The HEA website offers more information on the Fellowship, awarded, in my case, on completion of the PGCLTHE:

Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Winchester
The PGCLTHE is accredited by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the professional body for higher education in the UK. The programme is built around the notion of reflective practice and offers a framework for reflecting critically on your teaching. It contains opportunities to put your learning into practice and encourages you to take responsibility for linking theoretical ideas about learning to the practical demands of the courses you teach. The PGCLTHE supports the UK Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education published by the HEA. Assignments: Innovation in IT; Reflective Practice; Examining Professional Practice.

Supporting Statement Dr Bex Lewis: 9^th May 2012

Person Specification

I have studied and worked in the HE sector for 18 years, in the position of lecturer for 14 of those, undertaking my first lectures alongside my PhD: ‘The planning, design and reception of British Home Front propaganda posters of the Second World War’. I have worked across a range of disciplines, largely in the Arts and Humanities, including two years with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts at the University of Manchester. I have particular expertise in History and Media Studies, with Education Studies in my first degree informing my continued thinking about learning and teaching. In 2011 I completed the PGCLTHE, and am awaiting confirmation of my HEA Fellowship.

My training as a life coach and mentor has equipped me with a set of skills and theoretical tools about change, encompassing a theory of change stemming from an action research model “that for change to be effective it… must be a participative and collaborative process that involves all those concerned.”[1] I am a regular reader of Times Higher Education, posting relevant story links on Digital Fingerprint since 2009.[2] All of the above has helped me to understand the range of responses to technology among colleagues, and to have credibility as an education developer in the growing field of Technology Enhanced Learning. For more detail check: http://drbexl.co.uk/career/

University of Winchester Community

As outlined in an assignment for the PgCLTHE, I have developed a strong Community of Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning at the University of Winchester,[3] in a role which I have expanded from 0.2 to 0.5. In discussions with Keith Mildenhall, I have recently restructured information on the Learning Network,[4] where we have over 170 participants, which we can redirect people to in other communications. I have developed relationships with staff through committees: Learning & Teaching Committee, Technology Enhanced Learning Working Group, and Learning Network Working Group, one-to-one meetings, and at events including Learning Lunches and L&T Days.[5] In 2010 I initiated a successful pilot of a ‘Drop-In-Day’, which has led to Faculty opportunities this year. I developed and undertook a significant CPD programme focused upon the pedagogic use of e-tools, built for staff, but adapted for students, including sessions through Student Services and an increasing number at programme level (Business, TRS, Art Management MA, Research Supervisors).[6] Sessions given so far have caused a good level of debate and discussion surrounding key issues, and I am regularly contacted by staff regarding technology options, especially the use of blogging for reflective practice assignments. I am working with the LTDU Team to enhance our communications strategy, raising the profile of the work that we are doing, internally and externally.

I continue to teach at an undergraduate level on ‘Manipulating Media’, a media studies module that emerged from TESTA, informing the innovative technology enhanced elements of the course, to positive student feedback. I have led the PGCLTHE module on ‘Innovation in IT’ since 2011, providing a mix of pedagogic theory and practical advice, encouraging staff to use appropriate technologies to enhance their teaching. I have worked with Kris Spellman-Miller and the Student Services team to develop SkillsNet, which allows students of all abilities access to skills materials 24/7. I work within a social constructivist model of learning and teaching, which emphasises participation, collaboration, democratisation, transparency, and student-centred activities. I have a particular interest in ‘the 21^st century learner’, their experience of technology, ensuring that they are equipped with appropriate tools for employability, which requires being at the forefront of technology developments.

The Wider National Community

I have developed a strong external Community of Practice with the e-learning community through social networking and conferences, both efficient ways to gain insight into the latest findings in the sector, but also spaces in which I contribute. I have raised the profile of the University through conference papers at significant E-Learning events, including the Association of Learning Technologists Conference 2011. I have extensive engagement with JISC, with whom I attend workshops, webinars, and was invited to become a member of the JISC Learning & Teaching Experts Group, and to be a regular super-delegate for its international online conferences. I was on the International Review Board for the Plymouth E-Learning Conference 2011.

I have editing rights to 10 Twitter accounts, with a potential reach of 10,000 followers across those accounts, including over 1600 on @digitalfprint, which consists largely of e-learning specialists, as evidenced in research undertaken with Dr David Rush,[7] I am known for my ability to create ‘buzz’ at events, including e-learning conferences, where it can be hard to stand out, and am attempting to do similar for Winchester events.[8] I am the author of a number of blogs, with combined visitor numbers over the past two years of 450,000, attracting invitations to guest blog, and a search for ‘Bex Lewis’ on Google links to my work for at least two pages. My (Winchester) PhD research alone has had over 300,000 visitors, which has drawn attention across the press, including the New York Times, the Independent and the Daily Mail, the BBC and speaker invitations on UCB Media and Premier Christian Media.[9]

In roles beyond the University, I am the Director of Digital Fingerprint, a social media consultancy that works particularly within the HE and Christian sectors, including digital literacy workshops for the Church of England. I run The Big Bible Project for the University of Durham on a contract basis, encouraging ‘bigger Bible conversations’, promoting digital literacy amongst Christians, a project extended to its third year because of the demonstrable impact on the Christian community. I have a growing profile as a speaker, including invitations to speak in Europe, at which my work at the University of Winchester is often mentioned. For more detail see: http://drbexl.co.uk/speaker/.

