Month: January 2010

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moving

the journey begins

the journey begins


We have made good progress with setting up accounts and are now almost ready to start our MoRe project. It is all very exciting and I am really happy that I found students who are interested and keen to trial this approach. We will all learn from it. Great!

I have to say that the process of setting it all up took much longer than expected, but then again, I was probably too optimistic. However, I am lucky that the project is carried out in a micro-scale and enabled supporting individual participants effectively and smoothly.

The face-to-face workshop didn’t resolve all the issues and it was actually afterwards when the real issues were identified. The whole setting-up process might have seen easy for me, because I had done it before, but it was certainly more complicated for participating students who didn’t use these tools before. I have to admit at some point, I thought, I have overcomplicated it all and that it won’t work. But we are almost there now and ready to roll. We will have the first reflective mp3s next week, which is SUPER!!!

For larger scale projects, I would suggest that additional detailed self-study guides should be made available in printed and electronic version and include animated screen captures as well. I think I made it too hard for everybody. But we are all learning from it. Also, I would, in the future if I would start a similar project, try and use at least an online tool they are already familiar with. I could have introduced for example http://www.wordpress.com for recording the written reflections at the beginning of their studies. Then everybody would have an account already and would be a bit more familiar with blogging. Never mind! Live and learn.

It was though, or is good, I think, anyway, that everybody is using their own phones. It will be very interesting to discover which phones are used more, mobiles or landline… and why.

One more little detail to sort out with one of the pilots and we can press ‘go’.

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workshop No 1 done

workshopIt went well, despite the fact that there was confusing about the venue. Sorry about that. But we did it and I am really happy that the pilots are keen and want to get involved. Smaller group than expected, but I know that there are at least 3 more people who have expressed interest. We started late… but we made it.

The biggest issue I can see at the moment is the technology to create the accounts and link us all together. The group blog within wordpress was easy and I was able to connect accounts almost instantly. The challenge was and still is http://www.ipadio.com. Well, I had done mine but it is more challenging explaining it to others and then there are all the passwords and usernames etc. and people do get confused… I do! I hope I didn’t confuse anybody.

In the end we all managed to set up the http://www.ipadio.com accounts and only had time to test it using my own ipadio account. It was strange to talk to a phone and then listen to our voices online. But we will get used to it.

During the session I felt that it was important to emphasise on the focus of the project and not the tools. The tools are there to enable what we want to do. However, sometimes it just feels to complicated. I hope we will get over these hurtles together and be able to start.

After the workshop, we will probably have one week of testing and connecting until we all get started. There might be 3 more people joining and I am not sure if there will be time for face-to-face training, which is an issue but I am more than happy to arrange an online elluminate session or communicate with the pilots in any way they are comfortable.

After all testing is completed, the pilots have to post their first mp3 which will contain information about themselves and their relationship with reflection and the reflective journal they have been asked to keep.

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definitely freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing cold


I think my dad was right after all… we are living perhaps toooooooooo close to the North Pole. The whole of the UK is dressed in white. Click here for a stunning picture from space and a few earthy ones around the UK dressed in white.

As cold as the South Pole? … the papers are saying. You know what my mum said, when I told her this evening (she is in sunny Athens)? It is summer at the South Pole now…

… the boys love the snow, you can tell.