Metaphors of Ed Tech

I talk to Bryan Mathers of Visual Thinkery about the work he has done on GO-GN, other projects and those pesky penguins. Links: GO-GN GO-GN resources ALT Reclaim Hosting Fabulous Remixer Machine 25 Years of Ed Tech Remixer 25 Years of Ed Tech book Ideas for Metaphors of Ed Tech cover Metaphors of Ed Tech book

Links: GO-GN OEGlobal OEGlobal conference (Krakow) OEGlobal conference (Cape Town) OEGlobal conference (Delft) ROER4D TU Delft Online Learning Hub

In the first of several episodes celebrating 10 years of GO-GN (Global OER Graduate Network), I talk with Rob Farrow about his wokr on developing co-produced resources with the network and the visual imagery of penguins. Links: GO-GN Research Methods Handbook Conceptual Frameworks Guide Open Research Handbook Conceptualising Research Methodology for Doctoral Researchers in Open Education (with pen...

I look at two metaphors, firstly how the non-conflict writing in Ted Lasso is a metaphor for a pedagogy of care, and secondly how shedworking and the Wilco album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot offer suggestions for creativity that goes beyond AI. Links: Ted Lasso  Says Goodbye. It’s About Time. Good riddance, Ted Lasso: how the ‘nice’ comedy became utterly dreadful television The radical Ted Lasso lesson fo...

In this episode I look at how the development of a Canadian art identity offers some analogy to higher education coming to understand artificial intelligence. Links: The Emily Carr, Mattiusi Iyaituk & Tom Thomson approaches to AI Tom Thomson, Antimodernism, and the Ideal of Manhood Tom Thomson wikipedia Tom Thomson: Design for a Canadian Hero The Group of Seven wikipedia An Inquiry into the Su...

In this episode I explore how the rollout of smart motorways in the UK, and the reaction to it, has lessons for educational technology implementation. Links: Smart motorways and tech adoption Metaphors of Ed tech book My blog

I talk with Jim Groom of Reclaim Hosting about the use of metaphors in their branding, edupunk, runaway metaphors, and film. Links: How To Probe the Depths of Nautically-Themed Open-Source Projects Using Moby Dick Presenting Reclaim Cloud at OER23 25 Years of Ed Tech - Edupunk Leading with art Getting back in the conference swing with OER23 Data is the new flesh, long live Dr Oblivion Reclaim Host...

I am joined by Eamon Costello from Dublin City University and we discuss his use of metaphors in teaching and using speculative fiction. Links: On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one . Decolonization is not a metaphor Rewild my heart: With pedagogies of love, kindness and the sun and moon Who cares about learning design? Near future superheroes and villains of an educat...

In this short episode I offer some areas of caution around the use of metaphors. Explanation is an event, understanding is a process: How (not) to explain anything with metaphor Metaphors of Ed tech book My blog

I discuss the OER23 conference with ALT CEO Maren Deepwell. We talk about how the conference has evolved, and the OER23 conference in Inverness, plus some of the metaphors we liked during sessions there. Links OER23 Programme (incl videos of keynotes) OER23 Podcast from Maren Maren's blogpost on previous OER conferences Spider cats and super-peeps Tom Farrelly post Anne-Marie Scott post Sheila...

In this episode I explore the economics of investing in a centralised "Death Star" type solution, and also examine some early metaphors for the internet such as the Information SuperHighway Links: Death Star vs Storm Trooper investment What's in a name? Early Internet Metaphors Metaphors book My blog

This episode looks at two metaphors that have relevance to the pandemic and the online pivot. Firstly, the design of the internet as a model of a robust system, and secondly the notion of resilience from ecology to examine institutions ability to adapt to crises. Links: Brief History of the Internet. The Internet Society Naughton, J. (1999). A Brief History of the Future: Origins of the Internet....

I explore two metaphors in this episode: How the movie Jaws relates to the online pivot, and how mudlarks provide a metaphor for educational technologists. Links: COVID-19 screening strategies that permit the safe re-opening of college campuses. Jaws as patriarchal myth . Integrating ideology and archetype in rhetorical criticism, part II: A case study of Jaws Reification and utopia in mass cultur...

In this episode I explore a number of music related metaphors, including edupunk, the educator as DJ and the pillars of hip-hop. Links: The Glass Bees (original Edupunk post) EDUPUNK or, on becoming a useful idiot. 25 years of edtech: 2008—EDUPUNK! Jargon watch: Green crude, popcorning, edupunk Diy U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education Open Educator as DJ Let’...

In this episode I examine the lecture from two perspectives. Firstly as the main model that people hold for higher education and how that limits our imagination when it comes to online learning. Secondly, the haunted house novel is used to explore the reasons for continuing with the lecture when students have stopped attending. Links: Why do education secretaries hate online learning? How to respo...

In this episode I explore two metaphors that relate to open practice. The first are the 19th century riots in West Wales which focused on Toll Gates, and I make the connection to reactions to academic publishing with movements like ICanHazPDF and Sci-Hub. The second metaphor looks at anthropology and how the role of women in hunter gatherer societies was often overlooked by researchers. This is an...

In this episode I explore two rather persistent, and often damaging, metaphors, namely that of Digital Natives and Uber (or other technology companies) for Education. Links: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Is It Age or IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation The “digital natives” debate: A critical review of the evidence. The net generation and digital natives: Implications for...

I explore two metaphors relating to specific educational technologies. Firstly, the implementation of Video Assisted Refereeing in football and what it tells us about learning analytics in education is explored. Then the various metaphors relating to VLEs (or LMSs) are discussed. Links VLEs: A metaphorical history from sharks to limpets The inside story of how FIFA’s controversial VAR system was b...

I look at two metaphors: The Welsh castle, Castell Coch, and what it tells us about venture capital investment in higher education; The rewilding approach to introducing apex predators and how we can think about our ed tech ecosystems. Links: Castell Coch Cardiff and the Marquesses of Bute Chartism in Wales Educating Silicon Valley: Corporate education reform and the reproduction of the techno-eco...

I explore early metaphors of the Internet and how these shaped our thinking, but then how they have changed also over time. Links: Foucault in cyberspace: Surveillance, sovereignty, and hardwired censors.   What Gamergate should have taught us about the 'alt-right' Since when is it illegal to just mention a trademark online? (Streisand Effect) SIFT - The Four Moves The Outrage Economy Metapho...

I briefly set out the reasoning behind using metaphors to talk about educational technology, and then how metaphors work and shape our thinking. Links: Metaphors of Ed Tech Metaphors We Live By Why Metaphors Matter in Education When a bad metaphor may not be a victimless crime: The role of metaphor in social policy On Two Metaphors for Learning and the Dangers of Choosing Just One Edtechie.net (my...