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Bryan Mathers

@visualthinkery.bsky.social

Conversations -> cartoons. Visual Thinkery: https://visualthinkery.com Remixer Machine: https://remixer.visualthinkery.com Zines: https://ulster.visualthinkery.com

612 Followers  |  608 Following  |  217 Posts  |  Joined: 18.02.2024  |  1.5633

Latest posts by visualthinkery.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Happy Birthday Wikipedia - I've always been a fan! Knowledge curated by humans.
#wikimedia25
Image CC-BY-ND Visual Thinkery - buff.ly/uAG9qJW

15.01.2026 10:34 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Let there be light!

A new edition of the Visual Thinker talking about the 4 stages of sunrise...

12.01.2026 08:53 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Blog-a-thon Sensemaking - Visual Thinkery

Sense-making a Blog-a-thon...
(what do those words even mean?)

Well I try to explain here:

visualthinkery.com/project/blog...

07.11.2025 13:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Thanks to @visualthinkery.bsky.social my contribution for the #ReclaimOpen25 Blog-A-Thon now looks more super! Thanks, Bryan! #Blogging4life #4life reclaimopen.com/session/blog...

06.11.2025 09:13 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Montaigne and the Open Web - Open Visual Thinkery Hereโ€™s another little visual absorption fromย the Reclaim Openย blog-a-thon, relating to a blog post by Doug Belshaw. At the top of his post, he outrageously includes an illustration by me from manyโ€ฆ

Montaigne and the Open Web
Visual Sensemaking from this week's blog-a-thon at Reclaim Open.

06.11.2025 12:57 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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My website is a junk drawer - Open Visual Thinkery This week I'm tuning into Reclaim Open to try and make some visual sense of it. I really resonate with the metaphor used by Laura Hilliger...

My website is a junk drawer...
(I'm visual sense-making at a blog-a-thon.)

05.11.2025 14:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
A landscape showing a hot air balloon entitled "Characteristics of Sensemaking" - thinking by Karl E. Weich, thinkery by Bryan Mathers.

A landscape showing a hot air balloon entitled "Characteristics of Sensemaking" - thinking by Karl E. Weich, thinkery by Bryan Mathers.

Making sense of Sensemaking...
The new edition of The Visual Thinker is out - for those that like to make sense of things...
bryanmmathers.com?mailpoet_rou...

04.11.2025 12:51 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Computer says No. Search says Go. AI says hello!

Computer says No. Search says Go. AI says hello!

It's not unusual for my sense-making cartooning process to produce rhyming triplets it seems...

Created along with some other AI reflections for the Visual Thinker > buff.ly/LIXLRwQ
#ai #cartoon

23.10.2025 11:40 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
An cartoon by Bryan Mathers, Visual Thinkery showing a signpost with "Change maker" written below contrasted with a wooden fence with "Gatekeeper" written below.

An cartoon by Bryan Mathers, Visual Thinkery showing a signpost with "Change maker" written below contrasted with a wooden fence with "Gatekeeper" written below.

Sometimes a contrast just presents itself - embedded within a conversation... I enjoyed sense-making with the Mycelial Network at a two-day gathering of people involved in Community Asset Development - distilling out conversational themes as they surfaced...

16.10.2025 15:10 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Monday's webinar on Carbon Finance and Climate Action expertly facilitated by Fauna & Flora, Plan Vivo, and Level was bursting with ideas! โ€” hereโ€™s how the visual sense-making evolved in real time...

15.10.2025 15:10 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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โˆž: The new WIP Comics Anthology โˆž (infinity/loop/ouroboros) is the new group anthology from WIP Comics, a UK-based community of independent comic creators.

Now only ยฃ27 left on Kickstarter to make our WIP Infinity book happen!

Put us over the top and win our limitless gratitude!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/mik...

24.08.2025 17:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 9    ๐Ÿ” 7    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Love the artwork for @www.reclaimhosting.com โ€˜s conference created by @visualthinkery.bsky.social . ๐Ÿ“ฎSubmissions are open now, submission deadline extended to 15 September ๐Ÿ™Œ

19.08.2025 09:46 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Embracing uncertainty: action research and the collaborative development of an assessment for inclusion framework This paper details a collaborative action research journey undertaken by three educational developers to create an Assessment for Inclusion (AfI) framework at a large Irish university. While the re...

Very happy to share this open access publication from myself, @sheenahyland.bsky.social & @geraldineoneill.bsky.social in Educational Action Research - featuring visuals from our collaboration with @visualthinkery.bsky.social

23.07.2025 14:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Cartoon, Emoji faces stacked on top of each other in a staggering pile. The emojis at the bottom of the pile are red with sad and disappointed faces, in the middle of the pile they are orange with neutral expressions, and at the top they are yellow smiling happily. hand drawn black Text to the middle right of pile reads "The issue with ranking".

Cartoon, Emoji faces stacked on top of each other in a staggering pile. The emojis at the bottom of the pile are red with sad and disappointed faces, in the middle of the pile they are orange with neutral expressions, and at the top they are yellow smiling happily. hand drawn black Text to the middle right of pile reads "The issue with ranking".

