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Maren Deepwell Posts

Don’t think you are brilliant? Think again…

… and yes, I am thinking about you 😉 But, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s go back to the beginning and how I came to (nearly) write those words on an assessment form. As a Certified Member of ALT I act as a peer assessor for portfolios submitted by candidates hoping to gain the accreditation. It’s part of my continuous professional development in Learning Technology and in the most part it…

Celebrating #AdaLovelaceDay 2017 and promoting equality

Today we are celebrating #AdaLovelaceDay and for me this is a good reminder to acknowledge all the brilliant women I work with in Learning Technology and beyond. We may have a lot still to achieve when it comes to equality, but there is something we can all do to help achieve it. Earlier this year I talked about how openness can be a tool for Learning Technology professionals to promote equality at the ILTA Annual Conference (slides…

Re-post #altc: my autumn report to Members as CEO of ALT

You can read all my reports to Members of ALT on the #altc blog by following this link. The blog is always open to new contributors, for full details about how to write for the blog, see the information posted here. Dear Members I’m starting this report by looking back briefly at the 2017 Annual Conference which took place in Liverpool in early September. If you haven’t already, I’d like to encourage you to explore the inspiring list of…

“How to…” heroes – or how to do CPD at a micro scale.

In my organisation I lead on providing CPD for a small team and providing meaningful, cost-effective opportunities for learning and gaining know how at a micro scale can be challenging.  We’ve taken part in open online courses like Blended Learning Essentials and 23 things, we have a regular ‘show & tell’ slot at weekly team meetings, we take part in events and the networks we support and we sometimes have guests who share their work…

Talking about #FELTAG: keynote on workforce development in Learning Technology

This week I am contributing to a conference called FELTAG 2017: Embracing Digital Technology in Further Education and I am pleased to have been invited to give a short keynote as part of the programme. My talk (slides) will focus on workforce development to maximise Learning Technology impact in three ways: first, I set out what questions we need to ask about skills and capabilities, second, I explore how and open online course can support workforce development and…

Making it happen… leading a community conference

It’s the weekend before the biggest face to face event that the organisation I lead runs each year. It’s our Annual Conference and between an inbox that doesn’t sleep, aching feet and a planning spreadsheet with a row for every detail my excitement is mounting. This is the week of the year when both online and in person our community comes together. My job as CEO, at least on paper, is to carry the responsibility.…

Interiority in the landscape: using running to create space inside my head

When I discovered that I love running it wasn’t because of the actual movement. It took me over 6 months to be able to jog gently and over a year to actually run. What I did enjoy straight away as being outside, moving through the landscape at my own pace and having time to get to know my thoughts within it. Over the past 18 months it’s become part of my everyday to head outside,…

Catching up ahead of ALT’s Annual Conference

This is my busiest time of year, not least because it’s the run up to  ALT’s Annual Conference.  But however busy things have been, I have been writing and talking about all things Learning Technology and ahead of September here is a quick catch up: Yesterday I took part in a Radio Edutalk broadcast presenting an ALT Annual Conference preview together with Sheila MacNeill and Lorna Campbell. I really enjoyed talking to the host John Johnston…

Talking edtech, ALT and Star Trek on the Edtech Podcast

For my first podcast I was invited by Sophie Bailey to talk about ALT, our upcoming Annual Conference and what’s happening in the industry more generally on the Edtech Podcast. I really enjoyed doing the recording and we ended up talking about Star Trek, cats and a few other things besides technology and education. Thanks to Sophie for the opportunity to spread the word about ALT and what we do, and happy listening #altc. Listening…

Crowns and cartographers: equality in the imagination

I have been reading a lot of stories recently and two of them in particular really inspired me: Frogkisser by Garth Nix and The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Both are beautiful reads suitable for younger readers as well, but that shouldn’t put you off. Both books take you on adventures, in one case following the perilous journey of a cartographer’s daughter across an unexplored floating island, in the other the footsteps…