I was thinking this week about what we miss from not being at work. Our new online spaces lack the fine details of the workplace. Personally, I'm missing those chance meetings, corridor conversations where we agree to chat further or remind each other of a project. It's hard to replicate those small conversations that might lead to collaboration or sharing.
How do we replicate thinking time? Walking from one building to another, on our way to a meeting or getting a coffee, these moments help us collect our thoughts, reflect on conversations and interactions. We need these times somehow, they are the oxygen that helps ideas to breathe.
In this week's digest, we'll reflect on our conversation on Playful Learning with Prof. Nicola Whitton who kindly joined our language learning & technology class.
Finally, we're pleased to launch a new scheme (see the box below) inviting artists to work with us on an upcoming project in the Global Languages & Cultures Room.
Please feel free to use this newsletter to share ideas and point people to resources. I will attempt to publish each Friday morning, so please get your emails to me by Thursday afternoon. Please take care of yourselves, look after each other and stay safe.
We're very pleased to launch a new scheme which we hope will provide some support to artists who may be struggling at this time. We are looking to commission 10 x short digital pieces that we can use in an upcoming project and will be displayed in the Global Languages & Cultures Room. Click the image above for more info.
People, Places, and Things
In this week's Language Learning & Technology Class we talked to Nicola Whitton, Professor of Playful Learning. We talked about the difference in play between children and adults, why some people don't want to play, and how you can reap the benefits of play in learning.
There are some great resources online, including links to the annual Playful Learning Conference, videos of past talks and some helpful ideas on incorporating and adopting play in teaching.
Nicola talks more about why play isn't the same as gamification (which isn't a great thing) in the podcast "Play is the Thing" presented by pediatrician Max Davie.
An Indonesian nurse wearing protective gear holds a newborn baby wearing a face shield at a clinic in Bireuen. Photograph: Amanda Jufrian/AFP via Getty Images
On remote learning and working.
There's been much debate these past weeks about whether you should deliver your teaching in a synchronous or asynchronous way.
I thought the table presented by the University of Boston summed up the differences nicely.
Also, this article on the Smart Brief website reminds us of some of the finer points of teaching remotely.
EdSurge has an article on when to allow students to learn in their own time.
It obviously depends on the learning outcomes, I mean, why bring students together on zoom so that they can complete a task they could do in their own time?
On Screen
In the age of coronavirus, the only way you can see Milan is to fly through it. By Niccolò Natali and Nikola Lorenzin. Read the story here: nyti.ms/2V7BTBX