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Update on remote working at Athabasca University
Tait, C. (2022) Alberta walks back on plan to force online university to move employees to Athabasca The Globe and Mail, August 12
This is a story that is likely to run for a while, but there have been two...
When is a distance teaching university not distant? When you work for it
The Canadian Press (2022) Get back to work: Alberta government threatens funding cuts to Athabasca University CTV News Edmonton
The issue
The provincial government of Alberta has told Athabasca University (self-styled as Canada's Open University) that it 'must end its pursuit...
British Columbia drafts a digital learning strategy for its post-secondary education sector
What is the intent?
On June 8, 2022, the Digital Learning Advisory Committee (convened by the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training) produced a consultation draft of their Digital Learning Strategy. The aim is to:
consult broadly with...
Discussing the response of school systems to Covid
Online learning and distance education: in conversation with Dr. Tony Bates, 25 February, 2021
Why the interview?
This is a 40 minute video recording of an interview with Sarah Horrocks, Director of the Connected Learning Centre, London, UK, which has a...
The perversion of the Internet: scraping and selling children’s data from ed tech tools
Human Rights Watch (2022) How Dare They Peep into My Private Life? New York: Human Rights Watch, May 25
The promise and the ideal
I remember very clearly the first time I saw and used the Internet. It was in a...
Analysing the pedagogical affordances of video
We WILL Fix Climate Change, United Nations (click on image to see video)
I'm busy revising my online, open textbook, Teaching in a Digital Age, and at this stage I'm revising Chapter 8 on the pedagogical affordances of different media.
I...
Bridging the digital divide in online learning
Salman, J. (2022) How one city closed the digital divide for nearly all its students The Hechinger Report, April 14
This report shows what can be done, at least in urban areas, to reduce the digital divide for online learning....
Getting into the online learning industry
Lynch, M. (2022) Do You Have the Skills to Succeed in the Online Learning Industry? The Tech Edvocate, April 11
Three years ago, I wrote a blog post called 'So you want to be an educational technologist...' in which gave some advice on...
Conference on cognitive science and education at McMaster University
What
The two-day event brings together educators, cognitive scientists and policymakers to explore how cognitive science can be applied to educational policy and instructional design. Cognitive scientists have been systemically studying processes such as attention, memory and learning for more than 150...
Discussing the strengths and weaknesses of synchronous or asynchronous teaching
The context
I am continuing the process of updating the third version of my open textbook, Teaching in a Digital Age, to take account of developments since the second edition in 2019, including the impact of the pandemic.
My original...
About Tony Bates
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.