Why #rhizo14?

Why #rhizo14?

by balimaha

| Syndicated
January 12, 2014

I am writing this post as my first for #rhizo14, introducing myself and stating my goals for taking this course (though I have written about rhizomatic learning earlier, when I first read about it). The brief: my goals I am … Continue reading →
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Pedagogy of Misunderstanding

by balimaha

| Syndicated
January 12, 2014

Dare I admit this? Some of the most interesting things I have done and ideas I have thought stemmed from misunderstandings! It is often considered good teaching to approach our subject matter wanting to figure out our students’ erroneous pre/misconceptions … Continue reading →
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What’s wrong with FutureLearn?

by balimaha

| Syndicated
January 9, 2014

I want to reflect on my discomfort with FutureLearn as an online learning platform. I love the MOOC I am currently taking on it, offered by U of Nottingham, focusing on sustainability. I love the teaching staff, participants, reflective exercises … Continue reading →
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Sustainability to me

by balimaha

| Syndicated
January 7, 2014

This post is for the Sustainability MOOC #flsustain I actually wrote this paragraph a while ago when i was reading Sarah Speight’s book “learning for sustainability”, so i am now posting it publicly: Sustainability has connotations of continuity and of … Continue reading →
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Inspiring teaching philosophies

by balimaha

| Syndicated
January 7, 2014

I am writing this post to capture/curate aspects of some of my favorite teaching philosophies written out there. Because of my new job responsibilities, I am particularly concerned about finding deep and critical teaching philosophies about online aspects of learning, … Continue reading →
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Novelty, noise, and scaffolding

by balimaha

| Syndicated
January 3, 2014

Some days you come across an idea that provides you with unexpected insights. The idea is simple and should have been obvious to you long ago, but somehow was not, until some other person articulated it well enough. A couple … Continue reading →
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Generalizations about Education: what’s the point?

by balimaha

| Syndicated
January 2, 2014

Generalizations about education have been driving me crazy for quite some time. If you know me, you’re probably sick of hearing this. I strongly believe that discussions about education divorced from context have almost no value – or at least, … Continue reading →
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MOOCaholic manifesto: how to manage when you are overMOOCed

by balimaha

| Syndicated
January 1, 2014

Right. So in case you are crazy like me and plan to take several simultaneous MOOCs whilst also holding down a full-time job and maintaing some semblance of a family at home with a kid/s… I will assume you are … Continue reading →
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Learning for Sustainability: on sustainable assessment #flsustain

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 30, 2013

I use this post to note my favorite quotes/ideas on “sustainable assessment” from the book “Learning for Sustainability”, which is one of the texts for the FutureLearn MOOC offered by U of Nottingham. Whole paragraph quoted: assessment strategies should be … Continue reading →
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Different approaches to student input and involvement in learning

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 28, 2013

I just read a recent article by Prensky that highlights the importance of getting student input on how they want to learn, as early as school level (unsure how “early” is, but i assume as soon as kids can articulate … Continue reading →
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Cormier’s Community as Curriculum, and Rhizomatic Education

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 26, 2013

I have just finished reading Dave Cormier’s 2008 article Rhizomatic Education: Community as Curriculum and thought I would reflect on it here. (I am actually unsure why I had never come across this before, as I have been doing lots … Continue reading →
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Does Ideology Prevent Empathy?

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 25, 2013

This is my third post on the topic of empathy. WordPress recommended I look at some other blogs that discussed issues of empathy. I really liked this blog post and the way the author makes the connection between how ideology can stand … Continue reading →
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Annotated resources on empathy

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 25, 2013

I found two good videos about empathy on YouTube (both by RSA) This first is Jeremy Rifkin describing empathy as a biological imperative, one that evolves with the human condition and which comes from the human drive to “belong” (incidentally, … Continue reading →
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What is Empathy?

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 25, 2013

I am writing this post to begin exploring the notion of empathy, which I have argued previously might be an essential component of a constructive critical citizenship. I am doing this as sort of pre-writing and brainstorming for a book … Continue reading →
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Academic blogging revisited: Thinking, writing, action

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 23, 2013

This post is a confluence of several “coincidences” related to the value of thinking and writing and the value of taking action in the world – all at a time when I started my own blog as a form of … Continue reading →
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Guilty Mom’s Guide to Screening Kids’ Screen Time

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 23, 2013

Guilty! I admit, that even though I am an educator and know that research suggests that screen time is not good for kids’ cognitive development (I guess probably also social and physical), I allow my toddler more than the recommended … Continue reading →
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Sunday Salon: Weekly Links 12/22/13

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 22, 2013

Reblogged from the dirigible plum: I really like Vicki Vinton's blog, To Make a Prairie, and I really really liked this post with an invitation to her readers to make poetry collages. My #nerdlution is to read more poetry, and … Continue reading →
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Why @HybridPed is my Favorite Journal

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 22, 2013

On the upcoming two-year anniversary of the journal Hybrid Pedagogy, I thought I’d share why this has been my favorite journal for the past few months (and probably for many more years to come). There are many reasons I love … Continue reading →
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Teaching as Giving, Writing as Giving

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 20, 2013

This post is inspired by a facebook discussion about my previous post “We are Nerds“. Friend of mine pointed out that the passion with which academics want to teach their students is not restricted to academics, but anyone in any … Continue reading →
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We Are Nerds. So how do we reach our students?

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 19, 2013

It suddenly struck me, a couple of weeks after I finished my PhD, that I was a nerd. This should not have come as a surprise, since I have been a high achieving student throughout school and college, and loved … Continue reading →
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To blog or not to blog? The academic blogging question

by balimaha

| Syndicated
December 18, 2013

This blog post reflects on my reasons for starting this academic blog. If you have followed me over the past six months or so, you’ll know that finishing my thesis seems to have started a seemingly never-ending stream of semi-reflective, … Continue reading →
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Starting ds106 late!

by balimaha

| Syndicated
October 11, 2013

I’ve just created my first wordpress blog (I’m shocked I didn’t have an account before, actually!) to participate in ds106. Looking forward to it, though worried about starting late :o))
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