Here we are then, with another new year, as we juggle the possibilities of what may lie ahead with the chance to start over (if we want to) and push on with the projects that we're already engaged in.
The new semester will bring new courses and introduce you to new learners. Thinking back to how much my teaching practice has changed over the years, I realize what was relevant to students in the past may not resonate as much today. Adapting delivery can be challenging, but know that we're all trying to figure out the best way to ensure teaching is relevant and engaging. We talk about empowering students, but listening to them is a good start in figuring out how to adapt and move forward with our practice.
In this week's newsletter, we're taking a final look back on last year, and exploring new tools and platforms that might be useful. Remember, this newsletter is a space for sharing and collaborating on new ideas. It’s not the case that it is always about solving problems or throwing out what's worked before, it's about adding a few new things to our offer. There is always a risk to trying something new, but know that there's support and guidance (and hard lessons learned elsewhere) to ensure success.
Thank you again for your continued support, here's wishing you a Happy New Year, enjoy the semester, and let us know how it’s going. This is as much your newsletter as ours, if you spot something, however small, or you have an event you want to promote, then please get in touch.
Posters for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been released, including these for the Olympics and Paralympics by Takashi Homma (Photographer) and GOO CHOKI PAR (Graphic Designer). You can see more of the posters here at the official site.
People, Places, and Things
A sobering but important read during the break was Audrey Watter's 100 Worst EdTech Debacles of the Decade. One of the things that struck me was how much bad science is being funded in the hope of making a quick buck. Edtech is still in thrall to the revolutionary, the disruptive, the game-changer, the hack, when again and again the real need is for investment in the school system, support for students and their teachers.
If we think we're secure, then the K-12 Cyber Incident Map is a worthy reminder that schools and colleges hold a huge amount of personal data that is increasingly vulnerable to unauthorized disclosure and breach. Cyber sense starts at home, so use a secure client or VPN, make sure you're not repeating passwords across the web and pass on cyber-hygiene to your students. Make this change.
By the way, Berkeley's new adulting class for students has been extremely popular.
Remind your students about the library, I'm constantly amazed by the range of what you borrow, from musical instruments, pottery wheels, and Raspberry Pi and Arduinos. Some libraries are even scrapping fines.
This fantastic collection of Boundless Courses is saved by Lumen Learning and freely available as OER.
I'll allow myself one link to AR and VR, but it's a good one. Here are 5 Worthwhile Tools for the classroom.
Finally, this brilliant radio episode of All in the Mind addresses imposter syndrome, which academics seem to suffer from more than almost any other group. There are some good strategies for coping.
On Screen
Created in direct response to the Australian Bushfire crisis, Darcy Prendergast's new film #TomorrowsOnFire is a rallying cry for hope, in a country increasingly scarce of it.
Please help support injured Australian wildlife, by donating: wildlifevictoria.org.au/ or coopersanimalrefuge.com.au/donate
Thank you for reading, we really appreciate your support and would love to hear more about what you like and what you've seen that might be useful to share. If you have anything you'd like to include in future issues, let us know.