This is the second blog in a short series of blogs on the recent popular phenomenon of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The first blog on their development, the backdrop and the history, is here. In this blog I’ll be discussing how MOOCs can differ drastically in terms of their pedagogy and culture. I’ll explain […]

Excited to share the great news that our panel, “Geography, Maps, and Visions of Home in the Classroom,” organized by Eric Covey (U Miami) and including the likes of Elizabeth Belanger (Hobart & William Smith College), Anita Elizabeth Huizar Hernandez (U Arziona), and Patrick McGreevey (American University of Beirut). The abstract is below. It will be wonderful to think about the place of geography in the American Studies pedagogy and contribute to its teaching including and beyond the role of maps through conversations about the meaning and role of space, place, and environment. What is the geographical imagination of American Studies in the research we teach and discuss, and in the assignments we give students that allow them to shape their own understanding of the world and its practices and processes? What geographical imagination should we offer them in order to produce more justice worlds? The abstract for the session …

Many of us have these degrees of friendship we have with many people. I find it particularly inadequate when you describe friends to other friends. There are only 3 words that I usually use – colleagues, classmates, friends. But it is not enough. Even in colleagues I have someone I like more, talk more than… More Spaces & Circles

You were there from kindergarten to college graduation. yet strangely, I never called you dad, you were always Mr. D. We shared no more than polite greetings, good mornings and good afternoons, pass the salt please. And then your friends came with cut up pieces of beef after the slaughtering of a cow, With it was...Continue reading »

This is my first blog on a topic that has become very much central to my interests in the field of technology enhanced learning, initially from an academic perspective and then from a professional one. Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. Anyone with even a passing interest in e-learning should be familiar with the phenomenon […]

Happiness right now is having friends who care about me enough to let me sleep in their beds for weeks. Happiness right now is having random conversations with strangers that lead to laundry cards with extra money on it. YEAH! That’s an extra 16 minutes to dry my clothes.

Last Saturday, I was attending a public speaking event and during the break I wanted to check something on Facebook. Scrolling down the page, I saw a picture Grainne Conole posted where she was with Georges Siemens and Erik Duval. … Continue reading →

E-fuels…society has a number of these now in use.  Many fuels in North America contain some percentage of ethanol.  Often these e-fuels are made from crops such as corn or sugar cane thus driving up the price of those crops. Global warming, high fuel prices, and degradation of the environment due to the mining of ever […]

The post Has Audi Created a High Octane E-Fuel? appeared first on Science Alcove.

Last year was my first year doing the Slice of Life Challenge. I think I may have missed one day but hey, I was working full time AND pursuing a master’s degree in leadership AND adjusting to life in a new country. This year, I have missed three days and it’s only day 15. Where...Continue reading »

Once the rubble was cleared from the big hurricane back in August 2015  I decided to dive headlong into ballroom dancing, taking lessons at Aunt Sappy and Anna Cow’s dance studio with little Sally Lou. I’ve spent all of my extra … Continue reading →

It’s been a crazy week here at the farm. Really crazy! We are in the final year of our lease on this beautiful farm in Culpeper and looking to make some major decisions about our future. As we formulate the plans and requirements necessary to bring our farm-school to fruition, we have come to accept that […]

This ds106 post was from the Design Assignment – ‘Venn Pop Culture‘. The task was to create a Venn Diagram with three attributes on it to define figures from popular culture. I have a great love of villains and morally … Continue reading →

Yes, it’s GIF time again! This is the assignment ‘Animals Doing Funny Things‘ from the ds106 course, AnimatedGIF assignment bank. The instructions were very simple, find an animal doing something funny and make a GIF from it! For anyone on … Continue reading →

sparks of imagination, create more, do more, be more.

You are a beautiful baby. You may become a beautiful adult. It’s not fair, but there are certain perks that come with being attractive. You may deserve these perks, but remember you did not earn them. No one owes you anything just because you’re pretty. A bit harsh, maybe. So here’s a bonus tip for […]

When Grandma takes you upstairs, I usually tell you that Mommy’s not going to be far. I say the same thing when I have to leave you to get a bottle. Or to use the bathroom. Or to pick your big brothers up from school. But here’s the thing…. Mommy’s never going far. Ever. In […]

Who do you trust to tell you the news with pure objectivity and accuracy? While that’s arguably never been an easy question to answer, its complexity has increased to mega-proportions in the digital era.   Renowned journalists throughout history like Ernie Pyle, Walter Cronkite and Nellie Bly spent years working their way to the top echelons of journalistic credibility and had relatively […]

I love weekends. Getting up whenever I feel like. Quiet in the weight room at the gym. Buying fruits and vegetables. Preparing my meals for the week. Reading. Scrambled eggs, home fries with chunks of onion and bell pepper, 4 slices of bacon. Roaming a...

An HIV vaccine is in the works which uses gene therapy to deliver genetic protection against all HIV strains.

The post Has an HIV Vaccine for all Strains Really Been Developed? appeared first on Science Alcove.

What two items would you take to the International Space Station?  A nice cup of coffee is an essential, even if it did float away in zero gravity. A sketchbook would be good, do pens work in space?

  This is the updated and revised abstract for my keynote talk at the conference of Association of Law Teachers at Northumbria University, 21st March. In this talk I will explore the nature of the academic-student relationship with reference to … Continue reading →

Conversation between me and B. Me: “What level are you reading at in school now?” B: “An E or F I think.” Me: “Wow, you’ve been working really hard. All the way from a B to an E!” B: “Yeah, I test on level B, then C, then my teacher wanted me to do D....Continue reading »

I know, teaching is challenging work, it is difficult work, it is more than anyone who hasn’t taught could possibly imagine. I know. I also know that teaching has its perks. Last year I decided to walk away from the classroom. I wanted to finally take the break that I’ve been saying I needed for...Continue reading »