Gift of the gab?

So we had a discussion this week about reflective journals; their purpose, importance and format. It was of little surprise that so many trainees had yet to start recording their reflections of 'critical incidents' relating to their practice. With session plans to write, observations to prepare for, assignments to be submitted and reading (and referencing) to be completed, is it understandable that time for reflective practice slips down the list or priorities.

It is so important however to work 'smart' and make time to reflect. Reflection allows us to move forward, to develop, to improve our practice and become more effective and more efficient practitioners. It informs, shapes and moulds our practice and our approaches to teaching, learning, assessment and our own study.

But how to make time? We discussed finding the right method to capture reflections for you - a simple Word document; a traditional paper diary, an online blog; a voice recording into a mobile phone or voice recorder. Finding what works for you will help to improve the likelihood of regular reflective capture.

Some trainees were interested about the idea of voice-to-text methods - speaking your reflections which are the automatically converted into text to be saved and edited later. One method was the use of Gabcast to record to blog or email from a mobile phone. Unfortunately after 5 years of service, Gabcast announced today the closure of the service by the end of the year.

Alternative voice capture services include iPadio and Dragon Dictation - a great new and FREE app for the iPhone, iTouch or iPad which instantly coverts speech to text which can be texted or emailed. Dragon Dictate may be particularly useful for those with dyslexia or who find it more difficult to write or type quickly.

Check them out if this works for you...