So, it’s clearly been years since i’ve posted in this place. There’s been a whole lot going on in the meantime, including pandemic etc. Since 2017, my teaching has focussed mainly on technology aka “digital literacy” within adult community education (ACE), and i haven’t done much in the way of language and literacy teaching at all.
I’ve been working as a “learning facilitator” aka Tour Guide at the Polly Woodside Museum, with the National Trust. For those who didn’t grow up in Melbourne, Polly Woodside is an old sailing ship, restored to its original state back in the 1970s. (Photo shows me in my “pretend sailor” costume.)
As well as taking on some kinds of creative performance such as roller skating choreography, I’m still teaching basic intro to technology at Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre (CNLC) and North Carlton Railway Neighbourhood House.
The classes at “Railway House” have been interesting, because we’ve run them on a “BYOD” basis, ie bring your own device. This has meant changing the way i teach quite significantly. How do you teach technology in a kind of “generic” way? In some ways it can be great, because it is important to focus on the ideas that underpin the technology, the broad brush of skills that might be needed to begin learning a piece of software, and the problem-solving skills people need when they’re learning on the go. Hm, maybe i could write more about that in the months ahead.