Hey there, Nick fan(s). I'm a little more active on the poetry scene for the next few weeks. It's a bit of a mixed bag and I hope there's something for everyone! We've got short, tight, spoken word/poetry sets, we've got storytelling, we've got a full on 10-15 minute set as part of a slam heat. Three different forms? In this economy?

I am teaching a general research preparation course for Masters students across my (shiny new) University called RESE 5000 Foundations of Research. It's a four week course as part of a much larger sequence and covers research design, alternatives in research design, paradigms, quant/qual, and a lot of hands on work to develop a small but focussed research design glossary for these students.

Long time, no post. I thought I'd wake this blog up with a post about gaming, as I started playing PS games again after about an 18 month hiatus. I had been getting quite involved in online team games like Division 2 and Helldivers 2 before I quit back in 2025 and I was a little worried about spending that much time gaming when I dived back in.

At Koli Calling 2024, which was many lifetimes ago in terms of my last 18 months, I was ... well... ranting with Leo Leppänen and Juho Leinonen about the potential issues with the use of GenAI discussants in CS activities that use social constructivism, given the rapid adoption of Gen AI in chat/discursive situations. We caught up in Helsinki after Koli, sketched out a paper, actually then dedicated enough time to write it (shocking, I know), and started submitting it.

I've just returned from a brief holiday on the Australian East Coast and I had a chance to think about what the new leadership role at the Uni will mean. One thing I felt I had to do, although it was honestly a tough decision to make, was tidy up the work/personal aspects of my social media. This means unfriending (what a loaded term) some people who I've known through work for a while.

ou can join A/Prof Claudia Szabo, me, Dr. Munienge Mbodila, and Prof Judy Sheard as we work to assess impact, analyse the effects on higher ed institutions, and identify the challenges, with a focus on the Global South.

Come and join us at the ITiCSE Working Group on developing research skills using a card-based approach!

Being a subset of interesting books from my collection, accompanied with explanatory texts of varying utility, as well as references to this blog. A very rapid summary in far too much detail. I recently had reason to distill my thoughts on why games, play, and the playing of games were a valid and even necessary area of discussion when talking about education.