This week has been about planning for the academic year ahead. Thankfully Black Adder and Baldrick have not been involved.

Monday’s Town Hall was a good opportunity to find out more about how it is hoped the coming year will unfold, recognizing that much uncertainty remains. It was heartening that so many international students attended the Online Orientation Sessions. The resources on the Learn Anywhere site were invaluable in preparing for the Learning Digitally session, and I’m glad I took the time to revamp my session on Studying in Canada. I applied new learning about creating cleaner / more accessible Power Point presentations, engagement activities for larger groups in a virtual environment, and focused on the ‘less is more’ principle.

I enjoyed seeing colleagues at Tuesday’s Welcome Back event – there’s the intangible human element that currently is hard to replicate in a virtual environment. I also noticed that as more people joined Terri and I at our table, the greater my anxiety grew. It’s more than 18 months since I’ve been around so many people. It’s a good reminder that just as we as instructors may be struggling with these reactions, it’s likely so are other colleagues. Students who have not been in face-to-face learning for the past year are likely to experience a range of feelings and emotions. As always, it’s a time to remind ourselves to practice kindness and compassion, to ourselves as well as others.

Wednesday began more slowly as I didn’t’ get much sleep due to waking up in the middle of the night with a major headache. I was able to help an OGE colleague with a Media Space query, which made me reflect on what I’ve learned (and remembered!) about technology over the last 18 months. Becoming more technologically literate was on my professional development plan before the pandemic started. I didn’t envisage being thrown in the deep end, but I managed to swim with the current, so it’s working out. I have much still to learn and am excited about new challenges.

In revisiting the Teaching and Learning Intercultural Strategy I created in June, to map out my Global Learning (GL) activities for the next academic year, having an updated / revised  list of  Global Learning Facilitator Duties and Responsibilities has been helpful in considering what and when to place my focus. As I cross-reference both documents, this will  help me ensure I’m addressing each aspect of my role, how I’m doing that and when. This will help me ‘stay on track.’ I’m very much looking forward to all the collaborations across the college. Next week Story Circles!