It’s been a while since I posted, it’s been pretty hard to find time to write. When I am not working I am writing for my PhD, which is taking up quite a lot of my free time right now. 2021 was annoyingly uneventful, what with COVID part 2, I essentially became somewhat of a hermit again. But without further ado, here is my year in review.
So last year I set very minimal goals, but the effort to achieve these has been enormous. I’ve also got a little dog now and I’ve been busy training him. It has been eye-opening to see behaviourism concepts at work and training him has often given me ideas about how I design my own training. approaches. Right now I don’t have much capacity to take on anything else, so as with 2021, my 2022 goals are going to be pretty minimal.
I think if I could wish for anything in 2022 it would be to get more involved with tech projects. Technology is really where my passion lies and I’ve recently been experimenting with creating a weather station out of a Micro:Bit. I also really want to learn Javascript. Javascript will really help expand my work and enhance some of the projects I create in Articulate Storyline. I definitely don’t think I can put that on the list for this year though. As usual, I’d also like to find more time to write.
What has gone well?
My PhD has been going well, even though I have started a new module on part 2 of the programme, I don’t actually get my results until February. However, the pass mark is 60% across all modules, which I have surpassed, so I don’t have any worries about passing part 1. I now move on to part 2, year 3.
What hasn’t gone so well?
My work at the ICCA has been going well and I’ve decided to put my contracting work on hold. I’ve not taken on any new work or clients.
Unfortunately, I’ve still not got my green screen area setup, I think I have lost a bit of motivation for this project as I don’t quite feel I need it anymore. I did buy a couple of new accessories for my GoPro so there may be other video projects I’ll work on next year.
So what about 2022?
My biggest worry right now is completing my PhD. As I move into part 2/year 3, I move on to conducting my final, big research project – which is 80,000 words. I’m currently in the process of writing up my proposal, but it is a worry on my mind. What if it’s not good enough? What if the concept and methodologies are rubbish? What if I can’t defend my work? There’s so much to do and so much I need to read. I really want to do well and I have been feeling positive about it up until now. I am part of a really great cohort and without them, I’m not sure where I would be. I know every PhD student goes through the motions so I’m hoping as I start finishing my proposal everything will fall into place.
So my main goals this year are:
- Complete my final PhD project proposal and get confirmed
- Complete my CMALT application
Ahh yes, I forgot to mention CMALT. So for those who don’t know, CMALT stands for Certified Membership of the Association of Learning Technology. To pass, you need to meet a strict set of criteria, which includes written reflections and evidence of work completed. I started my portfolio of work in the summer and submitted it for assessment in September. Unfortunately due to issues at the ALT, my portfolio was assessed late. I received feedback a couple of weeks ago, annoyingly (but understandably) I need to make some revisions and resubmit my portfolio. It lacked some reflections.
I felt a bit mixed about the feedback I received. The portfolio gets assessed by two people and across several areas, the feedback I received didn’t align and I think it could have been a bit more detailed. But anyway, I have one final chance to resubmit. ALT recommend you try to submit within 3 months and while my motivation for it has somewhat dipped, I think it is something I should try to finish, especially as I’ve already started working on many of the revisions.
So as usual, I wish you all a Happy New Year! Let’s see what 2022 will bring.