Author Archives: actualham

Gratitude Pause

Posted on February 17, 2026 by actualham

Tomorrow, I start a new job as Executive Director of the Open Education Network. Many of you have followed my journey through job/loss over the last few months, and the emotions that I am feeling about coming into this new … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher Ed | 6 Comments

LinkedIn: Open to Work

Posted on February 17, 2026 by actualham

I recently lost a job that I had both earned and deserved. If my hard work brought me this new gig, then what lost me that old one? Continue reading →

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Reunification

Posted on December 14, 2025 by actualham

Our family survived a mass shooting yesterday. Continue reading →

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Insult and Injury

Posted on November 18, 2025 by actualham

It’s the kind of tactic I’d expect in the kind of cut-throat private industry we have become. Continue reading →

Posted in Higher Ed | 2 Comments

I Lost My Job

Posted on October 19, 2025 by actualham

I got fired. I guess that is not precisely true. I took a “voluntary” separation incentive to leave my position. It doesn’t feel voluntary. This winter, close to thirty tenured faculty at my regional public university in New Hampshire will … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher Ed | 30 Comments

A is for Austerity: a new zine

Posted on June 24, 2025 by actualham

for more info, follow the QR code on the last page of the zine!

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Against Hope: OpenEd24

Posted on October 9, 2024 by actualham

On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 9th, I presented a f2f session at the 2024 Open Education conference in Providence, Rhode Island. I understand that for various reasons, many folks couldn’t be in the room for my session. Here is … Continue reading →

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What should we let go of?

Posted on December 3, 2019 by actualham

This is a response that I just submitted to a survey on my campus asking what our university should “let go of” in order to become financially sustainable. While it is very particular to my institution, I thought I would … Continue reading →

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Personal Space: Rethinking “Distance” Learning

Posted on August 7, 2019 by actualham

To follow along with the text of this presentation, view the Google Slides version of the talk as I give it: http://bit.ly/rethinkingdistance. Here is the video for the keynote. The transcript follows below. [This version below has image descriptions, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher Ed | 2 Comments

The New Education and a New Learning Community

Posted on May 20, 2019 by actualham

Last week, faculty, staff, administrators and students began participating in a new learning community here at Plymouth State University. The purpose of the community is to understand how pedagogy could or should develop under the new integrated cluster model that … Continue reading →

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