Wilson Waffling

There is an image which has been circulating of a whole load of men within a train carriage reading newspapers with the caption relating to the fact that we didn't used to interact much more when there were no smart phones about. I sometimes wonder how we ever managed to meet in the middle of town without having a phone to say 'I'm here!' or 'I'm running late!' I guess we were just a lot more organised then. But does technology have an impact on social discussion and how people interact...this is the topic of this week's waffle. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

Many of you might have watched or participated in the wonders of Friday which was Children in Need. While I was casting my eyes over my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I saw the photos of people showing off their super hero costumes. I really miss these days from school and I thought I would waffle this week about what makes it a special day, not only for the charity, but for the children and learning. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

It was half way through the week that I thought I would write this waffle but I have been trying to decided whether or not I am enough of an expert to actually waffle about the topic. Initially it was going to be about the joy of reading and or books, but I thought, after reading an online article, I would also put some technology in there as well. So if you are sitting comfortably and with a humble apology to all you literacy experts out there, I shall begin. #reading, #technology, #wilsonwaffling, #joy of reading

I was scanning down my Twitter feed the other day, like you do, and I came across a tweet that presented a challenge. Never one to shy away from a challenge, and having no immediate topic to waffle about this week, I thought that I would accept the challenge and answer the question – “What is the purpose of education?”. This was one of the most difficult waffles I have written. As I mentioned before, academic writing like this is not my strong point. Oh – a requisite was to do it in less than 500 words – so this is the pre waffle and doesn’t count towards my wordage…

I you follow me on Twitter you will realise that this waffle might not actually be my first attempt at writing this. My first attempt just would not come together this morning, so after a couple of hours retyping and releasing my frustration in tweets, I have changed tact again and decided to waffle the second part of last week’s topic. How I use technology with resources.

The sun can be very annoying at times! I am sat with my MacBook in my favourite coffee shop writing this and the sun is just beaming into the building bright and cheerful. The problem is, I either get it right in the face so it is blinding and I can't see my screen, or it on my back and shining on the screen, and I can't see the screen. The sun definitely needs a dimmer switch! The sun shining onto my screen actually has something to do with this week's waffle since I want to waffle about the role of technology in the planning. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

I must admit I might have been telling a slight fib with the title of this waffle. I wanted to talk about the value of school trips, although that doesn’t seem to be an attention grabbing title, so I thought I would put a slight slant on it and relate it to technology as well. So if you are planning on reading on then please let me count you onto the bus, travel sickness people at the front near the bucket, seat belts fastened and off we go! The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

So this week’s waffle is a bit different. It is going to focus more on the twaddle part of the blog’s tagline rather than the teaching or tech – although I’m sure those two words will be mentioned somewhere. This week, I thought I would let you know why I write my waffles and why I continue to produce Wilson Waffling Live. Although this is not something specific about teaching, think of it as a relaxing chat over a coffee and a rich tea biscuit. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

As part of my own professional development, I have been writing waffles for other websites, although so far no-one has agreed to publish anything. I always refer to them as blog posts (waffles sounds a bit unprofessional) but they are basically the same format as my waffling posts here. All the sites require an original waffle (post) with some allowing you to publish it on your own site at a later date. This originally was a waffle I wrote covering what to do next after setting up your Twitter account. Unfortunately, after submitting this post nearly two months ago, it has been rejected (I assume) so I thought I would post it here. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

Guest blog for the LGBT Staff Network Blog

This is going to be my last waffle in the starting university series. I have looked at preparing to start the adventure and what to do during the first week. In this waffle I am going to have a look at my own personal electronic toolkit which I use for my studies in higher education. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

In the last three waffles the focus has been on starting university. This week, I am going to have a look at what you can do in your first week of lectures, seminars and workshops. So grab your rucksack, your mobile technology and notepad and let's get to lectures! The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

While completing my annual leave this week I was able to listen in on the tweets from the Association for Learning Technology Conference from Warwick University. Although I was unable to attend the actual conference, sitting in drinking coffee watching and interacting with the tweets was very interesting and, being still new to higher education and learning technologies, allowed me to gain an insight to the views and opinions within the learning technology community. It also allowed me to add more learning technologists to my personal learning network on Twitter! One point of discussion which I found very interesting was whether to enforce or encourage the use of technology within learning. Of course, after thinking about this, I couldn’t resist writing a waffle about it.

It would appear that the most popular topic within all education blogs this week is 'back to school'. We are awash with the offers on Asda's children clothing and the essential range from Staples and WHSmiths and Facebook is full with last day comments and the excitement of a new term. I felt that I couldn't let the opportunity go by without adding my own views to the numerous posts. So this week's waffle is all about going back to school! The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later! #backtoschool #new #teachers #primary #school

If you have seen the title of this waffle and come to read an epic adventure that leads a group of brave dwarves, elves and hobbits across dark and dangerous terrain then I'm afraid you are going to be be disappointed. I am, of course, talking about the new adventure of starting university. After the hype and emotions of the A-levels results and clearing have subsided, some of you might be thinking ahead, itching to get to university and start your socialising....I mean studying. As you still have some time to wait, this waffle is to get you to start to think about organising yourself for your adventure. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

It was during the week that I read an article in the Guardian titled How to teach graphs – data handling lesson ideas and decided to write a waffle on some of my ideas about teaching data handling (or statistics). I also mentioned some of these ideas in a waffle about mathematical SODAs.

Returning from a week of conferences around the UK, I suddenly realised that schools only have one more week left before their summer holidays. Working in higher education when I have annual leave rather than set holidays, I sometimes become disjointed from the regular rotation of holidays and/or events associated with the school year. Since things are coming to an end, this week’s waffle is about activities that I used to do in the last week of term. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

I would just like you to know that I am typing this wearing a yellow jersey! Refraining from making the possible cow jokes here, I am wearing it in honour of the Tour de France which is currently in Yorkshire – where I live. Yesterday it was in the Dales, today in York itself. As you can imagine, the centre of York is virtually closed down to traffic and thousands of people are already congregating. I, myself, am sat in my usual Sunday morning haunt, writing this week’s waffle which is all about teaching technology. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

This is the second instalment of my fun with nature waffle. Last week I set the scene and introduced you to three of the activities which the class completed. If you are interested in Bird Bingo and Nest Building, then go check out last week's waffle. In this waffle I will tell you about the bird holidays and the expedition into the wild! The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!