Funding and Publications

I wrote the bid, and am the project lead on a £10,000 JISC project to promote and embed digital literacies with the group ‘Organisational Development in HE’ (ODHE). I am also the Learning with Technology Specialist responsible for the implementation of programme-wide technology enhancements for assessment and feedback as part of the £190,000 JISC project, FASTECH. Previous funding has included L&T funding for SkillsNet, and co-leadership of the JISC funded BODGIT project with the ODHE which investigated institutional change, with a particular focus upon the issues we were having with the implementation of Wimba.

I have both populist and peer-reviewed publications. Specific to learning and teaching, I have two articles in Capture, a journal article on Twitter in Higher Education in the submission process, and have been commissioned to write a chapter ‘Programming Collaborative Learning’, in Marcus Leaning ‘Exploring Collaborative Learning’ (HEA). For more detail see: http://drbexl.co.uk/writer/

Future Plans

With the continuing interest in ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’. I am working on converting my PhD thesis to a monograph, tackling that tricky ‘popular-academic’ text. My time within the LTDU is defined by the JISC projects until 2013, and continuing to develop internal resources, opportunities to share practice, working towards further publication opportunities, and contributing to the teamwork of the LTDU. I am in discussions with Stella McKnight with regards to offering social-media focused CPD to local Winchester businesses, on a consultancy basis. If awarded the Senior Fellowship, I would be happy to do this as a part of this role.

http://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/lifestyle/richard-sale-from-somerset-levels-to-arctic-ice-sheets-1-345730

Anyway, drew my attention to this page:

What kind of person writes a book about Arctic wildlife, 18th-century surgery or the byways of Elizabethan poetry? Most of the readers, one might assume, will be within universities, so who will the authors be if not academics? And in general, no doubt, that assumption will be correct. Yet, just as many 19th-century country clerics produced important work on natural history, one can still find examples of “independent scholars” – people unattached to universities who venture more or less knowingly into academic territory.

Take the case of Richard Sale. He studied physics, stayed on to do a PhD and then worked in the nuclear industry until 1996, when he began to focus his efforts on writing and photography. He has now written more than 60 books, the bulk of them travel and walking guides covering fairly familiar territory such as Dorset and the Italian Lake District.

Read full story.

Yesterday was detox the wardrobe day with Hannah Jean of Find My Style. In my quest for transparency/authenticity, we will note that Hannah is my cousin (we lost touch for years, and got back in touch via Facebook), but this was a paid gig. One of the blog posts that convinced me to go for it was:

In image consulting, body shape is interpreted through the line that your shoulders and hips create. Ultimately this means that your body shape is based on your bone structure and alignment not on your weight. It does not matter how much you exercise to tone your muscle or how much weight you put on/take off: the basic frame of your body will remain the same. Read full blog post.

Post Beyond-Chocolate I have also been working on only having things in the wardrobe that I (kind-of) liked, but I was feeling I was getting stuck. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the day – was it going to be Trinny & Susannah, or a bit more Gok Wan? I’ve stayed with Hannah a few times recently, and we’ve talked about her work with Diva-Licious and Dove Self-Esteem, so I knew about her work with those who need to build up confidence in what they’re wearing.

It was quite an emotional experience, and I think took us about 6 hours in total (Hannah totally earnt her money, but we had fun too!). Over the past few weeks I’ve collected a few images relating to colour, etc. onto Pinterest, so we started by talking about those, with Hannah noting down the kind of words that were emerging as to what I want to see in my style, e.g. professional but not corporate, take me seriously, etc., with comfort still underlying it (otherwise I won’t bother wearing it, except for special occasions!).

We then went through my wardrobe, coats, then trousers, then skirts, then tops, then cardigans, etc. Hannah very much believes that wardrobes should work as wardrobes, so a load of stuff I had stored in the shelf above I have to find another home for. Occasionally we’d take a picture of something to see if there’s was an outfit in something I otherwise hadn’t worn much:

We then moved onto the stored stuff in the cupboard that doesn’t fit (I was keeping it for when/if I lose weight, but once we actually looked at it, it’s not great quality, or was suitable for a time in my past, but not now). It was, however, OK to keep some things that had memories attached to them ‘the posterity bag’. By that stage it was much easier to chuck things out. We came back to belts, bags, etc. and yes, I had a lot of cotton/hemp bags, scarves and all sorts, and as we’d done with t-shirts, could only keep enough that they would fit OK in the storage space I have (otherwise I don’t use them). A number of things have gone into storage cupboards, so that everything that’s accessible is ready to wear now. We then ensured that all the hangers were ‘size free’ – doesn’t matter what size it is – does it fit?! See here Hannah with the pile of stuff we moved out (sorry if you see anything you gave me, but we had to be tough!)

