Reflection

Description
As previously described, my experiences in the APBOT module fell into three categories - mentoring, the webinar and mobile learning.

Mentoring was a totally new experience for me but as I already knew Nicky from a previous module I felt comfortable taking on the challenge. Nicky was also aware that I was mentoring for the first time so I think this made the atmosphere a bit more relaxed than it would have been with a compete stranger. Nicky and I began our mentoring with the best of intentions and planned to meet on a regular basis at least once a week and at the beginning did manage to stick to this. Unfortunately this soon developed into more sporadic meetings due to the work and family committments we both had.

Having had to rethink my teaching activities hosting a webinar was not something I had originally thought of doing. I had however previously participating in a couple of webinars so I had a rough idea of what was required. I looked at the theories of instructional design to help me plan my webinar effectively and also asked for advice from the IATEFL Learning Technology special interest group. Although I have taught large classes for many years doing the webinar was quite a nerve-wracking experience, perhaps partly because it was being evaluated and also because I was "teaching" my peers.

My research into mobile learning was done in part as preparation for the webinar but also in order to better support Nicky in my mentoring. I felt it was important that I was well-informed and therefore better able to advise Nicky regarding sources, interesting literature etc. This also acted as a refresher course for my own knowledge of mobile learning.

Feelings
As the webinar was totally new for me that is what had me feeling most nervous before the event. Once the webinar was finished I felt very relieved, even more so once I saw the feedback give by the students. With regard to the mentoring my relationship with Nicky was already good so mentoring her was very much like chatting to a friend over a cup of tea rather than actually working. Athough the mentoring sessions themselves were very enjoyable and rewarding it was unfortunately quite frustrating that we did not manage to meet as often as we had planned.

Evaluation
In the course of my normal teaching there isn't often a lot of time for self-reflection and evaluation. In order to make it a bit simpler I have decided to use a table to list what I felt were the good and bad points of my applied practice.


 * = **Good** ||  ||   ||   ||= **Bad** ||
 * < Webinar fitted the alloted time perfectly - time management was excellent. ||  ||   ||   ||< Webinar participants didn't have any questions or much to discusss after the webinar. ||
 * < Questions and polls added interaction to the webinar. ||  ||   ||   ||< Participants could have been involved more often to share experiences and opinions. ||
 * < Webinar covered a wide area of both theory and practice. ||  ||   ||   ||< Some topics just touched on - perhaps two separate webinars would have been better. ||
 * < Mentoring sessions were very informal and relaxed. ||  ||   ||   ||= Mentoring sessions were often cancelled or rescheduled due to work or family committments. ||
 * < GROW model was a useful basis for the mentoring process. ||  ||   ||   ||< No mentoring contract was agreed on. ||

Analysis
Although I feel the webinar went well I think there was room for more audience participation and this could have been achieved through additional questions, discusssion points or quizzes. The fact there were no real questions or discussion after the webinar could have several reasons, both positive and negative - for example, everything the participants wanted to know had already been covered, everyone was suffering from information overload and didn't know what to say or because it was nine o'clock and everybody wanted to finish as quickly as possible. Finding out the real reason(s) for this is probably impossible but it may be that choosing a different time for such a webinar in the future brings different results.

The mentoring process also went well in my opinion but wasn't as organised and well-structured as it could have been. The reason for this was largely my busy schedule and problems balancing work alongside studies and a new baby. The fact that Nicky was also busy with her job and family did not make this any easier. This resulted in the mentoring relationship not getting as much attention as it deserved.

Conclusion
Having never had three children before it was impossible for me to predict before the module began how big an influence this would have on my work and study time. Looking back at the negative points in my evaluation I think they can almost all be attributed to problems in scheduling and time management resulting from this new situation. The criticisms of the webinar are, I think, the result of my inexperience with this teaching format. Having now completed one webinar and experienced a few more I feel I am now better able to address these issues in the future.

Action Plan
The next time I am to act as a mentor I would definitely agree on a mentoring contract with the mentee at the beginning of the mentoring relationship. This would help make the roles and responsibilities of both sides clear. I would also ensure that the mentoring sessions took place exactly when planned as often as possible. When this is not possible I would ensure that an alternative session is arranged as soon as possible.

I found the webinar to be a very simple and enjoyable form of teaching. To avoid it becoming too transmissive I would like to include more interaction in the future. I feel it would also be useful to build a sense of community around a webinar by perhaps having a discussion board or other opportunity for participants to get in touch and discuss and share ideas both before and after the webinar. I was also surprised that the material I had prepared was enough to fill a whole webinar. Rather than being so broad but not very indepth, I think in future it might be better to split such a topic into two separate events, for example one on theory and one on practice, so that it is possible to explore the issues in more depth.