Category Archives: Learning

Joining up the dots?

We’re all thinking about dots. Sheri reminds us that this is not a new conversation. Terry responds and starts teasing out the metaphor. Dots and lines, or overlapping circles? Maybe both, maybe more. We don’t have the words to represent to … Continue reading

Posted in #CLMOOC, D&G, Doodles, Learning, Social Media, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Miscommunication

Random moments of misconnection: George, a Chinese UG, tells me how hard it is to study independently when there is so much he does not understand in lectures. He struggles to understand aurally and finds it hard to use lecture … Continue reading

Posted in HE, Learning, Online learning, Peer interaction, PhD, Teaching | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Reclaiming Lurking

Lurking is a potential problem for theories of social constructivism and principles of active learning. It’s also a problem for data analytics – if the student is not VISIBLE, how do we KNOW that they are learning? The invisible are … Continue reading

Posted in #CLMOOC, #rhizo15, Academia, Critical pedagogy, Facebook, Learning, Online learning, Peer interaction, PhD, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

Twitter chat personas

I’ve been thinking a lot about the different ways of interacting, or not, on Twitter this week, and I’ve come up with a rough list of types of engagement in Twitter conversations: Academic:  adds relevant academic references Networker: links to … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, Online learning, Peer interaction, PhD, Social Media | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

It depends how you look at it

There’s a story that’s often told about a bunch of blind men and an elephant. Each man only encounters a part of the elephant and, based on their partial understanding, disagree with the others about the *real* nature of the … Continue reading

Posted in #CLMOOC, #rhizo15, D&G, Learning, MOOC, Online learning, Peer interaction, PhD, Philosophy, Researcher Journal, Rhizomes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Stealing learning

He came like a thief in the night. Stealthily, furtively, he crept in. With nobody watching he grabbed it, clutched at it with all his might, cradled it close to his chest and shuffled away. This picture of learners who … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, Online learning, Teaching | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Lurkers

I lurk There, I’ve said it out loud. There are times that, for various reasons, I read conversations and watch what is going on without visibly participating. Does that make me a bad person, or is my behaviour an entirely … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, MOOC, Online learning, Peer interaction, PhD, Teaching, University | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Be More Kind

A timely earworm for me this week as I am marking philosophy exam scripts. The lyrics are actually about our broken society, but the title of the song speaks to me as I try to decipher scrawly handwriting and make … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment, Feedback, Learning, Teaching, University | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t kill the messenger

It’s no surprise to find that Jeremy Hunt is talking rubbish again this week. In a Guardian article we hear that he is proposing a universal social media limit for every child. Sound good? Maybe – except that there’s no … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, Online learning, Social Media, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Demystifying Doodles

I’ve been thinking a lot about creative processes recently – about how, if all one sees is the end product, it’s easy to assume that the creator produced it effortlessly. This morning, as I was doodling a happy birthday message … Continue reading

Posted in #CLMOOC, Learning | Tagged , | 5 Comments