Introductions
30 views
Skip to first unread message
paulcc
Mar 6, 2012, 2:57:37 PM3/6/12
to North East workshops
Hi
I suggested a few words about your experiences and motivations, so we
knew what people wanted from this and who might be able to help.
Here's my bit, particularly to explain why I'm so interested in these
issues. If you want more detail, keep watching my blog [0]
I used to be a university lecturer (10 years) but gave it up a few
years ago and became a developer using Ruby on Rails. There's several
reasons why I changed track, mainly because I rather like programming
and building stuff, and lecturing doesn't give much scope for that.
Too much admin for a start.
But there were other things I was starting to dislike about the
university education machine.
To cut a long story short, I don't really believe a university
education "works" for someone wanting to work in the IT/computing
industry. Times have changed, technology has changed, and I think
there are better ways to develop - and demonstrate - one's skills. The
economics have changed too, and I don't like the way universities are
headed. I think it's time to reconsider.
A concrete example: problem solving and programming are quite complex
skills, and much better to be taught in small groups or even on an
individual basis - an apprenticeship perhaps? It also helps to get
experience on real projects, like being part of an open source
effort. Compare this to what most institutions currently do: most of
you probably know first hand what programming lectures are like. So
why don't most universities switch? Basically, cost:: academics don't
have the time, and the universities won't fund the extra resources.
(Several of my colleagues have done excellent work trying to improve
how aspects of the subject are taught, but it still falls short of
what we'd really like to do.)
Instead, I think other options are presenting themselves and becoming
more feasible, and I would like to help explore these. Yes, this is
partly an experiment, but my instincts - backed up with real
experience - is that it is worth a serious try. I'm really keen on
what Morna Simpson has started with FlockEdu, and would love to see it
take off [1]. It reminds me of the good reasons why I wanted to get
into teaching years ago, and of the reasons why I stuck with it for a
few years. I'm sure many other academics will agree. There also very
real useful side-effects too, eg. of making new opportunities
available that were not around before.
I think we have little to lose but lots to gain. Let's reclaim
learning!
Paul
[0] blog at free-variable.org, but no rants there - yet.
[1] and not just because I am a very minor shareholder in the
company.
I suggested a few words about your experiences and motivations, so we
knew what people wanted from this and who might be able to help.
Here's my bit, particularly to explain why I'm so interested in these
issues. If you want more detail, keep watching my blog [0]
I used to be a university lecturer (10 years) but gave it up a few
years ago and became a developer using Ruby on Rails. There's several
reasons why I changed track, mainly because I rather like programming
and building stuff, and lecturing doesn't give much scope for that.
Too much admin for a start.
But there were other things I was starting to dislike about the
university education machine.
To cut a long story short, I don't really believe a university
education "works" for someone wanting to work in the IT/computing
industry. Times have changed, technology has changed, and I think
there are better ways to develop - and demonstrate - one's skills. The
economics have changed too, and I don't like the way universities are
headed. I think it's time to reconsider.
A concrete example: problem solving and programming are quite complex
skills, and much better to be taught in small groups or even on an
individual basis - an apprenticeship perhaps? It also helps to get
experience on real projects, like being part of an open source
effort. Compare this to what most institutions currently do: most of
you probably know first hand what programming lectures are like. So
why don't most universities switch? Basically, cost:: academics don't
have the time, and the universities won't fund the extra resources.
(Several of my colleagues have done excellent work trying to improve
how aspects of the subject are taught, but it still falls short of
what we'd really like to do.)
Instead, I think other options are presenting themselves and becoming
more feasible, and I would like to help explore these. Yes, this is
partly an experiment, but my instincts - backed up with real
experience - is that it is worth a serious try. I'm really keen on
what Morna Simpson has started with FlockEdu, and would love to see it
take off [1]. It reminds me of the good reasons why I wanted to get
into teaching years ago, and of the reasons why I stuck with it for a
few years. I'm sure many other academics will agree. There also very
real useful side-effects too, eg. of making new opportunities
available that were not around before.
I think we have little to lose but lots to gain. Let's reclaim
learning!
Paul
[0] blog at free-variable.org, but no rants there - yet.
[1] and not just because I am a very minor shareholder in the
company.
