As I reminisce of our nation’s capital Of vanquished ideals our forefathers swore Where megawatt smiles are switched on in an instant Compassion only available through a camera’s lens Carefully crafted words available in neat little packages With well-practiced obfuscations wheeled out in response to crisis A dance well-choreographed as it sidesteps all questions.
As the world burns around us with increasing frequency And the environment is damaged beyond repair As science is followed or ignored depending how well it aligns to manic ideology And pandemics disrupt any sense of normalcy As our previous generations are treated as chattel And money source to be milked and not revered.
As authoritarianism and neo-fascism become increasingly institutionalised And we turn our backs on fellow man escaping deprivations beyond our imagination As millions face destitution, death or despair And we turn inward and ignore our moral duty to the world.
As our leaders become thralls to big business And corruption becomes a badge of honour As the media sings to a single tune And propaganda and news become indistinguishable As our outrage putters out in a single news cycle And we sleep to forget our waking nightmares.
Don’t worry for our leaders are here to protect us Save us from a far worse fate Let their words soothe you and dull your senses As they lead you blissfully unaware To the butchers table.
Never before has the sycophant’s folly
Been so apparent
Social media provides the platform for idolatry
Never before has the sycophant’s folly Been so apparent Social media provides the platform for idolatry To lavish faint praise Bend the knee for all to see And extoll If you squint your eye a certain way Your leaders’ exemplary virtues.
Businessmen, lobbyists, advisors and supporters Where age has no bounds Flocking to surround Playing at vanity and ego Pecking away at true discourse Pecking away at all sense of morality Of decency and principle.
Uncomfortable truths be dammed In the hope to receive Tiny morsels and treats To enter the hallowed inner circle For mateship and men’s club privileges abound No matter how briefly.
Do you know what this grab for money The soulless pursuit of greed will achieve? When those in power do not receive The guidance that they so sorely need Without accountability and transparency The emperor remains oblivious of his scant clothing.
And at this time of crisis The sycophant’s folly Will ultimately be All our bane For who bares the true cost in our society? The privileged haves or the invisible have nots? With an environment in ruin Social services run down And hundreds of elderly dead for no reason But incompetence Our humanity lost in the news cycle.
And to our leaders Focused on marketing and spin Whispering sweet nothings to untrained ears Giving away worthless glistening trinkets dazzling the eyes…
Let’s let them know For it’s time to expose That the emperor It’s plain to see He has quite simply No clothes.
IDEO and Imaginable Futures attempt to provide an accessible global viewpoint on disruption in the education sector and potential ways to mitigate future impact.
IDEO and Imaginable Futures attempt to provide an accessible global viewpoint on disruption in the education sector and potential ways to mitigate future impact.
Unfortunately it’s scope is limited. For example I didn’t see mention of higher education, vocational education or lifelong learning so learning re-imagined, though a worthy browse doesn’t provide as holistic a view of the complex education and employment ecosystems.
Its signals or examples do offer useful anecdotes of how some issues are being addressed. More research, a key part of design thinking, to ensure that it was tackling the right disruptive trends in education would have helped this report considerably.
“Radical Thinking for Equitable Futures” claims heights it simply does not reach but at least its attempted to ask some important questions – how is education likely to be disrupted and can we be better prepared? Its certainly worth flicking through and you’re likely to get something out of it but probably not as much as you hoped.
Your voice trembling
Meekly in the shadows
A story at the cusp of telling
One that surely
Should be told.
Hidden from plain sight
Yet tantalisingly close
You can almost touch it
Waiting impatiently.
Its tugging and picking,
Itching and scratching
Time continues on ticking
Midnight is approaching
The opportunity may close.
How to phrase a unique proposition
To decipher complex systems
Societal issues that demand transparency
Demand greater visibility
How to alert of the upcoming disruption
To the unaware and the status quo.
How to connect emotionally
With authenticity and honesty
An impatient and cynical audience
Captivate their hearts and minds
While describing the protagonists’ journey.
You story matters.
Your voice needs to be heard.
I see the winter rain pooling on rooftops
Overflowing gutters and drenching the grounds below
Foreboding resonances and modulating rumbling
Added ominous tones to the dank dark air.
I see the winter rain pooling on rooftops
Overflowing gutters and drenching the grounds below
Foreboding resonances and modulating rumbling
Added ominous tones to the dank dark air.
As I inhale I can smell and taste
Those dancing ions
Igniting spectacularly
Carving swathes of intense light
Splitting the darkness
Separating mists before my eyes.
