My Over Critical reflection...

Wow, who would of thought that we had covered so much ground already on the short time we have been on this course.

I've just about finished going over all my blogs, notes and general scribblings and I have to say I'm pleased with what I have read. But not only what is written down...I can see a lot of what I have learnt already coming into play in my professional and personal lives.

I'm going to use my notes from the writing workshop earlier this term and spend the next few days going over a few drafts, hopefully having the finished product in my hand by Christmas.

Hope your all getting on well with it and looking forward to a great Christmas :)

Tomorrow is Today Already!!!

Was just thinking to myself that I will start the first notes for my critical reflection tomorrow, only to look down at the clock and see that it is tomorrow already!!!

How time flies when your blogging.

How is everyone getting on with there critical reflection? Any tips? I'm feeling rather daunted!!!

A little pic to help cheer me up and remind me there is more to life than just work :)

My Daughter on our trip to winter wonderland at the weekend. We had an amazing time :)

Sources of Information 3c

My 5 most important sources of information...

     1.    My students

2.    Apple

3.    Affiliations

4.    Facebook / utube

5.    Blogs

1.    My Students, they are right up there at the top of my list because without them I would have no job. It is there eagerness to return week after week that keeps me in work. Listening to what they want, how they want to learn and what interests them enables me along side my own skill set to prepare and plan lessons that are engaging and successful.

 

 Sarah Robinson writes in her blog, “In my role as dance Teacher I deal with people on a daily basis. My students aren’t quantities to be processed, or robots to be programmed, but are unique entities that come with there own agenda and that provide me with a wealth of knowledge.”

 

I couldn’t agree more, I’ve learnt more valuable lessons for my career through the children that I teach than I ever did when I was the classroom myself. Finding a balance is of course important because not always is what the children want necessarily what’s best for them and it can be easy to not always know where to draw the line. Knowledge most certainly does come with experience.

 

2.    Apple, My iphone, ipod and itunes, where would I be without them! My phone enables me instant communication through calls, texts and emails, access to so much stored information...song lyrics, scripts, information about my pupils, copies of my qualifications, certificates and insurance. My phone also provides constant access to the internet and tools provided by web 2.0. My ipad is just a back up and more user friendly version of my phone. I bring it into class with me sometimes using it with the children. But my favourite has to be itunes. As a dance teacher you can never have too much music. And there it is every piece you could ever want just one click away. It was nice to read in Melanie Browns Blog that I’m not the only one that relies on my phone, although it did get me thinking that what if this source was taken away how would I cope? Have I become too dependent on it?

3.    Affiliations, There are several groups of people that I rely upon for information.

 

Karen Stephenson say’s, “since we cannot experience everything, other people’s experiences, and hence other people, become the surrogate of knowledge.”

 

The parents of my pupils are a very important source of knowledge for the children’s and my own safety and well being. The information they pass on to me can make or break a class and make a huge difference to how well there child and other children settle. As a teacher it is invaluable to learn about each pupil as individuals.

 

My Family and friends, poor them!!! I am forever running stuff by them for there Joe public reactions. As a dancer it is very easy to get carried away and go over the tip when putting numbers together for my class. I often sit my friends and families sit down a get them to be guinea pigs to my latest creative master piece. The odds are if they enjoy it an audience full of novice parents will gain the same appreciation and enjoyment.

 

It has been really reassuring reading Clare Orlandi blog post on this to see that I am not the only one that likes to involve the parents and use them as sources of information.

  

4.    Facebook and utube, Although mostly social many of my fellow dancers and teachers only hold the role as friends now as I work mostly by myself so face book is a great medium of staying in touch and being able to reach each other when we have ideas and opinions we want to share or need advice. Looking through all the Bapp blogs I can see it is a source of information a lot of us share in common. Utube I use mostly for research, so much about dance and performance is visual it is much better tool than reading a book. I often use it to show the children examples of particular styles and examples and ideas that run along side our own projects. I personally and I sure many others do need to be conscious of checking the validity of information sourced this way. One person’s idea of something can be very different to someone else’s. Likewise someone’s own interests could out weigh the help they may offer you. It’s a competitive world out there, let’s not forget that.

 

5.    Blogs, I think we are all in the same boat here. A very useful new source of information. I just need to learn to find the time to put more information in, in order to gain more back. Its tit for tat and its only fair we all do our own bit.

 

Whilst writing this I have realised that I have a great set of sources for information for my current professional life style. But I’m at a stage in my life where hopefully my career is moving on and developing, perhaps my sources should too.

 

 

Theories Relating to Networking 3b

Concept of the Professional Network...

 My professional life has many angles to it at the moment, teaching is key and with my long term goal of gaining Qualified Teacher Status in mind I’m going to look closely at how Professional networking and its concepts affect this part of my life.

