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,…
Tag: #altc
I am really excited (just like Jim Groom), because something special is happening in April… as OER meets the Domains Conference in what I hope will be a really awesome two days! Cue ALL the hashtags, #OERxDomains, #OER21 and #Domains21. It’ll be a lot of work to pull this together and I am thrilled that we have a whole team of Co-Chairs to make it happen: Heading up the Domains strand are Lauren (Brumfield) Hanks…
I was delighted to contribute to the VocTeach FE Symposium – Aggregating High Quality Online Educational Resources for FE organised by the Open University alongside experts including Bob Harrison, Vikki Liogier, Caroline Wright and John Domingue. VocTeach FE Symposium kickstarted a broad community around this issue related to supporting the aggregation of high quality learning resources for online FE education. Specifically, we will bring together FE educational experts and practitioners, EdTech experts, awarding organisations and…
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…
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…
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…
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…