It’s the time of year again… and as someone who works remotely with clients across different timezones, most of my ‘festive’ moments at work are unceremonious video calls that end abruptly as everyone rushes off to their next meeting. Meanwhile, across the various social media spaces I take part in, corporate messages of (apparent) goodwill mix uneasily with cheery commercial overload, making it hard to find the actual updates from actual people I care about. Jolly Holidays on the interwebs this isn’t!
Fortunately we can breathe a little easier, as there is still real fun to be head online for those of us working in education and edtech, in the form of Reclaim’s Rewind 2024 series of free and open events on the radio, tv and social activities! I am really excited to be part of this, and to have a group of wonderful people to share the run up to the holidays with.
It’s precious to me to take some time to celebrate community and have the opportunity to connect with colleagues, reflecting together on the highs (and lows!) of the year that’s been, and gather our strength and find some renewed inspiration before the new year starts.
Kicking off the whole series was a team outing on Reclaim TV, sharing some of the best bits of 2024, the drama that shook the (edtech) world (hello, WordPress bros) and how the team have come out fighting the “good fight for indie edtech” on the other side.
Next up was what we called a “Case Study Bonanza”, featuring special guests from a number of schools that work closely with the team and the one and only Bryan Mathers:
But… the best is yet to come! This week, there are the two biggest events coming up and I hope that you will join us, so here are all the details:
Community Chat: Rewind 2024
December 18th
For this final community chat of the year we are inviting ALL our special guests from 2024 to come together. You will hear updates of the exciting work happening across our community and have a chance to share your own highs and lows of 2024. This is our time to come together to say thank you and acknowledge and appreciate everyone who works in open edtech in Higher Education.
Event info
Reclaim Rewind 2024: Live on DS106 Radio. It’s the HOLIDAY SPECIAL
December 20th
We are inviting you to join us for the one and only edtech radio holiday special, featuring guests from the legendary DS106 Radio Summer Camp. There is going to be story telling, holiday tunes and, if you are very lucky, even a bit of festive KaraOERke. The elves are working hard on that one. So listen in and play along as we ROCK the airwaves and ring in the holidays.
Event info
There are also a couple of DS106 Radio hosts, myself included, who will be jumping on the airwaves to play music and chat, so follow the #ds106radio on Mastadon to find out what’s on, and tune in to DS106 Radio.
It’s such a joy to be able to have some actual time together with folk without the clock ticking on yet another meeting, and to be able to dip in and out of the festive fun as I sit at my desk finishing off my work for the year.
During the pandemic edtech folk became an educational emergency service, and everyone suddenly wanted to learn about how to use technology at scale, fast. Those days are fortunately behind us, and these days hype headlines about AI are more likely to pull focus. But for me, it’s definitely the human beings (not the technology) that made this year, and it’s all the unsung (edtech) heroes, grinding away at keeping the open web a possibility for future generations of students and educators, that I’ll be celebrating with this year!
Wishing you, and yours, Jolly Holidays on the Open Web!