Recently, we had a research mapping exercise in our school at my university. This meant that the four different clusters all worked individually and in small groups to cover questions about their motivations, impact, collaboration, methodologies and the theories that inform their research. It was a good activity, not least because it was a chance…
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CMALT: Future Plans
The use of learning analytics to better inform learning design to improve student outcomes Learning analytics is becoming increasingly prevalent across a wide range of educational institutions. I believe that it will have a powerful effect upon educators and students in the future. Used appropriately, it might inform learning designers about the different aspects of…
Research Agenda for 2021: Part Two (Learning Design)
This agenda is a little bit less formulated than my previous agenda (on Civics and Citizenship education) and that’s reasonable as it reflects a later research interest. Even though I have separated out the two different aspects, I should also note that there is significant overlap between the two, and the division is purely for…
Activist Citizenship Education is here!
If you’re like me, you’ve been watching the events in the US with a fair amount of anxiety. I want to know how this could happen – and who could let it happen, or even worse, encourage it. What is the role of social media and mobile technology in this? And what responsibility do extremists…
Research Agenda for 2021: Part One (Civics and Citizenship)
So for 2021, now that I am starting to find myself more comfortable at UTS, I think that it’s time to really start applying myself with some dedication to my research agenda. This is going to be complicated by the increased amount of teaching that I am required to do, but I think that I…
Franken-citizens, Washington and Domestic Terrorism
As with many other people, I’ve been watching the events unfolding in Washington with a mixture of anxiety and concern. While the situation remains confused, I thought it would be worthwhile noting some initial thoughts and observations about what took place, and also making some suggestions as to what that means for civic educators like…
The Public Sphere, Twitter, and Trump
One of the most interesting moments (and there have been a great many) over the last couple of weeks to arise out of the mess in the US has been the action by Twitter, and then other social media companies, to ban actors like the President from their sites. Predictably, such actions aroused the ire…
Game Review: Neverwinter Nights
This review is a bit of a blast from the past. I’ve been playing Neverwinter Nights again, after it was on special on Steam. I think I got the extended edition for about $15 which was a pretty good deal – even if it is for a game that first came about in 2002. Interestingly…
Game Review: The Return of the Obra Dinn
This game has been a bit of a sleeper hit, and attracted a lot of critical acclaim. I must admit, I’m generally wary of such games – I know what I like, and this didn’t sound like it – but when I picked upThe Return of the Obra Dinn as part of a bundle, I…
Game Review: Firewatch
It’s not often that I get to compare a computer game to Shakespeare, but I think that’s probably warranted in this case. I’m not suggesting that Firewatch is on the level of Hamlet or Macbeth (although there are definitely tragic elements to the story); rather, I think that it bears something in common with A…