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Rebecca Ferguson

@r3beccaf.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.4K following 481 posts

Open University professor emerita, making the shift over to podcasting, audio drama and fiction.

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Reposted by Rebecca Ferguson
Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today's winning Biology All email--in fact this is a contender for best this year
Hi all,

We received a package with no name to GSB 2144 with 80 sheep brains in it. If you are expecting this package, please reach out and we can coordinate the pickup!

Best wishes,
Jenna
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Donna Lanclos @donnalanclos.com · 28/09/2026
oh man, say it again. Workplaces should offer training. Universities are not training hubs.
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Mark Childs @markchilds.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Enjoying #Strictly? Want some tips on giving #Feedback to your students? Want to hear three people talking about both together? Then listen to our latest #Pedagodzilla podcast episode www.pedagodzilla.com/is-the-feedb... With @mikecollins99.bsky.social and @r3beccaf.bsky.social
pedagodzilla.com
Is the feedback on Strictly a fab-u-lous model for educators?
In this episode Mike, Mark and Rebecca take to the floor to ask whether the feedback dished out by the judges on Strictly Come Dancing is actually a surprisingly good model for educators. We look a…
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Last one? In September???
Colour photograph of an artificial Christmas tree. The label gives the price – £146.99 – and states that this is the last one
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🌬Breeze @cool-summer-breeze.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is the Stolen Neighbors Quilt. Each of the 11,000 squares represents a person taken by ICE in Minnesota.
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George Ferguson WWI @georgeferguson.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Life in Bolton in 1917 must have been very exciting because this story only made it to page 3 of the newspaper. The airman's only weapon of defence was a pair of nail scissors, he sang ‘Two Eyes of Grey' to a leopard, and baboons fought over his clothing
Clipping of a newspaper headline: 'Airman's trials in African jungle. Sings to leopard to scare it away. Among crocodiles, lions and hippos.'
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I love the broad reach of this course and the way it brings together educational experiences and expertise from around the world.
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Liv Mariah Yarrow (pronounced "leave") @profyarrow.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Every damn time. We all need a committee of "NO".
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Elizabeth Zelle @kohizeri.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"the assessment did not consider the crocodiles" is my new metaphor for people choosing to just ignore the data point that doesn't agree with them
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Somehow, this reminds me of @scarfolk.bsky.social
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The Conversation gives me one button to click if I consent to cookies and (checks notes) 14 if I don't. And the additional option to make separate choices for six different partners. They 'only use your cookies to improve our service and ensure the website is functional' but one partner is Facebook.
'Welcome to the Conversation Consent Management' This is followed by 14 types of cookie to which the reader can click agree or disagree, followed by the optiion to click through to 'view our partners'
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Institute of Educational Technology @ietatou.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
10 days to go! Registration info www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate...
open.ac.uk
Research and scholarship in digital education | Open University | H890
Develop research and scholarship skills by exploring online, blended, and technology-enhanced teaching, learning, and assessment in diverse global contexts.
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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The RNLI have some of the best people in Britain volunteering for them. They put their lives on the line when they are called on and they will rescue anyone who needs them. Because every life matters, and offering help is the right thing to do. You can donate here: rnli.org
rnli.org
RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - Saving Lives at Sea
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. We do this through lifeboat search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety education and international interventions.
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sky @iamspacegirl.bsky.social · 04/08/2023
hey, I just met Zeus and this is crazy but he's a swan and I'm having babies
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Ashley @ashleysays.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Chefs kiss
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Fereshte Goshtasbpour SFHEA @gfereshte.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
3 weeks to go! Join us to earn a PG Cert in Researching Digital Education while preparing a PhD/EdD proposal or an application for a funded project! Alternatively, you can earn the certificate and continue on to our MA in Online Teaching. www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate... #digitaleducation #OUMAOT
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Dan @fraternalwriter.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
UK HE institutions facing reductions in staffing & offerings. While the PM blithely makes claims about AI’s ability ‘to write an essay', an important contributor to economic growth and social peace is in deep trouble, due, in large part, to government policies. Spotted an error? Amendments welcome.
List of UK HE institutions facing significant downsizing.
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Mark Childs @markchilds.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Watch me @sheilawebber.bsky.social and @r3beccaf.bsky.social talk about the map of the Realms of Pedagogy from the pedagodzilla book at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogOx...
youtube.com
Week 2: Exploring the Realm of Pedagogy: Part 1
YouTube video by Dr. Nellie Deutsch
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
New Pedagodzilla episode – 'Would an AI Learning Design have helped the Sorcerer’s Apprentice?' www.pedagodzilla.com/podcast/woul...
pedagodzilla.com
Would an AI Learning Design have helped the Sorcerer’s Apprentice?
