After expressing my intent I received an email letting me know it had been received and that the professional formation webfolio template was now available within REfLECT.  Indeed it was – just had to go to ‘My Pages’ on the IfL website, login and go to the REfLECT tab.  Once in REfLECT I found the professional formation webfolio template on the ‘tools’ button.

Note: I still need to download the ‘declaration of suitability’ form, complete it and send it to IfL.  At the moment this cannot be done within REfLECT as it needs a signature to confirm that the information is correct.  Must remember to do this soon, otherwise it will delay the process.

It’s also a good time to be thinking about who will be supporting the application.  Knowing the supporter’s membership number is useful, as this makes it really easy to look up in REfLECT.  The supporter doesn’t get notification at this stage, mainly because the webfolio is still open for completion and it may be that circumstances change, so well worth dropping the person an email to let them know you have started the process and nominated them.

First big task is stage 3 of the webfolio template.  Need evidence here of a teaching qualification, higher education qualification (if appropriate) and also evidence for the level 2 numeracy and literacy requirements – you need to scroll down to see these elements.  Just a matter of scanning my Cert Ed certificate, MA (Education) certificate and also my O Level Maths and English certificates.  Phew – I have all of those so scanned them and uploaded them – very easy.

If I didn’t have evidence for numeracy or literacy, the system offers me the opportunity to provide a narrative account of how I meet the standards (guidance on IfL website).  This is probably best done as a word document which is then uploaded to the webfolio in much the same way as attaching a certificate.  A thought came to me when thinking about this.  Given the many Word file formats now, I think I will convert all documents to a PDF file format using one of the many free online conversion tools (PrimoPDF is good), as this will make it a lot easier for the reviewer and will also stop the accidental changes that can happen when working with live Word documents.

Don’t forget stage 3 is the time to say if you teach skills for life – you will need to choose the ‘I don’t teach skills for life’ option here, unless you have evidence that you meet the subject qualification requirements for skills for life.

That’s the first three stages completed – took about 20 minutes or so, including scanning the certificates.  Now on to stage 4 – my ‘teaching biography’.  Think this will be a little more difficult, I’ll post a link to it here when I’ve finished it.

A few days ago I spent the day with some brilliant teachers at Guernsey College looking at ‘professional formation’ and how to use REfLECT to build an eportfolio to support the application for Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status (QTLS).  I was so inspired by their enthusiasm for demonstrating how they use the knowledge and skills developed in teacher training in their practice that I immediately expressed my intent to start professional formation.  So now the clock is ticking.

To be fair, it is something I have been meaning to do for some time.  When we introduced IfL’s personal learning space and eportfolio, REfLECT, I used the webfolio tools to tell the story of my professional formation.  The resulting web portfolio was very much the template for the eventual scaffolding that was created in REfLECT to support professional formation – so I am, in a small way, responsible for the engineering of the process.  This means I have all of the evidence, well – much of it, and now need to take the time to order it and make sure I cover all of the criteria.

In discussing this with colleagues, they thought it would be a good idea for me to blog about my experiences.  I hope that the resulting blog can become a resource for others undertaking professional formation for either QTLS or ATLS status.  So it is now a case of ‘watch this space’ as I build my eportfolio and share the experience with you.

Wish me luck!!

CorpComm Corporate Communications
CorpComm publish survey into the social media preferences of professionals working in corporate communications sector - http://bit.ly/qW!m1£

Totally devoid of any human interest.  If it finds me in one of those rare ‘brain dead’ moments when I am between tasks and not thinking creatively I suppose, just suppose, I may find myself wondering about the ‘social media preferences of professionals working in corporate communications sector’.  But in all likelihood it will probably pass me by.  But what about:

George House CorpComm CEO
Ha! Just spilled my coffee. Bugger. All over our latest survey into the online habits of communication professionals! - http://bit.ly/qW!m1£

Now I’d probably follow George.  (more…)

“most obvious would be the tension between the, then, USSR and America (well the West, but essentially the States) over Berlin, which ultimately led to the partition of the city through the construction of the Berlin wall.”

Turns out he is studying the Cold War as his final year history project before taking his GCSEs in the summer.  What followed was a deep conversation, part in public on his wall involving some of his friends and part through direct messages, about this period of modern history, so real to me as I remember just how much the Cold War and acceleration of the nuclear capacity caused me anxiety when I was his age.  We meandered through Berlin, Cuba and the Prague Spring and, as he had to set the Cold War in the context of current American foreign policy, discussed similarities between post WWII tensions between ‘East and West’ and the increase in tension between fundamental Christian doctrine and Islamic fundamentalism under the Bush administration.  This went on for a good hour and involved lots of searching for good reference points to support the various arguments.
(more…)

Well, it is true to a large degree, but the introduction of shortened urls of 10 – 12 characters allow us to link to other content.  We just need to make sure that we throw out a nicely baited hook, a tweet of 120 – 130 characters that captures the mood of the piece and inspires the reader.

This is nothing new.  Great writers and speakers have always had the ability to grab the attention of their audience with a few well chosen words.  I think Winston Churchill is a prime example, with his reputation as a orator built around his ability to communicate with great brevity and wit. (more…)

Storyboard?  Yes, that’s what I said.  A presentation, at least in my eyes, is a story.  A carefully crafted experience where I take an idea or a theme and bring it to life and where the most important medium is me, the storyteller.  Everything else, from what I wear through to how I stand, is my theatre, my presentation.  The challenge is in getting the story right, and you can’t do that through PowerPoint alone.  My storyboard consists of post-it notes and a flat surface and is informed by the brief I have for the presentation – my own brief or from the conference/session organiser. (more…)

There is, of course, no right answer.  I believe it is also far more complicated than a simple dichotomy.  At best it is a trichotomy but in all probability is multichotomous: determined by the type and nature of the spaces I use and the way I view my professional self.  I’ll try and explain and for the purpose of simplicity I’ll stick to the trichotomous concept of online identity. (more…)

“We may see ourselves as unique and special, but CIPHE is not the only professional body representing a vocational occupation.

It is interesting to reflect back on the very reason professional bodies exist.  It certainly isn’t for the ‘benefits’ of membership that seem to be a priority for members now.  Professional bodies exist because professionals feel the need to be united through their shared sense of identity – this identity usually includes a shared set of beliefs or values in the profession itself (‘standards’ in the modern age), a desire for professional esteem or status (post-nominals, or ‘letters after my name’) and the opportunity to influence. (more…)

Let me get one thing clear right from the start.  This is not about PowerPoint, though I will mention it from time to time.  I use PowerPoint a lot, because it is simple and allows me to achieve the effects I want to enhance my presentations.  But I could equally use a range of digital images in a slideshow or an alternative to PowerPoint such as Prezi, BrinkPad, Adobe Presenter, Preezo, Google Docs or PreZentit.  Yup, there are that many and a whole lot more.  I’m not going to compare and contrast the alternatives here, you can readily do this online and this Mashable article isn’t a bad place to start.

Right – that’s the techie stuff put to bed.  How often have you heard the muttering “oh no, death by PowerPoint” at the start of a presentation, even when the presentation medium isn’t PowerPoint?  It is, however, a criticism of the style of presentation not the choice of medium – when PowerPoint is used as little more than a visible autocue.  Sadly, however, it has become synonymous with the software and will often be chanted before giving the presenter a chance.  I have someone particular in mind at this point, an individual who always mutters this phrase but who couldn’t give a presentation if his life depended on it, PowerPoint or no PowerPoint.

I know I am not a bad presenter; I get enough positive feedback to know that I must be doing something right.  I suspect it is the teacher in me (or the performer).  (more…)