Personal Blogs

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 10^th 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