I just discovered that I have an affinity with a loose, non-exclusive group of educators known as Edupunx. I think this Youtube video will help you understand:
Several years ago a colleague and I eschewed the use of our college VLE in favour of external websites that we could manage ourselves. This allowed us to create and link to learning materials that couldn't be put on the VLE. We offered videos, assessments, links and a whole range of materials and encouraged students to send us content and links to improve the content.
We bypassed the beaurocracy around placing materials on the VLE (and a ridiculous 2 week turnaround). We took control, we didn't pander to the lame requirements of non-educators, we did what we wanted, we did it when we wanted and we did it good.
So what happened? When management found out we were hauled across the coals, our sites were blocked, we were instructed in the use of our corporate (lame) VLE. In retaliation we moved our sites elsewhere so they were no longer blocked, then set up an Intranet server set up to feed material to our students from INSIDE the organisation! The server has been up and running now for several years, and we've used it in numerous ways to further the Edupunk cause - blogging, Youtube style video, file uploading for assesments, links to external resources, etc. It's been so good that most other lecturers now use it, or are planning to adopt it next academic session.
That's one up for the Edupunx!
