Mc² = E Learning Reflections

This time last year I remember posting about  how I wanted 2022 to be different.  Well, it didn't disappoint.  I learned a lot, I changed a lot and I grew stronger.  Some people who were on this journey with me, changed direction and carried on their own way.  Others have stayed with me and accompanied my along the way and others still have joined me my adventure.  Other times, I changed direction because I took the time to recognise that I didn't want to go to the same places as other people.  And while, from time to time I miss their company, their destination simply wasn't the same as mine and I hold no ill feeling about that.    A friend of mine reminded me that "to everything there is a season" and seasons change - it's natural.   ( " The seasons are changing. " by  Bernard Spragg  is marked with  CC0 1.0 .). Have you ever though  of yourself as seasonal?  I hadn't but I'm starting to realise that some ...

S o, despite learning about connectivism a number of years ago at the start of my #MAODE degree, I don't think I've ever really embraced the power of connectivism until recently.  So I wanted to share my thoughts on it here. For those who haven't heard of it before, here's a short clip where George Siemens (as cited by the University of the Sunshine Coast, 2014)  explains the concept behind his theory. So this idea of making connections became interesting when I started reviewing my EdD Proposal with the aim of connecting it with my previous blog posts.  I was having a bit of a reflective moment thinking, "How did I get to where I am?"  What unfolded wasn't just connections, but evidence of an evolving journey.   [Before I go on, I should say that I haven't been sponsored, nor am I intending to promote any particular tools or software.  I'm sure that there are other tools and ways to achieve the same or similar ends to what I've been doing.  I...

It's been a while since I wrote here.  But over the festive period at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 I've had a lot to think about.   ( "Happy Newyear 2019"  by  wwilliamm  is licensed under  CC BY 2.0 ) If I'm honest, Christmas and New Year didn't feel all that festive.  It kind of felt, to some extent, a bit like I was just going through the motions so other people didn't have cause to worry.  But the truth of it is my heart just wasn't in it.  Then on the fourth of January I was watching a comedy program on television (a rerun of a show that was years old - the Christmas special) and at the end, the cast sang a Christmas Carol, Silent Night, and then I felt festive!   Music has always had a way of speaking to me throughout my life.  It can warm my cold heart on a winters evening.  It can make me laugh, it can make me cry, it can make me want to get up and dance, it can say all of the things that I want t...

( "Help wanted sign"  by  andjohan  is licensed under  CC BY-SA 2.0 )  Teaching throughout the covid-19 pandemic has been stressful.  Leaders, learners and teachers alike have struggled to adapt and to conditions which are ever evolving, and have faced conditions which could at best be described as unkind and, at worst, brutal.  The rolling worldwide program of lock-downs has been arguably synonymous with the effects physical incarceration on the mental health of those who find themselves isolated from society.  I have spent many hours reflecting on the sheer number of learners I have encountered who have struggled, and even dropped out of education completely, wondering if I could have done better by them.  Now, with a view to the future, I find myself contemplating what I could do to make this ever changing world of online education kinder, more supportive and more manageable for students, teachers, leaders and managers as we move to...