Just like last year, I will be taking a break over the summer, so this is a shorter issue than would normally drop into your inbox. I hope that you enjoy this selection of links and pics, feel free to get in touch.
This is the last of the summer micro editions, I hope that you’ve enjoyed them. I don’t think they were as succinct as last year or even followed the same format, but that just goes to show how disruptive the summer has been and also how much has happened that I just had to record.
I’m back into routine this week, planning two new courses and arranging workshops and meetings in the Global Languages & Cultures Room, which for new readers is the space I manage at CMU. I have so much to do that I’m trying to schedule my days so that I get a chunk of each task done a day rather than try and blitz through jobs one at a time. This way of working reminded me to pick up my daily writing routine again. Writing just half an hour, to an hour each day will soon add up to a sizable amount, and with some judicious editing and refinement will hopefully help me deliver the two articles I have promised to publishers before the end of October.
I met a colleague for lunch and it was fun talking shop, it rather helped me move my head to where it should be, thinking about work. It has been tough getting back into it. That’s where my kids are too, they’ve spent most of the summer traveling, lying in, being outside and playing on devices, so this week we encouraged (forced) them to do some school work, using an online revision service that we found. I also want to do some more drawing with the youngest and maybe even a museum visit, although that’s a big ask these days *sigh.
Going to pile through these links because I really have so much to get done today.
People back home had to cope with the Platinum Jubilee and all the jingoism and absurdity from these collective moments. It seems even great archeological sites aren’t immune from the sort of nationalism that infected every corner of the British Isles this summer.
I’ve stumbled on some fun sites while writing the Intro to Immersive Tech course, including a huge amount about holograms, a technology undergoing a quiet revolution.
It has been heartening to see my colleagues in TEL and CALL using their unique roles as learning designers and technologists in universities to champion anti-racist pedagogies. Another example is ALT’s Anti-racism and learning SIG, which advocates for diversity in learning technologies, academic development, and teaching practice.
Sandi Toksvig’s letter to Justin Welby is brilliant, and he replied that he’d love to sit down for a cup of coffee and a chat. I hope Sandi does most of the talking and Justin does the listening.
Well done Kentucky…
I thought this article was particularly interesting, Elite Universities are out of touch, blame the campus and think that the same is true of a campus no matter where they are located, even in cities or urban centers. I went to a university without a dedicated campus, and buildings all around north London, which meant I had to take buses everywhere, but probably did feel a little more integrated with the community.
I really hope that Meta doesn’t buy Within which is a portal that has been showcasing great 360 documentary, animation, and VR content. It just goes to show that there’s not enough content to go around. Let’s get busy making.
I had no idea that language anxiety was a thing, but after reading a bit more I can see that so many people suffer from more than just nerves when operating in a second language, whether that’s learning or teaching. If you are a language teacher, then you are invited to complete this survey designed by a graduate student in the University of Illinois Department of linguistics, on language anxiety in teaching.
Since arriving back in the US, my TikTok feed has almost exclusively turned political, I’m wondering what made this happen, almost overnight my feed has become clips from committee hearings, protests, rallies, and school board meetings (yes, so many). I might make a second account so that I can go back to art, printmaking, and cycling. It seems much harder to manage TikTok, and boy is it addictive. The first app that I’ve added an apple screen time limiter to because otherwise, I won’t have the willpower, especially when it’s Katie Porter.
Let’s end with a song.
That’s me for this week. Thank you so much for your support over the summer, it has been full of ups and downs. You have been lovely and sent me so many fun messages, I hope that got to answer them all and pass on good thoughts and well wishes.
You have been very patient and next week there will be a return to teaching, learning, and research. I have a few topics prepared and want to share some of the articles that I’ve been reading. I will tighten things up a little bit.
Take good care of yourselves, enjoy the rest of the summer and see you next week.