Podding Downunder

Many years ago in pre-Internet days a friend (Peter) and I spent a week or two on the Greek Island of Patmos. Peter recently wrote up his diary entries of the time, and it inspired me to finally record a song I wrote as I left the island by ferry on a wet and windy night. It's called Lights Across the Water. The lyrics are printed below. I may elaborate on the background to the song at some later date. But for now, here it is.

References:

http://factmyth.com/factoids/liberals-and-conservatives-brains-are-different-on-average/

Turns out there's quite a lot of commentary around this issue in the American context:

https://braindecoder.com/post/politics-neuroscience-1282982492
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/calling-truce-political-wars/
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/how-conservative-brains-are-wired-differently-and-what-means-our-politics
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/29/secrets_of_the_right_wing_brain_new_study_proves_it_conservatives_see_a_different_hostile_world/

https://www.ted.com/talks/robb_willer_how_to_have_better_political_conversations#t-265472

Some not particularly eloquent thoughts about the work of Sugata Mitra (about 8 minutes)

The IATEFL reaction: http://leoxicon.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/to-confer-or-to-concur.html#more

Graham Stanley's blog post: http://blog-efl.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/the-rise-of-soles-part-2-at-heart-of.html

Creative Commons music from Lohstana David: http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/785426/petit-talibe-instrumental-version

Online Presentation for the VET Development Centre (27/3/14; about 53 minutes)
Accompanying slides: http://www.slideshare.net/michaelc/innovation-in-the-australian-sector-is-it-possible

Presentation given to TAFE Australian Libraries Conference (TALC) in Brisbane (22/11/13)

Spoken reflections on a talk from Don Watson at the concluding session of Adelaide's Festival of Ideas. (About 6 mins)

Presentation for the TAFE SA Learn Network (30/9/13). Accompanying slides at http://www.slideshare.net/michaelc/where-is-the-internet-taking-us

Creative Commons Intro and Outro music: Seim by KraftiM (http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/214223/seim)

About 43 minutes

The Assessment Obsession - whatever happened to teaching? Presentation given at the Transforming Assessment for the Digital Era Conference (Melbourne, 31/7/13)http://digitalassessments.com/
Accompanying slides at http://www.slideshare.net/michaelc/the-slow-march-to-eassessment-in-the-vet-sector
About 30 mins.

Edited excerpts from the conversation between Nellie Deutsch and Mike Wesch in WIZIQ on July 25th. Mike shares his thoughts on being an educator in a media saturated environment, what changes may be occurring in our brains as a result of constant use of technology, setting meaningful assessment tasks, the Flipped Classroom model, and most notably, being a successful teacher by loving your students! (about 18 minutes)

My thoughts on sessions attended from the NCVER Conference held in Adelaide from July 11th to 13th, 2012. Especially for Melanie and Melanie :) (About 16 minutes)

Presentation given at SACAL (South Australian Council of Adult Literacy) event. June 21st, 2012.

Companion slides at http://www.slideshare.net/michaelc/the-language-of-ict-or-how-ict-has-changed-language

About 30 mins.

This is the first draft of a song I wrote for my son who has just headed off to live in Europe. (4 mins)

NEW TIMES

CHORUS
Well my son’s away – our thoughts and prayers go with you
Travel far and safe – our love goes always with you

As you follow your dreams – remember those at home go with you
Though you’re far away we travel in silence with you
Hoping you’ll find what you’re seeking

There’ll be brand new faces – who will want to know you
Brand new places and some will no doubt test you
But I know you’ll find your way through
CHORUS
I have watched you change – from baby to grown man
I love who you’ve become – a man who knows that children
Can teach us lots of life’s lessons

And no matter how long – you roam the world afar
There are people at home – who you can always turn to
If it all seems too hard
CHORUS
BRIDGE
I wandered abroad to discover new seas
We took you away from this land that you now leave
So I well understand what now takes you away
And wonder alone what your new world will bring
And if this land.....will be home again
CHORUS

My thoughts in response to Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains." ED-MEDIA Conference, Lisbon, June, 2011. (http://www.aace.org/conf/cities/lisbon/)

Paper at http://tinyurl.com/6xcej6g
Slides at http://www.slideshare.net/michaelc/thinkly-deeply-about-the-shallows-update

About 25 mins

Conversation with Mike Seyfang after a visit to the Science 1100 ‘ipad class’ at Adelaide University. Quite a lot of background noise from students having lunch but still quite audible. (10 minutes) #science1100

Where my thinking is on eportfolios after the recent ePortfolios Australia Conference in Melbourne (November 3-4). Slides can be viewed in tandem with the audio at http://www.slideshare.net/michaelc/eportfolios-a-boomers-perspective (17 mins)

Thoughts on the Creative Commons Roadshow at the State Library on September 22nd, 2010. http://creativecommons.org.au/cc-roadshow-2010/program (12 minutes)

A wide ranging chat with Heikal Husin, from the University of South Australia (School of Computer and Information Sciences), about the challenges of implementing web 2.0 tools and approaches in the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) sector in South Australia. Quite long - 90 minutes - so maybe listen to it in sections. Covers the role of management, organisational culture, the opposing forces of innovation and auditing, and more. Recorded on May 24th, 2010

(Creative Commons image below courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaycross/)

Clayton Werner interviews Michael Coghlan as the featured 'Songcatcher' (songwriter) on Radio Adelaide (http://radio.adelaide.edu.au/) on May 10th, 2010. Sponsored by SCALA (http://www.scala.org.au/) Includes a few songs. (50 mins)