How can we ensure students are equipped to deal with AI? What are the benefits of incorporating AI awareness into our learning designs? What are the risks? How can we get the floor cleaned more eas…
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Alfred Anate Bodurin Mayaki @alfredmayaki.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Big shouts to @ssrn.bsky.social for publishing a preliminary version of my thesis on unions and collective forms of welfare across the OECD. Also a major thank you to resmedia.bsky.social and @oulibrary.bsky.social for the ongoing support. Available here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
resmedia.bsky.social
Royal Economic Society (@resmedia.bsky.social)
Promoting economics. Supporting economists. Improving diversity.
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George Ferguson WWI @georgeferguson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
"Move off + bivouac just behind our old front line" "Liverpool's blackest day' on the Somme, 500 Pals killed, including George Ferguson's near neighbour in Liverpool, George Harold Barlow, who he'd met by chance at few days earlier. More at georgefergusonliverpool.wordpress.com/2026/07/30/3...
georgefergusonliverpool.wordpress.com
30 July 1916
Move off + bivouac just behind our old front line CommentaryThe Liverpool Scottish doctor, Noel Chavasse, wrote home:I expect the next few days will be very busy ones. I pray God I do my duty. I ha…
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Jim Toms @jim09ea63.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Oh no TV presenter and comedian Bill Oddie dies at 85 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
static.klipy.com
The Goodies: Kitten Kong in London
ALT: The Goodies: Kitten Kong in London
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Learning Design team at The Open University @ou-ld-social.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
You can also read about it in the chapter How Does Problem-based Learning Help Buffy the Vampire Slayer... er, Slay Vampires? (co-written by @r3beccaf.bsky.social, @mikecollins.bsky.social, and @markchilds.bsky.social), from the OER-available #Pedagodzilla book. www.pedagodzilla.com/wp-content/u...
pedagodzilla.com
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Learning Design team at The Open University @ou-ld-social.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Today's hot topic in the #OU_LD team is #ProblemBasedLearning. Which has reminded us of our own @mikecollins.bsky.social's fantastic #Pedagodzilla #podcast episode on the subject.
 www.pedagodzilla.com/schools-out-...
pedagodzilla.com
School’s out forever! How does Problem based learning help Buffy the Vampire Slayer? (Ft.Computational thinking)
Now here’s a Brucie bonus for you – it’s a pedagogy 2 for the price of 1 special! We’ve got Rebecca Ferguson, innovator of pedagogy and watcher of Buffy joining us to figure…
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
An arrowhead made of #meteorite iron: around 1,500 BC, a meteorite struck #Estonia. A fragment of it arrived - presumably in the baggage of an amber trader - at what is now Lake Biel, #Switzerland. An arrowhead was then made there from the cosmic iron. From Mörigen, 900-800 BC. 📷️ me
A corroded metal arrowhead displayed upright on a thin stand. The triangular point is heavily weathered and rough, with two short side barbs extending from the base. Its surface shows a mottled texture of rust and mineral deposits, giving it an uneven, pitted appearance
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Joanna Bagniewska @joannabagniewska.com · 14/07/2026
Geologists have a higher death rate in movies than Sean Bean 💀 Of the 202 geologists in 141 movies released between 1919 and 2023, 69 die or are found dead, resulting in mortality rate of about a third. Movie geologists were mainly male, white and in khaki. 🧪 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Geologists on the silver screen—the sequel
As geologists, our interest is piqued when geological processes—with varying degrees of accuracy—are portrayed in movies and especially when a geologist unexpectedly appears on screen, even in a mino...
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Dom Pates @dompates.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Ever wondered if there was an intersection between #VirtualReality and #TheOddyssey? Well, I made one! And in the process of writing my forthcoming book chapter about it, I had the pleasure of making my #Pedagodzilla debut with @markchilds.bsky.social and @r3beccaf.bsky.social. Listen below 👇🏼
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Events I never expected to have an official artist. Alasdair Dallas was "the official artist on the King of Belgium’s Expedition in search of the tsetse fly and the King of Sweden’s Expedition in the Gobi Desert"
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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
The last direct-line remnant of one of the particularly fighty smaller Military Holy Orders is 4 nuns living in a small house in Norwich. (At least that's how many, and where they were, last time I checked) So structurally the OPTION for the Pope to go full Adepta Sororitas is there, if he wants.
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lilastromech (Mischa) @mischajaye.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
The cooling system was installed by the village AC technician, Thermodynamix 😊
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 26/06/2026
This is remarkable.
Bar chart which shows y-axis running 0-8000, and x-axis showing years 2019 and 2024. For 2019, a light orange bar runs up to just over 6000, with a darker orange running up to 8000. For 2024, a green bar runs up to 4000, with a dark green running to about 5000. The text "40% lower" is on the lighter green bar. Text at the top of the graphic reads "Estimated air pollution deaths are down by around 40%. New analysis estimates deaths associated with air pollution in London reduced substantially between 2019 and 2024." Text at the bottom of the graphic reads "Note: darker shading shows estimated ranges. Data based on a comparison of estimated mortality burden using updated methods and a scenario-based analysis where only air pollution changes. Source: london.gov.uk/aqmortality". The Mayor of London logo sits in the bottom right-hand corner.
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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Just posting this to contrast with the glorious cold of last November.
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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
We're still open.
A photo of the Community Engagement Officer giving a thumbs up outside the main entrance to the archive. He is unfortunately ginger, and is wearing sunglasses and a boonie hat to protect himself from the burning hatred of the sun.
