Wilson Waffling

Don’t worry, this is a not a waffle about Busted or even the progression of my radio station. When I am writing this waffle I’m actually thinking about the year 2020, but I just couldn’t resist a reference to the BUSTED song. Why am I thinking about the year 2020 – well, we all know that technology and the way we learn is changing rapidly. Trying to predict what the technology will be like in a thousand years is virtually impossible although within education, we need to definitely engage with what the learners will be using within the next four to five years in order to ensure that we are ready to accommodate these changes within modules. So this waffle is all about what I think we should be preparing for in anticipation of the learners of 2020. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook -

You are probably tired of me telling you how I lack the creativity gene, but I am afraid I am going to mention it again. I was looking through my Instagram feed this morning, noticing the creative activities that people were completing – dancing, singing and playing instruments. Me? Posting an image of my soya latte! I’ve never really been creative and/or artistic and I often I have real problem about colours. Not seeing them, although my eyesight is less than perfect, but more coordinating them. This not only presents problems when choosing wallpaper and paints, it also present a real problem when I am trying to coordinate my clothing. However, when it comes to clothing, this is usually the least of my problems!

Over the weekends I spend some of my relaxing time streaming on TwitchTV. Indeed this morning I was up just before 4am to take part in the GameBlast 24hour stream on the OfficialXBoxOneUK channel – which raised over one thousand pounds for the charity – if you are interested you can still donate. When I volunteered I took the 5am-7am slot and was surprised by the number of viewers I actually had at this time. Within the world of streaming, viewers and audience are very important since maintaining high numbers can actually get you partnered and provide you with a subscribe button. But how important are the audiences within learning? Are they already captivated or should we be working on gaining more? Well that is what this week’s waffle is all about. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Faceboo

Oops, sorry I forgot to add the ‘if’ in the title – I do apologise :). Now that I have your attention, I recently received an email from the National Lottery! Eager to see my winnings I quickly accessed my emails, just to find that I have gained a lucky dip somewhere or other. I still don’t actually know what this means, but it got me wondering, what would I do if I won the lottery!

Some week’s the waffle just comes together and I am really keen and ready to write it. Other weeks, there is a huge barrier that appears which actually stops me. I usually await inspiration and this week was one of those week’s that nothing was presenting itself at all and I have tried in vain to start several waffles and really got no where. This will be my third attempt and, because you are reading and/or listening it, means that it actually made it to the publishing phase. What is this waffle about? well quite simple, why do I teach?

You might think that this waffle is all about success criteria, but you would be mistaken. Recently I managed to get my first research article published within a peer-reviewed journal. This was somewhat of a stressful experience and yet I managed to continue to keep focused on achieving this aim. I’m not sure whether this is because I am naturally stubborn or whether my mindset, when it comes to achieving something, is beneficial. Whatever the reason, I thought I would share with you all my own personal journey and thoughts when I am working towards this aim with the possibility that it might be helpful to anyone else who is on a similar journey at the moment. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

As I walk home from work in the dark, I never want to have my ipod in playing music – mainly because I want to be more ‘aware’ of my surroundings. When I am not listening to music, I have the habit of thinking and my thoughts often wander to things that, over the years, have changed. It was during one of these moments, that I suddenly started to think and yes, reminisce about how television has changed throughout my life time

Ideas for my waffles come from a variety of sources, sometimes it is something someone says to me, or something I have heard. Other times ideas just spring into my mind and I decide that I need to write about that. Most often than not, it is something which I read that actually gets my thoughts a-racing and motivates me to get waffling. This week it is something which I have read a while ago which I logged for a future waffle which has subsequently been supported with another article which I read this morning. With semester two well underway, lectures and workshops are appearing once again in both mine and the students’ timetables. As the frequency of these increase, the question is always raised – are they worth actually attending? The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl

There are many things within the world which actual puzzle me. As I dash around from one activity to another I see things that really baffle me and make me wonder how much things have changed. Every Saturday morning, I venture to the local food store to buy my set shopping list for the week. It was as I was pushing my trolley down the health and hygiene aisle that I suddenly realised that I needed toothpaste. As well as being amazed by the choice it got me thinking about teeth and more specifically trips to the dentist...

