Message from your DE100 Tutor (September 2018), Steve
Hi Group
There are 13 of you in the DE100
Investigating Psychology in September 2018 I group (but only one of me acting
as your tutor) so I thought I ought to contact you in the hope you will contact
me back.
I hope the welcome letter drew you to
this blog. If you are reading THIS ONLINE you will see a picture of me with my ‘brain’.
If not see it by using this link: https://learn1.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/viewpost.php?post=213188
I call the brain on my desk ‘Brian’ and you
will also see a skull showing what I look like doing Online Live tutorials (with
my head-set)– my first one, which is for
the whole Cluster is coming up on Wednesday 10th October 09.30-10.30
in the morning. This just introduces you to the online tutorial meetings and
how they work – don’t be afraid, they can be fun. In the photo is also the
office I will sit in for our Adobe Connect (AC) meet-ups.
Write a comment to this introduction
blog if you wish - go on! It is lonely out here in cyberspace!
I hope we will get used to this as one
of the ways we communicate. But you can use my mobile to text or phone, email, or
phone call to my home number etc.. Follow me on Twitter: @steve_bamlett, though
only some of the postings there will be relevant to you.
I also look forward to Adobe Connect
live online and and face-to-face (F2F) sessions you can get to. You don't have
to come to mine but I'd love you to do so.
Here is the text of the welcome letter
I sent to you:
"To: new DE100 Learner in Steve’s
Tutor Group
From: Steve
Contacts:
Steve Bamlett
Email: s.d.bamlett@open.ac.uk
Home Tel: 01388 763331
Mobile: 07469616929
Twitter: @steve_bamlett
Hi everyone
This is my fifth year teaching on DE100,
and Psychology related courses (I also teach on SDK228 Mental Health:
Science of the Mind ). My career has been a very complicated one but
nowadays, I am all yours – having partially retired (from full-time work that
is).
I have lived in Crook, County Durham
with my husband, Geoff, and my demanding Staffordshire terrier, Ruby, who you
can see heading up my twitter account. My contacts are given above and I will
be delighted to hear from you if you have any issues with the course, or just
want to discuss anything or just be in touch. I have only one rule on contact:
don’t do it after 9 p.m. at night. (I turn into a werewolf!)
Since I can’t know if I’m going to be
busy, it might be best to arrange telephone calls with me by leaving a
voice-message on either home or mobile or texting me. Email is another good
way.
Whatever, if you are having issues –
deep and complex or simple – don’t assume I won’t be interested. I will!
Well, here’s my edited professional
life-story (told you it was complicated). I started my career as a Lecturer in
Higher Education, teaching English Language and Literature in Roehampton in
London (Now Roehampton University). However, when I moved to Durham with
my partner (40 years ago), I explored my options through taking Open University
courses, initially in social care.
After qualifying as a social worker at
Durham University (this was before the OU had a course) I worked as a social
worker in the statutory and voluntary sector, latterly with people who give
care for a relative or friend in the community or ‘carers’. So if you are a
carer – many OU learners are - I will know your issues a little, where I
specialised in work with people with mental health problems and / or a learning
disability.
During that period too I also completed
an OU Psychology degree and taught Psychology in 3 Further Education colleges
in the North East. I taught both A Level and Access to HE Psychology and wrote
a course on Health Psychology for online delivery by the University of
Northumbria.
My other specialism was working with
people who provide unpaid care for people they love and once worked for the
Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Derwentside.
The next stage was a return to
community social work in both primary care health settings with people with
problems with depression and anxiety and outreach community work with people
with severe and enduring mental health issues. After this I returned to
teaching at Teesside University, teaching Social Work with an emphasis on the
use of social and psychological issues in the understanding and work with
people who are undergoing difficult life-transitions.
Now 63 (October), and after taking
early retirement for a brief time and then returning to teaching, which I was
missing, with the Open University in 2014. I still however review academic
papers and articles for the British Journal of Social Work on
issues on masculinity or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and other areas.
I also continue my own study with the
Open University - you can never have too much of a good thing. I've completed
the MA in Open and Online Education and am now on my final year of a MA in Art
History.
From 2016, I use my Tutor blog-space
for communication my groups. (You are on it now) The address
is:
This should be a helpful resource. This
letter will appear in it. Hopefully, it encourages learners to do their own
blogs. My Twitter account is @steve_bamlett
I look forward to getting to know you,
chatting on the forum or on email – or meeting you if you attend my Face to
face or Adobe Connect (AC) online sessions. If you have never used AC, have a
go for the first one I mention above if you can. Contact me for help if you
want. Once you have been on once, all the necessary (rather lengthy) process of
downloading the software will have occurred.
But remember that if you have studied
with the OU before, things are now a bit different. I mark and send feedback to
you on all your TMAs but the Face-to-Face (F2F) and AC sessions based on the
TMAs are shared out within our Cluster – that is a group of tutor Groups so I
won’t necessarily be teaching you on this. You book teaching sessions based on
your availability. Although I’d love you to be present with me sometimes if you
can, you should make the choice of tutorials that is best for you – and
remember I’m there for you at the end of email, telephone, text etc.
All the best
Steve"
I hope to see a comment from you below
- even just a quick hello!
All the best AGAIN
Steve