Blame the OU

I've just joined the RSPB and it's all the Open University's fault. Firstly I did T189 "Digital photography" and that led to spending a wad of change on new DSLR. I also started looking at iSpot which is a wonderful OU resource for identifying animals and stuff. Of course the camera needs more of a workout than snapping people standing in front of things so I've started hanging around nature reserves. They seemed an obvious place because iSpotters are so good at sorting out what a bird might be from the few half-decent photos I might capture. So there you go - instead of investing time and money in pubs I've been hanging around Dungeness and the raptor viewing area on Sheppey and it's all the OU's fault.

Reflections

Woodland walk

Woodland walk, originally uploaded by nogbad the bad.

This charming little pond is on the woodland walk and I pass it when heading for Friston building here at the Uni of Sussex.

SXR103 and badgers

Anyone who has taken the OU course "SXR103: Practising science" at the University of Sussex will have been to Beachy Head and looked at the magnificent chalk cliffs. They will also know that these cliffs were built by badgers many years ago - details here. Now I find that badgers built the shingle banks at Dungeness albeit by extension, i.e. when they built Beachey Head that led to the creation of Dungeness. This poster is at the RSPB Nature Reserve at Dungeness and it's a bit blurred because I was so excited to read this!

It's come to this

Here are the materials for DD208 laid out for review. I'm taking some time out this week - I should have been heading north but that's not certain now, what is certain is that I have an exam for this course in a couple of weeks time so a spot of revision might be in order. In case it's not clear in the image the printed paper front and centre is the catchily titled "Penalisation of poverty and the rise of neo-liberalism" by Loic Wacquant (European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 9: 401 - 412, 2001).  The course is rich in "social sciences porn" type DVDs; lots of film of earnest looking chaps asking "normal" people (innocent bystanders?) seemingly trivial questions and we're invited to draw lots of pertinent conclusions from the innocuous answers. Education is a social science so I'm used to this type of enquiry but not so much and certainly not accompanied by a full multimedia experience. It's a smashing course though and well worth doing - I've enjoyed it even though (like everyone else I suppose) I wish I'd had more time to get into all the detail.

KMG

Smashing day today. It's Learning at Work Day so I went to the Kent Messenger Group offices at Aylesford. Here's a photo of me surrounded by the trappings of an OU adviser in full flow. For those who don't know - the KM Group are responsible for local newspapers across the county. Their website is at Kent Online.

Today

Today I spent some time with a group of Open University students. The group included two OU graduates, one of whom is now studying for a Masters degree in International Development. They are part of a group of sixty or so OU students studying in HMP Swaleside, a B cat prison on the Isle of Sheppey. In total more than 100 men in Swaleside are studying through distance learning; that's more than 1 in 10 of the total prison population. Sadly changes in the way prison education is funded mean that they are unlikely to be given the support needed to continue studying.

The Learning and Skills Council (soon to be replaced by the Skills Funding Agency) have shifted funding so that distance learning, any learning over NVQ level 2, isn't going to be supported by the education teams in prison. This means that anything above GCSE level will not be supported. Distance learning encompasses more than just Open University studies, it also includes vocational courses from providers such as ICS who offer City and Guilds accredited courses in electrical and mechanical engineering.

Education in prison helps with rehabilitation and if people are to be fit for being released into society it's important that they have the skills and education needed to contribute. Curtailing the opportunities for learning can only lead to more men and women being unable to readjust to life outside.

HE Review - OU evidence

Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor, Open University from bisgovuk on Vimeo.

If anyone missed this it's well worth a watch for a number of reasons. Firstly to see Martin Bean in action - this is one very impressive performance. The preamble is a tad dull but once he's answering questions he demonstrates his grasp of the agenda and environment and the wider political concerns. Listen to what is said. For me the key part is that the OU will not sacrifice quality therefore it must cut numbers as a response to the financial constraints.

The website for the HE Review is http://hereview.independent.gov.uk/hereview/ and there is a great deal more stuff available.

Resi school

New Year!

It's the start of the new academic year. I'm posting this to welcome everyone to whatever they are studying and with whichever provider and at whatever level.