Co-operation, Affiliation, Social Constructionism, Connectivism and Communities of Practice. After lots of reading, thinking and research I can see that they all already play a part in my professional life. The thing to do now I have a better understanding of them and how they work is to better implement them in to my day to day working life.

 

Co-operation, Alexrod (1984) identified the importance of the notion of co-operation, and in particular, the benefits of co-operating fully with others, until you reach a point of maximum benefit, and then to defect. We all understand this notion and I’m sure at times have used it in our professional and private lives.

Recently I have been working in various schools in a voluntary capacity in order to gain experience and knowledge to set my in good stead for my developing career. I’ve noticed that teachers are more than a little busy and spare time is like gold dust. From talking to several teachers they do all see themselves as being part of several professional networks but all admit that they very rarely have time to interact amongst them let alone contribute to them.

I’d like to try some forced co-operation. Where teachers are given time during there working hours to fully use and gain the benefits of there professional networks. This would not only mean that individual teachers and schools would benefit from a greater knowledge and skill set. But that those amongst us (I’m sure that there are many) that work on a purely altruistic basis would be encouraged in some way to share valuable information that they probably never would have previously.

Affiliation, I’m a great advertisement for the saying you can never have to many friends. I’m definitely the sort of person that seeks out affiliation and is happy to turn to those I need in any given situation and in turn am happy and willing to be there for others. Although there is certainly room for improvement in my skills when coming to implementing this concept its another aspect it that has got me intrigued.

This section taken from the reader has really got me thinking... ‘Differences in affiliative desires may be reflected in the central nervous system. Brain imaging studies conducted by Johnson and Colleagues (1999) show that introverts are higher in arousability, the degree to which stimulation typically produces arousal of the central nervous system, than extroverts.’

One of the main things that make me good at my job is being able to read the children, taking time to get to know them and catering to their individual needs. This information is of great value when looking to extend my knowledge and approaches to teaching. I aim to be teaching secondary age children. Networks are going to be of great importance to them in their learning also. With information like this I will be able to help not only steer them in the right direction but also help them create their own networks that are a great tool for every child involved.

Social Constructivism, Crotty, M (2005) “According to constructionism, we do not create meaning. We construct meaning. We have something to work with. What we have to work with is the world and objects in the world.

I can readily agree with this. Bringing up my daughter showed me how true this can be. As she grew and learned she most certainly had her own grasp and opinion of what this world contained and had to offer. She made up her own names for things and at times believed that the purpose of things was something very different to the one that all have come to accept.

She is very strong willed and I still sometimes struggle to get her to accept my explanation of things unless I can support it with fact. This brings me to the next quote...

Crotty, M (2005) “Meaning is not discovered but constructed. Meaning does not inhere in the object, merely waiting for someone to come upon it.”

I don’t completely agree with this, the example of a tree. Of course the word tree is just a name that someone decided to give to the thing they saw before them. But to quote Shakespeare “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Lets say we decided to start calling a tree something else. Whatever it may be called there are still facts that we know about a tree. We didn’t just decide that trees should do the job or absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. That is a scientific fact that has been happening from the appearance of the very first tree.

For me social constructivism will make me open my eyes more to what’s out there and not just take everything at face value. It’s great to learn new ideas and you can always then go on to back them up with fact. A valuable tool when it comes to teaching.

 

Connectivism, for me this as a concept of being able to learn through the extension of a personal or professional network. Are we not all prime examples to this here on the Bapp course!

As knowledge is growing at such a fast rate (the facts and figures amaze me!) and changing so rapidly we really do have to change with the times. This course has opened a whole new world of learning for me. I can openly admit to being a bit of a technophobe but I’m slowly but steadily being dragged into the modern day. 

The reader quotes Siemens, G. (2004) “The starting point of connectivism is the individual. Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organisations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to the individual. This cycle of knowledge development allows learners to stay current in their field through the connections they have formed.”

This is something I am going to have to remember long after this course is over. The use of modern technologies that is available to us today and the doors that it opens need not to be ignored. I’m sure competition is going to be fierce in the professional world and I want to set myself in the best position to gout there fighting. I plan to use this concept to help me become a life long learner and stay up to date with what I need to know in my professional world.

Communities of Practice, The reader says... “A community of practice places emphasis on participation over acquisition of specific bodies of knowledge, and relies on shared interpretations of the community of practice over more hierarchical formations of knowledge.”

I think a great example of this is our campus sessions. Although led by tutors we are not talked at or particularly instructed. It is more of a chance for us to thrash around ideas and share opinions on a current topic. The tutor is there more in a roll of sharing their knowledge with us and equally interested in hearing ours. I found this really odd at first and wondered how I was going to learn anything. That was my first very valuable lesson in itself, we need the ability to teach ourselves throughout our lives to achieve the best that we can be.

Taking this idea on with me into my professional life I can imagine having more informal staff meetings and staff nights out sat round a dinner table chatting over our experiences, hopes and fears for our careers. This I’m sure will be just a valuable as all the other aspects of my future career.

