Made a very long overdue start today on one of the many books in my 'must read' pile, 'Where Good Ideas Come From' by Steven Johnson. Really enjoying it and thought this little video was a good introduction to what I think are very powerful insights.
I love the way he elevates the role of the slowly incubating hunch over the eureka moment. Johnson concludes with the observation that 'chance favours the connected mind' and in my.
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Blog
Inventing the Future of Learning
Very interesting little video about Inventing the Future of Learning and the work of the Technology Enhanced Learning Research Programme . What I like most about it is the link to research, far too often missing from any discussion of educational technology. I also like the fact that it asks questions rather than simply asserting uncritically that technology in education is a good thing.
Thanks to Joe Wilson @joecar for digging this one up..
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Learning through Technology: A Strategic Perspective
Last Thursday I gave the opening keynote at an event organised by the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES), supported by Education Scotland and sponsored by RM Education and Microsoft.
In my keynote I tried to look beyond current projects and programmes in Scotland towards the bigger picture. I started off by suggesting that we are often too quick to select tools, techniques and technologies before we have given sufficient thought to the needs we are trying to meet.
To my mind it is about separating the.
The Chimp Paradox – Dr Steve Peters
I am a bit of a mug for business books and love reading popular psychology. Many books in these genres are quite frankly rubbish, not based on any scientific evidence and too often completely useless in terms of generalising beyond the particular experiences or circumstances of the individual author. My interest in these books is usually both personal and professional - is there anything I can learn to improve myself and are there any useful insights that.
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InsideLearningTechnology Ep5: Permissions may vary
And another Inside Learning Tecnology podcast with Matthew Boyle of Inside Learning. This is starting to become a bit of a habit and one I am really enjoying.
In Episode 5: Permissions may vary we discuss new approaches to learning and teaching, why teachers should be role models as learners, the challenges of filtering internet content for schools and my plan to upgrade from my 3 year old iPhone 3GS to a shiny new iPhone5 (which was announced while we were.
InsideLearningTechnology Ep 4: The Push Me Pull You Conversation
Had another great evening on Wednesday with Matthew Boyle of Inside Learning fame.
Matthew invited me to join him for Episode 4 InsideLearningTechnology.
I was asked some great questions and think this podcast is probably the best summary of how my thinking on learning and technology has evolved over the years.
We followed this conversation by joining Steve and John Lloyd for a wide ranging discussion on citizenship, health, personal and social education - InsideLearning Episode 85: The Long Goodnight.
All in all.
The Leadership Diamond
Inside Learning Podcast: Episode 81
I was interviewed on Wednesday evening for an Inside Learning podcast by my good friend and co-conspirator David Cameron @realdcameron
My piece followed on from David's conversation with Graham Donaldson, former senior chief inspector/CEO of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). Some themes flow through both of the interviews in the podcast, areas that we agree on, but as you might expect there are some contrasting opinions on what is required to transform Scottish education.
Listen to the podcast here. My interview is part 2.
#creativeconversation, Edinburgh, 16 May 2012
I was going to be contributing some input to this evening's Edinburgh #creativeconversation but had to attend a meeting London at short notice.
In anticipation of not being able to attend I sent my fellow contributor @olliebray a letter with some initial thought on creativity in general and the implications for Scottish education.
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13 May 2012 Dear Ollie, Edinburgh Creative Conversation, 16 May Once again my apologies for leaving you in the lurch to do the Edinburgh Creative Conversation on you own. As discussed I got a late call to help a couple of inventor friends of mine to pitch a new technology in London.
Business Card Refresh
I asked my very talented friends Andy and Neil at Glidden Design in Edinburgh to reprint my business cards recently.
The original design with my details on the front and a 'word cloud' of what I offer on the back has stood the test of time and only needed a couple of minor tweaks.
My original 2009 word cloud was based on what I hoped to be doing after.