mp3s at delicious
- Benjamin Walker's Theory of Everything
Our last session is on Monday 26th, and it would be great to know what things you'd like to know how to do. Post a comment below for suggestions :)
Hypermediate Radio, part 2
Monday, 29 January, 2007 - 15:06
MA Radio Production Seminar, Bournemouth Media School, 29 Jan 2007: Hypermediate Radio, Part 2
Again, unedited rushes of the second part of our seminar - remix, re-use, re-mash, redistribute, re-purpose, re-send...
Show notes:
Direct Download for MA Radio Production Seminar podcast part 2 mp3
Hypermediate Radio, part 1
Monday, 29 January, 2007 - 14:55
MA Radio Production Seminar, Bournemouth Media School, 29 Jan 2007: Hypermediate Radio, Part 1
Here's the recording of the first half of our seminar. Unedited rushes... feel free to remix, re-edit and re-purpose, and post back what you made if you like :)
Show notes:
- Hex the Dex
- Radio Free Calamity
- Creative Commons
- Creative Archive
- Art Mobs
- Mashups
- History of podcasting
- RSS & Syndication
Direct Download for MA Radio Production Seminar podcast part 1 mp3
Reflective pedagogic practice
Tuesday, 10 October, 2006 - 21:53
...is a big way of saying that it pays to stand back and think about what you're doing when you're teaching - or more properly - creating environments in which people learn.
I recently started as tutor on a brand new MA course at BMS, which is delivered entirely online. The course is work-based, so the students are all professionals in their field, using their professional practice as a vehicle for reflection, learning and development.
Since everything happens online, I've been thinking quite hard about how to approach it. Normally when I'm in a forum, I can be quite argumentative and provocative, and I particularly like trolling people for reactions. Yes, I know, I'm a child. When I read /. I go for the funny comments, by and large.
However, as a tutor in an online environment, I'm trying very hard to hold back, so I don't end up dominating conversation, or closing off conversations with statements that mark closure rather than aperture. Poor me, having to engage in rational-critical discourse, eh? Which of course makes me wonder whether I oughtn't to do that in the other online environments I visit...
In f2f teaching, I found it fairly easy to develop a practice of balancing tutor-led activity with creating spaces in which learners can argue, conjecture, discuss and explore - but of course a lot of that is mediated by body-language, tone of voice, and physical presences.
More significantly, though, it has made me think hard about how and why I write at all. For me writing is transformative, because it is often how I actualise my understanding of something. Putting something into words changes it from a nebulous idea to a concrete perspective, even if the perspective is subject to constant shift thereafter. Hence I realise my writing style has become very positive, statement-based and argument-driven.
So, all in all, I guess standing back and forcing myself to be more reflective is probably, um, a good thing. No, hang on, that's not right: is it not a good thing that I am standing back and forcing myself to be more reflective? Mmmm, maybe need more work on that :)
Blackboard can...
Wednesday, 02 August, 2006 - 20:39
...suck my balls.
Blackboard has just been awarded a patent on educational groupware.
I used Blackboard in the last place I worked, and it sucks balls badly. Nasty interface, clunky functionality, seemingly designed to make otherwise intelligent people despise computers and feel stupid. Employs a 'closed garden' model in which educators have to enrol you onto their courses in order for you to access material. The opposite of open learning. My current employer is also panning to move to it.
Stephen Downes provide a great roundup of critical reactions to the decision.
I'm particularly arsed off about it because I'm currently building some modules to provide 'educational groupware' functionality. My guiding principle throughout development is: whatever Blackboard does, do something else because Blackboard blows. Now, it's also evil.
Here's my favourite slashdot comment on the subject :)
Blackboard can suck my balls.
Solar simulation
Saturday, 08 October, 2005 - 18:44
Well it's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks, what with the start of term and all.
I have, however, managed to launch a pet project I have been developing for a while, which is a 3D simulation of the solar system. The idea is to explore using interactive simulations or tools for learning.
At the moment, the simulation has only basic interactivity, but in time I expect to add in info about the solar system, and interactive responses to actions such as altering the planet size, spin speed and oribtal period.
