Two years ago I wrote about a number of education-focussed podcasts I found inspiring or useful, covering topics from inclusive practices to higher education trends and news. A good podcast is a wonderful thing (just check out The Rest is History), however as I look over my emails now, I see a much wider range of formats to read and watch. If you’re looking for some new sources of inspiration, reading rabbit holes and freshly pressed blogs, tied up with virtual string… here are a few of my favourite things at the moment.
Substacks: Needed Now In L&T + One Useful Thing
A relative newcomer to the blogging platform world, Substack has been growing in popularity as a place for academics to write and publish their thinking. Needed Now in Learning and Teaching is created and edited by Professor Sally Kift (Victoria University) and Associate Professor Jason M. Lodge (University of Queensland), both of whom have presented at UTS First and Further Year Experience (FFYE) events this year. Topics and authors range far and wide across higher education themes, from pedagogy and assessment, to student surveys, academic experience, and a big focus on equity and inclusion.
By way of contrast, take a look at Prof Ethan Mollick’s One Useful Thing, where he explores the implications of AI for work, education and life. A Professor of Management at Wharton, Ethan also studies entrepreneurship and innovation, but here he focusses solely on AI, through an evidence-informed lens.
Webinars: Transforming assessment
Who isn’t interested in assessment these days? Assessment is about the quality of our qualifications, it is where students put their time and energy, and has been called “the cash nexus of learning” (Sally Brown, 2012). Transforming Assessment is an ASCILITE SIG, and the Transforming Assessment webinars have been running for an impressive 15 years. The webinars are free to join, and cover a range of assessment and e-assessment topics. Sessions are hosted by Professor Geoffrey Crisp, (Retired DVC Academic, University of Canberra) and Dr Mathew Hillier, e-Assessment Academic, Australia.
If you missed the 2024 season, you can find 140+ recordings of past sessions captured since 2010 – with Generative AI a particular focus in recent events.
Blogs: TiP and SEDA
For those who are interested in exploring the challenges of putting educational theories into practice, Theory into Practice (TiP) will be right up your alley. It describes itself as a collaborative learning space to “gain, share and challenge knowledge and experience of putting learning and teaching theories into learning and teaching practices in global multidisciplinary higher education contexts”. Recent blogs include The value of theorising our teaching: In search of explanatory power, and Why bother with theory in practice? (the latter is actually a podcast recording, just to change things up!).
Another favourite is the SEDA blog (Staff and Educational Development Association). Based in the UK, SEDA runs a fellowship scheme, produces a number of research articles and publications and peer reviewed journal Innovations in Education and Teaching International. In the current climate, you might like to dip into this recent blog on Balancing impact and time: A strategy for adapting assessments in the age of GenAI.
How do you stay current and keep up with practice in learning and teaching? If you have a list of go-to resources, regular webinars or blogs, feel free to share a few of your own ‘favourite things’ here!