Delighted to see Leigh, Geraldine and Sheena's work on Assessment for Inclusion published. Here's a visual thought to emerge from the project:

Research buff.ly/jYk9L0a

@gravesle.bsky.social @geraldineoneill.bsky.social @sheenahyland.bsky.social

22.07.2025 12:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Cartoon, ten penguins stand next to each other in two rows of five. Each has their own prop and/or costume relating to their title. The first row of penguins (from left to right) are labelled "The pragmatist, The Philospher, The Unknown, The Explorer and The Maverick." The second row "The Famous Scientist, The Absent Minded Professor, The Wizard, The Maestro and The Master."

Cartoon, ten penguins stand next to each other in two rows of five. Each has their own prop and/or costume relating to their title. The first row of penguins (from left to right) are labelled "The pragmatist, The Philospher, The Unknown, The Explorer and The Maverick." The second row "The Famous Scientist, The Absent Minded Professor, The Wizard, The Maestro and The Master."

Make your research come alive with Visual Thinkery - this time using the playful mask of a cartoon character to explore a very serious topic: different types of PhD supervisors!
(created for GO-GN Guide to Doctoral Supervision) with @rfarrow.bsky.social.

buff.ly/s2lm2ee

21.07.2025 12:09 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Cartoon, a man holds a human skull to his eye-level and says "To use GenAI or not to use GenAI that is the question..."

Cartoon, a man holds a human skull to his eye-level and says "To use GenAI or not to use GenAI that is the question..."

Recently, I've really enjoyed stepping into academic researcher's worlds to bring their thinking and findings to life, like this collaboration with @gravesle.bsky.social and @geraldineoneill.bsky.social at University College Dublin, around their work on Educator use of GenAI.

buff.ly/s2lm2ee

17.07.2025 12:07 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Many thanks to @helenbeetham.bsky.social for inviting me onto her podcast to talk about #AI and #DigitalLiteracy - but also ambiguity, vibe coding, and the importance of play.

helenbeetham.substack.com/p/doug-belsh...

Image CC BY-ND @visualthinkery.bsky.social for @weareopen.coop

15.07.2025 17:23 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 5    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Cartoon, o-meter tool labelled "Fan-o-Meter" Split into seven sections labelled (Starting left to right) "Epic, Based, Chill, Average, Cringe, Pathetic, Braindead". The needle of the o-meter is pointing to section "Epic" at the bottom left. The band of colour behind the sections of the o-meter is a gradient of bright leaf green to fire engine red.

Cartoon, o-meter tool labelled "Fan-o-Meter" Split into seven sections labelled (Starting left to right) "Epic, Based, Chill, Average, Cringe, Pathetic, Braindead". The needle of the o-meter is pointing to section "Epic" at the bottom left. The band of colour behind the sections of the o-meter is a gradient of bright leaf green to fire engine red.

What an interesting little tool!

#DailyRemix by Galgalon

Here's a link to the O'meter Remix:
buff.ly/k4dU4TB

08.07.2025 12:04 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Cartoon, A see-saw with a woman calmly sat on the left side and a man dangling his legs in panic on the right, tipping down to the left and lifting up to the right. Above the woman is text "Power" written in blue. Below the man is text "Risk" written in Red.

Cartoon, A see-saw with a woman calmly sat on the left side and a man dangling his legs in panic on the right, tipping down to the left and lifting up to the right. Above the woman is text "Power" written in blue. Below the man is text "Risk" written in Red.

Ladders, see-saws, giant gas planets and blue whales. Just a few visual metaphors used in this fascinating report on Fiscal Hosting by the Thirty Percy Foundation. It was a pleasure to work with their team!

Report >> buff.ly/aFbHHDO

07.07.2025 12:17 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The latest edition of the Visual Thinker - about magic hats, HAL9000, cognitive amplification, and lots of AI cartoons...

buff.ly/7Ghrfnf

#cartoons #ai

26.06.2025 12:08 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Cartoon, detailed hardback book with raspberry red cover, with white text "An Educator's Repository of ethical statements to opt out and other spells". To the bottom left of the cover a black and white hand pointing up with lines appearing above the finger.

Cartoon, detailed hardback book with raspberry red cover, with white text "An Educator's Repository of ethical statements to opt out and other spells". To the bottom left of the cover a black and white hand pointing up with lines appearing above the finger.

Following on from the recent AI related drawings, here's some magical thinkery from a comment by Helen Beetham during a live conversation on #AI in Education.

Image available to use CC-BY-ND here:
buff.ly/DZNEeVt

24.06.2025 12:13 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Cartoon of three images next to each other: Computer with text "Computer says no" on its screen, to its right is a search bar with text "Search says" in the bar and "Go" in the search button, to the right of the search bar is the ChatGPT logo with speech bubble to its right saying "AI says hello!"

Cartoon of three images next to each other: Computer with text "Computer says no" on its screen, to its right is a search bar with text "Search says" in the bar and "Go" in the search button, to the right of the search bar is the ChatGPT logo with speech bubble to its right saying "AI says hello!"

