An informal intro
In academia there is a real problem with imposter syndrome, and that is exactly where I found myself almost 4 weeks ago. Excited at the prospect of jumping into the ONL221 opportunity, it suddenly dawned on me that here I was, standing academically 'naked' in amongst incredible minds, with nothing more than experience and passion behind me. Needless to say I was scared.
What would these amazing academics think of having me in their group? Would I let them down? The unknown possibilities plagued me but at the same time, I had just been through 18 months of coursework in my masters of Education in ICT so I couldn't have nothing to offer (surely)?.
I haven't been with Uni4Online for long and unfortunately I still have some emotional baggage from my previous environment that I am working through but I was willing to give this my best shot, and here I am 4 weeks later with the biggest smile on my face (albeit frenetic as I am in the thick of work and my dissertation and lecturing).
Not only has the work been interesting to me, but I have realised that I do have something to offer, and to top it all off, I have been placed in a wonderful team that really, sometimes feels like the highlight of my week. I am learning through each of the members and inspired by many.
I think that this opportunity has given me more courage (courage that I was missing for a short while) and it has also made me remember how great it was to interact with academics about academia (something I didn't realise I missed actually). I've been so caught up in my research and day-to-day work, and postgrad students that I stopped finding time to just chat with my lecturing friends and this has helped me to remember my passion for education in general.
So this is my quick (and very informal intro) - it was my way of "breaking through the blogging blues" and now I can set a good foundation for my reflective posts.
See you on the other side - hopefully a better, and more courageous human with a load more to offer in my future :)