Category: newsletter

Hello and Happy World Postcard Day! As I am writing this month’s newsletter, the new academic year is in full swing and I am enjoying the quicker pace of work and projects:

On the podcast, I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Dr Glenda Cox about open practice and leadership, drawing on her experiences as UNESCO Chair in Open Education and Social Justice.

In other podcasting news, I’ve recently started co-hosting a new show together with Alexis Block, called Faces of Reclaim! We’ve just recorded the first few episodes and these are absolute gems of open practice and open platforms.

Also, preparations for my session at the ALT Annual Conference in Cardiff this month, and the Ascilite Conference next month are gathering speed.

The most read post of the past few weeks has been a reflection looking back at my CEO Days, which I really enjoyed writing.

Fresh podcast episodes

• 153 – Special Guest Glenda Cox talks about what it takes to build collaborative networks across the globe.
• 152 – Special Guest Helen Tarokh on values-aligned leadership, finding the right work/life harmony and making leadership practice sustainable in an era of AI and automation
• 151 – The Last Day of Summer: a look ahead to the new academic year.

Find us on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Castsor via RSS Feed .

Recent blog posts

• Expanding the podcast empire30/09/2026
  I love a good podcast, and this week sees the launch of a brand new, shiny podcast called Faces of Reclaim! Episode 1 features the amazing due Laura Gibbs and… Read more: Expanding the podcast empire
• Getting ready for ALTC 202629/09/2026
  Croeso i Gaerdydd! Welcome to Cardiff! It’s not long before ALT’s Annual Conference 2026, and this year the event is coming to Cardiff – and I am very excited to… Read more: Getting ready for ALTC 2026
• Happy World Postcard Day!28/09/2026
  World Postcard Day, celebrated annually on 1st October, might be a marketing initiative launched relatively recently, but it’s a great excuse to write a postcard, and thus I am on… Read more: Happy World Postcard Day!
• CEO Days Revisited14/09/2026
  Time flies… I can’t quite believe that it’s been three years since I retired my CEO trainers along with the job title and became my own boss. Little did I… Read more: CEO Days Revisited
• Adventures in Analogue II31/08/2026
  This seems to be the time of year when I blog about my adventures in the analogue world. Most of my work and much of my friendships are happening online… Read more: Adventures in Analogue II

Have a good month… and as always, thank you for reading.

As I am writing this month’s newsletter, the sun is drying the remnants of last night’s thunderstorm. After months of drought, heatwaves and wildfires, rain has returned to South Wales.

The end of summer brought many highlights, including the DS106 Radio Summer Camp, the start of new projects, working with new coaching clients and preparations for the next academic year as well as the upcoming conference season.

September!

As you might gather from the featured picture this month (the result of one of my recent painting lessons) I am very much looking forward to this new season, the “new pencil case” time of year.

The podcast returns!

The podcast is back from its summer break and we’re be back with fresh episodes on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Castsor via RSS Feed .

I love the line up of Special Guests already confirmed for the next few months, so there’s plenty of interesting conversations coming up.

• 151 – The Last Day of Summer
• 150 – Into the Green
• 149 – OER Conference and Book Special
• 148 – Digital Capabilities for Leading Virtual Teams

Recent blog posts

• Blogging my way into the new season
• Newsletter, October 2026
• Expanding the podcast empire
• Getting ready for ALTC 2026
• Happy World Postcard Day!

Have a good start to the new academic year… and as always, thank you for reading 🙂

Welcome to the Summer Edition

It’s summer holiday season and I am sitting at my desk, working (with a blissfully quiet inbox). If you are reading this, you might be working, too, so here’s a friendly wave from me to you.

My main focus for work over the summer is research (a brand new case study for Reclaim is in the works), course development (working on a new leadership postgrad module) and evaluation (for a new vocational education programme).

Meanwhile, pro bono work also continues: mentoring through the national 1 Million Mentors programme has concluded for another year, and with my executive coaching also taking a break over the summer, I’ve volunteered as a Member of the Conference Committee for ALT’s Conference which is coming to Cardiff in October!

With Megan Kime and Simon Thompson as a truly fab Co-Chair team and really interesting, timely themes, this should be a wonderful event (and the CfP is still open for a few more days).

The photo featured in this newsletter is from my long run last Sunday, down the Taff Trail along the river, making the most of a temporary reprieve in the heatwaves.

Catch up on podcast episodes

The podcast is enjoying its usual summer break and we’ll be back with fresh episodes in September. Catch up on the podcast on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Castsor via RSS Feed .

• 150 – Into the Green
• 149 – OER Conference and Book Special
• 148 – Digital Capabilities for Leading Virtual Teams
• 147 – Small Gains (or how to make your day 1% more of what you need)
• 146 – ILTA Conference Special with Jim Groom

Recent blog posts

• Blogging my way into the new season07/10/2026
• Newsletter, October 202601/10/2026
• Expanding the podcast empire30/09/2026
• Getting ready for ALTC 202629/09/2026
• Happy World Postcard Day!28/09/2026
• CEO Days Revisited14/09/2026

This year is truly flying past, and I can’t quite fathom how the next edition of the newsletter will be the September one already. For me, that means it’s time to head outside with the dogs (who are looking at me full of hopeful expectation), and make the most of summer.

Thank you for reading!

Hello!

It’s been a busy and highly enjoyable month of travel and conferences for me, and this week I am wrapping up my teaching at Oxford for this academic year and also recording new interviews for the next Reclaim case study. Next week new projects are getting underway for the next few months including work my second book.