After all these waffles about targets you are probably ready for something completely different. Well today’s waffle is different in two ways – first its not specifically about targets and secondly its not like the usual waffles when I discuss something. This waffle is about something which is returning and, if you have the time, I would like your opinion about it – good and/or bad. What’s returning – well Wilson Waffling Live of course! Run titles!The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

As you might be aware, I do a number of radio shows throughout the week from my internet radio site – The Wilson Waffling Radio Station – catchy name or what! As well as these shows, I also present a show on the university radio station (Radio YSJ) and part of this show involves a competition with my co-presenter, Alex. This week he won, but I really don’t understand how he did it! A complete transcript of this blog can be found at www.inwils.co.uk

I should have said at the the start of this series of waffles that it should have been a trilogy. Apart from possibly putting me in the same league as Tolkien and Pullman – let me have my dreams – it would have prepared you for the series. Now you returned to find that the subject of my writing hasn’t changed at all and you are going to have to read/listen to another waffle about targets! I’ve felt that I have neglected my first ‘t’ of this site’s tagline, so this week I am going to waffle about setting targets for children… The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

when I got up this morning and went out to defrost the car to drive for my morning coffee and blog writing session, the sun was shining, the air was cold but crisp, frost covered the cars and the Minster bells were ringing in the background. For a moment, I actually thought it was Christmas day again! but then I suddenly realised that it was targeting setting day…oh no. As I drove and settled down in my usual seat to start typing I titled this waffle the same as the thoughts which were in my mind…so, Let’s do this and be brave and confident about the year ahead. The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

Happy New Year to you all and welcome to my waffling website/blog. This waffle probably should have happened last week, but I wanted to write about life before broadband – thanks to everyone who read that – it got a huge amount of hits and comments on twitter etc. This week is the first of a two part waffle – the first looking at whether or not I have achieved my targets I set myself at the beginning of 2015 and the second to set some targets for 2016 – if you like, new year resolutions without mentioning the word diet! So did I succeed or was I a complete failure in 2015 – let’s get a waffling… The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

You might have been expecting a waffle about my targets which is usual as my first waffle of a new year. However, I’m afraid I am going to have to disappoint since I wanted to talk about a recent experience which got me thinking about how we use the broadband and 3/4G. Oh, by the way…I hope you all had a good Christmas and enjoyed the new year celebrations! The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

I got asked a question this week which started me thinking – again. How did I acquire my existing knowledge of technology? Although I readily accept that I am no technological expert/guru, I do accept that I am developing my knowledge of technology all the time, as well as how to apply this technology to the teaching and learning process. I also know that I actually enjoy learning about technology and I’m very motivated to learn about it. But how did I get to where I am now with my understanding and, perhaps more importantly, why am I so motivated by it? The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

Sometimes I like to write these waffles to reflect on a topic or to talk about something which is on my mind. Sometimes, I feel like I want to have a rant. Recently, this is the mathematician in me, I have realised that I am paying one pound extra to have gingerbread syrup in my latte on the morning when, as a gold member, I usually get it free...yes it is a big deal and I have emailed :) .This, however, is not what I want to rant about today - this week is a ranting waffle about boxes! The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

My head of programme often says that he wants me to teach dance during the next semester. Although he might be expected a shocked response, I say that it is fine, mainly because I taught dance within primary schools for many years and, although I am far from being classed an expert, I do understand the pedagogy behind the subject and have a range of activities I could use and/or share with the students. There was one subject/module I was quite shocked about being asked to teach on, and this was the creativity module – why? Because I’m not sure that creativity actually exists… The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

Before you panic! I’m not going to start singing along to Mariah Carey or swinging some sleigh bells around. It will soon be the end of the Autumn term which means that preparations for Christmas are probably already well underway! In order to help you with these I thought I would let you know how I used to prepare – so glitter at the ready – let’s get waffling! The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!

When you apply for anything, you know and accept that the first step is to get through the shortlisting process and receive that email informing you that you have an interview! It is usually about then that the nerves kick in and you realise that a lot rests on those thirty minutes of talking about yourself and how you do your job. The interview I had this week however, I didn’t even need to apply for! I guess I was almost head hunted! What was it about? Well that is the topic of this week’s waffle… The complete transcript and links can be found by following the link to my Wilson Waffling blog below. Remember keep up to date with my waffles by subscribing to; Twitter- http://goo.gl/FcZaz Blog - http://goo.gl/IRne5D Youtube - http://goo.gl/ssxQNw Facebook - http://goo.gl/lDp6B Podcasts - http://goo.gl/NeEWjF Have fun and catch you later!