42 Rules for Successful Collaboration (2nd Edition): A Practical Approach to Working with People, Processes and Technology by David ColemanMy rating: 2 of 5 stars I guess I forgot to check off this book as read a few days ago. The book was OK, and it was a fairly fast book to read, not weighed down by disciplinary jargon. That said, some of the rules are quite helpful, whereas others

Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences by Irving SeidmanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Quite a good read on conducting interviews as part of educational research. It does seem to focus on phenomenological interviews, where the interview is the one and only approach, but it might be useful for other cases where interviews are one of many

Collaboration in Distance Education: International Case Studies by Louise MoranMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Even though it's a little dated at this point, it was an interesting view into cross-organizational collaborations in distance education. I started reading this thinking that it was more about person-to-person collaboration, not necessarily institution-to-institution initiatives. 

From PhD comics from a week or so ago...  One of the reasons I don't really want to go on vacation until my dissertation proposal (or heck, even until my data collection) is done.

Teaching Crowds: Learning and Social Media by John DronMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I've had both a physical and a digital copy of this book for ages, but only really gone through select passages since I've had it. This time around I read through it cover to cover. It's interesting to read about sets, nets, groups, and collectives, and how they are instantiated using various technologies. I

Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach: 41 by Joseph A. MaxwellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This was quite a short book (in comparison to other methods books I've read) but it was quite good. It's definitely packed with good insight and things to make you think about what you want to consider when it comes to writing your research proposal. At the end of each chapter there are memoing

Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Method by Annette N. MarkhamMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting collection of researched essays on doing qualitative research on the internet. The book is setup in a Question prompt-response-responses to the response manner. In a sense it's a bit like a dialogue, or a panel discussion, but in written form.  It definitely gives you some food

Case Study Research: Design and Methods by Robert K. YinMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Quite a thorough book on doing case studies.  This is the second book just on case studies that I have read thus far, and it seems quite inclusive.  I did like the Stake book (see review a few weeks ago) but this seemed to give more of a roadmap.  This is probably the 8th or 9th book I've read

Σήμερα το πρωί, στην ροή του facebook μου ήρθε η παρακάτω εικόνα. Η εικόνα είναι από το διαδικτυακό κόμικ PhD το οποίο σατιρίζει την πανεπιστημιακή ζωή εδώ στην Βόρεια Αμερική, ειδικά την ζωή αυτόν (που σαν και εμένα) προσπαθούν

The Art of Case Study Research by Robert E. (Earl) StakeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This book reads well, and its nice narrative (for the most part) style of writing really gives the reader a good overview of the Case Study method and how to research and write using this approach. It was fairly easy to read through, and it would be good to read this again as you embark on your case study. That

Advances in Research on Networked Learning by Peter GoodyearMy rating: 4 of 5 stars An interesting exploration of Networked Learning - despite it being a little dated (from a technology point of view) the chapters are still relevant today in my opinion 😃. I actually came across a few good nuggets of information that I need to track down for my own dissertation work - serendipity strikes

Place-Based Spaces for Networked Learning by Lucia CarvalhoMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting book of cases in Networked Learning. It's fun to see some familiar researcher names pop-up where you don't expect them. This book seems like it has a well-rounded selection of case studies where Networked Learning and Space intersect. Good read, even though not all of the chapters really pertained

The Architecture of Productive Learning Networks by Lucila CarvalhoMy rating: 3 of 5 starsI'd give it 3.5 stars if GoodReads would allow it. This is an interesting book on case studies (essentially) on how people have implemented Networked Learning in their various environments. Some examples might resonate with you, and others might be too alien. Overall I think it's a good idea book. Some chapters

Analysing Networked Learning Practices In Higher Education And Continuing Professional Development by Lone Dirckinck-HolmfeldMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Learned a lot on infrastructure and affordances in relation to Networked Learning. This was an interesting read, and my fourth book into this topic.  I still have a few more on my to-read list, but I am looking forward to them.  I

