Doug's FAQ

Doug's FAQ

Doug Belshaw  //  My main blog is at dougbelshaw.com/blog. I use Posterous for my FAQ, Conference blog and Ideas Garden. :-)

 
Nov 9 / 3:13am

Examples of using badges to credentialize learning (#openbadges & #dmlbadges)

At my main blog I've been talking quite a lot about the potential for badges to credentialise informal learning. Quite apart from the MacArthur Foundation, Mozilla, HASTAC, US Department of Education and NASA-backed DML Competition, there's an Open Badges infrastructure that people are beginning to use right now.

Up until now I don't think that, collectively, we've done a good enough job so far at surfacing examples of people using badges imaginatively and creatively. That's why I asked Ruth Schmidt, who's been working with the Digital Youth Network in Chicago, to share some documents thy she showed in a session at the Mozilla Festival last weekend.

As you can see, one of the documents shows broadly four different types of badges. The other shows a retrospective analysis of the social network DYN has been using with students, and how badges would fit into their existing structure. I think it's a great, well thought-through example of doing something with badges that is difficult or problematic with existing assessment and grading regimes.

Click here to download:
badge-diagnostic-8nov2011.pdf (155 KB)
(download)

Click here to download:
DYNbadge-booklet-vF.pdf (3.29 MB)
(download)

 
Oct 21 / 4:42am

Why are your websites down?

This is the message that greeted me when I woke up this morning. My 'main' website when I signed up to Bluehost was historyshareforum.com, hence the reference to it below.

I have no idea which of the Terms of Service I am supposed to have 'violated'. I'm currently looking for a way to transfer my sites elsewhere as this isn't the first time this has happened. :-/

Forwarded message:

From: support@bluehost.com
To: [redacted]
Date: Thursday, 20 October 2011 22:25:37
Subject: Web hosting account deactivated for HISTORYSHAREFORUM.COM

Dear Doug:

Your web hosting account for historyshareforum.com has been deactivated, as of 10/20/2011. (reason: site causing performance problems)

This deactivation was due to a Terms of Service violation associated with your account. At sign-up, all users state that they have read through, understand, and agree to our terms. These terms are legal and binding.

Although your web site has been suspended, your data may still be available for up to 15 days from the date of deactivation; if you do not contact us during that 15 day period, your account and all of its files, databases, and emails may be deleted.

If you feel this deactivation was made in error, or in order to gain access to your account, please call our customer service line as soon as possible at (888) 401-4678 and press 5 to speak with a member of our Terms of Service Compliance department.
Please read the following, derived from our Terms of Service agreement, for additional information regarding the matter.

Engaging in any activity that, in BlueHost.com's sole and absolute discretion, disrupts, interferes with, or is harmful to (or threatens to disrupt, interfere with, or be harmful to) BlueHost.com's services, BlueHost.com's business, operations, reputation, goodwill, subscribers and/or subscriber relations, or the ability of BlueHost.com's subscribers to effectively use BlueHost.com's services is prohibited.

Please review the current copy of our Terms of Service here:
http://www.bluehost.com/cgi/terms

Thank you,
BlueHost.com Technical Support
http://www.bluehost.com
For support go to http://helpdesk.bluehost.com/
Toll-Free: (888) 401-4678 Option 2

 
Sep 19 / 11:43pm

How are you progressing with the #neverendingthesis?

Pretty well, thanks. I was planning to submit this Friday, but a couple of things are going to prevent that. First, I'm off to the Scottish Learning Festival tomorrow (which means I won't be able to work on it for a couple of days). Second, I've found more minor corrections than I thought I would.

A note on my method for minor correction-spotting. Digital documents are great for writing and editing, but not for seeing the bigger picture. I needed a lot of space to blu-tack up nearly 300 pages, so I went into work on Saturday and Sunday and spent 10 hours in total going through my thesis with a fine toothcomb:

My thesis as it stood a couple of weeks ago is available at http:/dougbelshaw.com/thesis. Once I've submitted, I'm planning to turn it into a wiki at http://neverendingthesis.com :-)

 
Aug 22 / 1:31am

Why was your camping trip a 'tragi-comedy of micro-epic proportions'?

Over at P2PU I'm organising a semester of learning around Mozilla's Open Badges project. If there was one for 'packing up a tent in the dark' or 'continuing
in the face of adversity' I'd have a fuller CV this morning.

It all started innocently enough. "It's a lovely day, isn't it?" stated the four year-old HyperActiveBoy™ as we played football in the back garden on Saturday. "I think we should go camping tonight." I was too busy trying to hold ChunkGirl™ (who, at seven months, is now the same weight as her two year-old cousin) to concentrate on the question. "Yes, we should go sometime," I replied.

