http://dougbelshaw.com/blog Educational Technology, Leadership & Productivity. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:04:48 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Although I'm progressing well with my Ed.D. thesis, I do feel sometimes as though what I'm reading is adding epicycles on top of epicycles, rather than cutting (Copernicus-like) to the chase. Take, for example, definitions of digital literacy. For me to be able to deal with these systematically and critically, ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/Yt4hSnKOm8Q" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/Yt4hSnKOm8Q/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/10/27/ed-d-thesis-snapshot-towards-a-bedrock-definition-of-literacy/ Image by lucianvenutian @ Flickr We don't own a dishwasher. Logic and social norms would suggest we should: they save time, we can afford one, and there's currently an unfilled gap for one in the kitchen at our new house. We don't have one for several reasons, but perhaps the biggest ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/GHYuxUeq95U" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/GHYuxUeq95U/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/08/19/why-digital-literacy-the-aftermath-of-literacy/ Image by gagilas @ Flickr Last Wednesday I met with Steve Higgins, my Ed.D. supervisor at the University of Durham. I enjoy the level of intellectual conversation I have with him and this meeting was no exception. Our discussion ranged from everything from Foucault to doing online shopping for your grandmother(!) ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/hogCVaXF6Xg" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/hogCVaXF6Xg/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/08/08/meeting-with-ed-d-thesis-supervisor-aspirational-naming-hegemonic-power-and-finishing-early/ Image by jared @ Flickr Poets talk of a 'muses' and people talk of inspiration 'just coming' to them. Me, I'm a believer that connections come when you completely immerse yourself in something. About an hour ago I had a breakthrough with my thesis, the tentative title of which is What ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/pm62GBc2WuU" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/pm62GBc2WuU/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/08/04/the-8-cs-of-digital-literacy/ I've got until Tuesday to get a much of my thesis written as possible to send to my supervisor. I've made a start, but need as much help as I can get to continue to be motivated. I thought, therefore, that sharing what I'm writing in real-time with an audience ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/8c3un7A3kW8" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/8c3un7A3kW8/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/08/01/watch-my-thesis-grow-in-real-time/ I had another Skype chat with my Ed.D. thesis supervisor, Steve Higgins, last night. I really enjoy our informal video conferences as he's at the forefront of things at the University of Durham (and further afield!), as well as being very experienced and intelligent. I'd been a bit apprehensive as during ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/BHIqHOnxMKE" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/BHIqHOnxMKE/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/06/11/meeting-with-edd-thesis-supervisor-the-confusion-around-digital-literacy/ Sometimes you come across a passage in a book or article that puts into words what you've been thinking for a while. Today, whilst studying for my Ed.D. that's exactly what happened. I'm working my way through Lankshear & Knobel (eds.) Digital Literacies: concepts, policies and practices at the moment ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/yOvI-TnigiE" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/yOvI-TnigiE/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/05/17/digital-literacy-and-the-digital-society/ I wrote the following (c.2,400 words) today towards my Ed.D. thesis Literature Review, needing to get something written as I've neglected my studies for too long. It represents my current thinking, but needs fleshing out (a lot!) and tidying up. I'd very much welcome your comments if you've got time ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/xOKFVRm3VMU" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/xOKFVRm3VMU/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/04/08/edd-thesis-literature-review-a-start-has-been-made/ As regular readers of this blog know, I'm (still!) studying towards my Ed.D. on the subject of 'digital literacies'. The subject crops up in various networks of which I'm part from time-to-time, not least via my Twitter network. Twitter only allows 140 characters which can be a little limiting sometimes and ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/oMUrOg0BPTU" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/oMUrOg0BPTU/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/04/08/conversations-about-new-literacies/ I've mentioned the concept of 'Flow' recently after reading Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's seminal work Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. As is often the case with books that are discussed a lot, on the front cover it has a quotation indirectly urging you to buy it. In this case it's an ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/AFfF-WCXNR8" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/AFfF-WCXNR8/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/03/19/flow-and-the-autotelic-classroom/ ChangeThis is a website dedicated to manifestos written by anyone (but usually professionals and experts) about something they feel passionately about changing. There are some really great ones - for example Hugh MacLeod on How To Be Creative and Guy Kawasaki's The Art of the Start. I've just had a ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/KL9pQ9t7Y_M" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/KL9pQ9t7Y_M/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/02/17/why-digital-literacy-is-central-to-21st-century-education/ A week ago I had a Skype meeting with my Ed.D. thesis supervisor, Steve Higgins. He's a great guy and a breath of fresh air compared to my previous one. Steve's full of great ideas, willing to listen to mine, and is very flexible. I'm pleased with his guidance and ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/P2DMlU2h4IU" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/P2DMlU2h4IU/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/02/09/meeting-with-edd-thesis-supervisor-the-way-ahead/ This concept map took me ages. So long, in fact that I've no big long words or energy left to pad out this blog post longer than it needs to. Suffice it to say that the references on it can be found on my wiki. :-) I created the concept map ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/hT5rcwqmIus" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/hT5rcwqmIus/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/02/01/my-edd-thesis-concept-map-on-digital-literacy/ It's not too often I read something which makes me continually nod in agreement, but Peter Hannon's marvellous Reflecting on Literacy in Education (2000) certainly had me doing that! As regular readers will know, in my Ed.D. thesis I'm looking at the concept of 'digital literacy' - whether it (or something ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/xhB9KWSpAWc" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/xhB9KWSpAWc/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/01/19/hannon-reflecting-on-literacy-in-education/ I've been doing more studying this evening, this time looking again at Gunther Kress' 2003 book Literacy in the New Media Age. There's lots to like and agree with in Kress' writing, but there's a couple of things I'd take issue with, not least his definition of literacy: ...for me literacy ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/HUZETnHGOp0" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/HUZETnHGOp0/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/01/12/gunther-kress-on-literacy/ I'd really appreciate it if you tagged anything related to this post or topic literacyconversation.  It will help me (and others) collate ideas and conversations. Thanks! :-) As most people reading this will already know, I'm studying towards an Ed.D. at the moment. My (tentative) thesis title is What does it ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/nZzYtauYDN4" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/nZzYtauYDN4/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/01/05/the-problems-of-21st-century-literacyies/ As with Literacy, last week's post after time spent doing some research, this blog post is a synthesis of some of the issues I have been looking at as part of my studies. I’m aiming to investigate the concept of ‘digital literacy’ and issues surrounding it in my Ed.D. thesis. ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/_OzFTiI0J_g" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/_OzFTiI0J_g/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2008/11/17/forms-of-literacy/ As I've neither the time nor the amount of energy needed to get published in an academic journal for the first time, this blog will continue to serve as a repository for slightly more formal blog posts (or less formal journal articles, however you want to think of them...) ;-) I'm ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/JKkOiDB4VXQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/JKkOiDB4VXQ/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2008/11/10/literacy/ Having found readers of this blog very helpful in the past - especially when it came to my most recent job description - I thought I'd ask for your help again. The input of all my readers to what follows, but especially those of a philosophical persuasion like Stephen Downes ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/ATHEBrGsgjc" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/ATHEBrGsgjc/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2008/10/11/my-edd-thesis-introduction-and-a/ Note: This blog post is to clarify my thoughts on the subject and provide an easy point-of-reference as I begin to write the Literature Review section of my Ed.D. thesis. Feel free to skip it if that's not the reason for which what you came here/subscribed to my RSS feed! ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/c6eA7L0hrNk" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/c6eA7L0hrNk/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2008/10/04/digital-literacy-pragmatism-and-the-social-construction-of-reality/ The more you try to pin down a concept, the more slippery it becomes. I've been collecting definitions of various terms relating to the topic of my thesis ('Digital Literacies') on my wiki and have found almost as many definitions as there are authors. In fact, I'm considering beginning my ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/exjcRatGwqk" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/exjcRatGwqk/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2008/08/18/buddha-knows-best-or-why-digital-literacy-is-so-hard-to-pin-down/ I came across CommentPress again recently. It's a theme for WordPress (which powers this blog) that allows people to comment on each paragraph of a post. I thought it would be a good idea to enable people to comment in this way on my Ed.D. thesis. Therefore, to make things as ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/iFyI2Gn4mTs" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/iFyI2Gn4mTs/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2008/07/22/my-new-digital-literacies-codex/ I submitted the second version of my Ed.D. thesis proposal a while back now. I had to re-submit as I failed the first submission. This was a bit of a shock to the system, never having failed anything academically before. It was actually partly my supervisor's fault - who has ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/WsnAikEoXyo" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/WsnAikEoXyo/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2008/05/17/my-edd-thesis-proposal-what-does-it-mean-to-be-digitally-literate/ I've just sent off the draft of my Ed.D. thesis proposal re-submission to my temporary supervisor. My working title is What does it mean to be 'educated' and 'digitally literate'? The impact of ICT and the knowledge society upon education in the 21st century. At 7,500 words the thesis proposal ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/jKboU0GJA4I" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/jKboU0GJA4I/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2008/01/02/edd-thesis-proposal-almost-there/ Inspired by Bredo's diagrams in 'Philosophies of Educational Research' (within Handbook of Complementary Methods in Education Research - see previous post for reference), I've produced the following diagram. Hopefully it will help clarify my thinking when it comes to writing the methodology section of my thesis proposal: ?