tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73307378814701381502026-04-26T16:13:39.664+02:00Here I outline my ideas, share views and thoughts, post reviews, link to other sources and reflect on processes and events shaping our world and livesTinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-90106937662062047562026-04-26T16:08:00.000+02:002026-04-26T16:08:20.321+02:00

When on a visit to Newcastle, a town in Northern Kwazulu Natal, a province in South Arica, I shot this scene with my Blackberry...Wild pigeon - dove - dead as a bird... literally. It looked so peaceful... in the very cold morning air.Death reminds us of the reason to live—and live full out every day, I guess. But then again... the majority of people around the world get trapped in daily

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-43990848475762767912016-09-24T12:47:00.006+02:002026-04-26T16:10:18.977+02:00

The setting is a large rural settlement in South Africa's Mpumalanga Province. The background to this region's development is of course intricately linked to its past: a homeland outside Pretoria created by the Apartheid Government in the name of 'separate development'. The environment is rural: cattle, goats, donkeys and chickens roam freely, while members of this community carry on with their

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-76732101455925751972013-11-23T21:52:00.001+02:002013-11-23T21:52:30.936+02:00

http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Tools+at+a+glance

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0Melville, Melville-26.174932 28.008362tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-68937574696031535392013-03-16T17:58:00.001+02:002013-03-16T17:58:45.924+02:00

For Low-Income Kids, Access to Devices Could Be the Equalizer | MindShift While the race in the hardware industry is perhaps most notable amongst makers of devices such as mobile phones and tablets, a seemingly unforgotten reality remains a stark reality for many: the digital divide. With ever smarter phones, and other 'always on' devices, the policies that govern state monopolies over

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-70586239672228126032013-03-03T18:16:00.001+02:002019-07-17T06:05:37.857+02:00

Toys are cultural representations and as such carry meaning beyond that which might have been intended by their designers. Or does it? Does a wooden steam engine have the same meaning to a Grade R child in England as it would for a child in a rural area half-way around the globe who has never seen any train before, let alone ride in a steam-driven one? What connection does an African child

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-6441683986422217532013-02-26T16:04:00.001+02:002013-02-26T16:04:17.126+02:00

The dawning of the digital era and its exhilaration after the Internet became publicly accessible have had far-reaching global consequences. It has changed society, as well as its various institutions, be it the private sector or public institutions like Education. However, soon after the initial euphoria of the Web with its interlinked hypertext that forms an endless web

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-62206086750784702002013-01-31T15:32:00.004+02:002021-10-31T17:37:16.703+02:00

I am privileged in the sense that I am part of the establishment of a new campus - one that will become the new University of Mpumalanga. My gaze, however, is less on the promise of a new university and the voids it will fill, but more on the first intake of students for the Foundation Phase. We don't know the students, and they don't know us. They don't know each other, either. So, apart from

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-36621774358605157572013-01-31T12:47:00.002+02:002021-10-31T17:41:28.463+02:00

It took considerable courage for me to put down everything, block out the noise and pick up the book. It's overcast outside, the kind of weather one would expect to encounter in London NOT Johannesburg in early summer. It's Saturday and I don't need to be at work. Exhausted after a week of traveling to the school where I try my best to teach students for whom school seems an unnecessary

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-70975306182317681442013-01-18T15:24:00.001+02:002013-02-26T14:01:33.720+02:00

Following the developments of Education in South Africa Education in South Africa - Info SA I am fortunate enough to be part of a new development in tertiary education. Efforts to establish a new university in Mpumalanga has brought together a number of roleplayers and stakeholders which has resulted in the launch of the Teacher Education Campus in Marble Hall. The University of Johannesburg

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-89091361757395092012-08-30T19:43:00.001+02:002013-02-26T17:36:17.037+02:00

The yellow piece of paper with its big fat black letters printed in bold is neatly laminated. Stuck on the side of the classroom cupboard it is meant to be seen as students walk into the class. But they barely do, since they are too busy with their own lives. The yellow poster proclaims our current president's words: "Children should be in class, on time, learning, being respectful of their

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-41776725227014637742012-08-26T17:45:00.004+02:002012-08-26T17:45:38.093+02:00

With the amount of work to be completed by the end of term heaping up like a mountain it seems impossible to accomplish. 'A bridge too far', 'A mountain too high'... Given the fact that I am a student too, it means that my term as teacher more or less coincides with my term as student. Assessment, marking, writing exams, marking others' cycle tests, and so forth... Im sure you get the picture. .