After much badgering over Saturday and Sunday it was agreed: PersistentBoy™ and Daddy would go camping on Sunday night. Mummy found a campsite close by and, at 18.30, off we went, driving less than ten miles to our destination. The opencast mine and trainline we passed close-by to the campsite should have put me off or, failing that, the bizarre fluffy white chickens. But oh no. In the words of the Beautiful South, we Carried On Regardless.

HyperActiveBoy™ and I had the tent up and were in it by 19.30 after having the now-traditional hot chocolate and cookies, and getting washed in the shower block. My plan was to read in the tent but, on leaning back to lie down, managed to crush my Kindle in a way that broke the screen. Not the most auspicious of starts.

With AwakeBoy™ far too excited to get to sleep with Daddy in the tent, I decamped to the car planning to scour internet forums for a solution to my Kindle problem. But, of course, we were in deep Northumberland where GPRS is like frickin' broadband. After about an hour of fruitless searching, and with AwakeBoy™ still steadfastly refusing to sleep, I decided to get back into the tent.

Back in summer 2001 I went round Italy with AwakeBoy™'s Mummy staying at Youth Hostels. The sleeping bag I bought for that trip was an ultra-light one made for Mediterranean summers. On Sunday night it felt like the equivalent of a bin bag. Oh, and I didn't have anything to use as a pillow as AwakeBoy™ was hogging the improvised rolled-up blanket.

AwakeBoy™, a.k.a. TalkInHisSleepBoy™ a.k.a. HotWaterBottleBoy™, of course, has never been cold in his entire life, so didn't really understand why I, at about midnight when he was finally dropping off to sleep, proclaimed I needed to go back into the car to get my oh-so-thick M&S Dad cardigan.

From there it was all downhill. The excitement started again with AwakeBoy™ as I re-entered the tent. I threatened to take him home. A train went past. Something was moving in the opencast mine. He needed a wee-wee at 2am, managing to cover the outside of the tent in more than dew.

But then, at 3.30am, the cockerel started crowing. "That's it!" I cried, not really caring who heard us by this point, "we're going home!" AwakeBoy™, looking bewildered and as if he'd done something wrong, asked why. I explained that it wasn't his fault, that it was the worst campsite in the world, and bundled him into the car.

Taking down the tent took about ten minutes in the dark given that I just threw it into the boot of the car. We drove up the drive towards the campsite owner's house where I dropped the key off by posting it through the letterbox.

Did I also include a £10 note to cover the pitch fee? No reader, I did not.

 
Aug 19 / 12:34pm

What did you think of the Supercar Fantastic Four driving event?

(download)
I really enjoyed it!

Hannah, my wife, bought me the experience for my 30th birthday last December but I've only recently been able to find a date which worked for all the family. I have no idea how much it cost, although I'm pretty sure she'll have found a discount somewhere! The event was held near York, and Vision Motorsport, who ran the day, have also got a track near Oxford that they use.

I drove, in order, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Lamborghini Gallardo, Ferrari 360 and a Porsche GT3. In order of preference, I'd go:
  1. Ferrari
  2. Porsche
  3. Lamborghini
  4. Aston Martin
Most people there preferred the Porsche, but I managed to overtake the person driving that in the Aston Martin! The Ferrari was just out of this world in terms of raw power and acceleration. The steering was precision and the traction control just made driving it a breeze. I remember Jeremy Clarkson reviewing the Lamborghini Gallardo and pointing out the weird driving position: the pedals are over to the left which means you kind of have to twist your body. 

On the other hand, if I had to pick a car to drive every day, I'd choose the Aston Martin. It's a refined, more comfortable car that's really smooth to drive. I suppose that's why rich businessmen drive it. You'd have to be pretty ostentatious to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo around the place - especially in bright yellow! 

Hannah asked me a pertinent question on the way back home. I've got a Ford Puma, an absolutely awesome machine which is pretty quick and hugs corners. She asked if, had I not bought my Puma last year, whether I'd have enjoyed the experience more. I suppose that yes, I probably would. Our other car, a Ford Focus C-MAX is very much a family car and handles like a ship compared to my Puma. So, if I'd been used to driving that instead of my Puma for the last 10 months, then I suppose the day would have been even better.

As it was, I thought it certainly lived up to its 'fantastic' billing. It's just a shame that a couple of the instructors kept telling me off for taking the corners too fast... ;-)

Update: I created a video...

(and yes, those photos have been HDR-ised and I added F1 noises!)

 
Aug 10 / 1:21am

So you don't condemn the rioters?

Whilst I would absolutely condemn the violence and criminality that we've seen over the last few nights in major English cities, I can't help but think that we're narrow-mindedly only accepting one side of a much larger, more complex (and more disturbing) picture.

Put yourself in the place of a teenager in modern-day England. Even if you keep your side of the bargain - if you keep your head down, work hard and keep out of trouble - you still have to pay what must seem like an egregious amount of money to get a degree, something that is fast becoming a minimum entry level qualification for many jobs. How would you feel then? 

