What an amazing day it was yesterday.  Meeting so many friends face-to-face for the very first time after three years of working together online.  So many highlights, where do I start? Well, firstly, being able to share the occasion with the people who mean the most to me - my lovely family.  It was amazing to see the pride on their faces when they saw me in my cap and gown (even though I kept putting the cap on back to front!) and after I'd been presented with my degree, Chris was at the back of the cathedral snapping my picture and giving me a hug.  Then there was the chance to meet up again with some of my closest friends from management - Shirley, Babs, Clare, Maureen - and yesterday for the first time, Annie, Colette, Catherine and Sheelagh (forgive me if I've missed anyone out!).  As well as meeting their lovely families too.  Then, to put faces to names of people who I only partly recognised through online photos or their individual fonts! It was great to meet you all.  But I wouldn't have got here at all if it hadn't been for Gina, Ken, Ali and so many of the lovely team at Ultralab - Tim, Hal, Jane, Jonathan, Richard, Maureen, Rex, Lyndsey, Mark (again, I'm sorry if I've omitted names).  The reception at the Saracen's was a great way to start off the graduation day - thanks to the team for arranging this. The ceremony in the cathedral seemed to go in a whirl and once we were seated after collecting our awards, I remember saying to Julie that I wish we could re-wind it and do it all over again!  And then the Vice-Chancellor's reception - perfect finale to a perfect day. 

But knowing me, the day couldn't go without a hitch!  After a lovely Thai meal in Great Dunmow and a drink back at the travelodge, we toddled off to bed shattered.  The fire alarm went off in the early hours and we all had to evacuate to the car park. Back to reality folks!

Our degrees have been confirmed and 140 cohort 1 researchers have successfully completed the BA (Hons) Learning, Technology & Research degree with Ultraversity.  Like many others, I have been awarded a First and am thrilled that all the hard work has paid off. 

So 9 days since the final module handed in.  How much have I managed to do in just 9 days?

2 days in Yorkshire - walked along the Penine Way and the trans-Penine trail - loads of wildlife to see and stunning scenery. 

A visit to Chatsworth House and walk along the river.

Gardening - re-designing the front garden.

Bank holiday Monday - we won the quiz night at the Bonnie Prince - John, Chris, Fiona & me - not bad for our first entry!

Yesteday, I set up a blog for one of the Year 6 classes and have done some handouts ready for the lesson next week.

Result from the Exhibition Validation & Defence came in last night - 90%.

Best Year 2 results - 92, 90 & 90 and  Year 3 results - 83, 90, 92, 90.  Final result comes out in a couple of weeks time.

And lots of time with my family ...

Well it has been a long and winding road - but hopefully has led to the door of graduation .

As the final module wings its way to my LF, I can't believe I've finally done it.  The last self-assessment module has been the hardest of all - a tortuous self-analysis of our graduate skills.  Talk about trying to shove an enormous square peg into a pinprick of a hole.

Time to re-charge the batteries and off to see The Beautiful South in concert tonight and then a few days in Yorkshire at the weekend.  A week off to chill & relax and then, maybe, start to think about where I go from here. 

In less than 3 weeks time, the last module will have been handed in and (hopefully) a degree will be forthcoming.  It has been hard work juggling the commitments of a degree in 3 years with a full-time job, family and social life.  Did I say social life?  How silly.  Anyway, the events of the past 3 years have become blurred and whilst lying awake last night/this morning, I treid to think back over things that have happened in my life during those 3 years - losing a good friend to cancer, suffering the loss of both a father-in-law and then mother-in-law, having my only sister undergo a stem cell transplant, watching my son graduate, seeing my daughter fly high with her GCSEs, seeing a nephew and niece get married (and my daughter being a beautiful bridesmaid for the first time), having my job transformed as part of the remodelling process.... I could go on and on.  The point I'm trying to make is that as mature students we've probably had much more to deal with than your average 18 year old student whose major worries are tring to withdraw from an already overdrawn bank account and deciding whether or not to leave it another week before they dump their washing on their mum (I'm speaking from experience here).  Well, I could have done that at 18 but chose not to, so no complaints.  Wonder if I'll get withdrawal symptoms after 22/05? 

Feeling more positive today than I have done for a while - we are SO close to finishing it almost seems unreal - less thank 8 weeks from handing in our final module.  Third module is complete and  ready for submission (hold the front page ... just in case) and have started to sketch out a plan for the fourth module. 

Have drafted my article and put it in the community and my learning set for any comments - Annie and Sally have responded positively and I'll show it to the Head tomorrow and then submit it to the editor, hopefully for publication.  Have never been asked to submit an article for publication before and am apprehensive about how it will be received. It might not even be used, but being asked was a good feeling anyway!

Went to see Van Morrison in concert a couple of weeks ago at Nottingham Concert Hall.  I've been a fan of Van's for many years and we weren't disappointed.  Listening to his new CD Pay the Devil.  The Beautiful South are playing at The Assembly Rooms in Derby in May and I've booked 17 tickets for staff to go and see - can't wait as these are another of my favourite bands.  Last (but not least) have got tickets for Hannah and me to see Will Young at Nottingham Arena in September.  My poor plastic flexible friend...

Now the exhibition is out of the way, a sense of normality has returned to my life & work.   Too much build up and hype - I'd have settled for a full blown dissertation instead.  Anyway it's out the way now and I've finalised my report - which leaves 2 more to go - which I haven't looked at yet.  Taking a break this weekend - have had a really tough time at work over the past couple of weeks and coupled with Ofsted and university work, time out is called for!

I've hit a low point tonight.  I'm trying to find something positive in my exhibition and I can't.  Should I have done a real-time presentation instead of an online one and a static exhibition in school?  Why use an exhibition to disseminate the findings anyway? This medium surely suits some research more than others.  Maybe I'm just not cut out to present my findings this way.  I feel so fed up with the whole thing right now. I'm beginning to wish I'd chosen something different for my action research. I hope this is a temporary feeling ...

Today was intended to be the final day for both my online presentation and static exhibition....but in the words of Baldrick...I have a cunning plan...

More interest today than on previous days and promises of feedback given.  One thing I hadn't thought about was counting visitors to the online exhibition - I should have installed a stat counter.  This would have given me an indication of how many parents had taken the time to look at it and at least give me an idea of the level of interest in my research - even if no feedback forthcoming.  I am relying on feedback sheets to gauge the visitors and several parents told me they'd looked at the online exhibition but hadn't filled in a feedback sheet.  

So, how to maximise visitors to the static exhibtiion.  I've already discovered that a lot of parents can't come into school during the day due to work commitments - but one thing they mostly do come in for is parents' evening.  Next Tuesday, between 4.30 and 7.00 pm, is parents' evening and although I hadn't planned for my exhibition to be still running, every parent who attends will have to walk past the area where my exhibition is in order to get to their child's class.  I therefore decided to keep my exhibition running until Wednesday....until 11.50 am today when we received a phone call to say that Ofsted inspectors will be visiting us next Wednesday and Thursday... so, do I remove my exhibition before then? No, I've been asked to keep it in place so the inspection team can see it.