Sussex ranked as one of world’s top universities

Go Sussex / US!

“A recent world ranking of universities, compiled by the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES), put Sussex in the top 10 in the UK (9th), the top 20 in Europe (17th) and in the top 60 in the world (58th). ” More…

Wonder how it would rank for uptake of social media and e-learning potentials? Sorry, couldn’t help myself…

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Our blogs

Wow, just sent a list of our blogs to Brighton Bloggers for inclusion. It’s getting a bit long. Hadn’t realised just how much blogging Gra and I (mainly Gra) have been doing over the last few years. So here it is…

www.authenticblogging.com – the place for a deep, authentic and truly happening approach to blogging in all it’s potential and ripeness. Blogging courses and an emerging new community – here we are!

www.barkingowl.com/learning – began with documentation of our early learning project and moved on from there into person-centred education, blogging and beyond… still sometimes active and ranks well with Google, loads of good stuff to check out and comment on, but have largely moved across to authenticblogging now

www.gravyland.net – our personal, family blog (including some contributions from Bea age 6, eg. this lovely picture she drew. Still not entirely sure how open I should be online, but this, like everything, is a work in progress.

http://blog.scouta.com – Scouta is our online media recommendations venture. Regularly featured on Techcrunch, actually.

http://presencelabs.com – Business blog for our main consulting vehicle, Presence Labs Ltd.

http://aplacecalledprovidence.com – A group blog for the co-working
office space at 50 Providence Place in the New England Quarter (where Gra is based, while I am at home hanging out the washing in between brain flashes and mad typing). Includes contributions from such neo-reno’s as Snipperoo’s Ivan Pope and the lovely Dom Stockdale.

University of Sussex Blogs

Thanks to UoS’s social media savvy Tom Roper for leading me to the following blogs maintained by other UoS staffers.

I’ll try and compile a full list of UoS Blogs for general reference. Please let me know of any others and I will attempt to keep this page up-to-date rather than adding multiple posts.

There most be loads of relevant Sussex University blogs out there. The other thing is to join the Uni of Sussex network on facebook. It’s all going on there…

SPLASH – Student Personal Learning & Social Homepages (added)

Rob Read, Amy Walker, Beth Granter, Tony Hudson, Alison Field and their team at Sussex are doing very cool things with Splash. It’s a blog, it’s a social media strategy, it’s starting to happen! They are really putting some resources into embracing the potential of online student (and staff) power. We’ll be watching this space closely and supporting them where we can. Not sure how it will compete with the seemingly unstoppable Facebook for attention (how much time can we possibly spend updating our profiles etc!), but I guess like they say it will have more of a focus on learning, which is right where we are at.

Be very interesting to see how they go with mashups (live bus and train times, gig guides, personalised calendars including deadlines etc wow). All sounds really open and cool. Bet the futurelab people would be able to offer loads of good input. Bet we are not going to see ratemyprofessor apps coming in. More on this one later! It’s got me going…

Seeing as I blogged the first part of my MA in Education Studies (Person-Centred Learning) and started looking at how learning communities come together, amongst other things, I guess I was always going to get hooked by a project like this… I’m also a bit of a tragic facebooker, so you get the general picture.

Separated By A Common Language

“Observations on British and American English by an American linguist in the UK”. Lynn’s blog is a good example of an authentic voice. She writes well. She is “herself” and bridges the potential gap between personal and professional selves very well. It’s also a fascinating read and a great title!

• Dr Lynne Murphy, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics & English Language

Medical Humanities

“This blog is to support the development of medical humanities teaching in the Brighton & Sussex Medical School curriculum.”

• Maintained by Tom Roper.

Language Learning Resources

“Current awareness for language teachers and students from the University of Sussex Language Learning Centre.”

• Also maintained by the prolific… Tom Roper.

The Crossing

“The Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability (STEPS) Centre blog.“

• Maintained by Julia Day, STEPS Communications Officer.

Thanks for your input Tom, and for blogging about our pilot course in blogging for academics at Sussex.

