Helen Whitehead
I'm a Learning Technology Consultant at the University of Nottingham. I love to take MOOCs and help create them. I specialise in using learning environments innovatively especially for online learning
Location University of Nottingham
Activity
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
I'm joining late from East Midlands, England. I'm interested in two aspects. One is how changing forms can affect the world - manuscript to book, book to digital... and the second is the background around my favourite book, and personal greatest treasure, the incunabulum Lives of the Philosophers by Diogenes Laertes (Printed 1485 in Venice), in which you can...
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
Most interesting - working with and learning from different people and, as a manager, supporting them to learn.
Most challenging - when people aren't interested in learning and just want to do the same old thing! -
Helen Whitehead replied to Rachael Kirkup
I have experienced something very similar. It can be almost impossible to find or join an online group unless facilitated. Futurelearn comments often don't get replies so I hope you get to read this one!
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Is anyone actually facilitating this course and reading comments? As the course expires tomorrow without the diagram appearing, it doesn't seem so.
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I wondered that too :)
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Don't forget to refresh your page occasionally to see the latest posts in this discussion.
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Hi Andrew. That's a great example - is it alright to use your example in our MOOC blog and research? Would you prefer to be credited if we quote you or not?
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Don't forget to refresh the page regularly to see the replies and new questions.
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
Pete Crawford, below, mentions that there's nowhere completely natural left in the UK. Does this mean we have free rein to restore our landscapes to the most ecologically viable and sustainable state, even if that would not have ever been their state?
Both the road I grew up on and the one where I live now are named after fields, and where I live now has...
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Good luck with the blog. Don't forget to post the link in one of these discussions if you get started during the course.
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
Hi I'm Helen, I help to facilitate this course and I'm also a learner with you :) It is wonderful to see people here from all over the world. A couple of days ago I made a map of the countries of the people who posted in the Welcome forum. I hope I have got your country in there....
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I think you'll like Yorkshire - there are a LOT of cyclists :) Look forward to learning from you and many others with existing experience in the arena of sustainability.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Heather Gout
Here is the battle of Waterloo game. See if you can play as Napoleon and win!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/launch_gms_battle_waterloo.shtml -
Check out the 4D cinema - http://www.gaudiexperiencia.com/ particularly useful if raining. And it's near the Parc Guell - which has a useful app guiding you round :)
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What was the novel? Maybe people here have some opinions...
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
What was my activity? I searched Pinterest for examples of masculine birthday cards
Why did I do this? I wanted to get inspiration to make a birthday card for a male relative and a male friend
What did I learn about? Current trends, other artists' ideas and new techniques
What other activity did it lead onto? I watched a video on how to carry out a... -
Helen Whitehead replied to Mark Collar
I played like David and Peter and won as Napoleon. The Imperial Guard at the right place and time are the key :)
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Thanks to the posters here - your explanations re tactics are enlightening. I hope to find out more about how squares, lines and columns work as we move through the battle (via the course).
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It was Georgette Heyer who ignited my interest in the Regency period and Waterloo, too. And Sharpe after that. Then nonfiction to find out more. I didn't study history for long at school, going the science route, so I enjoy reading and studying about certain periods. I find the battle itself quite bewildering so I'm hoping this course will help me understand...
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Helen Whitehead replied to Rebecca Namubiru Membe
I wonder if that initial expense increase at the open box is University or other support as kids leave home and then they become financially independent.
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Hmm, I guess skydiving must be one of the least sustainable activities available...
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Love the Aardskip concept. Best of luck with it!
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Have you written any blog posts specifically about or for this course, Richard? Why not write about learning for sustainability?
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I've added your poster to the course Scoop-It site at http://www.scoop.it/t/sustainability-society-and-you. Lots of fun! :)
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I've added your poster to the course Scoop-It site at http://www.scoop.it/t/sustainability-society-and-you. Thank you for that - and the Glogster idea :)
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I've added your poster to the course Scoop-It site at http://www.scoop.it/t/sustainability-society-and-you. Good idea on the business angle. Thank you :)
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I've added your poster to the course Scoop-It site at http://www.scoop.it/t/sustainability-society-and-you. Thank you :)
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I've added your poster to the course Scoop-It site at http://www.scoop.it/t/sustainability-society-and-you. Thank you :)
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I've added your poster to the course Scoop-It site at http://www.scoop.it/t/sustainability-society-and-you. Thank you :)
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Participants in the other step asked about (1) how accurate the calculator is and how best to fill it in and (2) why income was requested and what the effects of it on the calculator are.