But what about if it's worse than that? What about if you've grown up in an environment where you've been neglected (or worse still, abused), where it's up to you if you decide to go to school, where there's no money in the house for what others class as basics? What if the structure that used to be provided by families, schools and communities just doesn't exist for you? What if there literally are no boundaries? Is that your fault?

As we saw with the student fees protests, you can be well-educated, articulate, and peaceful in your demonstrations and *still* be completely ignored by the government. What chance have young, poorly-educated and marginalised people really got, then? What use is marching with a placard going to do? Can you honestly say that in those circumstances you wouldn't turn to gangs and people who, on a short-term and very local level *can* sort out your problems for you? I'm not sure I could be so certain.

So whilst I obviously don't condone violence and criminal damage, I have to wonder just how our young people are supposed to vent their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. As I mentioned yesterday I believe that the structural inequality in England is larger than at any time during my 30 years living in the country:

As Richard Wilkinson points out in his book The Spirit Level the overwhelming cause of male homicide is status inequality. In fact, the power of the effect is three times greater than the strongest correlation previously measured. Status inequality affects seratonin levels which, in turn, lessens an individual's ability to enjoy pleasure and amplifies negative emotions. As a result, cortisol levels are likely to increase which are linked to almost everything bad that can happen to you health-wise: depression, cancer, heart disease, you name it.

So let's catch the young people carrying out criminal damage. But rather than punish them in unjust ways, let's be measured in our response. And for goodness' sake, let's get their side of the story. Perhaps then we can do something about working towards a more just society.
 
Aug 9 / 12:58pm

What do you mean by 'structural inequality'?

I've been debating on Twitter the reasons for the various riots that are currently plaguing our country. Whilst I'm absolutely in agreement at the shocking and criminal behaviour of (predominantly) young people, I think there's a wider problem that's not being acknowledged.

That wider problem is structural inequality.

"Structural inequality has been identified as the bias that is built into the structure of organizations, institutions, governments or, social networks. Structural inequality occurs when the fabric of organizations, institutions, governments or social networks contain an embedded bias which provides advantages for some members and marginalizes or produces disadvantages for other members. This can involve property rights, status, or unequal access to health care, housing, education and other physical or financial resources or opportunities. 
…
Social inequality occurs when certain groups in a society do not have equall social status. Aspects of social status involve property rights, voting rights, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, access to health care, and education as well as many other social commodities." (Wikipedia)

What saddens me is the seeming inability of people to separate the criminal behaviour (i.e. the rioting and looting) from the plight of the rioter. I have to question whether such people have ever lived with and amongst the deprived of society or, in fact, know their history. :-(
 
Jun 3 / 11:18am

Why did you set up @SynechismLtd?

I genuinely want to do interesting stuff when I'm finished my doctoral thesis. What do I mean by 'interesting stuff'? Apply theory into practice, meet innovative people trying to do cool things, and generally make the world a better place.

If the subcontext of the question is 'Are you going to start expecting people to give you money for stuff you used to give away for free?' then the answer is 'it depends what you mean'. I value the time I spend with my family - and I've got a financial as well as emotional responsibility for them. So whilst I'll still be applying a CC Zero license to my blog and doing things like Purpos/ed, the other stuff I do will probably involve money changing hands.

In an ideal world there would be no money (and no racism, war or disease). In an ideal world my postgraduate education wouldn't have cost me so many thousands of pounds and I'd be able to work for free. This is the closest I can get to that for now: doing things that interest me (and that I'm good at) with people trying to do inspirational stuff - and in return be appropriately remunerated.

Does that answer the question adequately? For more details head to http://synechism.com

 
Mar 23 / 3:22pm

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing formal education?

Some brief thoughts, brought to you with the letter 'A':

1. Assessment - outdated, outmoded, and increasingly irrelevant. Are the things we test worth testing?

2. Authenticity - with both schools and universities expected to be businesses in a marketplace, how do they resolve the tension between this and their more traditional standards-based role?

3. Agility - as neither fish nor fowl, how do institutions respond to pressures from the market, stakeholders and the government in a timely fashion?

4. Acceleration - what happens when a body of knowledge is our of date before a student finishes a course?

5. Access - when people can learn from anyone, anywhere about anything, who will be the new gatekeepers?

 
Mar 15 / 2:41pm

How do you present without notes?

Practice.

Well, actually it's more than that. Before you practice three things have to be in place:

1. Your call to action
2. A clear flow of ideas
3. Props that support (as oppose to *tell* your narrative)

Once these are ready I tend to do two things:

a) Print out the slides
b) Export the presentation as a PDF, add it to my Dropbox and access it on my iPhone

Finally, I practice running through the presentation three times, with one of these being before I go to sleep the night before. As a teacher I learned that it's the *transitions* you have to work on as it's easy to ad-lib the content if you know your stuff. :-)