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Author: Maren Deepwell

2021: getting ready to return to work

I am still on holiday, which I am grateful for. The past year left me exhausted and by the time I finished work in December I was ready for a break. Nearly three weeks in and I have recovered some much needed energy and my sense of humour 🙂 With little let up from the pandemic and the impact on my working life continuing to increase, I feel it’s time to level up my preparation…

2020 – My year in blog posts, on radio and in drawings

I have already written an EdTech end of year post, 2020 #altc – The year forged in fire, so this one is looking back at things I have blogged about this year… in around 30 posts this year. This year, I have blogged less about the conferences I have contributed to and the talks I have given, but fortunately for most of them there are slides or recordings available: Selected talks from 2020 VocTeach FE…

2020 #altc – the year forged in fire

I have been struggling to write any of my usual ‘year in review’ posts. I couldn’t find the words. But this evening I feel inspired and that is thanks to the community I work with, and whom I have shared much of this week at ALT’s Online Winter Conference. It’s been a year like no other in Learning Technology and one throughout which the professionals I work with and that ALT represents have moved right…

Virtual Teams – the final episode and… keeping blogging!

Leading Virtual Teams? Homeworking? Is there something you'd like us to discuss? After 3 years of blogging #virtualTeams, 35+ posts & podcasts… 320 comments… 65,000 words, @mhawksey and I are preparing a very special podcast – the final instalment of our series! pic.twitter.com/34EQ0gnU0d — Dr Maren Deepwell (@MarenDeepwell) November 25, 2020 What is it like to lead a virtual team? What are the high points? What are the challenges? For the past three years we…

How we survived a pandemic: Part 6 – Wellbeing as a home-worker… where are you on the unicorns ‘?’ and pumpkins ‘?’ scale?

This is a conversational blog post (cross-posted here) between Martin Hawksey (@mhawksey) and Maren Deepwell (@marendeepwell). We are using this approach to create some space to think together in ‘unprecedented times’.  In this month’s post we reflect on wellbeing as homeworkers, particularly under the pressures and strains of current times.  As part of this we look at ways individuals and teams can check-in on how they are doing using resources from the What Works Centre…

Putting the data detox kit to the test

Like everyone else I have been spending a LOT more time online this year out of necessity. The more time I spend online, the stronger my desire to control and limit the data I produce, at least for personal interactions… So, I am putting the Data Detox Kit to the test… you can, too, see https://datadetoxkit.org/en/home . Step 1 (for me): Control your smartphone data to increase your online privacy My first task is to…

#EdTech blogging ice breaker… or how to blog my way through a crisis

I love blogging. Over the past few months I have been finding it hard to find the words. I don’t just want to blog for work, I also want to blog for fun. I want to allow myself to be curious… . I want to give myself permission to just think about things without my voice being dominated by news headlines, risk registers or fear. And that is when I came across this post: The…

How we survived a pandemic: Part 5 – Virtual team meeting ice breakers from the ALT Staff Team

This is a conversational blog post (cross-posted here) between Martin Hawksey (@mhawksey) and Maren Deepwell (@marendeepwell). We are using this approach to create some space to think together in ‘unprecedented times’.  This month’s post is a bit different from the usual, as we celebrate a team effort of inventing ice breakers for our weekly team meetings, which take place for an hour every Wednesday morning. We’ve got everything from “share your four-legged friends” to “lockdown…

Home-worker… care-work… self-care.

Last year I wrote a post about how working from home can lead to doing a lot of housework. I reflected on how working from home made me feel like I had been landed with all the domestic and care work and I explored ways in which I reclaimed a better balance. A year on, and several big life changes later, seemingly everyone is now working from home and finding any kind of balance is…

My CEO Report, September 2020

Read my new CEO Report to @A_L_T Members #altc https://t.co/5uk8WlPmi8 pic.twitter.com/NcAtcTIWhY — Dr Maren Deepwell (@MarenDeepwell) September 11, 2020 Dear Members Since my last report to you in June, much has happened in our community and the Association. From senior leaders to new recruits, everyone in Learning Technology has been working flat out to prepare for the start of the new academic year and continuing to cope with the impact of the pandemic.  Whilst it…