Exploring the Theory, Pedagogy and Practice of Networked Learning by Lone Dirckinck-HolmfeldMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I liked this particular book on Networked Learning. It provided a nice balance between theory and actual practice. I think I am addicted to this Networked Learning thing.  I have a three more books on my to-read list on GoodReads, and I bookmarked the proceedings for

Networked Learning: An Educational Paradigm for the Age of Digital Networks by Christopher JonesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Not quite the book I thought it would be. I was expecting to read more about Networked Learning itself, but instead I think I read around networked learning: in what environment networked learning exists, and how to think about it. For example reading about learning theories

And...just in time to tempt me to not do my homework over the weekend and spend time playing this game...such poor timing in life :p

Researching Society and Culture by Clive SealeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Finally done! It took a while but I finished both textbooks for EDDE 805, this being the second one. Truth be told, I skimmed part of it during the semester, so now was a good opportunity to go back and read the rest of the chapters that were assigned and seemed important. Just in time for the new semester to start.

How to Prepare a Dissertation Proposal: Suggestions for Students in Education and the Social and Behavioral Sciences by David R. KrathwohlMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Finished this - maybe a little later than I expected (the semester ended a month ago :p) but it's done. Overall not a bad book. It's easy to read and it provides a lot of food for thought in terms of what you should have in your

Since the semester is starting tomorrow, this seemed like a good pump-you-up song to get through the semester ;-)

One of the reasons to get the dissertation done sooner rather than later ;-)

It's amazing how much access to the internet is really woven into our daily lives.  For the past 2 weeks I've been away on vacation in Spain.  Before we left home I tried to be proactive, I scanned some of the book chapters that were due for my class while I was away, I got Assignment 1 done before I left, and I downloaded articles onto my Surface Pro so that I had reading material to go

This came across my feed the other day.  I feel like there needs to be a medal for being distracted by social media while trying to conduct a literature review :-) This has been one of my problems of late - too many other interesting (or just plain distracting) things posted on social media while I am working on my dissertation proposal :p

Something from a recent PhD comics.  From my part... I am working on the research methods section of my dissertation proposal. Working on motivation to finish this draft so I can submit it by Monday...

Nice!  There is a follow up...of some sort, for the game Watchdogs.  It seems that this game is not following the story of Aidan Pierce, the protagonist of the first Watchdogs. It also isn't taking place in Chicago, but rather it takes place in San Fransisco.   I think I'll have a ton of games to play once I am done dissertating if this keeps up ;-)

Woohooooaaaaa!  Fall semester is looking aweeeesome!  Working on my dissertation proposal AND a new 24 series! This looks pretty amazing!  Wonder if there will be some Jack Bower action in some part of it :)

My team and I just finished presenting on Assignment 2 for our Leadership course this past week.  In going through my notes, collected over the past month of meetings and preparation for this assignment, I came across the term 'soul-sucking leadership'.  It's not a leadership theory at the moment, but hey - maybe we can coin a definition and become famous ;-)  What do you think? (actual

With the storms that have hit over the past week came school closings, and with school closings came a little extra time on my hands.  I did spend a considerable amount of this extra time catching forward with my readings for my research methods course, but I guess I also used the time "wisely" to complete another game on the xbox. Over the Christmas break Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was on

I haven't paid much attention to the library world in the past couple of weeks while I get acclimated to my new job, and while I've been playing around with various learning management systems (since we're moving from WebCT Vista to something else).  I came across a blog post in the ACRLog the other day but didn't have much of an opportunity to read it until now. Its title "Why all the fuss over

courtesy of PhD Comics :-)

I am one of those who believes that VDay is just another one of those Hallmark Holidays, but that doesn't mean that you can't have a little fun :-) I had a good laugh at this PhD comic strip

Like the pun? academian + yawn =… oh never mind!I never said I was a comedian ;-)Anyway, in the past couple of years I’ve been thinking of a doctorate. I have discovered that I like to teach, so I thought that I may be able to do it for a living at a college level, which requires a PhD (or some doctorate thereof). I’ve been frustrated with PhD programs though. Most are full time, which means