The Australian Way
I recently returned from a trip to Australia to speak at the New Literacies, Digital Media and Classroom Teaching Conference. As part of the trip I was able to spend a week in Melbourne, one of the most inspirational places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. After a very hectic couple of months [...]
Back from the Wilderness
Five months ago I took the decision to go on semi-digital leave and suspend some of my online activities such as blogging. This also meant that my use of social networking systems such as Twitter was more sporadic and incoherent. This was a difficult decision but it was necessary as my workload had reached epic [...]
The Horizons of 2011
I’m slightly late blogging about 2010 as it’s now 2011. So, a very Happy New Year to you all. As I look back on 2010 and look to 2011, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on some of things that have happened in 2010 and then look to the future for 2011. Some [...]
Time for another Changing Horizon…
I have spent today completely re-designing this website. When I say re-designing I actually mean finding a decent template and then modifying it. It is something I have been meaning to do for a long time as I had become unhappy with the dark theme that I had installed previously. Most of the blogs that [...]
Friend/Inbox/Tweet Me – Perceived challenges and implications of Social Media
“Friend me on Facebook and I’ll totally confirm” (Dialogue from ‘Sorority Row’ – Hendler, 2009: [00:27:50]) The above dialogue demonstrates how online practices with social networks have become embedded in popular culture and media and how the boundaries of offline and online ties have become blurred (Ellison et al, 2007). As the result of their [...]
Productivity: The Notification Culture
The (very) long summer holidays have allowed me to reflect on what has been a very busy and productive year. However, when I think about productivity I feel that my actually productivity has taken a stumble over the past couple of years. While I appear to have had a high output in terms of work [...]
Android and Me
After a year of using my HTC Hero, this post reflects on my use of Android and recommends apps that have become central to my life. Up until last year I was not a huge user of mobile phones. I actually dislike speaking on the phone and send very few text messages. My main communications [...]
Ponyo – I’m as happy as can be
It’s been a long time since I posted on this blog – a reflection of my increased/hectic workload over the past weeks. In addition to this I have been without internet access for the whole first weekend of my half-term break. Anyway, today I went to see one of the most charming films I have [...]
Pirates, Robots and Ideological Literacy
The slightly confusing title to this post sums up my slightly confused state regarding this blog. I have so many different things rushing around in my head at the moment that I sometimes forget to blog or simply cannot pick what to focus in on – life, literacy, work or just general observations of the [...]
Next year I would like a… TARDIS (please)
I couldn’t let the major event of last week pass without writing a quick blog post. I’m not talking about the ‘big freeze’ but rather the finale to David Tennant’s association with Doctor Who. Most people who watch Doctor Who talk about who is ‘their’ Doctor – a large proportion of the people I know [...]