Mountains...

MAPP DTP term starts here!

September, always feels like a good time to say 'Happy New Year' to everyone for me, as new terms begin in teaching, old students flying the nest about to embark on new adventures, new students starting out on a new journey...So, fair to say a fair amount of apprehension in the air this week?  

I'm not going to overload you with more to think about or to do right now, but ask you to just take a moment with the following quote.

You don't have to see the whole staircase.  

Just take the first step.

(Martin Luther King)

One step at a time, bite-size chunks...

Module Ones - taking a look at your CV, beginning to think about how you got here.

Module Twos - taking a look through your AOLs, beginning to hear what they're saying to you about your next step.

Module Threes - taking a look through your Research Proposal, beginning to ask those questions now through/of your research.

Blog addresses are all updated on UniHub (Learning Community folder) share your experiences, check-in with others...

Have a good first week : )

Being a student...

Following another great Skype chat with many of you on Sunday, I said I would post something here about being a student, looking not so much at the academic side, but your new status as 'a student' and what they may afford you in terms of identity, money saving, access to events etc..

So, first point of call is getting your Middlesex University Student ID card:
Once enrolled you can send a passport sized photo of yourself to me via email <h.kindred@mdx.ac.uk> and by return I'll send you a form to complete and return and you'll be issued with your Middlesex University Student ID card.
If you're local and want to call into the Hendon campus let me know and I'll happily meet you for a coffee and we can get your ID card, form filled, photo taken while you're here, it takes about 10minutes.

This card proves your status as a student at Middlesex, allows you access to the library on campus and to check out any books you may want to borrow,  but is not a recognised Student Card for obtaining wider discounts/student benefits.

For that, if you're UK based, you need to apply for membership with the National Union of Students (NUS).
The NUS website has a lot of information about life as a student, support, study, social life...and you can buy an NUS card online for £30, which will allow you to access a range of discounts on food, days out, clothes, cinema, exhibitions etc..  Follow the links to check it all out for yourselves and see if it is something you could use, there are lots of advertised discounts here, and you'll be surprised how many more you can get just by asking and showing your NUS card even when not advertised.

http://www.nus.org.uk

http://www.nus.org.uk/en/nus-extra/discounts/


For those of you not based in the UK, check out the NUS International Students page

http://www.nus.org.uk/en/who-we-are/how-we-work/international-students/

and look into the benefits for you of getting an International Student Identity Card;

http://www.isic.org/get-your-card/

Recognising your student status and allowing you access to a very similar range of discounts and benefits.

See how you get on with these and do blog yourselves about any other benefits you find to share with each other.

Helen

Skype for you...

A warm welcome to all of you joining us on the MAPP DTP this term!

It was great to meet so many of you at our Skype Induction this evening, and I look forward to talking with you all again soon and working with you on your journeys through the MA.  If you didn't make it onto skype this evening, don't worry, if you're reading this you've connected with us in some way and they'll be another opportunity to meet everyone on skype again next Sunday.

Given our growing community on the MAPP DTP, in number and location (which both Adesola and I are really excited about!) we thought it may be good to offer 2 skype sessions per month, one at a UK morning time, the other at UK evening time, to give you the choice to check-in at a time that suits you, and so that we are not too many voices in one epic call!

The skype sessions scheduled for this term are as follows; feel free to join when you can, put the dates in your diaries now and if you're online be a part of the call : )

All times are given as UK (London) time:

Sun Sept 21; 19.00 - all returning students to check-in and newly enrolled students welcome
Sun Oct 5; 19.00  
Sun Oct 12; 11.00
Sun Nov 2; 19.00
Sun Nov 9; 11.00
Sun Dec 7; 19.00
Sun Dec 14; 11.00

We won't hold a group skype over the winter break (Dec 19-Jan 5) but appreciate that Jan 5 is your submission date at the end of this term, so we will blog the week of Dec 29, with a hand-in check list and you will be able to contact your advisor that week via email also.

So, plan now for all new students ahead of our first week on Sept 29;

• Set up your blog and share something of yourself, your thoughts as you start on the MA (fears are good to share too!)  Email me with your blog address so that I can add you to the list on our Learning Community on Unihub.
• Think about your work/home environment and maybe try out where/how you think you can work effectively, be it out at a coffee shop, at a quiet time of day for you at home, getting an early start on your day before work...whatever works for you.
• Read through the Module Handbook, note down any questions you may have.
• Check-in with your advisor to make sure you are in contact, have the correct emails, discuss how contact may work best for you, be it email, phone, Skype...

Have a great week!

Helen