I generally do this at the end of the year or when I am making a major departure or something along those lines, but this is the latest version of end of year retrospective. 2013 was a bouncy year, some great things, some disillusionment, and some real progress in unexpected ways. My research is partially about multimodality and moving to narrative devices that aren’t exclusively text so I should practice what I preach here and present those. I will keep the text to a minimum, but I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I do hope I see as many of you as possible in 2014 and that the collaborations keep on appearing. My online networks are so graciously fruitful in that respect. A collection of people always willing to interact a bit if for no other reason than to know more.
Also, I should present my mantra for the year 2013 (and hopefully beyond). I have used it to reinforce my hunches, assumptions, and pursuits towards a kind of knowledge without any noticeable professional advantage. I do it because I love it and that is and should be enough.
Knowledge for the sake of understanding, not merely to prevail, that is the essence of our being. None can define its limits, or set its ultimate boundaries- Vannevar Bush
There you have it, everyone. Less text, more media. I am thankful for 2013 and its trials and tribulations. I hope this post finds you healthy and happy. Best of luck in 2014.
My name is Michael Sean Gallagher. I am a Lecturer in Digital Education at the Centre for Research in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh. I am Co-Founder and Director of Panoply Digital, a consultancy dedicated to ICT and mobile for development (M4D); we have worked with USAID, GSMA, UN Habitat, Cambridge University and more on education and development projects. I was a researcher on the Near Futures Teaching project, a project that explores how teaching at The University of Edinburgh unfold over the coming decades, as technology, social trends, patterns of mobility, new methods and new media continue to shift what it means to be at university. Previously, I was the Research Associate on the NERC, ESRC, and AHRC Global Challenges Research Fund sponsored GCRF Research for Emergency Aftershock Forecasting (REAR) project. I was an Assistant Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (한국외국어대학교) in Seoul, Korea. I have also completed a doctorate at University College London (formerly the independent Institute of Education, University of London) on mobile learning in the humanities in Korea.
