So long, and thanks for all the fish!

“So long, and thanks for all the fish” – immortal words from Douglas Adams and ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’, a parting comment from the dolphins leaving Earth.

What has this to do with me? Well, I’m off, so … “thanks for all the fish”. After 5 years at Bournemouth University I am going to join the College of Social Science at the University of Leicester. I will still be a Learning Technologist, I will still be on Twitter and Facebook, I will continue my interests and research in and around eLearning, mLearning, ALT/CMALT, blogging, social media, networking, student experience, Blackboard, VLEs, Blogging, etc. I am looking forward to working with new colleagues in a new environment, finding out how other people manage and arrange their skills and materials, as well as seeing what opportunities for research, publications, and further study are available.

I know that Leicester is a big user of BlackBoard so I am among ‘friends’ and will be using a system I am familiar and confident with. The College is large with upwards of 11,500 students spread around 8 Schools and +50 programmes delivered in a fully online distance learning  approach (under-graduate, post-graduate, and PhD levels) – plenty of work to do there then! This is not to say that it’ll be all-guns-blazing and change-the-world stuff, oh no! First I will need to spend time getting to know the people and their styles, what is already being done and what, if anything can be done to empower and engage the College teams with technology.

For me and my family, exciting times. It’ll be hard to leave but I am so happy about the change.

So, to my colleagues and friends at Bournemouth, “so long … ” – Leicester is not a million miles away, come and visit and, as I have family in Bournemouth, I’ll be back every now and then so if you’re interested in a cuppa-and-a-cake let me know and we’ll meet up. For those I know in and around the Leicester area … put the kettle on!

Image Source