The latest edition of the Visual Thinker - about magic hats, HAL9000, cognitive amplification, and lots of AI cartoons...

buff.ly/7Ghrfnf

#cartoons #ai

23.06.2025 12:09 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
cartoon, hand drawn black text "Ethically engaging with an Unethical tool". the 'i' in "Ethically" is a daisy flower. To the top left of Text is a yellow closed-eye smiley face emoji with a halo, and to the bottom left of text is a red, angry devil emoji.

cartoon, hand drawn black text "Ethically engaging with an Unethical tool". the 'i' in "Ethically" is a daisy flower. To the top left of Text is a yellow closed-eye smiley face emoji with a halo, and to the bottom left of text is a red, angry devil emoji.

Is it possible to ethically engage with an unethical tool? Maybe it's naive to call AI a tool - when it consists many tools within many systems...

Drawn from a live conversation on #AI with @dougbelshaw.com and @epilepticrabbit.bsky.social

Image available to use CC-BY-ND here:
buff.ly/DZNEeVt

19.06.2025 12:06 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
(greyscale cartoon) Man drawn from waist up, hands tucked behind his back, with a speech bubble to his right saying "I'm focusing on the stuff that makes me Distinctively human..." To the right is a hand drawn Chat GPT logo with a speech bubble to its right saying "Dad jokes? How very predictable..."

(greyscale cartoon) Man drawn from waist up, hands tucked behind his back, with a speech bubble to his right saying "I'm focusing on the stuff that makes me Distinctively human..." To the right is a hand drawn Chat GPT logo with a speech bubble to its right saying "Dad jokes? How very predictable..."

What makes you distinctively human? (It might not be your humour. Still, outsourcing that to #AI might actually be a step forward...)

Image available to use CC-BY-ND here: buff.ly/Hy62PmZ

18.06.2025 11:34 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Hat Tip remix: (cartoon) A hand with fair skin is holding a forest green snap back cap by its mustard yellow brim. On the head of the cap is tangerine orange text "h/t". To the left of the cartoon is text "Thanks for all the blogging!".

Hat Tip remix: (cartoon) A hand with fair skin is holding a forest green snap back cap by its mustard yellow brim. On the head of the cap is tangerine orange text "h/t". To the left of the cartoon is text "Thanks for all the blogging!".

I'll always enjoy seeing a new Hat Tip Remix popping up on the machine!

#DailyRemix by @marendeepwell.bsky.socialโ€ฌ

buff.ly/CwvLm7m

Here's a link to Hat Tip Remix:
buff.ly/e5NBStC

17.06.2025 11:43 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Greyscale cartoon of a man with short hair driving a car, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gearstick, whilst he checks his rearview mirror and whistles along to a song on the radio. On the dashboard is text "h/t Kierkegaard". Above the cartoon is text "Life is lived forward but it understood backwards" (Kierkegaard quote).

Greyscale cartoon of a man with short hair driving a car, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gearstick, whilst he checks his rearview mirror and whistles along to a song on the radio. On the dashboard is text "h/t Kierkegaard". Above the cartoon is text "Life is lived forward but it understood backwards" (Kierkegaard quote).

The comments that appear in open dialogue are always worth reflecting on. Here's a Kierkegaard quote from a conversation about #AI in #Education last week.

Image available to use CC-BY-ND here: visualthinkery.com/project/ai-f...

17.06.2025 11:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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I had the pleasure of live cartooning a webinar onย AI and the future of education. facilitated by โ€ชโ€ชdougbelshaw.comโ€ฌ and โ€ชepilepticrabbit.bsky.socialโ€ฌ ofย weareopen.coopโ€ฌ.

#AILiteracy #AI #Cartoon

This is image is available to use under a CC licence here:
https://buff.ly/Hy62PmZ

12.06.2025 12:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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This get-together of huddles focused on social change in Birmingham, UK with @econjusticebrum.bsky.socialโ€ฌ was truly inspiring!

As each huddle spoke, I captured some of the things they pointed to. Here's the session condensed to 30 seconds...

#Huddlecraft

10.06.2025 12:07 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Got Poppy a new logo for her website from the amazing @visualthinkery.bsky.social <3 <3 <3 <3

06.06.2025 17:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Navy blue square background, Baby pink circle middle ground and a large butterfly taking up most of the square in the foreground. It has ocean blue wings with black lines, baby pink dots at middle tops of the wings and turquoise dots around the edges. The wing pattern similar to a Monarch butterfly.

Navy blue square background, Baby pink circle middle ground and a large butterfly taking up most of the square in the foreground. It has ocean blue wings with black lines, baby pink dots at middle tops of the wings and turquoise dots around the edges. The wing pattern similar to a Monarch butterfly.

Butterflies are always welcome!

#DailyRemix by Simona-Marinela Serban.

Here's a link to the Morpho Remix:
buff.ly/RCkVeuj

05.06.2025 12:04 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

@visualthinkery is following 20 prominent accounts