DPM.me.uk – David Massey Online | Learning and Training | Coaching
Focusing on post-16 education, learning, training, e-learning, IT / computing and technology
I am pleased to announce I have been awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring qualification by Plymouth Marjon University.
The programme consisted of the following modules: Advanced Coaching & Mentoring and Coaching & Mentoring in Practice.
Please find below a selection of learners’ comments, feedback from learner reviews, surveys and course evaluations I have carried out and received during 2013-2014.
“The course has been extremely informative and fun and I have had a mass of valuable help throughout. As always everything has been explained to me clearly and I’m in no doubt of what to do next and know I’ll receive all of the help and support that I need.”
“Constant friendly support on areas where I occasionally got confused with questions. Helped explain questions when wording was confusing.”
“My tutor has helped me, the feedback I received was very helpful and pointed me in the right direction if I was stuck on something. I have also found the support very helpful.”
“I had very good support and feedback from my tutor, I’ve enjoyed the training I had been given.”
“Tutor has helped explain queries on how to look at things to make problems easier to work out and used feedback from tutor to enable me to understand some of the questions.”
“I was helped when needed and given clear instructions to enable me to progress through my course.”
“I have found my tutor very helpful and understanding.”
“Very good support and assistance when required.”
“My tutor has been really good and has helped me when I have been stuck.”
“I have had positive feedback on my course and help with things I was unsure about to help me progress.”
For further testimonials and references please visit www.dpm.me.uk/cv
In March 2013, whilst re-visiting and travelling around Florida I was fortunate enough to experience a rocket launch. The purpose of this rescheduled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch was to replenish supplies and take equipment to the International Space Station (ISS). This was an unmanned cargo flight contracted to NASA that had been delayed after previous launch attempts carrying the Dragon spacecraft and launched at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on 1st March 2013.
Even though the weather was overcast it didn’t spoil the atmosphere and experience that was enjoyed by many including locals, space enthusiasts, media and press with everyone cheering the successful launch into orbit. I managed to drive to one of the nearest public viewing points available which is known for being one of the key watching spots and areas for seeing launches from NASA Space Kennedy. In the video I captured, the glowing exhaust trail of the rocket is shown in the distance, although unfortunately the video is not close up due to not having better camera / zoom facilities on the day to zoom in closer. In the background, you can also hear the numerous shutters clicking on the cameras of everyone else present as well as the film crews.
Due to getting this opportunity to experience a rocket launch, I feel I’ve fulfilled one of my all time childhood and life ambitions to watch a rocket in real life. If you happen to get the opportunity to see a rocket launch then I’d highly recommend it, even if it’s on a cloudy day as I experienced!
View the embedded video clip below:
I am pleased to announce I have successfully achieved and been awarded Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) professional status by the Institute for Learning (IfL). Although it was not required for me to undertake Professional Formation in order to be awarded Licensed Practitioner status as teachers who were employed in the sector before September 2007 are not required to achieve QTLS, I completed Professional Formation to further demonstrate currency of teaching and learning practice as well as my commitment to ongoing Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Supporting testimony comments received regarding my Professional Formation application included:
“I believe that David should be awarded QTLS. He is a good teacher across a breadth of subjects. During his studies on the L5 Numeracy Diploma he has demonstrated the ability to plan for and reflect on his practice, develop new strategies and evaluate the progress of himself and his learners. I have observed David several times throughout his studies where he has considered individual needs within a group context and effectively linked theory with practice.”
Comments received following review and moderation of my Professional Formation application included:
“David, thank you for your comprehensive webfolio application for QTLS. You have provided extensive evidence in both the standardised and personalised elements which supported your application and demonstrated excellent professional practice.
You displayed a real interest in your subject area and your drive for improvement in support of your learners is clear within your application. You have attached a range of materials which provided evidence of your practitioner skills. Your use of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis was an excellent method for exploring development needs in relation to professional development planning. It was gratifying to note your structured plan designed to support your professional updating. You have shown that you have embraced the key concepts of reflection and evaluation, and allowed those concepts to inform your practice.
We are delighted to tell you that your application has met the criteria in all respects and congratulate you on gaining QTLS and we wish you well in your future career.”
Unfortunately, for the second time within two years I find myself in the unfortunate position of looking for work during these difficult economic times, due to being once again made redundant due to centre closure where I previously worked. I am a qualified post-16 Tutor / Trainer, learning practitioner, educator and IT specialist based in Plymouth, UK. If any prospective employers are interested in utilising my skills, experience, knowledge and qualifications in the areas of delivering, managing and supporting e-learning, learning and development, training, project based roles, IT and Internet or any other relevant vacancies then please view the following work related activities and content available on my website, blog and other social media that maybe of interest.
