My name is Alison and I work in the School of Education and Professional Development. I train post – 16 teachers so use quite a lot of technology in my work but don’t really link it all together very much.
I have a personal blog that I have run for the last 3 years but don’t do anything really whizzy with it so would like to learn more about the potential.This is why there is a link from my post to the About post on my other blog where I am registered as Stitches of Time which may confuse people.
The setting up of the blog was ok as I use WordPress for my blog – the only bit I had trouble with was that it initially would not let me load any of my own photos for the custom header but that was a glitch on the day and I have managed to sort that out now.
I think generally WordPress is easy to use and seems to be quite stable – I have not had any major problems with it.
It feels rather strange not knowing who is going to be reading this – with my other blog I feel I know my audience now so it is a bit of an unknown as to how much detail people want to read – I am sure that this will get easier in the next few weeks.
One of the things I would like to enhance through this course is that after working at the University for 10 years I don’t really know many people from any other schools as we are always so busy . I use online contact a lot to keep in touch personally and professionally so am hoping this might enhance my collaboration with other staff here.
I am just about to start my doctorate and am going to be looking at informal learning and one of the areas I want to research is how people learn from blogs and forums so I thought this would be useful for me as well.
I thought that the initial video was excellent, really thought-provoking and really well made in terms of the graphics and would like to use that with my students.
Thanks
Alison
Hi Alison,
What an amazing photo! I am lucky enough to have a neighbour/friend who does quilting and it never ceases to amaze me how she can take scraps of nothing and turn them into something really amazing. Sadly I do not have an artistic bone in my body.
When you say ‘just about to start your doctorate’ – as in when? I started mine in October, but feel a bit as if I have yet to start it as well!! Will you be doing a professional doctorate? Part time or full time? I teach a tiny amount on the BSc social work course and several of my colleagues are doing the prof doc. How people find time to do that and a full time job I simply cannot imagine.
Look forward to working / blogging with you.
Sasha (another very happy 40 something)
Hello Sasha
Thanks for visiting – actually the blog pic is mathematical art that I got from a web but I do quilt (and embroider, knit etc which is what my other blog is about) and I am very interested in the links between maths and craft as there is so much of it in quilting. I have only just started doing regular pieced quilts before that was doing crazy patchwork and am enjoying the symmetry and applied maths of it all!
I first started my Ed D part -time when I joined the University but with a new full time job and two fairly young children at the time I only completed the taught first year then suspended. I also got a bit ‘lost’ as with the change of job I needed to change topic and dithered a bit about what I wanted to do. However the kids are grown up now – only one at home – andI wanted to restart so am just getting the process going to re-register. So I am very much a the beginning but have been doing some research into the topic last year as part of my day job anyway. As for how I will combine it with full time work well I will have to let you know how that works out!
What is your topic? Mine is looking at informal learning within medieval re-enactment (which is another hobby of mine), linking in with the concept of master and apprentice from the medieval period but also looking at how people use online blogs and forums as a source of information, how and why they learn the skills they do and how formal or otherwise their learning becomes or may become as they progress.
I am really looking forward to the experience of 25 things as well – even though I have been at the Uni for 10 years now I haven’t had much chance to meet other people due to time constraints but I have got a lot out of electonic communication in other spheres of my life so am interested to see how this helps me professionally and hopefully it will give me some ideas to use with my students as well.
Oh and I think everyone has creative bones in their body – you just need to find your outlet! Mine is fabric, wool and thread!
Thanks
Alison
Your PhD topic sounds fascinating. Mine is on the way in which child neglect is constructed by different social groups.
I guess if pushed I would have to say that words are my outlet. The whole PhD experience may alter that though…
Sasha