I have always liked the appellation Webmistress, and I knew when I gave up teaching for money in 2007 that God was steering me into helping Filey Parish to have an online presence.
I found it hard to get enough work when I moved back to my native county in 1992 with three teenagers and a Londoner for a husband. Teaching when there is a shortage of jobs is as hard to break into as any other profession. I was not prepared to work 30 miles from Filey in Hull . I needed to get to work on Public Transport when necessary, and knew my limitations, couldn't do languages, and not able to Word Process.
I got in by the back door- and never turned Supply teaching down , until after a few years the head of Hilderthorpe Junior School, Steve Robinson, Bridlington, gave me a Part time contract . He will never realise what a significant affirmation that was. I filled the rest of my time up as wisely as possible.by going to as many Adult Learning Computer Classes as possible run just around the corner here at the Evron Centre by Yorkshire Coast College.
So I started with Text Processing, then Desk Top Publishing , then Spread Sheets, then Databases and with no computer at home.
This was the start of my adventure.
Internet skills were then started at Filey Library with the BBC Webwise CD, and the librarian set me up with my first e Mail Account with Yahoo in March 2000.
I was given an old Viglen and this faithful friend along with a Monitor the size of a microwave and the gift of a £25 Printer kept me going until my retirement from the East Riding, when I was able to buy my first laptop, and afford Broadband. I picked up a MiniMac along the way, which I still use, and the printer is still going strong. My little family has grown, a scanner and an iphone and a netbook for trips to London. I have just had a new Hard-drive on the laptop, and an Old IBM has gone. I am looking forward to being able to afford a Mac Air and an iPad. This reads like a boring list but I am leaving it as all nerds and techies like me will enjoy it.
My part time job in 2001 became full time for the next 5 yrs and only because I was now Computer Literate and able to use my School laptop, post all my lesson plans to the Head via the Server , use the Computer Suite with all my classes, and joy of joy use an INTERACTIVE WHITE BOARD. I realise that I was ahead of the game. I know that Steve Robinson is about to retire himself soon as he reaches 60, so I am publicly thanking him for giving me a Chance . All the skills I had to use teaching ICT have not been wasted. I try to realise that 12 years ago I hardly knew what a tab key was and had no idea how to blog .
Now my chief retirement job as a webmistress of the Filey Parish Blog, trained by blogfathers Simon Rudiger and Pete Finch has brought me to my 4th season of Lent . God and I have plans.
This post was going to be about Hockney and Word from Wormingford.That will have to wait.
If any of my regular readers would like to contribute a short blog post for Lent on the Filey Parish Blog, please email it to me< margaretsudtone@yahoo.co.uk>-read the post Sexagesima and the Beatles first !
This was the start of my adventure.
Internet skills were then started at Filey Library with the BBC Webwise CD, and the librarian set me up with my first e Mail Account with Yahoo in March 2000.
I was given an old Viglen and this faithful friend along with a Monitor the size of a microwave and the gift of a £25 Printer kept me going until my retirement from the East Riding, when I was able to buy my first laptop, and afford Broadband. I picked up a MiniMac along the way, which I still use, and the printer is still going strong. My little family has grown, a scanner and an iphone and a netbook for trips to London. I have just had a new Hard-drive on the laptop, and an Old IBM has gone. I am looking forward to being able to afford a Mac Air and an iPad. This reads like a boring list but I am leaving it as all nerds and techies like me will enjoy it.
My part time job in 2001 became full time for the next 5 yrs and only because I was now Computer Literate and able to use my School laptop, post all my lesson plans to the Head via the Server , use the Computer Suite with all my classes, and joy of joy use an INTERACTIVE WHITE BOARD. I realise that I was ahead of the game. I know that Steve Robinson is about to retire himself soon as he reaches 60, so I am publicly thanking him for giving me a Chance . All the skills I had to use teaching ICT have not been wasted. I try to realise that 12 years ago I hardly knew what a tab key was and had no idea how to blog .
Now my chief retirement job as a webmistress of the Filey Parish Blog, trained by blogfathers Simon Rudiger and Pete Finch has brought me to my 4th season of Lent . God and I have plans.
This post was going to be about Hockney and Word from Wormingford.That will have to wait.
If any of my regular readers would like to contribute a short blog post for Lent on the Filey Parish Blog, please email it to me< margaretsudtone@yahoo.co.uk>-read the post Sexagesima and the Beatles first !
Wow Margaret, you have no idea how intimidating your catalogue of accomplishments sounds to a lame-brained novice like me.
ReplyDeleteRespect!!
My DH would enjoy this post, Margaret, as we too have progressed in a rather similar fashion, though he is much more knowledgeable than I am. We too had a Viglen at one point, and it's probably still up in the loft somewhere as DH hates to throw things away. :-) Ah, happy days.....
ReplyDeleteSorry Ray, I really wanted to mention Steve as he retires. He would never have given me a full time job at all when I needed one as I was old and top of the scale. He could have got 2 Newly Qualified teachers for the price of me. He only employed me because I had IT skills that few other had in those days. I only had them because the Evron Centre is a 3 min walk from home and the short 8 week courses of 3hrs just fitted my days. I really was very ignorant until then!
ReplyDeleteAnyway look at you. Goodness know what the future will do for your skills. You'll probably get an award at #Cnmac 12 for Best Christian Blog.
Perpetua-we are in the middle of moving from a huge house to a tiny cottage. C does not yet realise I have drawers full of useful USB cables and Old keyboards.