In the last session we were giving short introductory presentations on our teaching context, our practice and other identities. Additionally we had to discuss a piece of academic text of our choice. In chose to speak about the article ‘Towards a Rhizomatic library’ from a past Spark edition. I choose this article because I was interested in reading about student-led research projects. I curious to read on how students contextualise their practice. Starting with some spatial questions, the group researched on how libraries and knowledge in general are classified and organised. They created a series of workshops based on the ‘Rhizome’, a concept created by Deleuze and Guattari. Deleuze and Guatarri wrote about a horizontal and networked image of knowledge production. This led me to think about if I use outdated or obstructive modes to organise our departmental teaching materials and if there could be other, creative ways of doing it. We are currently using Moodle, Padlet and Panopto and the structure, functionality and interface of each platform invites for different forms of content shared on it. 
It was very interesting to hear the presentations of other members of the group and to learn more about their roles, responsibilities and concerns. Often we get caught up so much in our own daily life at work, that we forget that there or other worlds outside our department. Besides being a teaching degree, the PG Cert also functions as platform for exchange within the institutions across departments and schools and helps to understand the organisational structure better.
After presenting, we’ve been asked to take a half an hour break and to reflect on our experience in group. It was nice to be able to take some time and wind down after the first part of the session. The atmosphere during our group presentation / conversation felt calm and considerate. Having half an hour break also gave me the headspace to prepare myself for the second part of the session. 
Meeting and discussing with potential strangers in an online space feels obviously very different then in real life. It almost seems like it doesn’t recreate old, but produces different hierarchies. The potential for technical issues and the consciousness of being within your domestic space creates a different sensibility towards each other that I haven’t seen in real life meetings. On the other hand the temptation to slip into the ‘podcast listener mode’ is very much present, especially when the video function is turned off. I believe this is what happened to me in the second part of the conversation. We discussed previously read articles ‘Improving teaching: Enhancing ways of being university teachers’ by Dall’Alba and ‘Race and the Neoliberal University: Lessons from the Public University’ by Holmwood. In this part of the session, the I fell into the trap of listening to what other colleagues had to say, rather than actively participating. 
Key points discussed in regards to Dall’Alba’s article were knowing about teaching and in particular about notions on how to facilitate a space where students learn from each other. This brings back thoughts on the extracurricular activity I am currently involved in which is a shared collaborative practice. While facilitating the collaborative practice online works really well, unfortunately me and colleague tend to dominate the ‘feedback’ or ‘post-viewing’ discussion. I’m still figuring out how to open up the conversation more and make everyone comfortable enough to participate in this horizontal space we’re trying to create. 
In the conversation it was also mentioned that some students expect a teaching format in which knowledge is transmitted rather than collaboratively produced and exchanged and how as a facilitator it can be difficult to manage a plurality of expectations. This topic felt familiar to me because as a student I came from a similar background and I needed a while to re-adjust my understanding of the role of teaching, particularly in a creative environment. When working with students I’m trying to explain my role and shift the focus from me as a primary ‘teaching source’ back onto the students in class and the skills and knowledge they’re bringing with them.