It's both an experiment in interaction design, and an expression of my nerdy enjoyment of space science and Lingo programming :)
3D Solar System simulation
Science week part 8
Final podcast from the OU Practising Science residential school, wherein the author returns, exhausted, to the real world, head full of rigourous knowledge found through well-established methodologies.
Science week part 8 podcast mp3
Science week part 7
The end of the last full day, and the world is full of decay...
Science week part 7 podcast mp3
Science week part 6
Thursday, 21 July, 2005 - 08:24
Biology and Titan day. In Life Sciences we looked at mitosis and the effect of radiation on chromosomes, and then I went to a seminar about the latest data from Titan...
Science week part 6 podcast mp3
Science week part 5
Wednesday, 20 July, 2005 - 18:55
Last night was karaoke night at the OU residential school. Fortunately I was spared the humiliation of singing, but one of the girls in my tutor group has was fantastic, so you can hear Faye sing...
I'm not very with it in this podcast ;)
Science week part five podcast mp3
Science week part 4
Tuesday, 19 July, 2005 - 17:13
Group research project today and a very brief post and podcast :)
Science week part four podcast mp3
Science week part 3
Today was field trip day - a trip to Birling Gap and Newhaven on the south coast, to study the geology and ecology of the area and their relationship to each other.
Fantastic day if long and tiring... But really good experience of acquiring raw data and using it.
We looked at the geology of the chalk cliffs, the flint seams and the other rocks and soils at the top, and figured out what they tell us about the history of the area. We also examined the kinds of vegetation on the cliff-tops and figured out how the geological history has shaped the kind of plant life that exists now.
Almost too shattered to speak...
Science week part three podcast mp3
Science week part 2
Wow. Today was chemistry day. We put samples of metal salts into a bunsen burner flame and compared the colours of the flames. Then we did spectroscopy to get a more precise measurement of the different metals' spectral fingerprint. Once you can do this, you can tell what distant stars are made of. How cool.
Then we mixed up different reagents into metal nitrates, and saw which ones produced precipitate and how they changed colour. Then went on to use these techniques to assess the amount of aluminium present in drinking water. Hands-on practical stuff.
Chemistry was always my least favourite part of scince at school, but the stuff we did today was really engaging. The activities are brilliantly constructed and prepared, and the tutors are great.
Tomorrow we do the field trip on the South coast. Early start...
Connecting via mobile is WAY expensive, so sod that, I'm off to find some free wifi hot-spots in town :)
BTW - thanks to 5511 5305 in Brighton whoever you are for letting me stowaway on your broadband wireless!!
Science week part two podcast mp3
Science week part 1
Saturday, 16 July, 2005 - 23:50
This is the first of a week of podcasts from my science practise residential school with the Open University.
I've come to the University of Sussex at Lewes near Brighton, UK. The course is SXR103 Practising Science. I'm going to use these podcasts to keep notes of what we do, and see where using podcasting as a learning support will take me.
The first thing I've learnt is that while Sussex Uni doesn't have wireless internet access, I can use my mobile to connect to the internet!!! So these podcasts will be short and sweet, cos its slow and expensive :(
Science week part one podcast mp3
Podcasting and online learning
I've been thinking about how podcasting can add a new dimension to the learning experience, especially in the realm of distance/online learning. Some quotes and highlights from an online article published by the Univeristy of Illinois:
"Audio blogs can add an element of humanisation to an online course through voice. by way of diction, word stress and inflection, one gains a richer understanding of the enthusiasm or passion of the speaker... Some stories are told better orally than with text alone."
In summary...
- Great for students who have an auditory preference.
- Great for students with visual disabilities.
- Great for learning in the car - portable professional development which completely knocks the balls off "Learn French in 22 separate tapes which you have to rewind and forward wind without any fun element or personality at all".
- Great for totally up to date info. Online courses are generally written months in advance. They can't capture what's going on right now and relate today's news with learning. "Contemporizing course content" means that the learner is more likely "forge a more memorable bond with the content"
