Mary Collacott
I am an online learning facilitator focussed on Learning for Sustainability, and passionate about participatory and transformative approaches to learning.
Location Scotland
Activity
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What are your thoughts on the second draft @SörenLairdSörries ?
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Wow, this is an exciting initiative @OlgaCornejo-Mercado, could you share any links with us about the law or how it is being implemented in Spain?
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@JoenaS I know what you mean about needing to feel resilient! Have you seen the SDG Tracker from Our World in Data? https://sdg-tracker.org/ it allows you to click on each goal and see how we are performing globally against each of the targets (I would recommend feeling particularly resilient before having a look, as it is not the most reassuring of...
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Mary Collacott replied to Md. Shamsuddin
I have not heard of this approach @Md.Shamsuddin and would be fascinated if you had a link to further information you are able to share? I have concerns about relying on purely technical solutions, as I think we need also to change the patterns of how we use the Earth's resources too, but they will undoubtedly play a part.
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@AbongnwiGENUINE thank you for sharing you experiences - it really does exemplify how the climate has changed and as you say, how fragile our existence now is. We have reached a point where the rate of change we are seeing is too great for us to keep up with, but our efforts to slow it down are still too slow. As you describe here, we are losing our abilities...
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@PreciousChingombe I think you make a really good point here about the importance of education and awareness in generating autonomy for all people - whether in urban or rural contexts - so that they recognise their value and the value of their land and resources, so that all countries are better able to protect themselves and make informed decisions in order...
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Mary Collacott replied to Joena S
What an idea @JoenaS! I imagine this would be a much greater driver of change than the conversations and debates that are being had at COP this week, where conflicting experiences and viewpoints just seem to slam up against one another with very little room for empathy or even listening to the perspectives of those living these impacts right now.
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I think that you make a very valid point here @JoséJairoDíazLuis about the importance of education, and I think that the involvement of young people is a really important element of climate justice.
I wonder though about how things are different for teenagers today, compared to when you or I were teenagers? Do you think that they are less engaged than...
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I agree @SarahParker, I feel that there is a great desire for change amongst the participants on this course, coupled with a frustration that change is not happening, or happening too slowly, or on too small a scale. It makes me wonder what the difference is between those here, who are striving for action for a sustainable future for all, and those who are...
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Mary Collacott replied to Louisa S
Hi @LouisaS, it is absolutely ok to sign up at this point! There are a lot of materials already available here in the week 1 section, but we will also be adding daily updates this week to the week 2 section too, so you are still in plenty of time to get the most out of the course.
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Mary Collacott replied to Briha Zainab
@BrihaZainab you can! Thanks to @SörenLairdSörries for sharing the link above. The Learning for a Sustainable Future course is still available at that link, and if you sign up now you will have free access for five weeks.
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Perhaps this is also about informal education then @DeborahC? What forms of informal learning did you find the most powerful or transformative in your own experiences? How can we raise the profile of the value of informal education and what spaces and opportunities for learning in this way could we create together within our communities?
For example, I...
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I completely agree with you about the power of education @AbongnwiGENUINE, and the importance of this approach within our formal education systems.
But I would add that I don't think education is just for the young - all of us here are engaging in continuing our education as adults, and older generations need to have the capacity to 'unlearn' some of our...
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@IbrahimTuray absolutely, do come back and check for the updates, from next week there will be new content daily to check in on from our colleagues who are at COP27.
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Mary Collacott replied to Magdalene Amankwaa
@MagdaleneAmankwaa yes as @SörenLairdSörries says we have only just got started! Also, the content for this week is up for you to access already but from Monday there will be daily updates sent from our delegates at COP27 in the "Update: direct from COP" sections, so you can look forward to those in anticipation!
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I think this is a valuable way to look at things @NatHarrod, there are so many overlaps between the goals, and taking action for the climate as you suggest leads to so many other impacts that can support many other aspects of the goals.
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Thank you for highlighting this @SörenLairdSörries I think this is the correct link but will look at getting the link above mended too.
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This is a really interesting and important debate @NeelimaKendurkar and @SörenLairdSörries and I think you both make really valuable points here. I absolutely agree with what you say @SörenLairdSörries about the emphasis on individuals being problematic, but I also wonder if there is a strong argument, as I think @NeelimaKendurkar suggests, that increased...
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Mary Collacott replied to wagdi alqadase
Hi @wagdialqadase, unfortunately you will need to pay to receive a certificate through FutureLearn as that is the only way to be able to access one through this platform at this time.
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Mary Collacott replied to Percy Kwesi Obuobi
Hi @PercyKwesiObuobi, unfortunately this is not a course that has any recognised accreditation. Depending on what sort of access you have, you can opt to pay to receive a certificate from FutureLearn upon course completion if you wish.
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Mary Collacott replied to Marjory Stewart
Hi @MarjoryStewart, yes you can post any questions about how to use the course, or if you need help, in the comments here as we check it regularly, but if you have questions or responses to the course materials you can post them in the comments throughout the course too.