Time to turn this into a blogroll…

Blogging course for Sussex Staff

The pilot course we are offering staff at the renowned University of Sussex was confirmed some weeks ago. Many thanks to Sarah Strupinski (Staff Development) and Dr Frances Aldrich (participant) for helping get this off the ground. Hopefully it will be the first of many at Sussex and other universities. One only hopes students get a turn too, post-grad at least.

Our approach here focusses on blogging as a process and a tool for enhancing:

• research
• teaching, and
• professional development (skills & knowledge)
• personal development (”human becoming”)
• the Universities profile and reputation – online and off – within key stakeholder groups (eg. students, peers, editors, other media, general public).

There will be three x two-hour weekly sessions on Wednesdays 3-5pm with a two week practice / reflection break in between. 10/17 October and 7 November. Arts C169.

The six-hours of tuition plus tailored research and online supervision have been funded by the Universities staff development budget, so there is no charge for Sussex staff (academic or non-academic).

Here’s the course outline.

Academics Blogging Autumn 2007

We had over 18 people across most Schools quickly express interest. They will have first offer, max. 10 for the first cohort. But please get in touch if you would like to be wait-listed or keep notified of future courses. You may also be interested in the other courses we are running for beginners in Autumn, advanced in January (not at Sussex).

I would also like to offer an occasional tune-up session on campus, say once or twice a term. We shall see.

We aim to create a supportive, stimulating community of academic bloggers at the University. I will be including links to their sites as they come online and are ready to share.

No doubt there will be much food for thought amongst them, and cross-fertilisation of ideas.

Just how we like it!

Enrol here.

Take part in truth

Let’s get back to the root philosophy of blogging.

So David Bohm’s the one. Well one of them. “On Dialogue” takes me back to the core of the work I was doing as an undergrad at Murdoch with Structure, Thought and Reality.

The whole discipline and practice of communication theory never ceases to underpin my thinking and excite me. Guess I chose the right course age 17, no matter how meandering it has been. Or it chose me…

And one day soon I will get focussed on bringing all this deep, rich content into the blogging course more specifically. Want to get much more visual here too. But the wikipedia entry for communication theory is a good place to start.

Now there I am showing Tom Nixon the book at this networking thingy tonight (he’s a bit lovely btw). I’ve been thinking for years how important the Dalai Lama’s words on our need for genuine dialogue were. Something small and inconsequential passing comment like… the only thing that will save humanity from the endless cycle of pain and suffering is… yep, dialogue, or something like that.

Then there HHDL is in the front blurb saying good old Dave Bohm is one of his “scientific gurus”. So I guess we’re on the right path here dear people.

“During the past few decades, modern technology, with radio, television, air travel and satellites has woven a network of communications which puts each part of the world into almost instant contact with all the other parts. Yet, in spite of this world-wide system of linkages, there is, at every moment, a general feeling that communication is breaking down everywhere, on an unparalleled scale.”

The question of how we can communicate better is at the heart of On Dialogue. This revised and expanded edition is the most comprehensive documentation to date of best-selling author David Bohm’s dialogical world view.

I’m going to reflect and share more from it as I go on. For now, here’s the link for those that just know they have to get into it now.

I’m delighted that his name hides “ohm” (mani padme hum) in something Oppenheimer, David and friends helped blow the world up with, before they saw they light… He became a real peacenik after all.

All seems rather spooky and perfect from where I’m sitting <grin>.

New choices for blogging course

After a long gestation period, things have been moving fast on our innovative, profound and effective (says us) blogging courses. They are now two time slots to choose from – an evening or a morning.

Eight weeks in a row (not including half-term school holiday)

Monday mornings 10-12 noon
8 October – 3 December
or
Tuesday evening 7-9pm
2 October – 27 November

Find out more about them but exploring this site and clicking here, and email Libby to reserve a place or call 01273 540 023 or 07968 687 107 to find out more.

Want to learn how to blog really well?

Still some places left on the blogging course I am running in Brighton for eight weeks from 25 September, Tuesday nights 7-9pm. Call Varndean College to book in on 01273 546604.

I’ve already had chats with some of the participants direct and it’s shaping up to be a very stimulating group of people. Mainly folk who have never blogged before.

Can’t wait.

