Teacher of Microsoft Software – Human Biology – English Language

It’s a strange set of topics that I teach so I’ll briefly describe how I got into them in more detail below.

Microsoft Software – Access, Excel, Project & SQL Server

I’ve been teaching software since about 1985 when I started helping the British Airways training department in teaching new students the PL/1 programming language. Since then I’ve taught a lot of Project Management software – Metier Management System’s Artemis and then their rival, Cheltonian’s Panorama.

Panorama is based on Oracle and I used that opportunity to learn all about relational databases and was very fortunate to land my next job, at Ashton Tate, the company which were, at the time, the leading database company on the PC platform. I joined them to teach SQL Server but I also learned their flagship product dBase. When Microsoft took over from Ashton Tate to develop SQL Server on their own I did a lot of their early training and, being at the right place at the right time, I was at hand to develop and then deliver the first Microsoft Access training courses in the UK.

It was a natural progression to learn other Microsoft products too and, with my project management software background, Microsoft Project was one of the big ones. Of course I teach Excel to all levels too.

Human Biology

My first degree was in Zoology/Pharmacology (Joint Hns) from Nottingham University and when I did my Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) there, it was meant to qualify me to teach biology. As there weren’t many Biology teacher jobs going, I ended up teaching Maths and Computer Science (which led me into the world of computer software). But the school I worked at (North Border Comprehensive) did let me teach ‘A’ Level Biology to one small class there.

It was only twenty years later, having emigrated to Australia to do a PhD in human evolution that I started teaching (Human) Biology properly, as a first year tutor to students of the University of Western Australia.

I gave tutorials for the first two semesters (ANHB1101 and ANHB1102) every year for twenty years before I had a year off to travel the world with my dear wife.

TEFL – Teaching English as a Foreign Language

It was my dear wife who suggested I should try to become qualified to teach English. I was complaining that software changes too quickly and as I got older it was getting harder to keep up with it all. Of course, human biology doesn’t change much, so that was a good string to my bow – but what about the English language?

Perth hosts thousands of students from overseas and there is a big demand for them to be helped to improve or tidy up their English language before going onto university.

So, I applied to do a CELTA course at Phoenix Academy here in Perth and after the most stressful and intense course I’ve ever done I managed to pass. So I added a third string to my bow and another one that doesn’t change as fast as computer software.

Please e-mail algis@kuliukas.com if you think I might be able to help.

All the best

Algis