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/y8SAI1YezZo" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/y8SAI1YezZo/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/12/15/paradigms-within-research-methodology/ ? There are two main philosophical traditions when it comes to research methodologies: positivism and constructivism. Positivism holds that the world is 'out there' waiting for us to discover it, whilst Constructivism holds that 'facts' are socially and psychologically constructed labels and descriptions we place upon the world as we experience ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/IcZoLKfbWtQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/IcZoLKfbWtQ/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/12/09/more-on-research-methodologies/ I've just found out via a mass-mailing that my current Ed.D. supervisor, Stewart Martin, is leaving the University of Durham next month to become Principal Lecturer in Education in the School of Social Sciences and Law at Teesside University. I'm obviously pleased for him, but it kind of forces me ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/CGZZ0ZfSsWM" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/CGZZ0ZfSsWM/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/08/20/change-of-supervisor/ (Depth of Mist Wood) After failing my previous Ed.D. thesis proposal (I can see why now...) I'm beginning the process of starting from first principles, this time building towards analysing the concept of 'digital literacy'. The books I'll be looking at today are both ones I've looked at (briefly) before ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/gEcqp40Uk0Y" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/gEcqp40Uk0Y/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/08/13/back-on-the-thesis-proposal-trail/ I met with my supervisor today to thrash out the way forward with my Ed.D. thesis proposal. It was a productive conversation and he helped me gain some much-needed focus to my sometimes rambling thoughts. I'm going to focus on the concept of 'digital literacy'. This, of course, means that I ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/03GNR4EpvsQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/03GNR4EpvsQ/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/07/24/meeting-with-edd-supervisor-24-july-2007/ Leon Cych over at the Flux blog points to a report which could be handy in the next stage of my thesis research. It's by NESTA and entitled Hidden Innovation. Looking at six sectors including education, its main recommendations are that 'the innovation that occurs in these sectors is often ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/ntvGJa6HiWU" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/ntvGJa6HiWU/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/07/19/nesta-hidden-innovation-report/ Disappointingly, my Ed.D. thesis proposal's provisional mark of 48 was confirmed at the exam board this week. This means I have failed the very last module I will probably ever take. To say I am disappointed is a bit of an understatement, having never failed anything academically. I'm actually somewhat frustrated ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/lIH0U-7pTH4" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/lIH0U-7pTH4/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/06/20/edd-thesis-proposal-failure/ As promised earlier, here's the bibliography for my Ed.D. thesis proposal. This might prove handy for those looking to read up on the areas of 21st century literacy, what it means to be 'educated' in the 21st century, and how educational technology has impacted schools. Abbott, J. & Ryan, T. (2000) ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/WNjyUrVDfWo" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/WNjyUrVDfWo/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/04/22/edd-thesis-proposal-bibliography/ I've finally finished my Ed.D. thesis proposal! I shall be sending it off this week to be ripped to shreds. But hey, I've only got to pass the module - the real work starts in the summer... If anyone fancies reading 6,000 words on what I intend to do with the ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/x9DpDXsn5k4" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/x9DpDXsn5k4/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/04/22/edd-thesis-proposal-finished/ I'm coming back this week to my thesis proposal in order to try and get it finished off during the Easter holidays. My supervisor said of my last effort that it included some interesting ideas, but it was not coherent enough nor did it have a logical enough progression. To help ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/3ysBfDlIf4M" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/3ysBfDlIf4M/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/04/02/thesis-proposal-mindmap/ This may be a quotation good enough to kick off my Ed.D. thesis: This is a time of challenge and a time for experiment. It is a time to put existing pedagogies, practices, and educational philosophies in question and to construct new ones. It is a time for new pedagogical experiments ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/qLY9AuvHkUY" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/qLY9AuvHkUY/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/03/02/introductory-quotation/ At some point in my thesis I'll need to define my terms: intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, etc.? I've come across an article entitled Is It Worth Being Wise? which looks in more detail at the difference between the concepts...