2010 has far exceeded my very modest but wildly unknown expectations. My sidebar notes started off the new year with the following lines: "I have no idea what 2010 will have in store for me, whether virtually or on terra firma".
Long gone was the person who planned everything meticulously. The Janet who always had Plan A, B, C and then even D, just in case of unforeseen circumstances. The person who had to know everything in advance. I wrote the section below on my blog on December 30th last year -
2009:The Year of Living Technologically.
The Future of 2010Where do I go from January 1st 2010? I don't really know. I will find out.
Will my life change overnight? I very much doubt it.
Will I continue to do my best in whatever I choose to do? Yes, absolutely!
Will I challenge myself enough? I hope so. Nobody else on this planet will do it for me.
Will I continue writing my blog? Yes, I very much want to. It has become an essential part of my life.
Will I strive to incorporate new e-tools wherever practicable? I hope so.
Will I finally unleash the demons preventing me from creating a Power Point Presentation? Yes, I really really want to!!
Taking the Powerpoint PlungeWell, my goal of finally taking the plunge and creating my very first PowerPoint presentation has well and truly been achieved. I have created 10 Powerpoints this year and I plan to do many more in 2011. Having waited so long to use this tool, I feel there is a lot I want to learn. How to insert videos and other media into my presentations is a modest goal for the new year. Many thanks to
Noel for sending me some great and inspirational videos.
A Year of "Flow"
Many wonderful things have happened in 2010 and it has been an action-packed year which I would never have imagined possible at this time last year. I would like to say a huge
Thank You to every single person (and furkid), who has contributed to 2010 being one of the
BEST ever in my whole life.
With the help of my amazing PLN I have:
On a personal level I have:
- enjoyed being with my family and friends in Oxford and Abruzzo
- been back to England on the back of the Aprilia Rally Raid Capo Nord
- had lots of fun with Samantha, the new furkid on the block
- written a personal book review of "R U Listenin'? by Terry Bianchini
- made loads of home made tomato sauces
- made loads of fig jam / peach jam / apple sauces
- have made loads of Tiramisu, courtesy of Chikita, Berry, Ken Cluckie, Filito, (& Norris & Nikita now sadly demised)
- tended to and helped pick lots of olive trees
- made lots of homemade birthday cards / special events cards and Christmas cards
- unpacked a few more boxes
- collected a few more owls!
The Future of 2011So, what does 2011 have in store for me? Well, this time I do know a little bit about what is planned!
I would like to do a 5-week Tesol
Electronic Village Online course starting in January. I haven't chosen which course yet because there are so many fantastic choices.
I am interested in the following courses:
Please do join me in experiencing the excitement of being a student again. It's a wonderful feeling!! I can guarantee you will learn a lot!!
February 2011I am doing another workshop in L'Aquila for Tesol-Aquila Action Group on Wednesday February 2nd 2011. I am really looking forward to seeing all the amazing teachers again.
On February 5th I hope to be presenting at
Connecting Online 2011. My wonderful mentor and former tutor on the Moodle for Teachers course
Dr Nellie Deutsch has invited me to present online. It will be a great pleasure!!
In February I will be tutoring on another e-course on behalf of the
Consultants-E.
April 2011I will be presenting at
IATEFL Brighton on April 17th. I can't wait to meet members of my fabulous PLN and fellow tweeters during that time.
I would like to brush up my very basic riding skills and do my CBT (Compulsory Basic Motorbike Training) again at
Abbey Motorcycle Instructors.
I hope to teach on more
Teacher Refresher courses for the
Lake School of English.An Open Year BookThe rest of the year is an open book, waiting to be filled. More book reviews are on the cards. Who knows, I might even get down to writing my own e-book. That would be really cool.
Finally, I hope to achieve the very important goal below:
I would also like to do the following:
That's it!! The rest, I really don't know at this stage. I look forward to the new year and to seeing how it will all evolve.
Once again, many thanks to everyone I know who has helped me develop as a teacher and helped me to do my best.
In particular, I owe a lot to the amazing
Shelly Terrell for encouraging me to venture into the thrilling world of online conferences and presentations. Without her constant support, I may not have given it a go.
I wish all my readers and fellow bloggers, tweeters, teachers, and students I have taught this year, a very Happy and successful New Year.
"
Don't just dream it. Do it!"Have fun, and may all your dreams come true!!
This morning I woke up to a cacophany of different sounds. Dogs barking, hunters shouting, chickens clucking merrily away, cats miaoing enthusiastically for their brekkers, and something absolutely breathtaking and truly spectacular was happening in the horizon. A partial eclipse of the sun!! I witnessed it through a lens darkly and it was the "ultimate astronomical show" imaginable.
If you would like to learn more about the partial eclipse of the sun across the world today and other interesting facts you can read the following information:
Posts
