Sometimes it takes three tries…

Welcome to my PGCert reflective blog. Finally! Setting this up has been an insight into the frustrations of students who come to us with their IT based woes, and a reminder of how as a (slightly) older student I need to allow myself some extra time and several tries to complete some tasks – not all tasks but certainly anything that requires multiple access points, passwords, and login details. I graduated with an MA in library science in 2022 and so I’m somewhat used to being a student quite recently. Prior to that I had a long career in retail buying and merchandising including training work that put me in a classroom-like setting. At UAL I mostly teach research skills to BA Fine Art students, often as 1:1 tutorials. I am hoping to increase the uptake of full-cohort research sessions on my courses as part of my objectives in doing this course. Having moved from the commercial world to H.E. I am still learning every day, and so this chance to reflect on that and develop my skills and ethos is something I’m very much looking forward to, even while sometimes struggling with the immediate tasks in hand. This tension between enjoyment of the topic and content, and frustration with the process of production is something I feel really familiar with encountering UAL students tackling their research work so it’s good to experience a similar journey.