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Thanks for noticing that, David. I've fixed it now.
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Try the ebook versions - they open on iPads and meanwhile we will chase up Apple to see if we can extend the availability of the iBooks.
Or read them on the Web at http://unow.nottingham.ac.uk/resources.aspx?kw=sustainability -
There are no tests in this course. There are so few absolute yeses and noes about sustainability! Participation is the criteria for a certificate of participation in this course ('as it says on the tin').
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We will be covering exactly this question (and relating it to all MOOC providers) in Week 4 of this course :)
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I've added your link on the course bookmarking site https://delicious.com/flsustain
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Helen Whitehead replied to Peter Major
I'm adding links to the course Bookmarking site at Delicious https://delicious.com/flsustain
If you post links anywhere else in social media don't forget to use the course hashtag #flsustain, then hopefully we can aggregate them for everyone to find :)We look at Hans Rosling's visualisations later in the course :)
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
While we have many first-time MOOCers on the course we also have some learners who have taken many courses.
Tips so far include:
* Join in the discussions as much as possible
* Be curious, open-minded
* Try to keep up (but don’t worry about falling behind!)
* Have funDo you have any more suggestions?
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I have added your blog to the course Scoop-it site http://www.scoop.it/t/sustainability-society-and-you where we try to bring together all the blogs in one place so people can read each others. Do feel free to check the page occasionally, it would be good for course members to comment on each other's posts!
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
Sarah already mentioned some countries - we have people from Germany, Canada, UK, Australia, USA, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, Brazil, Caribbean, Nigeria, Mexico, Ireland, Ecuador, Austria, Finland, France, Russia, Venezuela, UAE, Argentina, Zambia, Italy, Malaysia, Belgium, Sardinia, Ukraine, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Egypt, India, Slovakia, Bulgaria,...
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
Welcome to everyone starting the course today. I'm one of your facilitators, a learning technologist with the University of Nottingham and I've been helping Dr Sarah set up and deliver this course. I'm really looking forward to hearing everyone's experiences and opinions - your input is really important to this course. We hope you'll enjoy it!
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Excellent poster, thank you.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Ira H
Direct link is http://www.flickr.com/photos/107792169@N03/12919836633/in/pool-flsustain
Living in an area where the textile industry used to be much bigger and employ more people, it is interesting to read your poster - not the dangers to teh workers have moved elsewhere but the environment is still at risk. -
If possible could you provide the details via the Feedback link on the left? We're the first course to use the peer review so the FutureLearn tech team will be grateful for your feedback.
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Just to comment on the banana briquette - it was designed for a place where the need was to find fuel for cooking, and banana skins were plentiful and make a good fuel. In other places, composting would also be a good outcome :)
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
Thanks to everyone who's posted. I will miss you all. I have learned so much from so many of you, in so many places. I have learned not to make assumptions and that our lives and cultures are different but we can share our goals. I have been awed by the beautiful places described, sometimes with images, enlightened by the links. experiences and images shared,...
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Thank you for making the effort. Unexpected things often seem to happen during online courses, sorry to hear about yours. We have appreciated your participation.
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A fun poster :) Thanks for that one.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Maya S
So sorry to hear about your flood. Must be a real nightmare. The Futurelearn course space will remain open for a while longer though the team may not be responding after this weekend. The course will run again as well, if anyone wants to start again, zip through the bits you've already done ...
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No need to sign in - you can watch so long as you have access to YouTube. If you can sign in, you can type questions in the hangout. If you are not logged in then you can type questions here in this step.
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If only we could find a time that suited everyone! Have to blame the planet for that one...
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Helen Whitehead replied to Kirsi V-S
Thanks for sharing this tool.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Linda Bain
I like the poster, especially with its light-hearted tone. You can come out of your hole now :)
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I acknowledge that different people are in different circumstances and it is not always easy to overcome the barriers to change.
