It’s been a long month. A strange month. I’ve spent a lot of time engaging with some different approaches to change in teaching and learning (the good, the bad and the pragmatic). Learning is social, collaborative and knowledge creation The OER16 conference showed the value of a small, dedicated community of practitioners in pushing for […]
Re-complexifying learning measurements
Bouncing around in my head: Access, agency, analytics, API, assessment, challenge, competencies, comprehensive, complex, core business, consultation, data, decomplexification, design, intentional, integrated, learnification, outcomes, roadmaps, plans, student-centered, transparency… I’m sorry if this rambles a little. I feel that just beyond my grasp, there is a place where these ideas coherently intersect. And so I bumble […]
A hammer is not a solution
I stumbled across the quote below from a recent blog post by Donna Lanclos: “I want to get people to start from the notion that there are educational things that they want to do, or educational processes that they would like to engage with, and then – and only then – talk about the technology.” Yes […]
Measurement, data and theory: Emerging themes
The last week has been an interesting one with lots of good conversation about measuring, data and theory here and on Twitter. I think three themes have emerged. Hoping to get additional thoughts, input and dissenting views 🙂 Theory vs. Data. I remember a good discussion at LAK11 between David Wiley and Eric Duval (I think) […]
Data vs. blind loyalty? I choose data
This is the second blog post that I’ve wrote in which I seem to be defending measurement. Everything else being equal, I’d argue that a decision based on data is better than decision based on a belief (that often come in the form of urban myths, folklore or statements that start with “We all know…” […]
In defence of the lowly KPI…
I’ve had alot of fun hanging out with an Ed Tech/ Open Ed group over the past week. Most of what was said made sense to me. Then the conversation shifted to KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)… Now I have seen alot of bad KPIs. Example: A boss shared with me our new measures of success […]
Big Ideas and Organic Growth
I just got back from a conference, an experience that almost leaves me with a few nuggets to ponder, often about what was not said or the opportunity. In this case, the main takeaway nugget from OpenEd2015 related to little groups with big ideas. And what happens when they capture the attention of the big […]
Solutionary needs
I happened across a podcast of Grace Lee Boggs recently on The Moth. In it she said: “It is such a wonderful time to be alive, because we can create solutions and he [Jimmy] was a solutionary. He could do visionary organizing; propose things that people really wanted to do but didn’t know they could […]
The “Do Nothing” Choice
I work in a support role, so usually people don’t ask for my help when things are running relatively smoothly. “If ain’t broke don’t fix it,” works for me. As a result, it seems that I am usually dealing with things (processes, plans, departments, business performance) that are in various states of disrepair. Often I […]
Side Projects, New Perspectives and Small Wins
Any good project worth doing starts with a plan to acheive something, a fuzzy vision of how things could be better. (Usually the fuzzier the vision, the more important the project.) The most logical next step is to plot out a plan that gets you moving in the right direction. (Easy right?) But once on the the path […]