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/YbveMTE4yPk" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/YbveMTE4yPk/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/02/15/intelligence-vs-wisdom/ After my last attempt wasn't specific or focused enough, I've completely re-written it. If you're interested, have a look here: http://docs.google.com/View?docid=ajdmqgcb7rbb_13g2bx4s&re :-)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/765qENQ1cv4" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/765qENQ1cv4/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/01/28/edd-thesis-proposal-v2/ . a c i d @ Flickr There's a post over a EdVentures in Technology that links to some articles relevant to a graduate course being taught this year. Quite a few of them may be relevant for my thesis (if only for context...) The course wiki that puts all this together ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/owYN-L-CQnE" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/owYN-L-CQnE/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/01/17/articles-on-technology-and-the-future-of-education/ George Siemens' book Knowing Knowledge is an excellent work and is available freely online at knowingknowledge.com. The bibliography especially is likely to help me with my thesis. Here's references from the book with links and references to holdings at Durham University Library, where appropriate: Benkler, Y. (2006) The wealth of networks ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/DcotBtDdnw4" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/DcotBtDdnw4/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/01/05/references-from-knowing-knowledge/ I've just come across a new 'community' that has been set up at OpenThinking.ca. What is Open Thinking? Open thinking is the tendency of an individual, group or institution to give preference to the adoption of open technologies or formats in regards to software, publishing, content and practice. Open thinkers critique, ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/4FtzWgLpOGw" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/4FtzWgLpOGw/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/01/05/open-thinking-alec-couros-phd-dissertation/ I've just heard back from my Ed.D. supervisor regarding my expanded thesis proposal outline. Unfortunately, as I suppose I was expecting, it's not focused enough. Now I've got to try and write another one before the end of the month! The problem is that I'm used to the broader (and ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/BlI5dyOaQWE" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/BlI5dyOaQWE/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/01/05/39/ George Siemens' blog pointed me towards Knowledge Jolt with Jack, a blog about, "knowledge management, personal effectiveness, theory of constraints and more." Reminder to self: must find out the blogs to which George Siemens subscribes - will probably be useful for thesis. :-)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/G9UY8wzjJ_0" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/G9UY8wzjJ_0/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/01/03/knowledge-jolt-with-jack/ I'm thinking expanding the scope of my thesis (probably at a time when I should be thinking of focusing a bit more, but never mind). Instead of perpetuating the dividing walls between schools, universities and businesses, perhaps I could look at broader themes and trends and then bring them down ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/hGBWsDnbxhs" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/hGBWsDnbxhs/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2007/01/03/knowledge-management-networks/ I've used Google Docs to write my expanded Ed.D. Thesis Proposal Outline. I've now emailed it off to my supervisor, and it's available for the world to see here: http://docs.google.com/View?docid=ajdmqgcb7rbb_4cnp547 Comments, suggestions and ideas are very welcome! :-)?<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/HZAfQhhIoT0" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/HZAfQhhIoT0/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2006/12/31/edd-thesis-proposal-outline-expanded/ A few months ago when I had to submit an outline for my thesis proposal essay, I indicated that I wanted to look at 'changing conceptions of, and reactions to, the nature of knowledge by educational institutions.' My feeling was (and still is) that, as George Siemens so aptly put ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/xKPDukabvTw" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/xKPDukabvTw/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2006/12/27/some-ideas-about-the-structure-of-my-thesis-proposal-essay/ Comparing groups with networks may be a good idea to get across why education needs to change to meet the needs of 21st-century knowledge. Stephen Downes posted this image to Flickr (there's a video of him explaining it as well): There's also a presentation here. It might be an idea to ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/CzdVMF4ukr8" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/CzdVMF4ukr8/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2006/12/26/groups-vs-networks/ Here's the thesis proposal outline I've just sent off: Thesis Proposal Outline DAJ Belshaw If I were to, in one sentence, sum up the area I wish to explore in my Ed.D. thesis it would be: Changing conceptions of, and reactions to, the nature of knowledge by educational institutions. In particular, I am interested in ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/rDfNbD7ST1g" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/rDfNbD7ST1g/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2006/09/23/edd-thesis-proposal-outline/ I came across this site, which has lots and lots of great quotations to do with education. Here are some of my favourite and those that should be relevant to my thesis! ‘We need a metamorphosis of education - from the cocoon a butterfly should emerge. Improvement does not give us ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/CGsliQUlP44" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/CGsliQUlP44/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2006/09/23/some-great-quotations-about-education-in-the-21st-century-and-in-general/ As part of the Research Methods course we have to work in a group criticizing a research paper. Basically, it's a collaborative dry-run of what we'll do individually in the assignment for the module. My group has settled on a paper by a Middle School teacher in the USA which was ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/W32G020xl9s" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/W32G020xl9s/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2006/07/18/research-methods-interactive-whiteboards/ I met with my Ed.D. course director this morning (haven't been allocated a supervisor yet) and the exchange left me feeling a bit more sorted regarding the area of my thesis. After having my words quoted back at me by (the man, the myth, the legend) Stephen Downes, I decided ...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~4/CXS4cBvnoko" height="1" width="1"/> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dougbelshaw/thesis/~3/CXS4cBvnoko/ http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2006/07/14/tentative-area-for-thesis/