My 20th post for DMLcentral has now published. Entitled Reclaiming the Web for the Next Generation, my aim was to point out a fundamental problem with the way we ‘pay’ for our technology (i.e. through user data) and how that applies to education.
I’d love your comments on it – I’ve closed them here so you can do so over there!
My latest post for DMLcentral is up. Entitled Why I still believe in badges, it’s a response to a comment by a Philosophy professor (who will remain anonymous) that Open Badges are merely a way that for-profit companies can get a slice of the action in Higher Education.
A quotation from the article:
While badges could, potentially, be used for nefarious purposes, it’s my belief that the open, distributed architecture of the code and community means that we can seek to improve our education both inside and outside the walls of institutions. This is not about ‘disrupting’ education for the sake of it or for private profit. This is about providing another way of doing things to promote human flourishing.
You can read the whole thing at DMLcentral. Please do comment over there (I’ve closed comments here).
My latest post for DMLcentral is up. Entitled Re-imagining the Where, When, and How of Educational Practice, it’s an attempt to cover briefly three topics:
I think my favourite paragraph is this one:
The priority here in education, formal or informal, should be upon facilitating learning, not finding ways to use the latest technology that comes along. While there’s an undoubted thrill in, for example, finding ways to use something like Google Glass, we as educators shouldn’t feel pressure to do so merely because it exists. We should focus on creating learning environments that integrate technology use, not throw the baby out with the bathwater in the name of ‘disruption.’ Education isn’t broken, it’s just being systematically defunded in order to let private providers ‘save the day.’
I’d really appreciate your comments – whether you agree with what I’ve got to say or not. I’ve closed them here to encourage you to comment on the original post.
Image CC BY The Knowles Gallery
![Why I still believe in badges [DMLcentral]](https://dougbelshaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/dmlcentral-badges.jpg)
![Re-imagining the Where, When, and How of Educational Practice [DMLcentral]](https://dougbelshaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/trees.jpg)