Feel free to get in touch if you want to know anymore about it. But check this site first under Courses and click through the information provided.

Cory Doctorow on “How to be a top blogger”

Some great tips here for all budding bloggers by net guru and writer Cory Doctorow. Well worth viewing to get the real meaning, but here’s the top three tips:

1. write headines like a newswire writer, ie. be specific, short and sweet
2. open with a traditional news style lead paragraph with who, where, what, why, when – or at least the key information right up front.
3. respect your readers.

Or so Cory says. Click through to also consider what Jakob Nielsen has to say about making web pages user-friendly.

Autumn 2007 Blogging Course

Name of course: Blog Your World (“Blogging”)
Tutor: Libby Davy
Enquiries: 01273 540 023 or 07968 687 107 (Mon-Fri 8am – 7pm)

NEW CLASS TIMES & START DATE

Eight weeks in a row (not including half-term school holiday)

Monday mornings 10-12 noon
8 October – 3 December
or
Tuesday evening 7-9pm
2 October – 27 November

Feel free to phone and discuss your personal, group or organisational blogging goals or clarify any element of the course. I will be working with you to deliver a personalised learning programme that meets the goals you set after further research and reflection.

Content of course

• Learning a new way to make the most of the internet
• Developing a writing practice
• Enhancing your own ability for life-long learning
• Promoting yourself, your organisation or a project you are working on
• Taking control of your ability to publish what you want, when you want online
• Looking for a feedback mechanism for research, communications, marketing.
• Finding a new way to collect, organise, reflect on and share you interests and work.

Blogs are websites you add to regularly and easily, and are like private/public journals, but a whole lot more. Blogs (or web logs) can include words, images, sound and links as well as comments back from your new-found audience. This is your chance to find out what blogging is all about and get your very own (or a group) blog working for you. Blogging is an effective, profound new way for you or a group to communicate, connect, learn and be heard via the power of the internet.

Get your own blog hosted free on the internet within just a few weeks. It can include words, images, sound, links and comments back from your new-found audience. Publish instantly and easily – in your own way, in your own time. Develop greater confidence in expressing yourself, in a supportive and friendly environment. Share ideas and inspiration with a like-minded local or global community. Enhance your public profile.

Your teacher Libby Davy has over a decade’s experience working professionally and teaching communications. Libby is an awarded short-story writer and has had her work broadcast on national radio. For many years, Libby worked in strategic communications, marketing, organizational development, photograhy and business coaching. She has experience in planning and executing communications campaigns across most industry and community sectors. Libby is now doing an MA in Person Centred Education at Sussex University to extend her thinking around education.

By the end of the course, you will have found your voice and be confidently blogging.

Who is it for: (who, what level, what previous experience)

The course is suitable for absolute beginners and those new to blogging. Experienced bloggers should attend the follow-on course.

For anyone interested in blogging for personal, community, academic, creative, business or organisational growth.

You do not need to:
• have set-up a blog before
• be an experienced writer (as you will be developing your own style in a safe, expansive way).

You do need to:
• be willing to learn with yourself, your co-learner, your teacher, your extended community.
• have used computers before for internet searching and word processing.

If in doubt, contact your teacher direct at authenticblogging.com

What will I learn?

• How to create a blog (or weblog) from beginning to end.
• How to modify templates to suit your project.
• What a blog is, and is not.
• How to express yourself more confidently using a range of media (words, images, sound files, links).
• How develop and maintain a regular blogging practice.
• How to inspire, collect and organize your material and reflect on your area of interest with private or public posts.
• How to connect with like-minded people and learn within a community – in the classroom, online and around the world.
• How to be published.
• How to increase interest in your work, research, project or organisation.
• How to optimize your blog to increase the attention it gets, eg. Google ranking.

The course will involve group discussion, analysis of example blogs, self managed learning, individual support, some homework, online help for technical aspects, review sessions and an ongoing community to draw from and continue the learning journey in safe, appropriate, fulfilling and expansive ways.

Check out what our new friends at NixonMcInnes have got to say about blogging and social media in general. We love those guys, even though we’ve only just met (some of) them. (Hi Tom! Congratulations Will.)

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