In a world that is changing at a fast pace under the increasing weight of technology, how to stay in the race and renew its know-how? Let us rely on collective intelligence and develop teamwork, answer more and more institutions of higher education and companies. That’s how Stanford was born in the 80’s, design thinking , a problem-solving method […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Builders of possibilities: projects that give students confidence
Say something solid
I help social science researchers think about how to plan or commission data visualisations for their results. Many think that designing a great visualisation will somehow elevate their findings. This is not always true. The consulting field on data visualisation, unfortunately, is filled with advice on which colors or charting methods to use, or how […] … learn more→
How to turn your PhD into a book – part two
If you missed the last installment; step one can be found here – I recommend reading this post first Step Four: Don’t be an academic asshole about it It’s highly likely, unless you did the slightly less cold call approach descibed in my previous post, that you won’t get a fast answer to your initial pitch to an […] … learn more→
How technology can help ‘undisable’ students with dyslexia
I find it hard to think of dyslexia as a disability in much the same way I struggle to consider ADHD or Asperger’s syndrome a disability. When I meet anybody with those neurological differences, my first thought is “what sort of jobs would you outperform me in?”. Many years ago, a colleague of mine was […] … learn more→
We provided psychological first aid after the Las Vegas shooting – here’s what we learned
What is “psychological first aid”? How do mental health experts like you work side by side with traditional first responders? The goal of psychological first aid is to sooth, assist and help people function and cope in a healthy way in the wake of a traumatic event. It’s employed in the hours and days following the event, […] … learn more→
We all put too much emphasis on test scores
We live in testing times. We also live in a time of globalization, immigration and the internationalization of schools and universities around the world. Our current obsession with school accountability and student learning outcomes has resulted in the increased use and abuse of test scores — in particular language test scores. Language test scores are […] … learn more→
Bloom’s Taxonomy: The rubbish running education
Back when I was focusing more on how much education has been degraded (and less on the takeover by edu-fascists), I wrote of Bloom’s Taxonomy, this weird dogma which Educationists rant about extensively. It’s been over five years since I wrote about it, but a recent book extolling the virtues of this taxonomy was recently […] … learn more→
Trusting states to do right by special education students is a mistake
On Sept. 20, the U.S. Department of Education released a new framework to “rethink” how the department oversees special education services for students with disabilities. As part of this framework, the department plans to provide states with “flexibility” and to “acknowledge” that states are “in the best position to determine implementation of their programs.” This flexibility relates […] … learn more→
Why do teenagers not like to read?
I read San Manuel Bueno, martyr (Miguel de Unamuno, 1931) for the first time when I was fourteen years old. In my list of compulsory books of 2nd of ESO, Unamuno’s reading was after Marianela (Benito Pérez Galdós, 1878) and before La familia de Pascual Duarte (Camilo José Cela, 1942). On the day of the exam, the teacher asked us about the plot […] … learn more→
Can we really learn a foreign language with an app?
Pursued on all download platforms in the world, applications dedicated to the study of foreign languages are expected to revolutionize language learning. They allow you to train on grammar points and can be a very rewarding way to enrich your vocabulary. But their effectiveness is debated, especially with regard to skills such as written or oral expression. […] … learn more→
