Category: #edchat

Prescriptive vs Descriptive Pathways

It took me a while to come up with this pathways metaphor, following a conversation with @dajbelshaw – oddly enough the idea popped into my head right in the middle of a meeting, while talking about other stuff.
#OB101

Need to know more about OpenBadges? Check out #OB101…
Setting an Agile School Rhythm

This was very much an off-the-cuff image for @dajbelshaw’s DML post – but I’m really happy with how it turned out. I picked up on the word Rhythm and that was that…
What is a Learning Technologist

I’m sure there are many ways to define a learning technologist, but I liked this thought originating from a comment by Stephan at #efair2015…
Teachers…

In my work with young people in wapisasa, I’ve realised just how important self confidence is achieving anything – and how that self confidence is grown. As such I recognise the qualities of teachers I’ve had in the past, investing in young people and creating the environment for them to thrive.
Eyes wide open

This piece of thinkery was created in collaboration with Doug Belshaw for FE Week – there’s something about how an eye looks and the inner meaning attached to it that is hardwired in our inner machine – its hard to hold its gaze. “The eye is the lamp of the soul”…
Higher Education

This thought made me giggle – and that’s OK – even if it’s a bit of a #dadjoke.
The T-shaped Student

I met some excellent people from JISC at the EPIC conference in Barcelona (2015). Simon Whittemore discussed using Open Badges to help create and recognise “T-shaped” students. I really like the thought of a broad compliment of skills and attitudes across a number of domains, coupled with an expertise and competence in one particular domain.
Levelling the Playing Field

This is a thought inspired by the Open Badges conference organised by @szerge in Barcelona recently. I am increasingly aware of how privileged I am, and how easy it is to accept the state of the playing field as just “how it is” as opposed to questioning it’s unfairness, and doing something about it. An…
Awesome Awards

Some very wise words from Charles Kennedy that I came across the day he died. In the last couple of years I’ve been amazed at how much pointless Education System tinkering goes on by politicians with a certain view of how education should be.
The Motivation for Reading

I didn’t really read much as a kid (I need to hear the words) until my GCSE teacher encouraged me to read some books he thought I would be interested in. I remember he challenged me to read 10 pages a night. Soon I was hooked – it was slow going – but I was…
I am more than just my grades

When you hire a person what do you look for? I look for what I would call character, and a spark… Yet grades are so big that that although voices say that other qualities matter, its hard to hear them. Could Open Badges be a game changer in terms of recognising value, in all its…