Yesterday I attended the regular UNFED group meeting, which was established some time ago to facilitate discussion amongst a University Network of Faculty Educational Developers. A range of topics were covered during the course of the session, but one conversation in particular has stuck with me as a recurring theme that I think needs to be fleshed out and explored a bit further.
The topic of “communication” arose, and with it an exploration of the different technologies that might support interaction, discussion, open reflection, and sharing of information. Some …

Editor’s Note: At one stage this post had a point, but somewhere along the line it seems to have derailed into a rant against the establishment.
Criticism
The challenges and obstacles facing the evolution and revolution of education can be traced back to a few key ideas – those of stratification, hierarchies, institutionalisation, power, and control. Essentially, characteristics that have nothing to do with education and learning, but everything to do with how it is controlled, dictated and managed.
Schools have come to symbolise clearly structured environments where teacher presides over a …

In reading Stephen Downes lastest post on “Types of Knowledge and Connective Knowledge” I was inspired to try and represent the concepts visually. This is what I’ve come up with (also available here).
It’s likely this will change over time – as will this post – but here’s where I’m at currently

NB: Quotes in mindmap adapted from Downes’ blog entry.