User:Alison.kirkness

File:Dunedin Town Hall and St Paul's Cathedral My Learning4Content course home page

My profile

This is your personal user page in WikiEducator. Tell us a little about yourself ..... be bold and try an edit now by starting to fill out your user page. This is a great way to practice your new wiki skills :-). I live in New Zealand but spent many years workign and living in Germany - a second home. I've also spent many holidays in a tiny village in the South of France - a favourite holiday spot

RTENOTITLEProfessional background

 I am an academic developer at AUT University in Auckland, New Zealand where I work with staff to help them with teaching. I am a "newbie" when it comes to blogs and wikis and want to learn more. This is not the first time that I have tried to join a virtual learning community, but my contibution to a smart boards workshop was limited.  I'm looking forward to what this community has to offer and hope i can offer something. I particularly like the small but regular commitment in time required to take part.

Education

I studied languages at university and later taught both French and German but moved into ESOL teaching and ESOL teacher training  when I was living in Germany. In the last ten years I have been in academic development at a university in New Zealand with a particular responsibility for working with new teachers and teaching assistants. 

My interests

Professional

My professional interests are in the areas of language and culture and how graduate attributes like written and spoken communication in English and intercultural competence can be embedded throughout the teaching process. 

Personal

 I enjoy outdoor activities such as walking and canoeing. On wet days I am more likely to be found at the cinema or theatre or curled up with a book. 

My wiki projects

• I registered for eL4C41, a Learning4Content workshop to learn wiki skills. I am really hoping to become a more active participant in this expanding world.

My optional community service (learning contract) project

Agreement	By signing this optional learning contract I will try to complete my training in basic wiki editing skills to achieve the status of a Wikibuddy. In return for this free training opportunity, I will give the gift of knowledge by donating or developing at least one free content resource licensed under a CC-BY-SA or CC-BY license which can be used by myself (and others) on WikiEducator.
Brief description of project	<I'll write a section on why all teachers, including discipline teachers in higher education need to promote language skills in their discipline teaching.
Target date for completion	<I'll complete this by  the end of the WikiEducator course.
Signature	Alison.kirkness--Alison.kirkness 11:00, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Feedback and notes from my WikiNeighbours

• Dear Alison, Wow, you have made an impressive start. Keep adding content and you will soon be on your way of becoming a skilled WikiMaster. Warm wishes--Patricia Schlicht 04:27, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

• Hi Patricia, So pleased to read your feedback. I am deeply frustrated! I have tried to enter my intro ( and picture) twice already and can't seem to get it "accepted". Please tell me what I am doing wrong! --Alison.kirkness 09:31, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

• Hi Alison, where do you get stuck?..with completing the copyright box to get the picture accepted? Could you be a little more specific. On the frustration part, I completely hear you, in the beginning things can be a bit overwhelming. My best advice would be to take it slow, one step at a time and don't pressure yourself to get it right immediately. We all started just like you, and I contest to that, you will get it right. Well done so far, so keep going and kindly email me or inform me here, where I can help. Warm wishes--Patricia Schlicht 16:53, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

Hi Particia, I'll come back to you about the photo later. 1. Right now I'd like to check that what I have robotically filled in for "Your Preferences" is correct. I ticked (=checked) things that I really do not understand. Under files I've limited them to 800x6000 and thumbnails to 180px, I've ticked "use new upload form logic" and "use new form layout". I don't know what I'm doing with Pop-ups and toggles and whether my preferences are correct for a newbie.

• Hi Alision, you might be doing too many things at once. I would wait until you get to the point in the tutorials what explains how to do things and what to watch out for. You haven't done anything wrong, you have chosen

your own preferences by defining them. The new features you are referring to are relatively new and define how you will be able to upload images, to what extent. Hang on until we get to this shortly. Warm wishes--Patricia Schlicht 20:04, 25 July 2010 (UTC) 2. Should I be asking these questions here or in an email? By which method do you receive them most easily? One thing I enjoy doing with confidence is signing off!--Alison.kirkness 06:12, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

• Hi Alison, you can post the questions here as I have you on my "watchlist", see above and Click on "watch" when you want to keep track of your changes made on your own or others' page. Alternatively, you could post this question on the main workshop page under Wiki Discussions, and it will be addressed by any of the faciltiators. The choice is yours. Warm wishes--Patricia Schlicht 20:04, 25 July 2010 (UTC)
• Hi Alison, I am happy to see that you could finally add your introduction. It does take a little time to start but once you are at it you will be quick & innovative. Best wishes--Dr. Gita Mathur 17:15, 23 July 2010 (UTC)
• Welcome aboard,you are such a valuable addition to the wiki.Continue to steer ahead.--Vkizza 11:39, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Hi Neighbours, The encouragement is fantastic and (mostly) overrides the frustration! Many thanks. --Alison.kirkness 06:06, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

• Hi Alison, you have just earned your first Wiki Certification. Well done. Keep going. Warm wishes--Patricia Schlicht 03:03, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Hi Patricia, Discovered my certification almost by accident - just assumed I wouldn't be up to it! Thanks so much. Also, that long list of people you've been helping- what amazing patience. It makes me stay the course! Many thanks - I'm hoping for further progress and even enjoyment.--Alison.kirkness 05:39, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

My Sandbox

My sandbox

[[User:Alison.kirkness/wikieducator main page|

]]

[[User:Alison.kirkness/Wikieducator user page|

]]

yeah- finally managed!You can link your text to another page by clicking on the icon and using the correct syntax to introduce the link

yeah - again! Once you get the hang of it it almost appears logical.

/publications

Maybe I should be writing the content in learning for content

Done for today!