Options to keep the Book of Me – 2018 Series

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Julie Goucher
Book of Me2018

© 2017 Julie Goucher

News of the latest series has been met with real enthusiasm across the online genealogical community – thanks everyone for the support. A very quick poll in the Facebook group about 24 hours ago revealed that we have a significant amount of people joining this series who are brand new to the Book of Me – Welcome!

The Book of Me is a journey; YOUR journey. It is a journey of reflection, memories and connection with those who went before us and will connect with those who come after us.

I have always maintained that the Book of Me is YOUR book, and it might not even be a real book! There is no right or wrong way to respond to the prompts. You might share your responses via a blog, such as this one, or via a blog which is private, giving you the option to select bits for sharing if you choose to whilst having privacy. You might choose to have notebook in Evernote, or decide to keep your book in a large notebook or scrapbook or you might choose a mixture of all four.  You might decide that you will illustrate your Book of Me, drawings, copies of photos etc. There is no right or wrong way; it is whatever works for you and feels the most comfortable.

The prompts themselves are to make you think and share some of the basic details about ourselves. Things that might pass into oblivion at some time in the future. The prompts are open to interpretation, what do the prompts mean to you?

If you don’t like the prompt, you feel it is too intrusive or you don’t feel comfortable then move along to the next one that is OK! The first Book of Me series was delivered every Saturday for 15 months. Boy, that was a lot of work. The second series was released on the first of the month and there was one prompt, take it or leave it!

For this third series the prompts will be released once a month, on the 1st of each month, just after midnight UK time, so those in the US & Canada get them early and those in Australia & New Zealand get them a little later! There will be 5 prompts a month, so there will be a choice. You can do one, all five or any number in between. The choice is yours! The series for the forthcoming year has been themed and is simply called “Getting to know you!”

I have inserted a Book of Me link to the menu bar and that shows all the prompts for the previous two series. As we work through the months of 2018 the list will be updated. They will always be there, free of charge for you to use. If you decide to run a programme please give me a credit and acknowledge the Book of Me.

Depending on how you answer you may find there is a little bit of repetition. Not too much, but it does depend on how you answer the prompts.

The one thing I do want to stress is that I provide the prompts, the rest is up to you. There is no pressure. You work through the prompts at your pace, miss any you don’t fancy or perhaps select a different one from the earlier series if you want to. Share ONLY what you want to share or feel comfortable sharing.

A “safe” place discuss is the Facebook Group and only those who are members of the group can read the comments and participate. I am happy to discuss the prompts and give suggestions to how it might be interpreted and that discussion will be in the Facebook Group. I will answer any questions where ever they appear though.

I will be back tomorrow with an insight as to how I am keeping my Book of Me.

 

Posted in Book of Me, Book of Me - Series 3 Getting to Know You (2018) | Tagged | 2 Comments

Polio Resources

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Julie Goucher

Over the course of the last few years I have accumulated quite a few useful resources about Polio and Post Polio Syndrome (PPS). The following is a list of those resources listed in no particular order. This list of resources is often updated.

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Development Plans & SWOT Analysis

Posted on December 28, 2017 by Julie Goucher

Many employers undertake personal development plans with their employees. You can see and download a template HERE.

Personal Development Plans need to be SMART

S = Specific Goal
M = Measurable
A = Achievable
R = Realistic
T = Time Bound

swot

Image from Wikipedia

Simply put a SWOT Analysis is a personal audit and can be carried out for a product, place, industry or person.

  • Strengths: characteristics that give an individual or project have as an advantage over others.
  • Weaknesses: characteristics that place the individual or project at an disadvantage relative to others
  • Opportunities: elements that the project or individual could exploit to its advantage
  • Threats: elements that could cause trouble or be problematic for the individual or project
Posted in Continued Personal/Professional Development & Learning | Leave a comment

Personal & Professional Development

Posted on December 28, 2017 by Julie Goucher
cpd

Created J Goucher, using Wordle

The word cloud featured here is a representative of what Continuing Professional (or Personal) Development (CPD) is.

CPD is a journey. It is the acknowledgement of wanting to learn, progress, develop and to some degree share.

The CPD journey is an individual one. A team can undertake the same CPD activity and yet the result can be completely different based upon the aimed results, the skills learnt & shared.

There is always the interpretation of the learning experience that was unexpected and the fallout of that unexpected learning.

Mankind has always wanted to strive, develop and achieve more. This thought process is quite a natural one, yet every time within a professional arena the words of CPD are mentioned people head into a tailspin and feel confused and anxious. There really is no need.

The reality is that we, quite without thinking know when we need to learn something more. Whether that is by reading a book or article, planning to attend a training event or participating in a debate. We choose how we are going to learn whatever it is we have identified as needing to know. We then make a subconscious decision when we decide if we have learnt enough or we need to learn more.

An example of a CPD cycle

  • Reflection – think about practice in your profession or what you want to learn more about
  • Planning – how and when you learn and what
  • Action – recording what is learnt, attending an event
  • Evaluation – identification of the benefit of learning
The wonderful thing is that you can start at ANY point in the cycle.

The part of the process that can give us as individuals cause of self doubt is when we are required to record what we have learnt for say a professional reason. My advise at this stage is look at how you are required to record your CPD Cycle (this will be defined by your professional body) and systematically provide the details of your activity using these key points

  1. WHY you did what you did
  2. WHAT have you learnt
  3. WHERE you learnt  – training venue, article
  4. HOW you are going to use what you have learnt
  5. MORE – Do you need to learn more?

If you are completing CPD for personal education purposes then you can record using these methods either on a blog or in a journal or not at all if you prefer!

