About

This website is a bit out of date. I finished working as a Design academic at the University of Otago in June, 2018 (after 25 years) and I am in the process of creating a new website for my post-academic work. My interests and passions haven’t changed but my job title likely will. In the meantime I will keep this blog here even though the content is getting old. I will post a note here when my new site is live.

My name is Mark McGuire and I live in Dunedin, New Zealand. Thank you for taking the time to visit this site, which I launched on 30 November, 2009. This is my first concerted effort to create a place for my own views, ideas, and work. This blog is my personal space, where I try to think beyond the confines of my work and geographical location and contribute to discussions on much larger issues. This is an experiment in Open Education and Informal Learning, as well as an effort to connect conversational spaces that are usually separated through the use of different places, passwords, permissions, and practices. It is fueled by my interest in Open Learning, and by the widely-shared belief that digital networks, like healthy physical communities, can be used to further the public good.

I studied Architecture and Fine Art in Canada before setting up Mediatrix Inc., a design and consulting company based in Toronto. As well as working as a graphic designer, I guided several book and magazine publishers through the transition from conventional to digital design and production. I earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Pre-Professional Architecture) in Canada (Guelph), as well as a Masters in Information Science from Otago and a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Auckland. In 1993, I moved from Toronto to Dunedin, New Zealand, where I work as a Design educator.

My research interests include open education, online communities, digital media theory and practice, communication design, social media and digital networks. My recent publications focus on these issues. I teach primarily in communication design and new media theory and practice. I am interested in interdisciplinary and collaboration. I am a lifelong learner, and I am learning what it means to be an Open Scholar. This website is part of that effort. I invite your comments, emails <markhtmcguire@gmail.com>, and Twitter messages (@mark_mcguire). I am also on Storify, Instagram and Flickr.