I watch minuscule stragglers scurrying below
Frightened of the falling moisture
Touching unblemished skin
Ants in distant anonymity
My dispassionate observations of humanities failing
Confirm my mission’s ultimate objective.
As I stand there in silence
I wonder why I decided today was the day
I could’ve chosen a better announcing
I’ll be soaking if I linger.
A wet and miserable figure
Not much of a legacy
My dramatic flourish at the end
Would be wasted
Crowds would not gather
In shock, to frown
To contemplate my message
So...
I excuse myself
For my ego needs a platform
Even at the end.
I shrug my shoulders
And laugh with gallows humour
The irony of my message
My impatient mistress must wait a little longer
To embrace me
I step back from the edge
The ledge that was to be my last anchor
And decide to wait for less inclement weather.
I scurry home
Trying to avoid
That falling moisture in the air.
A study by the Australian Catholic University shows slightly improved learning outcomes for uni students provided a video instead of a physical or live class.
The article from The Conversation by authors from the Australian Catholic University is a cause for celebration as even though students are being deprived of that authentic university experience, they won’t be deprived of that educational experience.
The Conversation’s article goes on to provide resources on improving videos such as giving students more control, making videos more authentic and interactive.
Having recently edited a video for an education institution I’d also add a couple of simple but important tips for online recording for lecturers.
Editing is your friend
Review your video and edit out extraneous detail and repetition. It can save student’s time and improve their learning experience.
With live recordings you may find that some of the informal chat between lecturer and participants can be removed if they aren’t adding any significant value.
So don’t simply record and publish, take a little time and use simple editing techniques that can make a big difference to the student.
Thinking out loud
Watch out for umm’s or err’s!
Too many of these can distract the viewers and drive them a little crazy. Just catch yourself and try pause as you think. Try to edit them out if its an issue.
Watch your video and note how often you do it.
It’s all about the audio
Your students can live with poor visual quality but not with poor audio quality.
In the age of Zoom we are saddled with an unreliable NBN with lags and disruption in recording common. Record in tandem using a second hardware source – maybe your smartphone and the worst case you can substitute in backup audio.
Audio software can also be used to dramatically improve the sound quality.
You won’t go wrong investing in a decent microphone or headset with built in quality microphone.
I’m delighted to share this video from CC&C Solutions. It uses storytelling and describe the challenges facing enterprises embarking on digital disruption, architects and skills gap and service providers needing to move up the value chain. It highlights CC&C’s unique value proposition as a global training and advisory firm.
It’s also my first freelancing engagement as I embarked on a portfolio career. I use my love of poetry, narration, creativity, animation and video production to tell their story in what I hope is an engaging way.
We all need to add mastery of storytelling to our armoury as a key skill of the future!
I’m thankful to the wonderful C C and C Solutions team for trusting me and giving me this opportunity.
If you’re interested in telling your companies story in an inspirational, creative and innovative way, then please reach out.
What do we know about the domestic violence situation of people who are also homeless? What other issues do they deal with? Can we improve support methods?
What do we know about the domestic violence situation of people who are also homeless? What other issues do they deal with? Can we improve support methods?
Jewish House collected and analysed 774 clients in a recently released study during Homelessness Week.
In the age of COVID this situation is only going to become more acute. Housing stress will affect more and more individuals and families. How can our support services – already stretched to the limit cope? How will government agencies and NFP’s successfully prioritise? Having better tools to understand the risk of homelessness will be key. That’s a journey that Jewish House is on.
Its no secret that secondary schools have never been very good at supporting vocational educational pathways into jobs. New vocational education facilities are being built at Seven Hills High School and that’s an important and commendable signal in the change of emphasis by the NSW state government.
Its no secret that secondary schools have never been very good at supporting vocational educational pathways into jobs. New vocational education facilities are being built at Seven Hills High School and that’s an important and commendable signal in the change of emphasis by the NSW state government. [1]
The German experience, long a hallmark of a dual education system, shows that there are issues to resolve. [2] Low achieving and migrant students find themselves increasingly marginalised and competing with academically bright students for vocational education places. Female students are often encouraged to undertake courses in care industries instead of higher paid and traditionally male oriented jobs. Metrics and targets for female and low achieving students will help ensure equity.
Students, parents, teachers and employers are all confused by the myriad of options available in a fragmented education sector. Many fail to understand the importance of early decisions. Many simply do not know or are too busy with the day to day to care. How do we reach them? Age appropriate communication and tools to explore pathways, implications of early decisions and future consequences are important adjuncts to providing much needed new facilities.
There’s no silver bullet but an understanding of the issues and risks will help schools navigate their way through Australia’s emerging education sector of the future.
The Spoken Word 