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Polio Matters

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Julie Goucher

I have written elsewhere on this site that my late Mum had Polio as a child. I had always been interested in Polio research and the development of Post Polio Syndrome and after Mum passed away in 2014 I researched a whole lot more. This page and a number of others are the results of that research. This was also located on another site and I am consoladating by moving it here, publishing it in line with the orginal date, back in 2017.

Polio is a infectious disease caused by three polioviruses. It is spread by person to person contact via the nose, mouth or infected faeces. After the initial contact the virus is shed intermittently in faeces and is then unknowingly spread through communities.

Upon entering the body the virus multiplies in the throat and intestines. It then heads to the Central Nervous System, where it can destroy or damage the nerve cells that control muscle movement. Sadly, this can lead to muscle paralysis of any part of the body and even in some cases death.

The majority of people develop flu like symptoms and in some cases those infected do not even realise that they have polio. For some it will get into the Central Nervous System and will cause inflammation around the brain, spinal cord, and brain tissue. This is known as Non-Paralytic Polio.

Polio can invade the motor neurons causing weakness, paralysis, muscle cramps and pain. This is known as Paralytic Polio. Sometimes Polio affects the brain stem causing problems with breathing and swallowing, cardiovascular problems and facial problems. This is called Bulbar Polio.

Those who contracted Polio may be left with varying degrees of weakness, paralysis, fatigue and muscle pain. Some have breathing or Orthopaedic problems. Some have made what looks on the face of it a full recovery and sadly some never recover. It is estimated that there are around 120,000 people who have had polio.

Polio has set the wheels in motion for a further event.

Post Polio Syndrome

Post Polio Syndrome is a neurological condition suffered by those some 30 or 40 years after the initial diagnosis of Polio.

After being stable or without any effects for many years, muscle weakness further develops in muscles not previously affected, there is increased or new fatigue,  muscle and joint pain.

Post Polio usually begins slowly, although there can be rapid onset following a trigger action, such as falls or surgery. Post Polio occurs regardless of age or Non-Paralytic or Paralytic Polio. As each symptom develops then this must be managed appropriately.

There is no cure for Post Polio Syndrome.

Disclaimer – The information provided here should not be taken as medical advice and is provided for information purposes only.


 

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Introducing the Book of Me 2018 – Getting to Know You Series

Posted on December 26, 2017 by Julie Goucher
Book of Me2018

© 2017 Julie Goucher

Having had a break during 2017 while I recuperated from surgery and a few complications the Book of Me is back for 2018!

There are a few tweaks to the set up based upon feedback from online participates and those who took place in a variety of physical and online workshops.

The prompts will be released once a month, on the 1st of each month. There will be 5 prompts a month. You can do one, all five or any number in between. The choice is yours! The series for the forthcoming year has been themed and is simply called “Getting to know you!” – as before, feel free to share as much or as little as you wish. Keep your book of me as you wish, online, by a series of blog posts, or in a handwritten journal, a scrapbook or a variety of all of those. This is YOUR Book of Me and you get to make up your rules!

I will insert a Book of Me link to the menu bar and that will list the prompts for the 2018 series, any dates for online workshops and a link to the two previous series.

Posted in Book of Me, Book of Me - Series 3 Getting to Know You (2018) | Tagged | 30 Comments

Vlogmas – Christopher Allen

Posted on December 26, 2017 by Julie Goucher

YouTube Channel – Christopher Allen

In the weeks leading up to Christmas I enjoyed Vlogmas from one of my favourite YouTuber’s Christopher Allen.

Christopher managed to vlog every day from 1st December AND work a fairly hectic and long schedule.

If you are sad that Christmas 2017 has almost come and gone then why not watch the vlogmas episodes HERE

Happy viewing!

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Sending Christmas Wishes

Posted on December 25, 2017 by Julie Goucher

“Remembrance, like a candle,
Shines brightest
at Christmastime”
Charles Dickens
Posted in Advent Posts | Tagged | 1 Comment

Creating a Learning Portfolio

Posted on December 24, 2017 by Julie Goucher

Course Structure

  1. Introduction to learning portfolios
  2. Learning portfolio tools and options
  3. Understanding the basics of a Professional learning portfolio
  4. Creating your own learning portfolio
  5. Review and reflections of learning
  6. Documenting your learning

Course Delivery

  1. The Course is delivered live via the Internet thus allowing for global participation
  2. Course length is about 6 hours (with some flexibility for comfort breaks)
  3. Maximum of 9 in a group – I try to run the event with those who are in the same time zone (WorldTimeBuddy)
  4. Cost is £75.00 / $100.00 (including access to video of event (restricted to online participants) and any PDF handouts)
  5. To see when the next course is in your time zone please complete the form below
  6. Payment will be via PayPal once an invoice has been issued.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Posted in Continued Personal Development, Continued Personal/Professional Development & Learning, Learning Portfolio, Presentations | Leave a comment

Advent Calendar 2017 – Festive Birthday (2)

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Julie Goucher

courtesy of greenowlcrafts.com

In the Northern Hemisphere, the 21st December is the shortest day of the year. From today, day light remains for a little longer as we trundle through the rest of Winter into Spring and then finally, and hopefully Summer!

The BBC reported  back in 2012 that more than 5,000 people arrived at Stonehenge to mark the occasion of the Winter Solstice. In 2016 that had risen to a staggering 20,000. A quick peek on YouTube revealed the following video. Never having been to Stonehenge for the Solstice I didn’t know you could get close to the stones for these special occasions, but when I was a child you could indeed get close to them routinely and touch them, nor was there an entrance fee.

Wherever you are, Happy Winter Solstice and it is just days away from Christmas! And also a very special Happy Birthday to my beloved!

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