I’m a Learning Technologist, Web Developer, Web Applications Developer, and E-learning developer, with some 20 years experience in these fields in UK universities.
I worked as a Learning Technologist at the School of Nursing, Midwifery & Physiotherapy at the University of Nottingham, from September 2003 to July 2012 when I was made redundant. Previously, I worked at the University of Hull Language Institute for 10 happy years, on various fixed-term projects in Computer-Aided Language Learning (CALL), the money for which ran out in 2002 when I was made redundant.
My personal interests include, but are certainly not restricted to:
Languages: Italian (near fluent), Scots Gaelic (intermediate but getting better), French (intermediate, rusty but serviceable), plus a little Spanish and even less German. I maintain a strong personal interest in languages through managing the EUROCALL organisation’s website in my personal time as a pro bono project, and sporadically maintaining the CALL@Hull collection of languages sites.
Reading: Italian history and culture, Gaelic history and culture, Science Fiction, some literary fiction, and the occasional crime novel as long as it’s got a sense of place and society (eg Ian Rankin, Denise Mina, Henning Mankel)
Out and about: I do a lot of hillwalking, particularly in the Highlands of Scotland when I’ve time to get there, otherwise I like to tromp t’ South Pennines, and occasionally venture into the Peak District. I very occasionally manage to get long bike rides in at weekends.
Food and drink: I have a real passion for cask ale, and am a non-active member of CAMRA. I do enjoy cooking when time permits, usually spicy meals from fresh, primary ingredients.
Brain food: I solve cryptic crosswords when I’m of a mood, and read the Bridge and Chess columns in newspapers. I used to play both games in my youth, but just don’t have the time to be actively involved in them these days.
Photography: I’m a keen and prolific amateur landscape photographer and have a large portfolio of pictures taken whilst out hillwalking over the years, of pretty variable quality. Occasionally I strike lucky, and some of my better efforts can be seen in the photography section of this site and on my Flickr collection.