It was not all work however as I also celebrated my birthday, and went to see The Cure play 35,000 people at Blackweir Live in Cardiff in the middle of the recent heatwave. It was an awesome evening and this month’s cover photo is one of my snaps of the show.

If you are looking for some summer inspiration, take a look at my recent post on making your day 1% more… of what you need. In John Naughton’s recent newsletter I came across this AI Compass and gave it a try, which was a fun experiment.

New on the podcast

I am excited that this week we’ve released episode 150! It’s a summer special with the theme “Into the Green” and it’s been fun to revisit some of my favourite moments of this season of the podcast in the process. Enjoy!

• 150 – Into the Green
• 149 – OER Conference and Book Special
• 148 – Digital Capabilities for Leading Virtual Teams
• 147 – Small Gains (or how to make your day 1% more of what you need)
• 146 – ILTA Conference Special with Jim Groom

Listen to the podcast on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Castsor via RSS Feed .

Recent blog posts

• 
  Blogging my way into the new season
  It’s autumn and I have a lot to blog about. I haven’t yet published my usual mid-year look back at the posts I have published so far this year. Instead, I’m keen to chart what’s on my mind to blog… Read more: Blogging my way into the new season
• 
  Newsletter, October 2026
  Hello and Happy World Postcard Day! As I am writing this month’s newsletter, the new academic year is in full swing and I am enjoying the quicker pace of work and projects: On the podcast, I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation… Read more: Newsletter, October 2026
• 
  Expanding the podcast empire
  I love a good podcast, and this week sees the launch of a brand new, shiny podcast called Faces of Reclaim! Episode 1 features the amazing due Laura Gibbs and Sam Hooper, and is hosted by Alexis Block – with… Read more: Expanding the podcast empire
• 
  Getting ready for ALTC 2026
  Croeso i Gaerdydd! Welcome to Cardiff! It’s not long before ALT’s Annual Conference 2026, and this year the event is coming to Cardiff – and I am very excited to be speaking at the conference for the first time since… Read more: Getting ready for ALTC 2026

Thanks for reading!

If you are reading this edition of the newsletter, you have successfully moved to one of the new formats. Yay! Just as a reminder, you can also Subscribe via LinkedIn and continue to read via the blog (and subscribe via RSS and follow me on Bluesky or Mastodon where I post links to the newsletter on a monthly basis.

If you’re thinking of working with me get in touch to talk about new projects, strategy days or leadership coaching.

See you next month and I enjoy the summer 🙂

Hello!

This month is one of travel and wrapping up a number of projects before the summer season gets underway. It’s the end of term for teaching, and I am looking forward to heading to Oxford University later this month to meet with fellow teachers in person for a end of year day. I’ve really enjoyed teaching this year and had some lovely feedback from the staff and students taking part in my courses, so that’s been a big highlight.

Upcoming conferences

I’ll be joining the ILTA Conference in Dublin in early June and I’m excited to be a member of the OER26 Conference Committee, too. Looking ahead to both events I wrote a guest post for the altc blog: Openness Reimagined… from How to Who and also recorded a podcast episode with Jim Groom, in which we give a bit of a preview what’s in store for us at ILTA in Dublin.

Looking further ahead to the autumn, submissions and registration are now open for the Ascilite Annual Conference in Brisbane, 29 November – 2 December where I’ll be delivering a leadership workshop as well as a keynote talk.

New on the podcast

I am excited that we are close to approaching episode 150! Get in touch to request a topic or if you’d like to join me as a Special Guest for a forthcoming episode. Listen to the podcast on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Castsor via RSS Feed .

Recent episodes:

• 145 – Tackling projects with fresh energy
• 144 – Achievement unlocked! What’s next?
• 143 – Tapering
• 142 – The Power of (the right) Prompts
• 141 – More Than Words.

Recent blog posts

• 
  Blogging my way into the new season
  It’s autumn and I have a lot to blog about. I haven’t yet published my usual mid-year look back at the posts I have published so far this year. Instead, I’m keen to chart what’s on my mind to blog… Read more: Blogging my way into the new season
• 
  Newsletter, October 2026
  Hello and Happy World Postcard Day! As I am writing this month’s newsletter, the new academic year is in full swing and I am enjoying the quicker pace of work and projects: On the podcast, I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation… Read more: Newsletter, October 2026
• 
  Expanding the podcast empire
  I love a good podcast, and this week sees the launch of a brand new, shiny podcast called Faces of Reclaim! Episode 1 features the amazing due Laura Gibbs and Sam Hooper, and is hosted by Alexis Block – with… Read more: Expanding the podcast empire
• 
  Getting ready for ALTC 2026
  Croeso i Gaerdydd! Welcome to Cardiff! It’s not long before ALT’s Annual Conference 2026, and this year the event is coming to Cardiff – and I am very excited to be speaking at the conference for the first time since… Read more: Getting ready for ALTC 2026
• 
  Happy World Postcard Day!
  World Postcard Day, celebrated annually on 1st October, might be a marketing initiative launched relatively recently, but it’s a great excuse to write a postcard, and thus I am on board! Regular readers will know that I am an avid… Read more: Happy World Postcard Day!

Thanks for reading!

If you are reading this edition of the newsletter, you have successfully moved from the original email list to one of the new formats. Yay! Just as a reminder, you can also Subscribe via LinkedIn and continue to read via the blog (and subscribe via RSS and follow me on Bluesky or Mastodon where I post links to the newsletter on a monthly basis.

With a few new pieces of work getting underway in July and August, and conference season just about to begin, things are not slowing down just yet. So if you’re thinking of working with me come autumn get in touch to talk about new projects, or find dates for strategy days or leadership coaching.

See you next month 🙂