From The Cotswolds, UK to Boston, USA

I haven’t devoted as  much time to the blog as I should but I’ve noticed that many bloggers begin with an apology for not posting recently so perhaps I’m not so out of step… Anyway, the start of a new term, new opportunities and new challenges after a summer of relaxation, work and mixed weather. During the break, I tried to combine all three in one mini-project where I took advantage of the gaps in the summer rain to do a bit of walking and record progress using some easy-to-use GPS and then post to a free website service – the result: The Cotswold Way…

I would have tried the same thing to record my journey when I was lucky enough to visit Boston, USA to provide some training and insight on UK education. Northwest Airlines (bless it) decided to lose my luggage (containing the GPS tracker) for 48 hours though, so that didn’t work out. Boston’s a great city to visit though and well worth spending a day following the Freedom Trail and taking a boat trip to George’s Island.

That’ll do for now…

Time Lapses…

How did I get to December without updating this blog? Just too busy I guess (excuses, excuses…) with starting teaching at university on the PGCE teacher training course, writing the content for a new site supporting schools with the Primary Capital Programme, regular writing  articles on ICT in education, supporting schools on the new Diploma qualification, and training on Learning Platforms and Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). Oh, and trying to lead a life…

Looking back on the past few months reminds me of those time lapse films where time is condensed into a few seconds. It’s something that can be easily done with the simplest of technology. I even wrote a short article for Scholastic’s Junior Education on it a while ago.

I’ve just remembered this video that shows time flying by:

Maybe I’ll need to make a New Year’s resolution to slow down the time lapse effect…

Marrakech

Enjoyed the madness and mayhem of Marrakech the other week. Good to have an oasis (a riad) to return to though.

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Radio and Photographs?

What have digital radio and digital photos got in common? Not a lot apart from the spurious link in having written a couple of articles for Scholastic on the subjects.

Coming soon, an article on home networking…

Glastonbury Swampfest 2007

What an event! 180,000 people in a temporary tent city scoured by cold, rain and mud. All human life there and all expressions of creativity – music, art, film, sculpture, comedy, politics, warm cider!… Above all, the atmosphere – friendly, positive and fun. A great few days and looking forward to 2008 already.

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Time to take a break?

 Spending too long at the keyboard? A neat, freeware approach to taking regular breaks can be found at Workrave.

Time to take some exercise…

Catching up

Last week: relaxing in the Lake District. Last went about 25 years ago and forgot how beautiful it can be.

Took the time to do some walking, banjo playing and reading. Best book of the week – still some pages to go – has to be “The Book of Dave” by Will Self. I’ve tried a few of his previous books (just by standing in bookshops and browsing the first few pages) but they seemed a bit too knowing… I bought this on impulse. Probably would have rejected it if I had time to read the first few pages. It’s two novels in one – Dave’s story set in the approximate present, and a dystopian future 500 or so years ahead where Dave’s impact has been considerable and resulted in a new religion and belief system. Both parts are excellent but, when combined, the overall effect is superb. Difficult first 30 pages or so but well worth the initial persistence.

Previous two weeks: Spent much of the time preparing for and presenting at RM’s national conferences. Some highlights for me included John Davitt at Manchester and Dr Nick Baylis at London. Also Professor Tim Brighouse and his definition of sustainability: “holding on to those things we value most in times of great change.”

For me, the most adrenalin-charged moment in the presentation was creating a live podcast with the help of the audience. Made all the easier – just made possible in fact – with Podium. It’s a really neat solution to creating podcasts and feeds. A lot of hard work must have gone into this to make the software so simple and effective to use.

Feels like a soft landing…

Finally hit the ground and so far so good. It’s a curiously liberating feeling not to be bound to the corporate wheel.

In fact, it was a good last salaried week with some really kind words and gestures (possibly some of those gestures too) from my immediate and wider working teams. Good to end on a high at the BETT show in Oympia, London -presenting in one of the small on-stand theatres. Can be a bit unnerving initially but the chance to build some rapport with an audience and even pull in a few passing people is a good one.

A bit too busy to take BETT all in (who can?) but liked the philosophy, design and content of what I saw at shoo-fly publishing - perhaps more on this type of educational content later. There’s a lot more to be said about this.

So three days into this new direction and I have one definite project on the table, some offers and a few speculative ideas. So far so good…

Leaping off the 12th floor…

Well – after 15 years in teaching and nine years in a corporate world of educational ICT training, consultancy and marketing – I’ve taken a leap into the unknown. I’ve handed my notice in on a good secure salaried job.

Why? Time to take another path. It’s a chance to pursue some other ambitions, try a few different things and find some time for more personal interests.

 At the moment, it feels good. But this could be delusional. Like the man who threw himself off the top of the 12th floor and as he passed the 9th floor said to himself, “Not sure what all the fuss is about, no change so far.”

About six weeks to my last day and two wage slips to go – the ground is getting closer!