For example I waste a huge amount more food than I did a year ago - this is because I am trying to feed a relative with dementia who nearly always refuses to eat. One cannot simply leave him to starve, and every now and again,...
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I would like to congratulate everyone who has posted so far. It is impressive how many people have not changed - because they already do as much as they possibly can. And for those of us who are not there yet, every little improvement is to be celebrated. Well done!
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"Because you're worth it" is one of the most insidious "Me:Now" slogans ever. Clever psychology to justify consumption...
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I think it helps you resist those consumerist advertisers when you realise what strings they are trying to pulll..
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Helen Whitehead replied to Gordon Stone
This us looking good - like the idea of watching your figures. I think it would be a bit more powerful if you put in some typical figures from your country and perhaps links to tools people can use to find their own like the water footprint calculator :)
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Helen Whitehead replied to Karen Mellor
I like the idea of behaviour change - can't have too much encouragement for that! - and using generic images or cartoons of happy/sad faces should make it easy to produce.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Mary Brooks
Hope your parents recover soon. Good to hear your ideas even if you don't get a chance to do the poster itself. If you did I think it would have more impact to make it local.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Paul Sherville
In the previous step Sarah Speight has posted some guidelines on finding copyright safe images using the Creative Commons search tool http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/Xpert/attribution. You can use Word or PowerPoint to put it together.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Dawn Roe
I was going to suggest printing it and leaving it on a notice board at work - but that is just exactly what you wouldn't want to do! How about a bit of guerrilla changing of computer backgrounds....?
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
For those who like info graphics and Pinterest I have been collecting some examples on a Pinterest Board http://www.pinterest.com/helenwhd/sustainability-posters/
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Helen Whitehead replied to Freddie Haddox
Have a look ahead in week 8 - you can submit it to Peer Review like the SWOT analysis or share it as Deborah has described :)
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Helen Whitehead replied to Brian Grew
PowerPoint is good for producing a poster - or as you might think of it, a single slide :)
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Helen Whitehead replied to Wendy Werneth
I'll see what we can provide for next week. :)
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Helen Whitehead replied to agung purnomo
Looking forward to these. Community cooperation and collaboration is likely to be a key driver for sustainability in the next few years.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Simon Gibbon
Quality of artwork us not the main thing here - many of us are not artists! - try looking through your favourite topics in the course for inspiration and good luck finding it :)
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I've visited this one - it's fascinating - not just an eco-house but a sustainable community. They grow their own vegetables etc., and each family commits to working on that land for a certain amount of time (or for the community in some other way). What struck me was that the houses are designed to need no heating because they are angled to the sun and...
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I agree that this should be possible and prioritised.
Here are some people who may have solutions:
http://www.vegware.com/ packaging made from natural plant materials
http://www.ineditinnova.com/eng/ Innovation for sustainability
http://www.sustainablepack.org/ Sustainable Packaging Alliance
http://www.greenblue.org/activities/packaging/ Greenblue... -
I asked a pharmacist about blister packs - apparently some drugs need to be kept in them or they will deteriorate, even in sealed bottles. Still no help to those struggling with opening the packs though.
Ashna sorry to hear about your issues. Pharmacology is still a very uncertain science, even if it is getting better all the time.
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Improving education - in whatever way is possible, including maybe providing online or mobile learning - can very much help with improving child survival and child nutrition. I don't think it's a choice between one or the other.
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Helen Whitehead replied to Rama Sarkhel
I thought this sounded amazing so I went Googling - hopefully this is the correct one: http://www.dovermuseum.co.uk/Bronze-Age-Boat/Bronze-Age-Boat.aspx (not many pictures unfortunately) and the half-size replica http://www.kentonline.co.uk/east_kent_mercury/news/second-attempt-to-launch-replica-5690/
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Helen Whitehead replied to JULIE MILLS
I've added your posts to the course Scoop.it site for participants' blogs at http://www.scoop.it/t/sustainability-society-and-you
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"all you want from a university is the curriculum and test objectives and access to their library and papers. Then you would simply have to pay for library use and invigilator fees for exam sitting..... "
Some people could certainly learn this way - but you have to be very motivated and able to structure your own learning. How would this course be, for...
