Author: DavidWebster
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All I write are emails: (Not) A Lament.
All I write are emails. I should join my generation in a mass bemoaning. A wailing of would-be scribes. Denied our space to craft lyrical whimsy by neoliberal templates. But I won’t. Because I don’t really write emails. I write missives of reassurance. To a colleague, straining under anxiety who needs kindness. Compassion between the…
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Podcast about shifting to remote/online learning
I spoke over the weekend to philosopher Dr Pat O’Connor, from the Thales’ Well podcast, about the move to online learning. As he said on twitter, “We talked of different aspects of #eLearning like synchronous and asynchronous delivery, managing expectations, value of structure, segmenting on-line classes and other practical tips.” The podcast is live at…
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Social Media (Zombies) and ethics in Higher Education
At the University of East London today – for the Learning and Teaching Symposium: Connected Students event. While my poster might not match the abstract exactly – I’ll share what I promised, and then what I actually delivered. In our zeal to leverage the social tendencies our students, to harness the irresistibility of apps and…
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Is that meant to be funny?
Thinking about pedagogy, comedy, freedom and change. Also incorporating a mini-review of Laura Davis’ Ghost Machine show. Preface: I occasionally develop obsessive interests. I actually seem to accumulate them, but that’s another blog post. Of late this has taken the form of listening to the Comedian’s Comedian podcast – and one of its many virtues…
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Building Cohort Identity, and Social Media
I am delighted to have a small chapter in Social Media in Higher Education: Case Studies, Reflections and Analysis, Chris Rowell (ed.) The book is a free download/online read if you want the pdf, or you can pay for a physical copy. It features a lot of really valuable material – as the blurb states:…
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Why not both? Kigali Reflections on Problem-Based Learning versus Direct Instruction.
The context for this set of reflections is the ‘Trad Vs Prog’ debate, which rages amongst teachers of school-age children, but also has substantial importance for HE educators. While on Twitter the debate is often fierce and contains more heat than light, there are important, deeply political (what is education even for?), high-stakes (whether certain…
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Working Out in the Academy? Why the ‘University is like a gym’ metaphor is flawed.
Dr Nicola Rivers and Dr Dave Webster Since the introduction of fees to UK Higher Education there has been a notable anxiety about the notion of the ‘student as consumer.’ In a ‘market’ where student fees mean they are accumulating substantial debt as they study, there is extensive speculation about both the meaning and impact of this…
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New Year, New Uni… On the move…
Just a note to announce that from February I’ll be moving, after 18 years at the University of Gloucestershire, to take up a new role at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. The SOAS announcement is below. Director of the new Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at SOAS announced…
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Tightrope Walkers: Social Media, Equity, and Educational Practice
I am finally getting round to popping up the link to this. In June, I was delighted to be able to give the keynote lecture at The University of Sheffield’s TELFest event. Click the image to watch a recording of the talk. The description of what I tired to cover is below. Social Media…
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Why it’s always personal… Rejection, failure and the University as a bad boyfriend
Dr Nicola Rivers and Dr Dave Webster [With a hat-tip to the Thesis Whisperer] Academia is fuelled by rejection. For every article accepted or funding bid won, numerous others will have been summarily rejected, with promising ideas never seeing the light of day. In fact the constant spectre of rejection is so widely acknowledged within the academic…