It's also to see whether any of the students in my T175 group find this blog and this posting and say "hello" in the comments (and anyone else who wishes to say "hello" - feel free! :-))

Leaning into the Light: The Open University 40th Anniversary Lecture

"Lord Puttnam, Chancellor of The Open University, marks the 40th anniversary of the institution in this special birthday lecture, delivered on Monday 20th April 2009 at The Open University, Milton Keynes. He addresses the challenges facing the world of education as we pursue the digital revolution in face of the credit crunch and the threat of ecological disaster."

Happy birthday

The Open University was established by Royal Charter in 1969. On April 23 of that year The Queen endorsed the proposals and asked for a Charter to be drawn up. This was to establish The Open University for the "advancement and dissemination of learning and knowledge by teaching and research by a diversity of means such as broadcasting and technological devices".

Happy birthday OU!

The OU Song

Doing the Berrill Dash

From here to the OU campus in Milton Keynes is just over 100 miles, most of them on motorways. That sounds great until one considers that the main motorway involved is the M25.

I set off this morning at 06:45 after a light breakfast of fruit and PG Tips. An accident between J28 and J27 meant a long, slow crawl round the top section - more hold-ups between 22 and 21 and then slow traffic on the M1.

At 10:05 I pulled into my reserved space and was under starter's orders for The Berrill Dash. The route starts on a gentle uphill slope to the first of three glass sliding doors - one is operated by a push-pad while the other two are automagic, none can be rushed. Then through reception and and a short flat section heading for the stairs. Careful here as it's downhill and there can sometimes be people heading up them and we're on the flat again in the Berrill Cafe. Timing is key here - arrive at a bad time and the people filtering away from the servery with skinny lattés form a mobile slalom and then it's hard right to the door. Through there at pace and hard right and the finish line - the urinals.

No idea how long it takes but sometimes my vision is compromised and the footwork isn't good as everything is clenched but I'm sure I can't be the only person who speeds past the receiptionist with a resolute grimace.

Traditions

One of the traditions of the office I work in is that we take in biscuits for the team, our team has a little area with different biscuits ready for nibbling with a cup of tea. A biscuit always represented is the Anzac so I thought I'd post a picture so that everyone would know how this wonderful ambrosia is packaged.

A project I'm involved with

Are you using social software / web 2.0 tools with your students? For example, social networking sites, blogs, wikis, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter ... ? If so, we would like to hear from you. We are most interested in initiatives that have been running for some time (for example, more than one semester) and those which include a reasonable number of students.

We are working on a JISC-funded project to create case studies of social software use in UK higher and further education. The aim is to help the educational community explore the potential benefits - and problems - of this new domain.

The case studies and project report will be disseminated via the JISC web site in early 2009. These resources will be of significant interest to the HE and FE community, and should attract a very wide readership.

If you think your practice might make a suitable case study, please email Dave Roberts (d.roberts@open.ac.uk) at the Open University. For further details of the project, see http://kn.open.ac.uk/public/workspace.cfm?wpid=8655

Many thanks & with kind regards,

The Project Team

The Open University, UK

YouTube

Shouldn't be surprised that the OU is taking advantage of YouTube to create a presence. Check out OUView for the full range of videos. You might also find me in the "What YouTube taught me" section

Chalk

DSCF2347
Originally uploaded by nogbad the bad

So now the dust has settled and I'm starting to wake up after two weeks of late nights and early mornings I can stand back from what I've learnt about geology.

These magnificent chalk cliffs were built by badgers some bazillion years ago. Why they created these cliffs is unknown but it's probably related to the need to keep the sea out and may have been motivated by the need to give bluebirds somewhere to fly (cf Dame Vera Lynn). Badgers are not thought to have been responsible for later work at Stonehenge.

It is no coincidence that they used chalk as the building material - this was before education so chalk wasn't being used in large amounts by schools, there was lots of it lying around with no real purpose.

Support for the badger theory is also offered by the way in which they inlaid bands of flint, these layers give a distinctive black and white pattern which is also synonymous with these nocturnal mammals.

I hope my writing this doesn't spoil SXR103 for any students yet to attend the residential school at the Uni of Sussex.

Resi school

I did this outside and couldn't see the screen which is why I'm squinting at it - I promise I don't look that rough in real life

Social networking

This is my first ever video - not sure about the quality but I've learnt a lot by doing it