What is the IMI Forum?
For those of you who have attended Foundations seminars, the Etna Project, and other BMC projects, the IMI Forum is a place for interpreters to come together and share our thoughts and our learning in a 'professional media' format. Unlike 'social media' (Facebook, Twitter, etc), the IMI Forum is not intended as a venue for anything and everything. Our hope is that the forum would be used to further the forward movement of our profession through discussion (in ASL or English) of your experiences attending BMC events, sharing what you're learning, posing questions to peers, and respectfully responding to others knowing that we all have opportunities to learn together.
It is the shared learning experience rooted in a Vygotskian environment using a pedagogy that allows each of us to gain insights into our own unique understanding of what it means to be an interpreter. As individuals, we each hold an understanding of the interpreting process. As a community, we have opportunities to use the collective knowledge and experience of all to spark our individual curiosity and discover where we are ready to learn.
Who?
The IMI Network is accessible to all those who have registered on the BMC website in the last several years. When you register to attend a Foundations seminar or the Etna Project or any other event provided through BMC, you are automatically added to the IMI Network listing.
What?
The IMI Network uses a familiar social media format but with a specific group with specific goals. We aim to offer a professional media environment that incorporates many of the facets of social media, but with emphasis on our profession as interpreters (hearing and deaf and deaf-parented) working between ASL and English in various constructions of creating communication access.
This network offers a place for professional inquiry and discussion (in English or ASL), connections with others as we seek to explore more deeply areas of the interpreting process that influence our decision-making processes, opportunities for collaboration on creating change in our field, and promotion of reflection on our practice.
Why?
The 21st century has seen technological advances outpace our contemplation of how to best use these technologies to serve our goals and values. Often we are swept away in a deluge of social media notifications and prompts that leave us with little time for reflection. When that time does come, for example- late at night after an assignment when you want to talk about something that is running through your mind, you now have the option within this restricted professional media group to share your thoughts. Some may use the network to engage in externally processing their thoughts. When we are able to do that with others in a respectful environment, it often leads to insights or curiosities that open the mind to ideas of which we were unaware.
We at BMC believe this is a good thing. And we think you are responsible enough that you will endeavor to engage respectfully with one another within the scope of RID's Code of Professional Conduct. Having an open dialogue in respectful ways potentially yields greater understanding for all and an opportunity to generate ways for us to think together.
This is an invitation to be the best you can be while others are being the best they can be.
How to Access the IMI Forum
During your registration for any BMC seminar over the last few years, you created a BMC account. It will be associated with your email address used when registering. Login using that information. If you've forgotten your login info, use the 'forgot your username' and/or 'forgot your password' links in the login area at the bottom of every page. If you've not registered in the last few years since we've started using this system, send a request through the Help Desk for assistance.
You have access to control the extent of your visibility within this network.
When logged in, you can find a link to the IMI Forum under the Etna Project sub-menu. There you have options to edit your profile, add a profile picture and a cover picture, and browse and contribute to the forum, respectful of your peers and consumers and mindful of our Professional Code of Conduct.
To post video, simply insert the link from YouTube or Vimeo.
Welcome!
