Life is work, work is life….or should it be ‘life is a beach’? I just don’t know anymore….most days here at our beach home are the same right now. I am not working in a full time position, and yet I work full time. I would like to be working (money is a requirement to pay bills) however my FT contract with CSU finished in December….and I am waiting (patiently?) for something to come up again this year.

I am working part time as an Adjunct, with two Masters level classes starting this week – about 50-60 students in total, so that will keep me busy. I am continuing to work on my business ‘Flat Connections‘ – with some new projects being offered and a new professional learning opportunity launching this week – ‘Online Global Collaborative Playbooks‘ – but although time consuming, this work does not warrent my full attention – the world generally continues to not want online global collaborative consultancy and all that I can offer right now – even the Victorian Education Department have not taken up my offer of a free webinar to local educators sharing ‘how to’ and first steps for online global collaborative learning in the classroom….I really think we are going backwards with online learning in K-12…..

Odd picture of me levitating on South Golden Beach – haha – the power that comes through completing a PhD

My full time ‘job’ right now is my PhD.

I have flexibility of hours….and yet I still spend most hours of most days in my study working. I would like to get on with my career in Higher Education (what career?)….but I have to finish my PhD, as that may be (should be??) the door to new opportunities. I would like to write another book (and have a publisher waiting for a draft outline)…..but I have to finish my PhD. I would like to get rid of this burden, this weight of study, this responsiblity of getting the thesis finished so I can ‘break free’…..but I can’t…..my PhD analysis and ‘originality’ is the hardest challenge I have had for a long time (possibly for ever!). I started to blog about my PhD journey – but now I find it is 3 months since the last post – oh! Fail, fail, failure…..

You can tell I am starting to get delirious? Just a little?

So…amongst all the other things coming across my desk today….most of which is PhD angst…..for some reason I thought looking back on blog posts from 10 years ago was a good idea! I have blogged now since 2006…..and looking back at February 2008 was quite interesting. Not wanting to bore you with too many details, I do want to share this little nostalgic journey with you…..

February 7, 2008 – What a way to turn the day around

I am the IT Director at Qatar Academy, Doha, Qatar at this time.  This post brings back memories of the many technical issues we had due to ‘those who know more than educators’ continued to block Web 2.0 tools and disrupt class activities. Wikispaces is topical right now given the announcement to close – I am still wondering how I can archive 200+ wikis before July…..BTW – there is a dead link in the post, the Flat Classroom 2007 wiki is here – http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/

Also, a couple of images are dead – in my excitement I posted images of the top of the  cake which was spectacular – BUT the pics had faces of some girls in my class – and they asked me not to post them online (of course!). The early heydey of Flat Classroom projects was exciting. Between now and when Wikispaces pulls the plug you can find all archives HERE and HERE.

February 18, 2008 – How to start shifting teachers: A successful model

Oh! The first time Kim Cofino and I worked togther – one of the very first consultancies she ever did – and look at Kim now! We were so excited to have Kim join us at Qatar Academy and share her expertise and passion. The PD model we started at this time has grown and developed since…..and is still a large part of how I approach workshops and professional learning with teachers – and how Kim does as well.

February 25, 2008 – Another look into the ‘Fischbowl’ of 21st Century Learning
Do you remember Karl Fisch? An amazing educator in Colorado and prolific sharer of learning. Google him – and you will see how wonderfully he permeated our lives and psyches 10 years ago. This post is about joining one of the ‘Fischbowl’…well actually ‘fishbowl’ …virtual sessions. I believe this is one of the most innovative uses of technology I was fortunate to be a participant in then…and since.

Thanks for making it to the end of this post…….

Julie Lindsay
Unemployed PhD student……Life IS a beach