Lots going on to share at ICT Evangelist

Sometimes, just changing how you do things can really help you move forward.

You’ll have no doubt noticed that I haven’t posted a blog for ages. And you know what? It wasn’t just me being lazy, honest! I’ve actually been working on writing my new book, which I’m already excited about sharing with you later this year!

I’ve had the idea for this book for quite some time now, and somehow I expected it to just get written in the spaces between all my other ICT Evangelist work – working directly with schools, blogging, delivering keynotes, producing shareable resources for teachers, appearing on an ever-growing list of podcasts and, latterly, working alongside the team at NetSupport as their Head of Education and all the extra activities that has brought. Of course, that notion was unrealistic, to say the least, and, amid the dark, cold lockdown winter, with a little time to think about all the plates I was spinning, I realised that if my book was ever going to get written, then I had to make a change. Something had to give.

For those of you who have written a book yourselves or even produced in-depth tests or resources for your students, you’ll know that a sustained period of deep concentration is the only way to, firstly, get started and, secondly, keep going. So I made the decision to suspend my blogs until I was a good way through the book, and, at a suitable point, I would return with the good news. So now, here I am!

Just as a teaser, the book is about new ideas for how you can approach all the ways in which you help students learn every day, such as with dual coding, retrieval practice, interleaving, blended learning and so on – all with technology. I’m really excited to see if the approaches and tips that I’m going to share will inspire you to charge up your teaching practice and move you forward as an educator. The book is going to be out later this year and I’m really looking forward to hearing your feedback. Who knows, you may even inspire me to write a Part 2!

Just as an aside (although it links in quite nicely), this week, I revisited Chirpty.com, the tool that reveals the ‘circle’ of people or organisations who interact with you the most on Twitter.

It’s a great tool that means you can visually see your PLN and be reminded of who your most frequent interactions are with – it also helps you think about your wider extended network of valuable connections and all the people you gain insights from. Just so you get the idea, this is my circle:

As you can see, it’s really good to discover and see laid out in front of you the people who engage with you the most. And for me, seeing this was a great reminder of why I’m writing this book; it’s to help all educators, wherever you are, out there on the frontline of teaching, to think about the things you do every day – but differently – so you can move forward in your teaching practice as well as your own personal learning and development. 

Now I’m at a certain point with the book, I’m returning to my blog to give it some of the TLC it deserves and, of course, to reconnect with everyone, too. I’ve got a shedload of ideas for posts to share with you as well, so watch this space. I look forward to some great dialogue with you about the topics I discuss in the very near future.

As always, if you’d like to work with me, please don’t hesitate to get in touch here.