Mc² = E Learning Reflections

This time last year I remember posting about  how I wanted 2022 to be different.  Well, it didn't disappoint.  I learned a lot, I changed a lot and I grew stronger.  Some people who were on this journey with me, changed direction and carried on their own way.  Others have stayed with me and accompanied my along the way and others still have joined me my adventure.  Other times, I changed direction because I took the time to recognise that I didn't want to go to the same places as other people.  And while, from time to time I miss their company, their destination simply wasn't the same as mine and I hold no ill feeling about that.    A friend of mine reminded me that "to everything there is a season" and seasons change - it's natural.   ( " The seasons are changing. " by  Bernard Spragg  is marked with  CC0 1.0 .). Have you ever though  of yourself as seasonal?  I hadn't but I'm starting to realise that some ...

  The last few weeks have been challenging.  I didn't really expect to begin my experience as a researcher by examining my own personal values and beliefs so closely.  Don't get me wrong, I'm learning a lot.  But putting myself under a microscope and examining my own scholarship practice in this way has been something of an eye opener, particularly in coming to the realisation that my work, my reading, my blogging and the narrative I've chosen so far may come to be viewed by the academic community as autoethnography. ( " BLOG IDEAS " by  owenwbrown  is licensed under  CC BY 2.0 .) Until very recently I was unaware of the term and what it meant - thanks Vicky!  After having read some autoethnographic case studies I've come to realise that might be true.  I  may be something of a budding autoethnographer.  But I'm also learning that this can both be a badge of honour and something of an accusation at the same time. I started the week ...

As we're getting to the end of the academic session here in Scotland, I have to say I'm so looking forward to the summer holidays.  It's been a long year, but there's a lot to do still - meetings, paperwork, form filling...  It's been really interesting this past week though because it's allowed me to reflect, not so much on the processes that are underway, but on how they're happenning. (" tea break " by  Kanko*  is licensed under  CC BY 2.0 .) With a range of formal programme review meetings taking place, getting the chance to have those face-to-face informal "water cooler" conversation with colleagues you haven't seen in ages has felt like a breath of fresh air.  Some of the meetings took place face-to-face while others have been online or some hybrid combination of both.  But they've all felt like a pressure release.  Sometimes it's provided the opportunity to venting our frustrations, other times its allowed teams to refl...