Job Update

[quizcustodiet]

I got rejected from both of the internships at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology - one without even an interview. This is particularly puzzling, as the writing sample that I prepared was actually for the requirements of the one that I _didn't_ get invited to interview for; I kind of kludged it into the requirements of the other one just on the off chance I might succeed. But apparently not.

In more positive news, the Open University _does_ want me - to teach the course about atomic and quantum physics that I mentioned previously. So hurrah! This was celebrated on Friday evening with Belgian chocolate truffle cheesecake and dessert wine.

In other news, I've been continuing to enjoy Launchcast for its ability to provide background music somewhat suited to my tastes. Thus, five songs that I really like and would never have known about except for Launchcast:
1) 'I Don't Believe You', by The Magnetic Fields
2) 'God of Wine', by Third Eye Blind
3) 'Perfect World' by Simple Plan
4) 'City of New Orleans', by Arlo Guthrie
5) 'Zoe Jane' by Staind

Comments

[kht.livejournal.com]

Boo! and Yay! respectively. "Kludged" is a good word.

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And thanks again for your help proof-reading!

[awroe.livejournal.com]

Congrats.

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

Thanks! We must arrange to meet up, if nothing else so I can deliver your copy of Movies in 15 Minutes! I'm actually in Oxford this weekend, wonder of wonders - and tonight was the last squad practice, so I'll be free on Monday nights as well.

[midnightmelody.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! (And I also love Launchcast.)
Does Open University do much in the way of Virtual Learning Environments, by the way? I can imagine them either ignoring them or embracing them whole-heartedly, but can't decide which is more likely.

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

I'm not yet up on the DE jargon - don't have my Open induction for new staff until Epiphany. If a Virtual Learning Environment is what I think it is (homepage for instructor to update, message board for the students to talk to each other, storage space for course documents and collaborative projects, etc) then the answer seemed to be 'somewhat'. I don't think it'll be _very_ heavily used for a course like this one - the teaching comes through textbooks and DVDs supplied by OU, and I suspect most questions will be sufficiently fact-based that they'll want to ask me directly rather than discuss it with the group. But we shall see.

My mother uses something similar to what I described above for teaching her distance ed classes (mostly on ethics and philosophy of religion) and she loves it to bits - but then a course like that can make better use of it. For an arts subject, it's particularly good to have the instructor able to view the collaboration on group projects - avoids the diligent student having to do the work of four lazy ones!

[midnightmelody.livejournal.com]

*nods* Thanks, Ben, that's good to know.

[herringprincess.livejournal.com]

CONGRATULATIONS!

[quizcustodet.livejournal.com]

Thanks - hope that your party went well!

[herringprincess.livejournal.com]

Aye, I think so :-)

[borogove.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the teaching position!

I have really enjoyed Launchcast, although I could do with less commercials.

[joncooper.livejournal.com]

Oooh, congratulations!