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Lisa Harris

Educational innovator & disruptor at University of Southampton. Champion of Web Science, Digital Literacies & Digital Marketing MOOC. Open access only please. Fascinated by transformative potential of technology for education and business.

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The Future of Technology in Education #FOTE11

Key takeaways for me from a great day at Future of Technology in Education (#FOTE11) at the University of London yesterday: There was angst from the IT department as the ever increasing consumerisation of technology challenges creaking university systems and a too prevalent culture of ‘computer says no’. It is more productive for staff and students to collaborate and operate outside the system using free online tools (Google docs, Dropbox and Skype do the job perfectly well for me). Continue reading →

Book Review: The Digital Scholar by Martin Weller

I’m sure that regular readers and contributors to Martin’s blog will be delighted with this book. Although he takes care to be objective throughout the text, its subtitle should read something like ‘wake up and smell the coffee’. The real challenge will be getting the book onto the radar (and from there into the practice) of university staff who are still operating along more traditional lines despite massive environmental change. Continue reading →

Reflections on the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) Conference #PLE_SOU

Last week Hugh Davis, Su White and I hosted the 2nd International PLE Conference in the brand new Life Sciences Building at the University of Southampton. The event provided a space for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas and experiences around the development and implementation of PLEs, including the design of such environments and the sociological and educational issues that they raise. There were around 90 visitors from all over Europe and as far away as New Zealand and Pakistan. Continue reading →

Why Study Web Science? Lessons from History

William Dampier explored and mapped the coast of Western Australia fully 80 years before James Cook encountered Botany Bay. Largely forgotten today, Dampier landed in Shark Bay, Western Australia in 1699. He was a true pioneer with lasting influence upon such diverse fields as evolution, exploration, meteorology, navigation, commerce and travel writing. He was also a pirate who could have faced the same grisly fate as his contemporary Captain Kidd. Continue reading →