The sociologist Anthony Giddens has commented that in the future, the 'normal' body may only be the most basic form of embodiment available to us, and that bodily enhancements like eyes that can zoom, ears with extended hearing range, and designer prosthetic limbs to supplement today's spectacles and hearing aids will vastly extend the bodies of those who can afford them. Some of these innovations sound farfetched, but there's no doubt that the ability to shape and enhance our bodies will be attractive to many people, and will have a big impact on physiotherapy work. If it's possible in the future to have a fully autonomous transport network, it's likely to put an end to most head … [Read more...] about Second skin
Is physiotherapy a bullshit job?
On January 1st I left my three-year secondment looking after a team of psychology and psychotherapy lecturers and returned to my old home in the clinical sciences. And a big part of my new work will be trying to prepare our graduates for a future that is increasingly uncertain and unfamiliar. For some years now, there's been an increasing interest in the future of professions like law, accountancy, journalism, and medicine, with a whole swathe of books being published recently trying to anticipate how we'll need to adapt to the rapid rise of digital technologies. There is little doubt that artificial intelligence, automation, machine learning, and robotics are going to radically … [Read more...] about Is physiotherapy a bullshit job?
Re-blogging 'Critical digital pedagogy: a definition'
Apologies for appropriating this blogpost from the brilliant Jesse Stommel and the Hybrid Pedagogy site in its entirety, but it says so many things about the critical project that is required in our physiotherapy teaching and learning that I wanted to promote it. It says some things about our embryonic Critical Physiotherapy Network project that are also worth reflecting on as well. You can link to the original source here. “Pedagogy is not ideologically neutral.” This line has been for me almost a mantra over the last several years. I’ve said variations of it on , on the page of , on the site for the Hybrid Pedagogy Inc. non-profit, and in our recent CFP focused on Critical Digital … [Read more...] about Re-blogging 'Critical digital pedagogy: a definition'
Revolution in Education
I've just finished a piece for the PNZ newsletter on some new ways of thinking in education and how they might affect physiotherapy education. If you fancy a read, I'd appreciate any feedback. Digital media and the future of physiotherapy knowledge In 1534, at the age of 51, Martin Luther translated the bible from Latin – a language that few outside the priesthood could understand – into a form that could be read by the common people. Thus began the Protestant Reformation and more than four centuries of schism between the Protestant and Catholic churches. None of this would have been possible had it not been for Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, which made the … [Read more...] about Revolution in Education