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-46815179694468653552012-08-22T17:33:00.002+02:002013-01-31T15:17:33.630+02:00

During the past week or so I have become acutely aware of the lack of a culture of learning amongst some of the pupils I teach. Still continuing with my journey of discovery into the state of Government-school education in an urban school in Johannesburg (South Africa), I am completely taken aback by the range of excuses I must listen to: My textbook is too heavy and I don't want to carry it

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-68609778603807579512012-08-02T13:01:00.000+02:002012-08-02T13:01:23.963+02:00

We all know the story of the guy who, in an effort to save them, was walking on the beach and kept on throwing back sea stars that washed ashore. On seeing how many there were, a passer-by commented on the 'lost effort', upon which the guy answered that 'even saving one' would made a difference, even then if only to that 'one that was saved'... And so my quest to experience secondary education '

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-67940011991422754282012-07-22T17:52:00.000+02:002013-01-31T15:18:44.076+02:00

My journey to (re)discover what is currently the state of secondary education in a typical urban school in the Johannesburg area has surely started off with a rude awakening. A week into the third term and I am left with enough proof of a number of things that are completely out of place. Although the new ANC-led government has since it came into power in 1994 failed to transform education (

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-74024896580209738162012-06-27T16:15:00.002+02:002012-06-27T17:14:15.810+02:00

Having spent most of my career in educational environments fulfilling various roles, a year and a half at the Innovation Agency inspired me to get back into the game. Being away from an educational environment has surely given me some food for thought. The invaluable lessons I have learned while at the Innovation Agency have equipped me to look for opportunities in education... and to be an

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-40763515014891775462012-05-18T21:34:00.001+02:002012-05-18T21:34:38.285+02:00

History as a stystem -- there's an interesting concept... History coming alive through technology Travel across the Roman Empire in real time with ORBIS | Ars Technica

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-50027739174480053372012-04-29T17:20:00.001+02:002012-04-29T17:20:32.381+02:00

This is surely worth a try... Data visualisation made as easy as child's play... so, lets try it out... Infographics' Data Visualizations | Visual.ly

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-65476068718258257502012-04-29T17:02:00.001+02:002012-04-29T17:02:00.653+02:00

And the convergence of all the media channels are continuing... this time from Google+ Hangouts... Maybe I must consider a Hangout for the planned Workshop at Innovation Agency.... there's an Idea... Surely this opens up all kinds of possiblities, especially for businesses relying on Social Media to get the message out... and of course journalists. How Google + is changing news; a powerful tool

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-11271737566874540152012-04-20T14:14:00.001+02:002012-04-20T14:14:12.576+02:00

The academic findings of those working with Social networks in organisations are all bearing fruit... the insights we start to derive from studying organisational networks are phenomenal... Yet, managers must learn to use SNA and the many measures that interpret sociograms / social maps, and social network analysis reports. Based on these findings teams can for example become more effective, or

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-67006195217226514932012-04-14T11:52:00.000+02:002012-04-14T11:52:48.063+02:00

Cloud computing taken to a whole new level... but what intrigues me are the possibilities for collaboration with others inside and outside the organisation... Can employees ANY longer afford to work in isolation? Can any organisation carry on working they way they have? Can managers even consider NOT paying attention to these developments? Organisational IT departments and the CIO and CTO

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-67462794157614024232012-04-11T20:52:00.001+02:002012-04-11T20:52:32.480+02:00

Collaborative Consumerism A truly great idea with many examples, high- and low tech... however, poor communities or resource-challenged ones like those found in Africa all offer outstanding examples of how people have always been sharing and co-operating in order to survive. I wonder if its just a case of (spoilt, wealthy) Westerners also waking up to the idea of sharing resources and using it

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-30663191551211379952011-08-09T20:03:00.000+02:002011-08-09T20:03:31.421+02:00

Mountains outside Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal In the 1800s this mountain, just outside Newcastle towards the west of the town, was the main route to the Free State -- Bloemfontein -- to be specific. This area in northern KwaZulu Natal was also the scene of clashes between Boers and the British when the latter was in the process to colonise the whole of South Africa.Newcastle was a connector

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-45242200024956743202011-08-09T19:41:00.000+02:002011-08-09T19:41:31.733+02:00

What an awe-inspiring building this is, enriching the Johannesburg skyline... Alas, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that use to operate from this location in 17 Diagonal Street, Newtown moved to Gwen ln, Sandton. The Newtown area in and around where the old JSE use to be has been earmarked for further development. One of the the developments that has been completed is the Nelson Mandela bridge.

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-9428501064130809172011-08-06T19:37:00.000+02:002021-10-31T17:42:46.396+02:00

So, around every corner we find a Coke sign... a welcoming sign that tells us something that resembles civilisation is around.This picture was taken while sitting in traffic in Hillbrow -- a notorious, densely populated urban spot in Johannesburg, South Africa.In South Africa's so-called struggle history Coca-Cola played its part in breaking down barriers -- as far as I could gather it promoted

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7330737881470138150.post-30965190398707054652011-08-06T19:09:00.000+02:002011-08-06T19:09:35.394+02:00

Downtown Johannesburg is starting to look like a war-zone -- this building has become unusable -- every single window is covered with cardboard and plastic bags to cover it up. Like other buildings near this one, decay has been allowed to set in.Like car jackings in other countries, in South Africa, specifically Johannesburg in Gauteng Province corruption has set into the property sector. It

Tinfoilstarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17447691746596260865noreply@blogger.com0