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Helen Whitehead replied to Kurt Debrouwer
I've added this link to the course links collection on the bookmarking site Delicious https://delicious.com/flsustain
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I've added Claire's link to the course bookmarking site on Delicious: https://delicious.com/flsustain I think there is a crisis coming with the current crop of teenagers: I don't think most adults appreciate quite how different their lives and influences are.
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I felt the same way, and then I found myself with a long wait somewhere and ended up watching course videos on my phone. I read discussions too. I surprised myself at how effective it was. It was typing responses that was most difficult, but it made me realise why some other people's responses may be short. Of course whenever I have the choice of a...
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Love the kitchen, and the pendants...
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I can't believe we've been talking about the arts and nature without mentioning Andy Goldsworthy before!
And I hadn't heard of Forest Schools either. What a fab initiative http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/forest_schools.aspx
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Do MOOCs help the Third Age groups? I like to think that some such groups will study MOOCs together and they will provide useful resources for the group.
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Thanks for these links Jonathan, I have added them to the course Delicious list https://delicious.com/flsustain.
I was in the Lakes last year and went to a fascinating Wind-Powered Musical Installation - acoustic art - open to and enjoyable by anyone (not just an elite!) http://www.yourguide2thelakedistrict.co.uk/audible-forces-brockhole-i2138.html
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We are only able to upload PDFs. Try this for converting to a Word document: PDF To Word http://pdftoword.com/
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Does the dishwasher take 3 or 4 days' pans as well?
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Good point. Is it more sustainable to attract online international students?
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We'd like everyone to review at least two, which hopefully means everyone will GET at least two. Not if it's difficult though.
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Thanks, that definitely shows your point :)
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How fascinating! I live in a house built in what used to be the quarry for the red clay that (so the local story goes) St Pancras station was built from. (The road is quite steep in places!)
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You use your public folder OR simply select the file and then select share link from the Dropbox menu. Once you do, you can paste the link in here and it is not visible outside the course, while participants can click on it and view it. Quite clever really.
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Pinterest is a good idea. I'll follow you :)
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Helen Whitehead made a comment
Rough and ready calculation shows so far:
Yes 80
Maybe (or both) 35
No 62A lot of nos are because of:
- elderly, arthritic, stiff knees, bad backs or other physical issues
- can't read in there!
- odour and hygiene
- need to get used to it youngMore people would say yes if:
- intermediate design, more hygienic
- space issues solved (takes up... -
The reader-friendly link to the blog is http://sustainmatheri.tumblr.com/
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I've created a blog post listing some of the great links shared here on Sustainability and wellbeing (roughly the categories mental health and exercise). Thanks so much to everyone for such informative and fascinating links. http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/uniofnottsmoocs/2014/01/29/sustainability-and-wellbeing-some-links/
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**Is it dangerous to have a sustainability strategy?**
So far:
It’s dangerous IF “the sustainability strategy does not align with the company's primary business and objectives”,. The “sustainability strategy is a dimension” of the business strategy, should not just be “going through the motions” or a “paper strategy” or “greenwash”. Mustn't just jump “on...
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**Surprises so far**
Surprised how many companies do have sustainability strategies and make information available
Surprised that a company operating in the renewables industry (Greencoat) did not have a sustainability strategy nor mention one as part of a wider strategy
Conversely many of you were impressed with the strategies you read:
• the level... -
Thanks for this, how interesting - particularly for anyone with the name Helen! I like the idea that it is related to heal (although I believe the actual etymology of the name is greek and related to the word light).
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I'm going to plug a friend's book on technobiophilia - but she also has an interesting blog so you don't have to spend! http://suethomasnet.wordpress.com/technobiophilia/ :)
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I haven't been very impressed by Susan Greenfield's work in the past - I thought it was scaremongering. However, I've begun to listen a bit more closely. From the Guardian this week: Charity warns of dangers young people face in a '24/7 online culture where they can never switch off' ...
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What an amazing idea! I recommend a visit to this blog post.
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Thanks for the suggestion of http://www.ciwem.org/ The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management ciwem.org
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There will be another peer review in Week 8 which is still being set up. This is hot-off-the-press functionality in Futurelearn which we are piloting in this course, so do feed back. We thought hard about how to do these activities, and really want to try peer review, as it fits with the social and collaborative ethos of this course.
(We decided against...
