hope

A graffiti'd wall with the chemical symbols from the periodic table used to spell out "PUSH."
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The Worst Is Yet to Come, and Babe, It Won’t Be Fine

So last week, we talked about fatigue and burnout, and I promised you I would give you some reasons to keep engaging with the things that matter. I didn’t promise a cheery chat — and the title today reinforces that! — but I am going to provide some reasons to hope even as I try to spook you into action.

Naomi Klein’s concept of disaster capitalism, as she outlines in the Shock Doctrine, is one that resonates. We’ve talked about it in these pages before: it’s the idea that bad, exploitative policy — of the neoliberal variety — typically follows on from crisis. Klein herself has acknowledged the parallels to this moment. And I’ve argued that we’re seeing this same thing happen in educational technologies, as universities floundered to sign agreements and then get stuck with tools they are ill-prepared to effectively manage and use.

Welcome (?) to the 2022 TRU Digital Detox
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Welcome (?) to the 2022 TRU Digital Detox

My friends, what a time to be working in education. When I sat down in November to plan this year’s Digital Detox, I really struggled. Reading back through the essays of the last few years, it is easy to believe that nothing has really changed or improved since the start of the pandemic, and that…

Pink neon on a black background. Text reads, "Do it together, never alone."

Digital Detox #1: Welcome to the Show

Welcome to the 2021 TRU Digital Detox.  Last year, I used the Digital Detox at least in part to introduce myself to the TRU campus and showcase my priorities in my new role as Coordinator, Educational Technologies. My big thing was hope. Hope! Yes, venture capitalism and surveillance tech and corporate edtech are things that…