My latest blog post for DMLcentral is now online: Conferences as Catalysts for Educational Innovation and Change.
A select morsel:
The face-to-face nature of conferences is, I believe, of even more importance in an extremely digitally connected world. Whilst it’s often the case that you can get to know people very well online, there’s something about embodied interaction that makes your knowledge of that person three-dimensional. I don’t think one method of interacting is necessarily ‘better’ than the other; a blended approach is best. This, I suppose, is why social media is so popular.
In addition, my opinion on Apple’s new iBooks Author was quoted on the JISC site this week. However, they mistakenly listed me as a ‘practising teacher’.
That little slip made me realise just how much I miss it…
You may have noticed the grey bar at the very top of this blog indicating my next speaking engagement. This is powered by Lanyrd, the ‘social conference directory’ – with full details of the conferences I’m speaking at, attending and tracking available here:
http://lanyrd.com/people/dajbelshaw
Here’s the next few events at which I’ve been asked to speak:
If you’d like me to speak at your event, please do get in touch. I endeavour to keep my presentations archive up-to-date if you’d like a sample of my style and topics of interest.
Image CC BY-NC librarygirl
This week I have been mostly…
Sorting out my workflows
It really doesn’t seem like a year ago that I posted My digital reading workflow but the time had nevertheless come to sort out new workflows in a new environment. When you’re working online all day, every day, things work a little differently.
Regular readers will know how much of an influence Joss Winn’s post Working on the web had on me recently. It certainly motivated me into action regarding ‘clipping’ (and adding my thoughts) to stuff I come across. I’m now using Amplify for that. What I still need to sort out, however, are ways to ensure I own my own data – either via backing-up Delicious and the like or some other method.
I’ve added a Lifestream to this blog at dougbelshaw.com/blog/stream
Struggling with SAD
I was in the shower yesterday when it struck me how the lowest points of my life have occurred during, or as a result of actions during, the months of November and December. I’m fine really, and it’s not in my best interests to go into details here, but suffice to say that whilst everything is OK on the family and work fronts, I really struggle internally at this time of the year. I’m convinced it’s got something to do with the lack of light – something that Josh Rouse sings of in Come Back (Light Therapy).
Presenting and organising presentations
I presented virtually at TeachMeet Oxfordshire this week on Models of Learning which went down well. I’ve submitted my session proposals for the Northern Grid Conference 2011 and bMoble Conference 2011 at which I’ve been asked to speak. I’ll be presenting and leading discussion on The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies, weaving in (of course) all kinds of other things.
The Learning Without Frontiers Conference (London) in January is the only event I’m planning to attend between January and March, given the imminent arrival of Belshaw Junior #2. Even after that, given the huge disappointment of Online Educa Berlin (and general conference fatigue) I may cut things back to just those at which I’m presenting/facilitating/organising.
