Reflection and Action

I’ve just wrapped up a series of presentations and writings for conferences, articles, article reviews, and book chapters – four presentations, three articles, two reviews, two conferences, two revisions of previously written work, and one award. It’s time to step back, disconnect, reflect, and re-set. While I am doing all these other related tasks that support my scholarship as I develop my presence as an academic, they don’t help me get the dissertation work done. These have impacted my planned schedule for completion of the coding and analysis work and may set me back in the writing of the dissertation. So it’s time to rethink my ability to do more than I think I can and refocus on the work that is required to complete the PhD journey.

To reflect on my actions in the previous weeks, I need to make a list of what has been done, what has been accomplished, and what each of these actions may mean for me in future actions and reflections.

Four presentations at two conferences

2, At OTESSA 22, the online conference was held as part of the Federation of Social Sciences and Humanities Congress (conference) where other professional groups through which I network and collaborate were also presenting conferences. The week from May 13th to May 2oth became packed with not only my own conference presentations, but other sessions that held interest for my research and scholarly work, as well as my teaching practice. Throughout the week, I was pulled in many possible directions, but knowing that some sessions were recorded was a way to make decisions about where to go and what to attend. Three sessions at OTESSA included:

• Warp and Weft: Weaving an Open Dissertation with Dr. V. Roberts and L. Havemann
• Critical Reflection: Open Reflexive Strategies to Redefine Academic Practices with S. Burnie
• Open Learning Design: Principles and Practices with Dr. V. Roberts and L. Havemann

Since these are now completed, I need to consider carefully if and when I should propose a presentation at another conference. This is critical since the OpenED conference proposals are due in just over one week.

Three articles – writing in action

As I continue to challenge myself with reading and writing, I have three proposed writings in various stages of production. The three articles I mention here as part of this reflection include:

• an accepted article proposal based on the Warp and Weft: Weaving an Open Dissertation as mentioned. This one is a co-authored piece where I have taken the lead in pushing toward publication, so I need to set up the writing schedule with a planned process for meeting and completion.
• an accepted book chapter on Educommunication in Canadian Educational Contexts – this is a sole authored piece that is semi-written with a draft outline, but needs additional research and reading before the full paper emerges in the writing. Since this is due in four months, consistently putting this in the forefront of the work will be critical. I am cautiously optimistic that this can be accomplished without interfering with the PhD dissertation work I need to complete.
• an article in process being written as a result of survey data on e-portolio use in a faculty of education which will be co-authored with two others who have had active involvement in the research design and action. The first part of the required writing is a report to the faculty council which will be held in September. The second authored work will be submitted for journal publication so will required more attention to the details and requirements for the selected journal.

These will continue to carve into the time I set aside for the dissertation work, so I need to plan and schedule this work in order to complete it satisfactorily within the given timeframes while honouring the foremost task of writing a dissertation!

Two reviews and two revisions

As a scholarly author, I have offered to review articles for specific publications as a peer-reviewer. I am completing the second of two reviews for two different publications. Being a reviewer reminds me that my critical analysis and insight offers a way for improvement of someone’s writing which may inform their scholarship. While completing these reviews I always consider the unknown author(s) behind the work, since these are blind reviews. I also have a review in the works for a GO-GN publication; something I’ve done twice before with positive results:

Farrow, R., Cardoso, P., Chtena, N., Cox, G., Czerwonogora, A., DeWaard, H., Iniesto, P., Kuhn, C., Peramunugamage, A., Pitt, R., Vladimirschi, V., & Weller, M. (2021). GO-GN Research Review (Winter 2021). In GO-GN Research Review (Winter 2021). Global OER Graduate Network. https://go-gn.net/gogn_outputs/research-review-winter-2021/

There are, from previous writings, two book chapters already pending. These are from previous writings and have been written, submitted to the editors, revised and edited, and are now in the process of going through copy editing in preparation for publication. One is about open learning design, hence the conference presentations to showcase the work already completed. The second is on cross cultural mentoring as a form of continuing professional learning and development (CPLD) and has emerged from my involvement in the Open Education for a Better World (OE4BW) project supported by UNESCO.

One Award!

I was one of three recipients of the OTESSA 22 Conference Graduate Student Awards. This was announced before the final full day of events, just before the keynote so many of the conference attendees heard the news. The remainder of that day I was congratulated on many occasions, both during sessions I attended and on social media channels. It is an incredible feeling to be recognized as someone who is doing scholarly work that is having a positive impact in the field of education, educational technology, and open educational practices. As I continue to work toward completing the PhD, I’ll look back on this week as one that will continue to shape my reflections and actions as I forge ahead.

Please don’t hesitate to comment if you find this reflection or the items it references of interest. Your reflection will add to my reflection in action.