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Mary Collacott replied to peter mackenzie
Hi @petermackenzie, there are learning outcomes shared on the course landing page, but that can sometimes be hard to find again once you are enrolled so I will share them here in case that is useful to you:
- Investigate the broader context of COP27 and consider other associated frameworks such as The UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN...
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Mary Collacott replied to Gordon Branston
Some pertinent questions indeed @GordonBranston, and hopefully some that we will have the chance to pick apart through the course over the next fortnight.
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Mary Collacott replied to Fiona Parsons
That is a beautiful hope @FionaParsons and in regards to hope and responsibility, it made me think of the work of Christiana Figueres and others who advocate for stubborn optimism:
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Mary Collacott replied to Deborah C
Thanks for sharing the link to Liverpool Uni @DeborahC that certainly is inspiring stuff! We are so much stronger together and it is great to see this example of both staff and students uniting over a common goal to make such a strong impact.
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@KirstenSomerville wonderful, thank you! It's on my list now :)
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I like this approach @KamranAzizKhan I have similarly argued against my own viewpoints in a classroom in order to give learners the opportunity to justify their views and be able to articulate their arguments more clearly.
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It has been a scarily mild autumn here @HamsaMohamed and it really does bring home the realities of climate change that we have been lucky enough not to have experienced too extremely so far in the UK. Many of the plants here are behaving oddly as they seem to be confused over the seasons as all of the usual signals are out of sync. It does feel alarming, but...
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I am glad to hear that you feel the course has improved your knowledge but so sorry that it has left you feeling depressed @AudreyMiller ! I think it is important to recognise where we are making progress, and to take action where we can to make change within our own spheres that can lead to more widespread change. I have found https://www.gapminder.org/ as a...
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@BrihaZainab the Systems Thinking Playbook is one of the resources we had listed on step 3.8 Learning starting points, you should be able to access it here: https://www.futurelearn.com/links/l/rphznm4purwndybzns6hjbd4e4jo0cf
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Mary Collacott replied to helen hazlett
I think this is a really good point @helenhazlett, and I think that it can in a way be really helpful to see how relatively quickly we have ended up in the situation we are in now. I feel like there is often a sort of sense of 'this is just the way things are' which leads to a reluctance to embrace change, or a belief that things are a certain way and so they...
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Mary Collacott replied to Sadaf Raza
Hi @SadafRaza, the course should still be free for another few weeks, so if you share the link with others at your institution or in your family they should be able to sign up and access the course too. We also really encourage you to download any of the resources or materials that you would like to share with others so that you can use them beyond the finish...
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This is true @MagdalenaVictory, I wonder what our world would be like if more of our education systems focussed instead on compassionate values and working together, rather than individual achievements. What then would an 'educated' person look like?
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Yes @KabirPary, and creativity is something I think is hugely undervalued still in our education systems here in the UK unfortunately.
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I think what you say here about shame and judgement is really important @TaylorS - neither of those emotions are conducive to compassion, collaboration and change as they can create such barriers between people.
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I really agree with what you say here @HamsaMohamed about the value of experiential knowing being so much more impactful. It can be such a challenge too when so much information out there is produced with someone else's agenda driving it - be that the media, governments, large corporations etc. One of the things I really enjoy about connecting with people on...
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That approach sounds fascinating @KirstenSomerville - do you have any ecopedagogical readings you would recommend to get an insight into the approaches you are working with?
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@AudreyMiller That is great to hear! I love the t-learning concept, the idea of disruptive and transgressive approaches to education really appeal to me in the face of the urgency of the challenges we face, and the ways in which so many of our education systems reinforce ways of thinking that maintain our current situation rather than creating change. The...
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I like what you say here about responsibility @KamranAzizKhan and it really connects to the Sphere of Influence activity in Step 4.5. I do think there is a fine balance between frustration in the face of issues we feel we can't influence and also recognising where we each have a responsibility and capacity for making change and taking action. As educators we...
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I absolutely agree with what you say here about teaching critical thinking skills @kiranZulfiqar. I think it does not much matter what the subject is, but if we teach students the capacities and skills to be critical, analytical thinkers then they can apply this to whatever issues they are passionate about in their own lives.
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Amazing, thanks for these @CristinaOlteanu! I have not read any of the fictional ones so I am definitely adding these to my (never ending) book list!
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Mary Collacott replied to Donna McCubbin
It is quite eye opening isn't it @DonnaMcCubbin! It is quite incredible how little information is available to us when we start to dig into things, and that so many companies greenwash without huge levels of accountability for what they market their products as.
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Mary Collacott replied to Rasma Stuokiene
Oh fantastic, welcome @RasmaStuokiene and welcome to your students too, how wonderful to have you all along!
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@DeborahC Gosh, this is something I was unaware of, thank you so much for sharing. It looks like it is part of an incredible broader project too so you have given me many hours of Youtube watching to dig into I suspect!
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Mary Collacott replied to Deborah C
Oh yes, thanks for sharing this @DeborahC. I think this is something everyone should see, and even though it was made a while back now it is still so relevant (which I suppose could be a depressing thought!) They have also created some further shorter videos which are really good to share with learners, I particularly liked their Story of Solutions one -...
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I totally agree with what you say about being
