And so it begins. My prediction: 1) ‘back-office efficiencies’ (aka cull of professional services and academic-related staff inc programme admin, student support, teaching/learning support / digital learning support /libraries / professional development etc) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Strange piece on #ukhe finance. No mention of the tripling of fees by the coalition government, the removal of number caps nor the problems of focusing funding on HE rather than a coherent tertiary system

Nice trillions-dollar industry you got there. It would be a shame if anyone tested its claims empirically

Interesting summary of Skills England's latest report on priority #skills for 2030: especially that only 70% of computing graduates go on to #employment in IT. www.bcs.org/articles-opi... #employability #highered #tertiaryed #vocationaled

The AI Literacy Framework from @ec.europa.eu. @oecd-ocde.bsky.social, Code. org & others. Details key skills students need to navigate and shape a world with #AI. The feedback survey is still open to help shape the final version. 👉See ailiteracyframework.org #AIEd #DigitalEducation

CfP for Nineteenth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies at Rhodes. Proposals due by 16 September on the theme of human-centred AI transformations. See cgscholar.com/cg_event/eve... #DigitalEducation #elearning #AIED #higherEd #education

"By positing superintelligence as the future goal, and in repeating over and over again that it will absolutely, positively be here almost immediately, Altman and Zuckerberg can then just take it as read that what we are dealing with today is 'AI', artificial intelligence."

For the USA, it looks like students studying wholly online will outnumber on-campus students www.npr.org/2025/07/11/n... #highered #digitaleducation

Special issue of New Media & Society on digital twinning at journals.sagepub.com/toc/nmsa/27/8 #digitalTwinning

#Edinburgh Critical AI in Education Network event on 1 September, 1 - 4 pm, to organise for a more critical voice on AI-adoption within #HigherEd. Book a seat at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edinburgh-... #AIEd #UKHE

New #open access book on Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online available as part of the excellent Issues in Distance Education services from @aupress.bsky.social at www.aupress.ca/books/120334... #pedagogy #DigitalEducation

University of Edinburgh launching learning and teaching strategy 2030 @ the learning and teaching conference #highered

Yes, a great question. it’s as if universities as institutions ignore all their academics warning them of the risks and costs of big tech, data extractivism etc

Denmark's govt are going fullstack OS Linux. Humboldt Berlin uni are fullstack OS Linux. Lots of other German and Dutch unis are completely free of Global big tech. If UK universities are all verging on bankrupt, why are they pouring money into big tech (incl AI)? Why aren't they all OS Linux?

Join us for a vibrant, student-led conference showcasing critical, creative, &scholarly work in #digitaleducation by students & alumni of the MSc Digital Education Programme @morayhouse.bsky.social University of Edinburgh. Free and online. Tickets at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-ed... #ukhe

Call for abstracts for Special Issue of #postdigital #Science and #Education in the Majority World - deadline 1 May 2025. Edited by colleagues at Centre for Research in Digital Education www.de.ed.ac.uk link.springer.com/journal/4243...

A valuable read from @stoweboyd.bsky.social for all higher education managers in a time of crisis on institutional resilience and the dangers of focusing on efficiency and cost reduction above all #highereducation #universities #resilience #adaptivecapacities www.stoweboyd.io?utm_source=n...

Includes the university of #edinburgh ‘s MSc in Digital Education www.de.ed.ac.uk/mscde #digitaleducation

Applications open for Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarships for the innovative MSc Digital Education at @morayhouse.bsky.social #digitaleducation #EdTech Info session 30 April 11am (UK time) to learn more. 📧 Contact: [email protected] 🔗 Info + how to apply: edin.ac/4jkcmPE

A hugely important article, exploring postdigital perspectives on the Global South... link.springer.com/article/10.1...

“Interest by prospective international students in the ‘Big Four’ study destinations – the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia – declined by 14% in the year ending January 2025. This decline follows a 22% decline the previous year.” More ➣ @uniworldnews.bsky.social

A6: Good, old fashioned VLE, open source preferably. In the post apocalyptic world, I’d gather a bunch of rebels and we’d co-create a great digital learning ecosystem. Mad Max style #LTHEChat

Universities please take note …

On 30 January, the European Higher Education Sector Observatory (EHESO) was officially launched. EUA has played an active role in this initiative through its participation in the policy advisory board, working groups. and ongoing feedback processes.