After 4.5 hours we’d had enough so decided to head into town, for a meal & the 45 minutes that the shops were still open for. Hannah’s a big believer in getting rid of things from the flat asap, in case you’re overcome by temptation to go back through and take things out (believe me – no – I’ve paid someone to come & do this, it’s taken ages, I don’t want to take it back out again… but apparently I’m unusual in that), so here you see – 4 bags into the clothes bin (they can make someone else happy) - there was also another bag of useless clothes into the rubbish bin:

Image by @findmystyle

Having bought a new top, cardigan, and some underwear (it’s important!), we zoomed off to  40th birthday party, where Hannah got to remind herself of how to Tango. We got back about 11ish, with my shoes/jewellery still to do! Whilst I uploaded final content for the new version of The Big Bible Project, Hannah lined all my footwear up (about 35), and we assessed which I wear. Anything that causes discomfort, or that I don’t really like (“but they were expensive”), went into another clothing bank bag, 4 went into a ‘wear them in with socks & see how you get on with them’, whilst all the rest were polished up, and lined up ready to wear!

The jewellery box that was rammed full of lots of “big” jewellery, tarnished stuff, things that people have given me that aren’t really me, mixed in with the bits that I like! We were pretty ruthless by this point (it was pretty late!), but I was introduced to the silver polishing cloth that I didn’t know I had… and suddenly things are back to life. Anything that looks past it, or is something that I no longer wear… off it went – someone else can enjoy it!

SO: now all I have left to do is sew back together a couple of things, ensure I keep things hung up, iron some stuff (IRONING?!), and make a collage of stuff I like to look out for future shopping trips! 

Writers have differing views of publishers. George Bernard Shaw once famously dismissed them all as “rascals…without being either good businessmen or fine judges of literature. The one service they have done me is to teach me to do without them”. My view of them, as an author of academic books, has generally been very different. I have greatly appreciated my relationships with several publishers and editors over the past 40 years. Almost without exception, they have been friendly, wise and helpful. It has been pleasant, too, to talk about one’s work with people outside the academy, who can bring a refreshing perspective to it. Authorship is a lonely occupation. We need help, encouragement, constructive criticism from people in the “real” world – and the occasional free lunch.

Read full story here.

2012: I currently have a number of roles, and a have a number of websites. This particular website is my personal site. The type of content you can expect to find on here is:

• Personal information, particularly related to life history and career.
• Interests. As a polymath and an ENFP, these tend to be quite wide-ranging, but include exploring life & trying new things, reading, travelling, Christianity, HE/learning, cultural history – particularly WW2 posters, the digital world, coaching, and…
• A digital scrapbook of things I’ve found interesting and/or want to keep a record of.

I started building these pages in 1997 as a means of experimenting with web design, and have continued to develop my skills in this way. In February 2010, the content was moved from www.bex-lewis.co.uk to www.drbexl.co.uk.

Michael Mack, reader in the department of English studies, Durham University, is reading Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking (Viking, 2012). “A fascinating book that counters our society’s obsession with groups. Cain does not take issue with extroverts as such, but with how being extrovert and gregarious has become a normative standard. An oppressive research climate now dictates that academic work must be done collaboratively, but Cain shows how lone researchers are more innovative and beneficial to society.”

Take from Times Higher Education.

If you have the right to vote, do it… even if you’re not quite sure who to vote for!

As birds fly south in the winter, so academics feel an irrational urge to go to conferences where they can exchange knowledge, along with the latest virus to have leapt from chickens to man. Global warming scientists fly around the world to warn others against doing so. Literature professors cross frontiers to talk about trans-nationalism and visit former colonies to discourse on post-colonialism as their rooms are cleaned by low-paid women working for distant corporations.

Young American PhDs talk of hegemonic patriarchalism and go to sleep muttering the names of French theoreticians. Germans lie awake waiting for the verb. Others spring into consciousness, paradoxically remembering that they had forgotten their memory sticks – and this in a country where computer keyboards know nothing of QWERTY, so that urgent messages home arrive as though fresh from an Enigma machine.

I find this saying an interesting one. I’ve done plenty (and still sometimes do) of talks,etc. for free, and others have done similar for me … the return is not ALWAYS financial, but can lead to reputation building which can lead to future work, or just a feeling of buzz for helping someone.

Where possible, however, it’s important to recognise that the ‘worker is worth his hire‘, and ethically to pay where possible…

This thought was triggered by reading an article in @timeshigered on headhunters asking academics to fill in on information (and TV shows will do this with academics also).