I've always been someone who enjoys technology, a hobby that never stands still! I can recall having a radio watch during my childhood, and later 'upgrading' to a calculator watch! So maybe that's where it all started. I have fond memories of plenty 'walkman's, a 'Discman' and even a Mini-Disc player before getting my hands on an iPod! In recent months, we have all enhanced our technology know-how. Like many, I've invested in various pieces of technology, but there are some devices I just love at the moment, so I thought I'd mention some of them here! 1. Apple Homepod mini
2. Logitech MX master 3 mouse
3. Sony WH-1000XM2 earphones
I'm realising more and more the fun associated with learning new things. I've actually always known this, but in recent months, it's resonating more and more. Taking part in the National Forum's opencourse 'PD PACT', with a focus on commitment to professional development certainly supported this mindset. I'm not sure where I noticed it first, most likely on Linkedin or Twitter, but there was a free online course coming up about the future of higher education, "Higher Education 4.0 - Certifying your future", created by Dublin City University, focusing on new pedagogies and a phrase we are starting to hear more and more about of late: microcredentials. I signed up to take part, on the 'FutureLearn' platform. It was a 3-week, fully online course and you could work around your availability. I'm glad I joined, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning so much from the ongoing conversations which complemented the course content and activities. Here, I want to reflect on my experience of the Futurelearn platform (I hadn't engaged with it before). I will write a reflection on the course specifics another time - I'm still processing and reflecting on all I learned!
Room to improve?
So yes, Futurelearn have developed a really great platform, one I have learned a great deal from in a short space of time, getting a true taster for certain areas. As I mentioned at the beginning, it's nice to learn new things again! I do feel the community aspect could be improved slightly, but there are already a lot to enjoy and appreciate already. Remember there are courses there for free, so why not try and one and see what you think! I really enjoyed the one I mentioned above - linked again here. Have fun and enjoy your future learning!" Recently, I was involved in learning more about GDPR. Honestly, I learned a great deal, and thoroughly enjoyed the associated online classes and group discussions. The number of scenarios around data protection is plentiful to say the least, but guidance around the main elements of GDPR can assist interpretation and the design of suitable processes. Like many, we are all more aware of the importance of privacy and personal data protection, in particular due to the digital world we live in - just think of all the cookie or privacy policies you have encountered in recent days! I knew a little about GDPR and the various changes to practice, but none of the detail behind the regulation and its many articles (99 of them!). So, what have I learned from attending the course - certainly too much to put in a single blog post, but I will add some general learnings below that might be of interest - as well as some of my summary sketches. WHEN?
WHAT?
WHERE?
WHY?
WHO?
HOW?
Exemptions do exist:
From some of my previous blog posts, you may have seen I attended a Visualthinkery.com National Seminar supported by the National Forum (my blog post on this is linked here), so I tried to use what I learned there and try to sketch elements of this topic. Below you can see two of my 'GDPR' drawings; one focusing on the rights of data subjects and the other on the principles of GDPR. Two of my many takeaways is the need to always be proactive around data protection (privacy by design, from the onset), and the importance of a team of champions to be supporting both the work around this, and each other, within an organisation - oh, one more, encrypt your USB drives if they are deemed essential! You can read more about the GDPR regulation and its articles here, while the Irish Data Protection Commission's website is a great resource also. |
Ronan BreeEducation Developer,Science Lecturer, Archives
March 2023
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Any opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer.
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