Centre for Fusion Learning Innovation and Excellence
Embedding excellence through fusion of education, research and professional practice
Reading about the Wonkfest earlier this week reminded me of the constant search for methods to “measure” “learning”. Robert Bjork says that learning and performance are distinct. Performance is measurable but learning must be inferred from performance. Performance is easily observable whereas learning is not. Frequently, learning occurs but short term performance doesn’t, and visa versa!… Read more » about Measuring Progress VS Learning- lessons from the school classroom.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) holds much promise for the future in automating many parts of our lives and integrating our own personal data with what’s relevant to us on the worldwide web. Step forward the Big 4 market leaders in this field, all vying for a foothold in this market. Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, Google Home… Read more » about The Not So Fab 4 Quite Yet of AI Digital Personal Assistants
The term ‘immersive’ is being increasingly used to describe virtual environments and virtual reality; we read about immersive technologies, immersive learning environments and immersive worlds, for example. But what does this actually mean, and do we all experience a sense of immersion in the same way? These questions have been the subject of research for at least 20… Read more » about Immersive technologies: do we all experience immersion in the same way?
Research methodology is a significant topic in education research, especially the use of multiple methods for exploring complex situations. British Education Research Association (BERA) has published a special issue on the journal Review of Education to showcase the latest research innovations and progresses in education research methods. This special issue covers a collection of individual… Read more » about Special issue on Journal Review of Education – Using multiple methods to investigate complex educational issue
The call for papers for the 12th Annual VWBPE conference is now open. This international conference, which takes place entirely in virtual worlds, is a wonderful experience, both to present at and to attend. You can present a ‘paper’ (and that can be quite widely interpreted in environments like these!), exhibit something you have created… Read more » about 12th Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference; call for papers
Academics say that online recordings must be emphasised as a supplementary resource, not an alternative to lectures, or some students lose out….. Dr Edwards added that one of the ways to counteract the drop in attendance was to ensure that lectures provide something special that cannot be replicated in a recording. If lectures are interactive… Read more » about Lecture capture: vital learning aid or a licence to skip class?
Debate Stage: crisis, what crisis? Is student mental health really a “no brainer”? Student mental health is making headlines almost daily – so this session was (unsurprisingly) packed. But kicked off by focusing whether or not this amounts to a ‘crisis’. Chris Shelley, Director of Student Academic Services, University of Greenwich reports Tressler set out… Read more » about Wonkfest 18: BU Head of Student Services Mandi Barron contributes to the student mental health debate
Our debate created intense media comment: “TEF is a busted flush” – no punches being pulled at #Wonkfest18 #EvershedsSutherland #EducationTeam WonkFest18 and wonk extraordinaire David Kernohan introduced our session: Learning and teaching might feel like the hardest university missions to measure, but it has been one of the most measured in recent times. A key figure… Read more » about Wonkfest 18: can teaching be measured? Professor Debbie Holley contributes to the debate…
The ultimate chic location of Ravensbourne University down by the Millennium Dome was the location of this years @wonkfest18 – 500 academics, policy makers and industry shakers came together to discuss, debate and future spot Higher Education trends. Policy: Sir Michael Barber, head of the Office for Students emphasised its regulatory responsibilities, and challenged Universities… Read more » about Wonkfest18: what are the key messages?
Vincent Ryan presented this lecture on Friday 2nd November. It was organised by Miriam Phillips, Lecturer in Journalism and NCTJ Coordinator for the School of Journalism, English & Communication, and although primarily for Journalism students, spare tickets were offered to other staff and students. This is the second time the Google News Lab team (now… Read more » about Google News Lab visiting speaker Vincent Ryan
