Reflections on the strange world of the MOOC.
Category Archives: Technology
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.
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.
Code Hero
Just made a small donation and downloaded Code Hero from Primer Labs (thanks to Matt Seeney at Knowledge Nation for sharing the link).
The concept behind Code Hero is quite simply that young people can extend their capabilities and have a better understanding of their world if they learn how to actively create rather than passively consume. Computer coding can provide a very powerful way into this world but is often difficult to get into and involves a very steep learning curve (Logo springs to mind as a notable exception from my days as.
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Glowing into the Future
The McClelland Report: Review of ICT Infrastructure in the Public Sector in Scotland
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Just finished reading the Scottish Government Review of the ICT Infrastructure in Scotland. As you would expect this is a substantial piece of work covering ICT strategy, procurement and spend across the Scottish public sector. The review, led by John McClelland, suggests that if the public sector works smarter around ICT we would benefit from improved public services and substantial cash savings (£1bn over 5 years)
Our Glow national schools intranet once again gets a positive mention:
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[/caption]
Just finished reading the Scottish Government Review of the ICT Infrastructure in Scotland. As you would expect this is a substantial piece of work covering ICT strategy, procurement and spend across the Scottish public sector. The review, led by John McClelland, suggests that if the public sector works smarter around ICT we would benefit from improved public services and substantial cash savings (£1bn over 5 years)
Our Glow national schools intranet once again gets a positive mention:
Learning and Teaching Scotland is a NDPB.
Reality is Broken
Just finished reading Jane McGonigal's 'Reality is Broken on my Kindle.
Lovely thoughtful and optimistic book that reaffirms the importance of games in human culture. As the title suggests her thesis is that the real world is broken - nothing new here. However she goes on to argue that the resources we need to solve the world's great problems already.
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Collaborate to Compete: Online Learning Taskforce
Got an email this morning that started with 'online learning needs a strategy, says new report'. it went on to assert that 'universities and colleges need to make online learning a central part of their strategies if they are to stay competitive globally'.