Author Archives: sarahjalcock

Ever have one of those moments where you suddenly remember why you started this? “This” being a PhD. That’s what happened to me when I joined the TEL Researchers online session with Dave Cormier (soon to be available via their YouTube Channel). Hearing the introduction took me back to 2020, the second year of myContinue reading “Flashback and disconnects”

In the midst of data collection, conference season at the Open University has saved me from inverting into myself and my PhD project. Starting with the student organised Spring Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) conference in March, at which I was the first presenter in the first session (eek), it has been incredibly refreshing to have bothContinue reading “Conference season”

The Learning Analytics Knowledge (LAK) conference is one of the premier research forums in Learning Analytics. Created by the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), it is an open and welcoming space, offering researchers and practitioners alike an opportunity to showcase their work and exchange ideas. SoLAR is an open research community, with conference papersContinue reading “LAK23”

Mental health and well being awareness is becoming pervasive, and academia is no exception. I am writing this blog at 3.30pm, and I’ve just had a bath. A deep bubble bath, in which I read a few chapters of a gothic horror novel (Bone China if you’re interested). In the middle of the day, onContinue reading “Knowing when to pause – a reflection”

Conferences, poster sessions, mini-vivas… oh my! It’s been a busy few months. I’ve written and talked about my research, a lot. I’ve loved it. My most recent conference presentation was at The Open University’s Computer and Learning Research Group 2022 Conference. It was a great opportunity to share my research plans and as it wasContinue reading “CALRG 2022 Conference Presentation”

The time has come to start writing my first literature review as a PhD researcher. That means all this reading I’ve been doing needs to be critically evaluated, on paper, for someone else. If I do it well enough, I get to continue with my studies. It also means I’m reading my notes from theContinue reading “Reflecting on reading”

I feel like I’ve been a PhD student forever, and at the same time I know I have barely started. The pile of reading is certainly not getting any smaller; I have to remind myself daily that it won’t for some time – and that is fine. That is the point. I have 10 yearsContinue reading “(nearly) 3 months in… a short reflection”