Doug is a self-professed “Open Educational Thinkerer” and founder of Dynamic Skillset Ltd. He advises clients on issues around new literacies (the topic of his doctoral thesis), new forms of credentialing, and agile processes. Prior to this, he worked on the Web Literacy Map and Open Badges for the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, for Jisc in UK Higher Education, and he was a teacher and school senior leader. Doug holds a B.A. (Hons) in philosophy from the University of Sheffield, an M.A. in modern history from Durham University, and an Ed.D. (also from Durham). His personal website can be found at http://dougbelshaw.com. Doug lives in Northumberland in the north of England with his wife and children.
Doug Belshaw
Articles
August 20, 2012
Digital Literacies and Web Literacies: What’s the Difference?
I’m currently iterating some work around Web Literacies for the Mozilla Foundation (you can see the latest version of my thinking here). Perhaps the biggest consideration when dealing with so-called ‘New’ Literacies...
Category: Digital CitizenshipJuly 23, 2012
Web Literacies: What is the ‘Web’ Anyway?
I’ve recently started in a new role for the Mozilla Foundation. At least half of my job there is to come up with a framework, a White Paper, around the concept of...
Category: Digital CitizenshipJune 19, 2012
On the Importance of Webmaking
I’ve come to realize over the last couple of years just how important the Open Web is for online innovation. It’s a standards-based platform that allows anyone to use relatively low-cost technologies...
Category: Digital LearningMarch 30, 2012
Gaining Some Perspective on Badges for Lifelong Learning
I first read about the idea of Open Badges back in the middle of last year. It excited me. One thing I’ve always been interested in is how to shift the power...
Category: EdtechFebruary 1, 2012
Conferences as Catalysts for Educational Innovation and Change
Last year I attended, on average, a conference or similar event every other week. As part of my role as Researcher/Analyst at JISC infoNet it’s an important part of what I do:...
Categories: Edtech, Educational PracticeSeptember 26, 2011
Badges for Lifelong Learning: Reframing the Debate
Last week saw the launch of the DML Competition. I’ve been following the development of Mozilla’s Open Badges project for a few months now and so was (and still am) excited by...
Category: EdtechAugust 29, 2011
What do Google, Open Source Software and Digital Literacies have in Common?
Eric Schmidt, Chairman of Google, hit the headlines recently with an attack on the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) curriculum in UK schools. It “focuses on teaching how to use software,” he...
Categories: Digital Citizenship, Digital LearningJuly 11, 2011
What do new Social Networks tell us about Digital Literacies?
The recent launch of Google+, a new social network, has caused ripples in many different online spaces. From talk of it being a ‘Facebook killer’ because of its enhanced privacy settings to...
Category: Digital Citizenship