I’m not sure whether I’m going to be able to articulate this train of thought properly, but there’s been a series of issues that have been endlessly replaying in my head all morning that I need to externalise in order to gain some personal clarity.
Increasingly I’m becoming known as a staunch opponent and critic of the learning management system and a purveyor of the notion that it is hardly a nurturing environment that facilitates learning. I’ve made some blunt, cutting statements about the inadequacies of Blackboard – sometimes eloquently, …

In reading a recent post on the Tomorrow’s Professor blog regarding “Learning Through Structured Reflection,” I’ve been once again reminded of my passionate belief in the importance of leaving space and opportunity for contemplation and critical thinking in the learning process. Likewise the article has also reaffirmed my belief that the student blog should be as core a part of a curriculum as the text book.
The article argues:
“Making experiences into objects of reflection means simultaneously heightening their impact while attempting to understand them in connection with any number of …

A pair of newspaper articles I ran across this weekend have me quite concerned for the state of social media in education in the Australian state of Queensland. Both The Courier-Mail and News.com.au are reporting that the Code of Conduct has recently been amended to specifically address perceived issues with use of social media by students and teachers.
According to the articles, state school teachers are now “banned from contacting students on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other social networking sites amid growing concern over inappropriate relationships.”
What is the most disconcerting …

In the wake of Friday’s Learning and Teaching Forum I’ve been experiencing a growing sensation that I’ve been unable to shake.  The best way that I can articulate it is to say that certain elements of the forum for me yielded a rude awakening to the realities of the traditionalist educational culture.  They also highlighted just how incredibly out of sync I am with elements of the wider academic community and in many regards have left me wondering where I go from here.
This is not to say that this …

I’ve been meaning to plug this event for over a week now. Shame on me for being such a slacker…
I want to give a big shout-out on behalf of the upcoming Technology in Learning & Teaching Unconference, being held on September 25th and hosted by Macquarie University and the Islands of jokaydia in Second Life.
Tagged as MQUncon09 for short, the educational technology extravaganza is “a FREE event for educators to connect and share ideas and solutions around using educational technology in learning and teaching.”
I’m planning on facilitating a session on …