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#blimage Can’t see the wood for the trees!
I’ve been challenged by @annakwood (who blogs here: http://learningfrome-learning.blogspot.co.uk/ and if you’re not reading it, you probably should be) to write a blog post as part of the #blimage...
View ArticleLecture Recording Redux
Back in January I wrote about lecture recordings (http://www.possibilitiesendless.com/2015/01/on-the-recording-of-lectures/) which was a bit of a ramble about their use as a revision tool. I’ve been...
View ArticleA recap of previous Variety in Chem Ed conferences. #vicephec15
I was contemplating a tweet from Simon Lancaster the other day where he asks how many people can lay their hands on their conference notes from a conference they attended a couple of years ago. I have...
View ArticleIn which course design is compared to sausages.
This is one of those posts that needed to be ‘sat on’ for a few months. It was written in February 2014 and now that we’ve finished designing the modules, it seems reasonable to post it now. We’re...
View ArticleDo Chemists have Chemophobia? An Update #vicephec15
This is the blog post that accompanies my talk at #VicePhec15, Variety in Chemistry Education. If some presenters can elect to flip their presentation, no reason why I can’t blog mine! ETA: The...
View ArticleAll cleared up
REPOST: This was first posted on Endless Possibilities v2.0 back in May 2009*. As we were recently discussing chemophobia and different definitions of ‘chemical’, it seems relevant. *I’m trying to work...
View ArticleVariety in Chemistry Education: The Keynotes #vicephec15
In the absence of a coherent way to structure my thoughts post conference, I shall start randomly and allow this post to meander somewhat. There may be greater coherence in later posts. My note taking...
View ArticleWhen September Ends…
This seems like the longest shortest summer so far. I’m really not sure what precisely I’ve done and yet I know I’ve done quite a bit. I also know I haven’t done much of what was personally important...
View ArticleThis time of year…
REPOST: This is from last summer (July 2014). This summer was pretty much the same except for not having summer students. It is the time of year when I get asked what I’m doing at this time of year....
View ArticleScience Friction
REPOST: This was first posted in February 2009. This semester ends with a ‘Chemistry of Science Fiction’ lecture-workshop so it seems appropriate. Perhaps science fiction is to blame for science’s...
View ArticleHEA Chat #HEAChat
Last night I made it home in time to take part in the HEA Chat on twitter. I’ve been a lurker for some time in LTHEChat (http://lthechat.com/ Wednesday 8 – 9pm) but find it quite overwhelming. Which...
View ArticleChoice is Multiple, Context is Everything
I feel like writing multiple choice questions has characterized this semester so far. It’s unusual in that I normally feel that battling with my exam questions characterizes the early week of the...
View ArticleWhat is the ‘Smell of Science’?
Two students have just walked into the building, probably not chemistry, physics, astrophysics or forensic science students. They were discussing the smell of the building and claimed it ‘smells like...
View ArticleLectures at Conferences – again!
A while ago, there was a discussion on Twitter about the role of lectures at academic conferences and whether more sessions should be discussions or interactive. There was some discussion around the...
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But it wasn’t fair.
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidyuweb/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 My life, as a marker of student work, would be infinitely easier if we had a set of standards for the production of work that all...
View ArticleDear Santa Science
Dear Santa I know you’re pretty busy around this time of year but there’s a lot of things that we science-y academic types would love to get for Christmas. For many of us it has reached the stage where...
View ArticleMagic Week and Crystal Faeries
REPOST: This was first posted in December 2012 but seems appropriate to revisit now! There is something special about the lab over the Christmas holidays. There are myths about experiments...
View ArticleA Year In Review
So what of 2015? What made it stand out? What were the good bits, the bad bits and the bits in between that are not worthy of particular note? Conferences – a quiet year actually, attended #VICEPHEC15...
View ArticleOn Email
I attended the HEASTEM conference back in January and went to one talk provocatively suggesting that it was time to quit social media ‘cold turkey’. It was one of the more tempting talk titles to be...
View ArticleBlackboard Battles: self- and peer-assessment tool
My first years are busily doing peer assessment of video presentations they’ve created. We’ve got a good theme this year, ‘chemistry goes to the movies’ and I’m enjoying watching the presentations...
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