Three years ago this week, we closed the door on our last physical office space and moved to becoming a distributed team. Since then, we have chronicled the journey we have been on as an organisation and as a staff team in regular blogposts, podcasts and conference papers, starting with this post from February 2018. A year on, in January 2019, I reflected on how the move changed things in this blog post and we also recorded a podcast. Last…
Category: leadership
Ever since the phrase “new normal” became part of our vocabulary, I’ve struggled to figure out what it means. Over the past year, it’s become clear that when in comes to Learning Technology, COVID-19 has created many opportunities. So whilst it’s not all bad news, it’s certainly not normal. Not today at least. Before I started my working day today, I was on the phone arranging volunteer responders to pick up medication for my parents,…
Like everyone else, I found last year very tough indeed, even with several key advantages: I have years of experience in my role; I had weathered other crisis before this one and I knew how to manage some of what 2020 threw at us; I had successfully led the transition to us working online a few years ago and we were thus able to continue our work with less disruption than many others. I am…
Every few years, usually a year ahead of when a new strategy is due, I undertake a thought experiment. I imagine what it would be like to apply for my job afresh and sometimes in my head and sometimes on paper, I write out a new statement of why I want to be the CEO of ALT, what I bring to the role and what my vision is for the organisation going forward just as…
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…
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…
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…
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…
In 2017 I spent nearly a year putting together a plan for transitioning ALT, the organisation I lead, from being office based (since 1993) to operating as a geographically distributed team. Executing the plan took another year… . Along the way to becoming not only a virtual team but also the employer of a (small) workforce that would be permanently home-based, I found out the answers to questions such as… why do you need a…
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and currently every day feels like it should have its own campaign and come complete with support resources. Head to the dedicated website to find help, advice and support or get involved and show some kindness to those in need. When I hear people talk about how well they are coping with ‘the new normal’ I can only hope that they mean being able to have effective online meetings. Because…