Free-range learning
-
New place for open textbooks
As a past user of and contributor to open textbooks in BC, I was pleased to see that BCcampus has created a new home for their growing collection of open textbooks and course material packages (see B.C. Open Collection). You can still explore the linear arrangement until February 2024 but I found the new site…
-
Gleaning the web
LOL, I just reviewed the latest WP 6.3 tutorial video Embedding media and third-party content on your website and I’m left wondering why there are no warning of copyright infringement? In the old days, people used to display content from other websites in frames I think. They took that away and I seem to remember…
-
Intriguing structures 2
Despite my good intentions, I have neglected my blogging for the past several months! So, I’m diving back in with another look at visualizations that interest me (and that seem useful for learning). Recap: Intriguing structures 1 was about interactive online calendars that could be used to catch a learner’s attention and encourage them to…
-
Pathways
At last, I’m starting a new website, a blog that allows me to write about anything that I am curious about, or that I find intriguing AND a place where I can get back to exploring visualizations, h5p learning activities and whatever else I find. It’s also a way to ‘encourage’ myself to be more…
-
Social learning online
I spent some time, during the summer, learning how to contribute to an iNaturalist project based in a small corner of our local UNESCO Biosphere Region. In case you haven’t tried iNaturalist before, it’s an amazing “what’s this” service that allows you to identify flora and fauna you encounter on your nature walks, just by…
-
Intriguing structures
Sparking interest and capturing the attention of busy learners can be a challenge at times especially if you aren’t present (either virtually or in-person). But online environments and free or inexpensive digital tools (apps) can make it easier for you to curate or present a collection of intriguing information, encourage critical thinking and develop self-directed…
-
Accepting loss
As we get older, things change in ways we may not have anticipated. I was certainly surprised at the unfriendly tone of the recent emails I received from the most recent owners of my Flickr account (SmugMug). I hadn’t uploaded anything since about 2015 but kept my Flickr photo site primarily as an archive of…
-
Northern Perspectives
We’ve just launched a unique FLO (Facilitating Learning Online) course – one that has been re-designed to incorporate Northern perspectives and contexts (read more about FLO North). I’m excited to see how our modifications to the original BCcampus OER (the course derives from an open licensed Moodle course called FLO Fundamentals) support the evolving needs…
-
Honouring Indigenous Writers
What have you been reading lately? Are you part of a book club? Have any of the books you’ve been reading been written by indigenous writers? I’m guessing (perhaps unfairly) that you might have to say “No”? Well, here’s your chance to change that. Get to know an indigenous writer – make the effort to…
-
Perspectives on Pro-D
I’ve been thinking a lot about what we mean when we talk about professional development, especially when we talk about it in the context of higher education (or post-secondary education). As a long-time edu-consultant, I’ve been in a kind of ongoing flow of PD throughout my career; sometimes that PD was formal and credentialled but…
Got any book recommendations?