Richard Powell
Mar 8, 2012, 4:26:53 AM3/8/12
to north-east...@googlegroups.com
Hi,
My experience comes from running workshops teaching web design (2 on jQuery recently and 1 as an intro to web design waaayyy back when). I run the jQuery workshops because:
* I enjoy sharing knowledge & skills
* I see a lot of websites that suffer because their front end developer has just "hacked a jQuery pluggin" rather than developer a bespoke solution, I wanted to nudge away from this approach
* I've gained a lot from the jQuery community, I wanted to give back in away that also gained me some exposure.
* I really want to see a thriving workshop community in the North East & I hope to inspire other people to think "Hey I can do that"
Workshops are really fantastic. They're an intense, cant putoff, way of not just learning something, but knowing how to learn more. In a workshop you dont spend time searching for the material you can learn from, its just there. They also benefit the community hugely. So, that last point:
* I really want to see a thriving workshop community in the North East & I hope to inspire other people to think "Hey I can do that"
Id my main motivation/interest. How great would it be if people considered it normal to travel to newcastle for workshops in the way i consider it normal to travel to Brighton.
I've written an article on giving workshops:
And I'll be giving a workshop at DIBI Conference.
How can I help? Erm:
* I'm planning to give presentations sharing my experience & the benefits of running a workshop. The aim is that companies and freelancers want to give workshops.
* I can help anyone with their own workshop
* I can help advertise & spread the word of any other workshops.
Not sure how else really, but Im open to questions/suggestions...
Richard
paulcc
Mar 9, 2012, 4:44:37 AM3/9/12
to North East workshops
Hi
Excellent points, thanks, especially spreading the "Hey I can do that"
attitude. Many of the people I know up here can indeed do it, and
others would appreciate it a lot if they did.
I hope you can help with the session on workshops that is planned for
late April.
Paul
Excellent points, thanks, especially spreading the "Hey I can do that"
attitude. Many of the people I know up here can indeed do it, and
others would appreciate it a lot if they did.
I hope you can help with the session on workshops that is planned for
late April.
Paul
libby
Mar 21, 2012, 5:13:38 PM3/21/12
to North East workshops
Hiya,
Sorry for the silence, I'm still keen to be involved!
A little bit about me...
I've worked in the Web Design industry for about 10 years and for the
last 3 1/2 years I've been teaching at a local college on a Foundation
Degree. I love teaching, its really my dream job. Spending all day
talking about web design, perfect!
I think I can contribute loads to help others, when I first came into
teaching I really didn't have a clue what I was doing (and things
haven't really changed that much :). I've made lots of mistakes, been
in some bizarre situations but have learnt a lot and I'm sure my
experiences can really help others who are new to or have never done
teaching.
Libby
Sorry for the silence, I'm still keen to be involved!
A little bit about me...
I've worked in the Web Design industry for about 10 years and for the
last 3 1/2 years I've been teaching at a local college on a Foundation
Degree. I love teaching, its really my dream job. Spending all day
talking about web design, perfect!
I think I can contribute loads to help others, when I first came into
teaching I really didn't have a clue what I was doing (and things
haven't really changed that much :). I've made lots of mistakes, been
in some bizarre situations but have learnt a lot and I'm sure my
experiences can really help others who are new to or have never done
teaching.
Libby
Morna Simpson
Mar 30, 2012, 4:55:48 PM3/30/12
to north-east...@googlegroups.com
Hey All,
I thought it was about time that I popped into the conversation.
I am the Founder & Director of FlockEdu and really keen to see some market testing in Newcastle.
I realise that there is still a lot missing from the marketing pages - and I am rushing to get those completed before May - so that folks know more about what they can get out of FlockEdu and what our plans are for the future of the system.
I'd be really pleased to meet up with folks who are interested in getting involved and to explain more about how the system will work in practice.
It would be good if we could work together to get students interested and I am sure that I can raise awareness in different subject areas which should help fill up some classes and make it all worthwhile for people. I'm also happy to run a couple of sessions on "Teaching Practices & Methods" for those of you who are keen to be involved but do not already have teaching experience.
I'd love to hear your feedback as the system develops and make sure it really works for all those who would like to teach and learn with us.
If anyone is interested in meeting up please get in touch and we will sort something out.
Cheers
morna/
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages