Tuesday, October 27

I began my work day by checking Zoho Connect, which I am trying to turn into a habit. The business about not emailing each other won’t work unless we check the place we are using instead. There was nothing for me but that is not the point; the habit is the point.

I spent the first half of the morning rewatching videos on Lynda.com about Foundation and WordPress. They are proving a very good way of learning, and I made some notes to makes sure what I will do this afternoon will not contradict what the students have been viewing (and hopefully understanding).

I spent the second half of the morning writing a draft of my application to become a principal lecturer. I showed them to Nathalie who marked them in pen like a student assignment. I was actually very glad of this unexpected attention, since she has got to present my application and I would rather like her to succeed.

I spent the afternoon with the CMS group and we checked what they had done in their final assignment in Jutta’s course. As I expected the range of ability, and the mere question of whether they had actually finished their assignment or not, spanned a very wide range. I had asked them to look at 2 courses on Lynda in preparation for this class and three people left to sit somewhere else and actually watch them. The rest divided into three groups: those who knew what they were doing and were actually doing it; those who knew what they wanted to do and needed some help to get started; and those who were sitting there.

I started the second group off and then worked with the third group.

Cycling home was an adventure in the pitch dark, thanks to the end of summer time.

Now I am home and looking at a candle that Irma has been given. It is bursting open like a flower as it burns and I manage to catch it before it opens fully. The opening petals are sending out a light that reminds me of a fictitious Eygptian ceremony from an imagined movie.