Category Archives: Uncategorized

Anyone want to take a look? It’s here–feel free to comment on any of the blog page entries!

How was your weekend? Mine was os-some! No, really. I spent time with my husband. I got things done that needed to get done. I relaxed. I ate. I slept. I even got a few hours in the garden by … Continue reading →

The numbers have firmed up for ETEC565A: certainly Rob and I shall not suffer from boredom this summer! I spent much of yesterday assessing the first batch of assignments for the course. Each student prepares a “flight path”–essentially a substantive … Continue reading →

Welcome to this summer’s cohort of ETEC565A students! Glad to have you aboard! Was chatting with my Dad today and explained that a new term started this week and that I was teaching in it–online. “Online? You mean over the … Continue reading →

Monday marks the beginning of UBC’s Summer session: two, two two terms of fun! And I’ll be teaching ETEC565A. In order to maintain good relations with she who makes my work look awesome I’ve tried to either: 1.) do things … Continue reading →

Canadian citizen? In Canada? But not registered to vote? Here’s how you still can!

I’ll be presenting a paper at this conference mid-June. The preliminary programme has been set and as I feared I’m in the opening slot on the first morning of the conference. Feared? Well, yeah…I will have arrived from Vancouver around … Continue reading →

If you’re not aware, Apple now has a nifty process by which you can–if you’re a nimble typer and refresh your browser quickly–reserve one in the evening and pick it up the next day. I missed out on the first … Continue reading →

An elder just made me cry. In a good way. Today our research team made its first presentation of the findings from our alcohol and stigma study. Because we’re committed to OCAP principles (ownership, control, access and possession of all … Continue reading →

Last night the Vancouver Parks Board approved a memorial to the Komogata Maru exclusion of  1914.  Here’s the gist of the story: To limit non-European migration, the Canadian government implemented a range of racist policies, including the Direct Passage Act, … Continue reading →

One of my favourite podcasts is BBC’s Digital Planet, a sort of omnibus programme about technology. This week’s episode is about ownership in the digital age. Included is a brief report on Mukurtu, which tries to integrate indigenous epistemologies into … Continue reading →

You might not be aware of it, but you’ve heard of Anonymous. No, not Alcoholics Anonymous: this band of people are hackers who take collective action against organizations whose practices they find objectionable. After the hegemonic slamming of Wikileaks a … Continue reading →

Finally sorted out some access issues for my teaching evaluations from ETEC565A Fall 2010. In general UBC’s CWL system gets a bit verklempt when someone has multiple roles. As one who avails himself of his tuition waiver (otherwise I feel … Continue reading →

I’ve had a paper accepted here; so I’ll be travelling to Novi Sad Serbia in late June. After looking at various permutations of dates and flights (taking into account the husband’s birthday on 18 June), here’s my itin: 19 June … Continue reading →

Is what I teach informed by–or distant from–who I am? The various signifiers of my life? Since I can only speak for myself, the answer is that who I am is significantly what I teach. Having grown up queer (gay … Continue reading →

…though not necessarily the current one. There’s a re-ratcheting up in the rhetoric regarding the Foundation Skills Assessment testing system used in BC schools. You can read more about it here, and a raft of materials against it here. I … Continue reading →

While teaching in UBC’s MET program has given me a reasonably strong sense of the needs of K-12 educators seeking to leverage technologies…my own practice remains focused on higher education.  But here’s some iPad apps I have found useful: Best … Continue reading →

There are some prevailing discourses with respect to public K-12 education in Canada: too many students drop out, we’re failing Aboriginal students, EFL/ESL student needs are shifting resources from other programmes and initiatives. All of these are true. But they … Continue reading →

2010 will perhaps be the most important year of my life. That’s not hyperbole: a number of landmark, once-in-a-lifetime things happened. Mom: Despite 10 years of her living with emphysema, countless visits to hospitals, and one particularly horrific journey from … Continue reading →

Another term–and another year–are coming to a close. This year I taught ETEC565A for 3 consecutive semesters (6 sections in total). So I’m pleased to have a break before the next offering in May 2011. I’m also keen to do … Continue reading →