Contextual Statement

Your portfolio should begin with a contextual statement – the kind of thing you might write in a cover letter for a job application. It should provide a concise biography, outlining your career history in relation to Learning Technology and your current role(s). Highlight briefly the operational context in which you work or have worked, and reflect on why you are submitting your portfolio for CMALT and how this relates to your future career aspirations.

CMALT 2019

Hello, my name is Debbie Baff. Thank you for taking the time to read my portfolio.

Current Role

I’ve now been working in education for more than 25 years across most aspects of both the student and staff experience. I’ve worked on both the administrative/managerial and academic side of things and have been a part-time student for as long as I can remember! My current role is as a Subject Specialist in Leadership and Culture at Jisc where I am part of the programme team for the Digital Leaders Programme (DLP). The DLP is designed to help organisations engage more effectively and creatively with digital technology and facilitate digital leadership development. I am the lead on the DLP and manage the programme which includes arranging sessions, planning and delivering content and interacting with participants. The programme takes place both in person and online, although it is mostly online still at the moment since the COVID19 Pandemic.

Before working at Jisc I worked at the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) as the Membership and Professional Development Manager. I was responsible for all membership services and also for running this very CMALT scheme! I had the absolute pleasure of facilitating the journey of many successful CMALT applicants over the few years that I was there. I hang my head in shame that it has taken me so long to pull my own portfolio together! Before that, I was a Senior Academic Developer at Swansea University in the  Swansea Academy of Learning and Teaching (SALT) where I was responsible for developing, supporting and embedding best practice in learning and teaching across the University. This involved supporting academic staff with CPD, HEA Fellowship applications and leading programmes, projects and services across SALT.  I taught on the PG Cert in HE Programme on the Technology Enhanced Learning module and was also responsible for managing the planning and delivery of the annual learning and teaching conference for the university.

.I have also been a Project Manager for an Open Education Resources initiative, Head of Student Registry, School Registrar, Deputy Head of the University Information Centre, Deputy IT Facilitator, a Student Support Advisor and Associate Lecturer. Each of these roles have given me a unique perspective into learning and teaching from both the academic and administrative side of things.

Interest in Learning Technologies

I have had a keen interest in Technology Enhanced Learning since 2001 when I started my MA in Online and Distance Education (MA ODE) with the Open University.  This led me to become an Associate Lecturer for the Open University on a short course for undergraduates called TU 170 Learning Online Computing with Confidence . I was awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (now Advance HE) in 2015 and am currently preparing my application for Senior Fellowship. I am a Certified Online Learning Facilitator. [ CP2]. I’m currently in my fifth year of my part-time PhD in E Research and Technology Enhanced Learning at Lancaster University. My working title is ” Exploring educators’ lived experiences of social support in private social network sites and the impact on wellbeing: A heuristic inquiry” [CP1  CP2] I describe myself as an Open Education Practitioner and am a proud member of the Graduate Open Education Resources Global Network (GO_GN) [♥CP3,📢CP]

Volunteer Work

I contribute regularly to the Education Community [♥CP3, 📢CP4] and undertake the following volunteer roles:-

Secretary and Co-Chair of the ALT Open Education Special Interest group

Committee Member ALT Wales

Committee Member Active Learning Special Interest Group

Member of the ALT Assembly

Conference Committee Member for various annual learning technology-related conferences of  #ALTC, #OER and #SOCMEDHE

Former Organiser and Facilitator for the community edition of #BYOD4L

Former Organiser / Facilitator for #LTHEChat

Editorial board member for the Journal of Social Media in HE

Editorial board member for the Research in Learning Technology Journal (ALT)

Curator for the National Teaching Repository

See my LinkedIn Profile for more info.

Why I want to achieve CMALT

It was while working for ALT the Membership and Professional Development Manager that I became determined to finish my own portfolio. I have seen first-hand the value of obtaining CMALT and having a strong commitment to professional development. Weirdly, however, I seemed to feel much more comfortable in supporting others to complete their own portfolios rather than focusing on my own, hence the fact that it has taken me such a long time to get mine in!

Pulling together my portfolio has been a labour of love and as an advocate for open educational practice, it is important to me to be able to share my work and experience with others. Achieving CMALT will allow me to do this and also gain recognition from my peers at the same time. I am therefore applying for CMALT accreditation to have my knowledge, skills and experience recognised by my peers

CMALT Principles and Values

I wanted a visible way of demonstrating these core principles and have adopted an approach that I have seen in other CMALT portfolios that are available on the ALT open register.

[ CP1] A commitment to exploring and understanding the interplay between technology and learning.

[CP2] A commitment to keep up to date with new technologies.

[♥ CP3] An empathy with and willingness to learn from colleagues from different backgrounds and specialist areas.

[ CP4] A commitment to communicate and disseminate effective practice

[ Ethics]  Ethical Considerations

The Long and Winding Road

Like many others, my route into Learning Technology has been quite a winding journey. When I left school, I didn’t go to university and ended up working for a firm of international property advisors as an administrative assistant. I was there about six months when I decided it might be an idea to train to become a Chartered Surveyor. I very cheekily suggested to my boss that it would be great if he could pay for me to do a part-time course and to my surprise he agreed to create a new position for me to enable me to become a trainee chartered surveyor and within less than a year I was signed up to a distance learning programme at the College of Estate Management at the University of Reading!  I then spent the next four years studying remotely ( in the days before the internet and working full time learning the ropes ) and passed my Diploma in Surveying in 1994 and gained chartered status with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1995. Sadly my excitement about this was short-lived being made redundant the following year. I was gutted! I decided that I had two choices, try and find another job in surveying which didn’t really seem feasible or take it as an opportunity to really take the time to think about what I wanted to do. I took the latter route. I had really enjoyed studying as a distance learner so decided to enrol with the Open University and see where life took me. I took part-time roles working to support my OU studies for a few months. Finally, it hit me .. education was the way forward .. and here began another story …

My dad was one of the first cohorts of the Open University in the early 1970’s. As a very small child one of my earliest memories is sitting with my dad early in the morning watching some of his lectures on BBC2. I watched my dad work on his degree over nearly ten years and I have him to thank for my love of learning and education.  I had already followed in my Dad’s footsteps studying with the OU for a BSc and later an MA in Online and Distance Education. I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in education. I got a job in the OU regional office in Wales. I was willing to do anything and spent time working in the postroom stuffing envelopes initially until I managed to secure a role within Student Support which I absolutely loved. I provided advice and guidance to new and continuing students on all sorts of things related to their studies, course choice and skills. I became interested in how students and staff could make use of technologies in learning and teaching, and took on an additional role as a Deputy IT Facilitator where I provided training for staff. I was then appointed as an Associate Lecturer for the Technology Department alongside my full time work. I eventually decided to start an MA in Online and Distance Education with the OU which I felt would help me pursue my education career.