New Media Writing Prize Unconference, May 2025, @ Bournemouth, UK. Proposals for active sessions exploring intersections of #digital #collaboration, inclusivity, & #creative #innovation & future of digital media - due 25 February 2025, Midnight UTC. - more @ newmediawritingprize.co.uk/unconference/

@lancasteruni.bsky.social following Uni of Birmingham in partnering with 2U #DigitalEducation #UKHE

University of Edinburgh cuts. Staff told in principal's email 'nothing off the table'. #HigherEducation #Scotland #Edinburgh

#PhD opportunities to study #creativeindustries at @ University of Stirling - deadline 24 March. Details www.stir.ac.uk/research/res... #UKHE

#postdoc opportunity in #emocracy, #AI and #BigTech @mediacomgold.bsky.social , London for two years. Deadline 28 February jobs.gold.ac.uk/vacancy/post... #HigherEd #UKHE

Insider experiences of the current crisis in #UKHE from @timeshighered.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/uks-re... This quote strikes a cord "... we are experiencing cumulative confusion about what universities are for and what the substantive guiding values of academic life are."

Interesting stats on market share for #VLEs in North America #HigherEd from philhillaa.com newsletter: Instructure Canvas 50% share when scaled by enrollment, followed by D2L Brightspace at 20%, Anthology Blackboard at 12%, and Moodle at 9%. Pointing to the direction of travel for UK? #DigtialEd

I mean "defend the university" sure sure but how about we have a discussion about what "the university" is, how it's run, and whom it serves, and then let's also talk collective ownership, participatory budgeting, and democratic decision-making

20th International Conference on Persuasive Technology (PERSUASIVE 2025), May 5-7, 2025, 5* St. Raphael Resort and Marina, Limassol, Cyprus. On design, development and evaluation of #interactive #technologies aimed at persuading changes in #behaviour 2025.persuasivetech.org

Extended abstract deadline to 14 Feb for submissions to Postcolonialism & Imperialism in and around #Games anthology. Looks to evaluate post- & decolonial questions in game studies and identify future #research trajectories. Contact [email protected]

We just published several new encyclopedia articles. Today, a really important entry, on one importnat inspiration of postdigital theory link.springer.com/referencewor...

Latest on trying to be 'an AI superpower' while also trying a big project on 'driving your universities into penury'. www.edinburghinquirer.co.uk/p/super-dupe...

Start of the day in #edinburgh

That’s it. I’m done working for 2024. Xmas prep and lots of cooking to do

A fantastic machine

‘It was our rock'n'roll’ - How the ZX Spectrum became a 1980s icon www.bbc.com/news/art...

'Ewart Keep, emeritus professor of education...at the University of Oxford, told delegates at the Independent Higher Education conference that banks were the “invisible funder and regulator” of UK universities, and said questions would be asked about big spending decisions made in past years.' 1/5

An Open Design System for Learning #oldaily https://www.downes.ca/post/77280 I've referenced Tim Klapdor's discussion of learning types a couple times over the last few months. This post is the most complete description to date, framed within an open design system for learning.

#scholarships are available for academic staff working in universities in #TheGambia, #SierraLeone, #Ghana or #Liberia to study the MSc in #DigitalEducation at the University of Edinburgh. Register your interest at forms.office.com/e/idjYaQ7cnM by 5 pm (UK time) 29 Nov 2024. #HigherEd

Just a note to say that this short video is also very good. youtu.be/vawy-5DN7K4?...

New paper is out with co-authors Dr Michael Gallagher and Joshua Sarpong-Duah. "Radiating out rather than scaling up: Horizontalism and digital educational governance in Ghana" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... #Ghana #DigitalEducation

Last week Imperial launched its first African hub in Accra, Ghana, becoming the first UK university to have a permanent base solely focused on science and technology on the continent. 🇬🇧 🇬🇭 www.imperial.ac.uk/news/258253/...

#scholarships are available for academic staff working in universities in #TheGambia, #SierraLeone, #Ghana or #Liberia to study the MSc in #DigitalEducation at the University of Edinburgh. Register your interest at forms.office.com/e/idjYaQ7cnM by 5 pm (UK time) 29 Nov 2024. #HigherEd

"There are two directions higher education can take. Here’s why I chose pluralism." www.persuasion.community/p/how-i-lear...