Well, it's January, so that means that various apps that you use, that collect various analytics for you (*cough* *cough*) have created some nifty year-in-reviews for you.I thought I'd kick it off this year with my Podcatcher app (PocketCast). I don't recall getting a year-in-review for this last year, so it was interesting to see it pop up.  Admittedly, I don't think I listened to as many

Education for Critical Consciousness by Paulo Freire My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was a rather short book, as is the case with most of Paolo Freire's books, but it packed a rather big punch.  I listened to this on the way to and from work as an audiobook, but I think that this kind of book is probably consumed a bit more slowly, maybe with the addition of

 While I technically received my degree last September, the actual convocation day for Athabasca is today for all graduates who completed their degrees between June 2021 and May 2022. The ceremony is virtual and I am curious to see how it will be implemented.  I am certainly taking notes for my own work ;-)AU sent us a care package with various festive items, some physical goods (cap, tassel,

Lower Ed: How For-Profit Colleges Deepen Inequality in America by Tressie McMillan Cottom My rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting book to read. While most of what was in this book wasn't really news for me, it was helpful to add some additional context to the "Lower Ed" field. I think this is a worthwhile read for high school students thinking about college, and for college graduates

Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge by Kenneth A. Bruffee My rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting read. The first part of the book discusses collaboration as a means of nonfoundational knowledge teaching. I felt that a large part of the book (part II) dealt with the philosophy of nonfoundational knowledge instruction (much more so

Engaging Students Through Social Media: Evidence-Based Practices for Use in Student Affairs by Reynol Junco My rating: 4 of 5 stars I picked this up when it first came out, and I have thumbed through specific sections over the years (as needed for work), but this is the first time I've read from cover-to-cover. While some technologies may be dead already (I'm looking at you, vine!)

I think this is the only April Fool's joke to come out of an educational provider.  Courses.com.au seems to be a course/job certification website that matches potential students with educational providers in Australia.  This certificate of human survival is perfect for a post-apocalyptic world!

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: Best Practices and Principles for Instructors by Kara L. Orvis My rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting book to read if you're interested in CSCL. It may be a tad bit dated at this point, but some core (or historical) materials are of value. For me specifically - and my EdD research, there were some interesting points to be made about CSCL.

Well, after almost 2 months, 8 drafts, and a lot of work, I've arrived at my update dissertation proposal. This thing grew about 15 pages since my last draft.  Yes, some pages are blanks by virtue of needed to start something on a next page, or to not break-up a table, but I did end up having to explain some things a bit more based on the literature.  Hopefully I can form a committee soon,