Ed & Tech must-reads 020626

Don’t tell young people to walk away from university. For many, it’s the only way from Sydney Morning Herald

Maybe I just wasn’t paying enough attention before but it really seems that lately academics (and others) have been out there in the media going at it hard against universities and higher education in general. And far be it from me to say that things couldn’t be better in the sector, from endemic wage theft of sessionals to the caste divide between academic and professional staff. Nonetheless, recently the corporate media has seemed to be out for blood, handing over column inches to anyone with a grievance and 800 words to spare. Leading to gish gallops like this one last week, bandying about wild claims of institutional corruption via the deliberate ignoring of the impact of AI on education for fun and profit. As someone at the coalface of the response to these challenges, I was offended not only by the implication that I am apparently doing nothing on a daily basis but also by the lack of a structured argument or any supporting evidence. I tried to write a calm and cogent response but the ragebait had done its job.

Happily, cooler and wiser heads have prevailed in this response from Cath Ellis (Western Sydney Uni). I get the feeling that this is some form of gentle parenting, as there is a lot which is not said as she methodically works through unpacking and correcting some of the previous nonsense. This is a text book exercise both in making an informed counter argument and also in not taking the bait. Bravo Cath.

The Time My Students Used AI in Their Final Reflections – and I Liked It! from Maha Bali

I will always make time for the insights of Maha Bali (American University in Cairo) on education, even when they confound my expectations. She highlights her approach to having her students use GenAI tools responsibly, from an informed perspective, and the imaginative work they produced (or co-produced). She also notes the value of the offline reflective activities that she led with the class in broadening their views about learning. Always nice to have an informed perspective.

LEARNING STYLES ARE A MYTH Use learning channels instead! from Instagram

There would be few people now in this space who are not aware that the idea of ‘learning styles’ - where students might be visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic learners - has been largely debunked. This highly enthusiastic American educator, Jared Van, shares some interesting ideas - certainly new to me - about ‘learning channels’. These echo learning styles in their use of sensory inputs but pair them with a learner response (e.g. see-say, hear-write) to describe a wider set of learning experiences. I’m not sure if this is more relevant in his chosen field of special/children’s education but it raises some interesting ideas. I couldn’t find a lot in recent research literature - maybe it has been debunked as well - but this 2005 paper provides a decent overview.

Call for proposal: 2026 Eportfolio Forum (Dual Delivery) - Close 26 June 2026 from ePortfolios Australia

If you work in the ePortfolios space and have something to share, these are your people. I haven’t been to one of these for a little while but given the pivot in focus to process of learning over products of learning, the ePortfolio may be back.