2012 was a relatively quiet one for this blog, which is either logical or suprising considering how tremendously busy I was for the whole year. I've always been a 'busy' person, but 2012 was massive in all sorts of ways. Quite aside from all the teaching, there was a Cert IV TAE (in Training and Assessment), two diplomas (in Vocational Education and Training, and Training Design and Development respectively), and some quite mammoth developments in our team when it came to e-Learning facilitation and professional documentation of delivery and assessment plans for close to 40 largish units of coursework.
Considering the e-Learning angle alone, this summary page in a report I produced demonstrates just how busy we were - all of us (coordinator, teachers and especially students):
In a humbling finale to the year, I got to walk out in front of a couple of hundred teaching colleagues to accept the Gordon TAFE 2012 Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (often just referred to as The Teacher of the Year Award). As much as I felt a little awkward accepting an award for work that was really more of a whole team effort, I have to admit there was a little satisfaction there, knowing how hard I had been working (and more importantly: completing things) on multiple fronts from quite low down on the institutional salary scale.
I couldn't help but think back to an interview with Jeff Lebow in Korea in 2011, when I expressed the need to step back from ELT and try my hand at something new, challenging myself by 'starting at the bottom' again (so to speak). Accepting the recent award and thinking about all the project work I had initiated and completed, I did get an impression that I was sort of making good on that promise to myself. And it was nice to get recognition based on the hard yards done in classrooms and with colleagues 'at the chalk/Moodle face' rather than the automatic (and I think usually undue) respect that comes from having your name on some glossy, smartly marketed textbooks.
2012: A busy year indeed...
But enough already of the skiting and self-satisfied back slapping! 2012 (in the pace of this day and age) is already old news.
2013 is here and it's time to learn a new year's dream...
For me personally, I think this year is about 'stepping back' again and embracing a whole new challenge. That challenge has already begun to coalesce for me over the short Christmas and New Year's break, and it sort of goes like this:
Think you have a handle on this whole educational/instructional E-Learning design thing?
Think again, mate.
Welcome to 2013, everyone - and I wish you well with learning your own New Year's Dream!
;-D