I thank you for your interest and look forward to hearing from you regarding any possible job opportunities.
UPDATE: Since this blog post was published I have successfully secured employment.
Please find below a selection of learners’ comments, feedback from learner reviews, surveys and course evaluations I have carried out and received during 2011.
“David was always available during my sessions and I found him to be very knowledgeable and approachable.”
“Willing to give time to any questions raised by me.”
“David explains everything whenever asked…was very helpful, very polite and very encouraging, nothing was too much bother, he was great. David’s support with additional help was outstanding, I struggled with some modules, but everything was explained whenever asked, excellent tutor.”
“Cheerful and helpful.”
“Great course – teacher very helpful and easy to talk to.”
“Knowledgeable and friendly.”
“Assessor always helped identify any additional help…a well run and supervised course…excellent tuition.”
“Very patient.”
“David was really helpful, friendly and made me feel at ease.”
For further testimonials and references please visit www.dpm.me.uk/cv
I recently received the following testimonial of my work from Pipex Limited, who I have been working with since November 2010:
“David Massey has been working closely with the staff involved from Pipex since November of 2010 in his role as tutor and advisor on the training involved in the E.C.D.L computer literacy courses. David has made a great impression on all members of staff with his dedication and attention to detail he is always available when help or advice is required and has been invaluable to the students involved, it has been a pleasure to work alongside David and in no small measure his endeavours have resulted in many of the students achieving their targets. We have found David’s flexibility and problem solving to have been a great help during our time working together and would have no problem recommending him for any future or similar positions.” Quality Control Inspector, Works Director and Operations Manager
I have been working with this employer on site at their Head Office based in Plymouth to advise about the best solutions for their training and learning needs, deliver, support IT courses and qualifications as well as carry out testing. Training and learning opportunities delivered include the BCS ECDL Essentials, ECDL Extra, OCR ICT Skills For Life: Entry Level Certificate and Adult Numeracy: Level 1 and 2 Certificates utilising a flexible approach to suit the workload of staff.
Pipex Ltd is a successful award winning innovative company who design, manufacture, supply and install a variety of products from warship piping to wastewater products. They recently published a news article on their website regarding the first members of staff to complete the qualifications I’ve been delivering and supporting, as shown below.
I still continue to work with staff at Pipex and the positive relationship continues. I wish them continued success with their course and working towards the qualifications.
To view further testimonials and references please visit www.dpm.me.uk/cv
The first HP webOS OTA (over the air) update is now available for the TouchPad in the UK and elsewhere in the world. The update was originally promised to be released before the end of July and has finally been released on 1st August, which isn’t too long after the original date! The 3.0.2 update includes the following improvements:
An update notification should appear on your TouchPad device alerting you of the update or you can alternatively manually check and start the download and installation by accessing the System Updates app.
Other enhancements include the inclusion of a Clock, which includes different clock themes and alarms and Calculator apps. OTA updates remain an innovative and excellent feature of the TouchPad as well as other electronic devices available today, where the user is able to update the device software, allowing new features, applications, improve performance, important system and security updates as well as further enhancements to be added.
Below I have included a brief walkthrough of the stages involved in the OTA update:
Finally, although it hasn’t been included within this update, I would like to see the ability to create individual launcher pages added in a future update, which I feel is a useful needed feature and would work like the original Palm OS launcher pages, where you are able to name and group applications by their category, for example: productivity, utilities, personal, multimedia, games, social media, downloads and settings. Another improvement that could be made is to be able to manage web bookmarks more efficiently within the browser, for example being able to create folders to categorise saved sites rather than just one long bookmark list at present.
Other blog posts of interest: Using Tablet Devices in Learning, Teaching and Education
Having completed the Level 5 Diploma in Teaching Mathematics (Numeracy) in the Lifelong Learning Sector course which I have attended at Cornwall College St Austell, I have now been awarded this qualification as a qualified numeracy subject specialist tutor / teacher. This is awarded by University of Plymouth.
Below is a Wordle word cloud, which features a variety of key words from testimonials and references about my work. A word cloud is a visual illustration containing words from a particular source and the bigger the word the more times it has been mentioned within the source. This provides a quick way of seeing a selection of key words featured on the references received. To access my Online CV click here for the full list of testimonials and references from a variety of sources, colleagues I have worked with as well as comments from learners. Click on the image to enlarge the word cloud.
DPM.me.uk - David Massey Online | Learning and Training | Coaching