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Daughter spent last week crafting a job application that required 2000 words. Deadline midnight Sunday; rejection received midday Monday. She'd probably still be in the running if she'd simply submitted a list of keywords for the AI to tick off.
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Dara O Briain @daraobriain.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
You should come back and do a quick, four episode run of Mock the Week, they said. Don’t be ridicolous, I said. What news will there be, in June, during a World Cup? Oh, they said. Something will happen. Anyway, Sunday nights on TLC and available on the TLC YouTube channel afterwards.
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
@hookland.bsky.social – but do they hum?
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Doug Clow @dougclow.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Oh no! Oh blimey. Never mind the data, it's the people! My backup plan when we had rocky patches before was to open source it and help the community take ownership - this sounds like it was a very rapid decision with no time to support that sort of thing. :(
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Oh, no! The Open University is closing iSpot with only a few hours notice. A significant international site. Decades of data about nature and wildlife shared openly
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
"The court classified Google as a direct infringer because the "AI overview" is its own content, not just a list of search results. Google's AI overviews had falsely tied two publishing companies to scams... [A]t Google's scale, it means millions of wrong answers every hour"
the-decoder.com
Landmark German ruling declares Google's AI Overviews are Google's own words and makes it liable for false answers
A German regional court has ruled that Google is directly liable for the content of its AI search overviews. According to the court, previous limited liability protections for search engine operators ...
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Rebecca Jones @remembermyhat.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
A few people have asked me if it's too late to sign up for this afternoon. It's not! There's lots of online tickets left and some in-person ones in Milton Keynes, which include free wine and nibbles. If you unexpectedly find yourself free at 4.30 today, please do join us.
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Came upon a note that reminded me how glorious some of the patch notes for Dwarf Fortress could be
stopped butchery of milkable small animals
stopped witness death thought for intelligent creatures watching unintelligent creatures
made the corpses of small animals that die out of water stop teleporting
criminalized eating food from shop tables
stopped retirement in towns where adventurer is hated
removed dead/insane units from workshop profiles
made units drop stuffed items if the clothing holder is no longer worn
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Montford Tales @montfordtales.com · 01/06/2026
You can now get the vibe of "Twin Peaks, but in the Lake District" purely in PDF from both itch.io and DTRPG :) Community copies are available on itch for those who need them. Itch: montfordtales.itch.io/ashers-ridge DTRPG: www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
A copy of Asher's Ridge on a background of playing cards and an area map. Text reads "A roleplaying game of paranormal drama television for 1-4 players."
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Orkney Library & Archive @orkneylibrary.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Years ago we put googly eyes on a giant paperclip and stuck it to the wall. Now the blu tack has melted and the paperclip has grown ears and this is basically what Darwin was talking about. #NationalPaperclipDay
A large plastic paperclip with googly eyes stuck to it. It has been stuck to the wall with blue tack but the blue tack has melted and the paperclip has slid down so that it looks like it has ears.
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence
Despite rising concerns about sycophancy—excessive agreement or flattery from artificial intelligence (AI) systems—little is known about its prevalence or consequences. We show that sycophancy is wide...
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
When was it Slideshare became an irrelevance? A couple of years ago, presentations would get hundreds of views, multiple downloads and you could embed them in Wordpress. These days it's just tumbleweed and the featured presentations are duller than ditchwater.
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Rebecca Ferguson @r3beccaf.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Full Fact’s Government Tracker is monitoring the government’s delivery on its promises. It looks at progress ont 92 key pledges, from Labour’s 2024 election manifesto and from further announcements made since fullfact.org/government-t... Currently, two-thirds are achieved, in progress or on track
fullfact.org
Government Tracker – Full Fact
Full Fact is monitoring the government’s delivery on its promises
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Cambridge Diary @cambridgediary.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
21st May 2026 Cream Tea at Le Patissier.
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Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Shoutout to the very senior professor in HCI who gave a talk last month about how AI can do qualitative data analysis better than people now.
First, I’d created 2000 free-text responses and labelled them ‘UK’. Then I copied and pasted the exact same 2000 responses but labelled these ‘US’. Finally, I combined them to create a dataset of 4000 total responses, and jumbled them up.

Despite the responses being identical for the UK and US, Copilot produced a rich, detailed summary of how US and UK respondents differed.
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Jill Walker Rettberg @jilltxt.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
New dataset published: this is the audio + transcripts of AI-generated podcasts using NotebookLM to analyse how it "translated" source documents from different times and cultures. My favourites are the 20 podcasts generated from an empty PDF. The paper about it is in press. doi.org/10.18710/RNT...
doi.org
A dataset of AI-generated podcasts created using NotebookLM
Audio files and transcripts of AI-generated podcasts created using Google's NotebookLM. Four podcasts were created by uploading specific PDFs. Twen...
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Crumble Hob @uffington.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Only a few days left to go and see the Radical Rural exhibition at @themerl.bsky.social Well worth it if you can visit. Growing up around Newbury and Greenham in the 80s and 90s there were a few familiar nostalgic exhibits.
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