Reflection: Education for the crisis? Notes from #e4c, 29th March
This blog post has been burning in my head since last week, feeling (rightly so) equally troubled, inspired and generally itchy about the whole subject area so excuse me if I get all ramble-y in places, I’m still working this out in my own head. Last week I was invited along (with around 40 others) to be part of a discussion group that was looking at education for the crisis. There were some people there who are good friends, people who I had never met but been following for twitter (in some cases, for years), some who I had came …
Occupying the Olympics: What can be done? (From @tentcityuni) #occupy2012
It was timely to hold a session at the Tent City University within the Occupy London camp on the notion of occupying the Olympics a day prior to the Independent reporting that the government are looking to ban demonstrations during the games next year. It emphasised completely what is going to happen, and what will happen, as the government cannot afford to allow for the games to fail (both financially, politically and internationally) – they will move the (*cringe for sports-related metaphor*) goalposts, whatever they are currently, to ensure that when the eye of the (carefully briefed and paying-customers) world’s media is upon …
Presentation: What does a Citizen Journalist want?: Alternative Media and Activist Rhetoric in Cyberculture (#virtualfutures University of Warwick, 19th-20th June, 2011)
Last weekend saw the return of Virtual Futures, a cult conference at the University of Warwick that 15 years ago addressed some of the leading discussions in cyberculture and emerging technologies. I was honoured have a abstract accepted as part of the event, on a panel entitled “Socially Mediated Futures.” The first draft of the paper is on my PhD notebook (where I hope to expand some of these early ideas into some activities, rather than simply ‘research’ as part of the Third University) and the abstract and slides are below. What does the citizen journalist want? Alternative Media and …
#Education (or what the University could learn from teh internetz) (Presentation @TeessideUni, 3rd March 2011)
I was invited by Derek Harding to speak at the University of Teesside last Thursday around the broad topic of my research and teaching practice. Based on the things that I’m up to at the moment, I decided to propose an argument around the basis of a hashtag learning environment (linking both my work on #media2012 and the 2nd Year alternative media module #mc539) and more recently discussions around open and co-operative education environment – partly through resistance to the cuts, partly through activities emerging through online environments, partly as a much needed reaction to outdated (and often unquestioned) rituals. …
#500words on the purpose of education? Where do I begin! #purposed
So when Doug Belshaw asked if I would contribute to the #500words Purpos/ed challenge, a month long “borderless forum” discussing and promoting debate around the purpose of education. I was honoured to be included but also a little nervous about what I would say. And the more I think about it – there is so much more than 500 words to be said – I’ve written this 3-4 times now! I can relate to Stephen Downes‘ post - I also rebelled (to an extent, I still do!). It certainly wasn’t what the guidance staff would have predicted to be my chosen life path (half way …