In the campaign leading up to the Brexit referendum, most parties involved in higher education , including 103 university presidents, 56% of university students and even Jo Johnson, former UK Secretary of State for Education – and Boris Johnson’s brother, Conservative critic for Premier May -, have expressed their wish to remain in the European Union (EU). […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: January 2019
How will Brexit affect British universities?
Smartphones connect art students to sights and sounds of Montréal
Many teachers see smartphones as weapons of mass distraction in the classrooms and have become convinced smartphones and school are a bad mix. With a smartphone, a student is connected to all their friends and millions of strangers on a vast virtual world of attention-grabbing apps. While there are many legitimate concerns over smartphone use in […] … learn more→
Digitally tracking student behaviour in the classroom encourages compliance, not learning
ClassDojo is one of the most popular classroom communication apps in the world. It claims to assist teachers to create happier classrooms and bills itself as “the simple way to build an amazing classroom community”. Since it was released in 2011, it has rapidly spread to be used in more than 180 countries worldwide and over […] … learn more→
“Reverse class”: why leave class keys to students
Let’s be honest, in 2019, the biggest reason for teachers to be satisfied is to meet students as they look up from their computers. Indeed, how to compete with social networks that unveil scoops by the minute, educate while entertaining, offer mini conferences of experts to the topics touting? As a teacher, you can do well, give […] … learn more→
Overworked and isolated: the rising epidemic of loneliness in academia
Universities were created to be places where people learn and educate together. But a UK survey has found 46% of researchers feel lonely at work. Social isolation is particularly common among early career academics – 64% of PhD candidates report such feelings. Spending time alone, can be more difficult for some people than others – but isolation should not […] … learn more→
Another revealing interview with an education poo-bah
The people running our institutions of higher education are fascinating. They’ve now gone so long without any checks on their power, without anyone to tell them “you have no clothes,” that they generally make fools of themselves when they speak…generally to a media lacking the guile of a child, or at least the guts to […] … learn more→
2019. Bring it on! (gently this time)
Welcome to 2019! How did your 2018 resolutions go? I find a theme is easier than a resolution, which tends to become a promise to myself that I don’t keep. A theme, summoned up in a keyword, makes decisions easier. One year I had ‘brave’ as my keyword, which worked really well. Every time I […] … learn more→
Starting the PhD – learning new vocabulary
Scholarly work often involves learning new words. You know this right? Sometimes it even seems that in order to be considered a scholar you have to speak in words no one else can understand. Well that’s the stereotype. But let’s try to unpack this a bit. What words do you need to learn, why and […] … learn more→
With larger classes, teachers can’t attend to children’s needs
In Ontario, Education Minister Lisa Thompson recently announced she will be consulting with education partners on the possibility of removing hard caps on class sizes. Kindergarten classes are capped at 29 and grades 1, 2 and 3 have a cap of 23 students. Regular caps could sometimes be higher due to children moving in and out of a class. […] … learn more→
Change classes: what if students learn from each other?
The Internet has transformed the ways of learning and accustomed individuals to share their knowledge without going through the imposed roles of the “master” and the “pupil”. Now, they expect a system similar to school or work, and need, more than before, to feel involved in their learning. Inspired by “mutual class” , the XVIII th century, where more advanced students […] … learn more→