A moment to reflect

Now don't fret kiddies, I have plenty of links to animation waiting in the wings, but surely before we get into all that for another year its an ideal time to take a look at the year that was and think about what may lie ahead.

Considering our Tafe course is encased within a huge bureaucracy I have been amazed at the rate in change over the past year. The face of education is on the move. Probably the most notable thing is the online revolution. Back when I first made some video tutorials in 2006 it took me weeks to make just a hand full, but something seemed to tweak this year. I think I reached a point where I realised that I didn't need to be so calculating and deliberate when recording myself, its was ok to just be myself (sounds obvious now). During the year I posted a little over 50 video tutorials on Blackboard (the secure online delivery system we use) for the 3D subject I teach. I'm making more for the year ahead, encompassing such other subjects like Motion Principles and Motion Graphics. Not that I think online edu is the be all and end all, infact I think it can often be inferior. The challenge is to find ways to use online content to enhance the course, you always have to keep an eye on the personal relationships you build, understanding a student can make you a much better teacher.

This year also saw my first stint as a tutor at QUT (Queensland Uni of Technology) teaching Motion Graphics. It was a real educational experience for me, I often felt that I was learning as much as the students. Things are still unclear as to the role QCA will be playing in my life in the future, but I'm happy to have had the experience there over the last 6 months.

Late in the year I won an award, Outstanding Educator at Southbank for 2007, picked out of several hundred teachers. Big thanks go to Terry for the nomination. I really think it was an award for our course more than just me. I believe our course now has one of the best (if not the best) combination of teachers, equipment and content on offer for those who want to study animation in Australia. We seem to be the trend setters within Creative Industries at the moment.

The Future? Well in spite of all these achievements it seems that still hardly anyone knows we exist. The final stats are not in yet, but last time I looked the increase in applications for 2008 was only marginally improved from the previous year when we struggled to fill the course. So its BUILD BUILD BUILD! As teachers (and students) we can’t run a marketing campaign or anything, all we can do is GOOD WORK. We have to believe that if all apply ourselves to being the best teachers and student we can that there is nothing we can’t achieve. I think that potential students across the state and even country should be clambering for a position in the Diploma of Screen in Animation, my hope for the year to come is that we make progress in that direction.