So now its time for me to get our there, expand and make better use of my professional networks.

5 Rules For Professional Networking Success

A nice little page I came accross.

Check it out...         5 Rules for Professional Networking Success

Current Networks 3a

My initial scribblings on my Professional Networks

 

Above is a first look at my professional networks, each one probably holds alot more strings to it's bow than at first I gave them credit, lets take a look...


My professional life takes on many forms, one part for me is the Extras work that I do within the Tv and Film Industry, this is something I have done for many years. Whilst being a mum it gave me some flexible extra income and a chance to socialise and experience different things. My main network for this revolves around my agent consisting of telephone communication. Although as colleagues we also keep up to date through several other means, the agents website, a facebook page, and additional job sites such as extrafriends. This networking although at first seems more social on many occasions has lead to completing jobs very successfully. We pass on information and advice that helps each other be prepared and do a good job. So I guess ultimately we do gain more work through this practise as once your known to do a good job your more likely to be asked back again.


Next in my professional life is my Theatre School, Starry Eyed. I run local extra-curricular activities for children aged 4-11yrs. My networks for this are harder to pinpoint as its just myself and one other member of staff most of the day to day stuff is done face to face. I use the Internet alot to do research for productions. Id say I have a work experience network, people I have worked with over the years who I have gained knowledge from and who I sometimes thrash out ideas with. Its not a regular event or a close group just contacts that I access as and when I need them. My biggest network would be with the Parents and children themselves. I'm constantly having one form of communication or another with the parents via telephone, text, email, facebook and face to face. I hold open classes so that as teacher, students and parents we can all get together, experience the class and talk about any issues.

Now for my voluntary teaching work, as part of my goal to achieve QTS I am offering my time to local schools in exchange for there knowledge and tutoring. I use websites such as teachinherts to see what schools are looking for so i can approach them with an offer that is attractive to them and useful to me (I don't wanna go in and just end up making the tea!!!) I'm beginning to build a professional network here as I meet and work with various teaching staff. I have also started to use chat rooms to talk out ideas and theory's with other teachers and wanna be teachers.

Last but not least is my Bapp Course. Although still relatively new to my life this probably makes up the majority of my professional networks. My new found use of web 2.0 has opened up a whole new world of professional networks. Blogging being the main form. I feel I have a network of tutors and advisers that I can now access, a network made up of all the students on the course that provides a great source of information, opinions and critique. Another network I feel quite strongly affiliated to now is Knowledge. This comes in many forms and is made up of many smaller networks for example...books, library's, chat rooms, blogs, peers, professionals and e resourses.

As I progress through this course I am seeing more and more doors in front of me that I have the ability to access. Looking at how other professionals network is inspiring. I really feel that I am not selling myself enough in my networks. I could definitely promote myself more, advertise my business more and gain more useful contacts. Giving more time to networking is something I need to add into my work life to achieve this. I need to take advice form others in my existing networks on how to move forward. There is a big wide world out there and not all of it relevant. Learning how to access the right networks and use them to my advantage is key.

Its a dog eat dog world out there and ultimately each is out for there own. I can be very trusting and not always see the bigger picture. Thinking of other peoples motives and what they have to gain is going to be really important for me and my future success in networking.

One last thing I would like to touch on are my social and family networks. I find them as equally important as my professional ones in contributing to my professional life. They are the building blocks of us all. somewhere we can speak our minds and get opinions and advice before we put ourselves out there in our more formal networks, there also great for a good rant and rave about those in our professional lives!!!




Up's and Down's and Life in General!!!

I haven't blogged in ages!!! Life has thrown alot at me over the last few weeks and has kept me rather busy. Although I may not have been with you all in text I've certainly been giving our current topic a lot of thought.

Good news... I have a new teaching placement which is just the experience I need to help me with my long term goal of qualified teacher status :) they have captured me at the busiest time of year...the school play. So although lots of fun it's proved quite time consuming!!!

It's Christmas :) A very exciting time in my house with a 4 year old but again very busy and extremely costly.

One a sadder note I lost my grandmother. she was the absolute glue that holds my family together and it is gonna take a long time to get used to not having her. I find this current topic about professional networks particularly hard at the moment as she was a constant source of advice and support. She lived a very successful professional life and was always happy to share her knowledge. She really will be sadly missed :(

I'm also moving house, looking for somewhere new and thinking about packing...I'm dreading it!!!

Just wanted to let you all know where I have been, I've set some time aside now to catch up with all your blogs and get mine up to date.

Thanks for listening :)

Inquiry 2d

• What in my daily practice gets me really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do I admire who also works with what makes me enthusiastic?

My main professional career now revolves mostly around teaching musical theatre to primary aged children. Although I strongly believe in the idea of life long learning it is not the dance, music and drama in my daily practice that I get really enthusiastic to learn more about. But the psychology of the children I teach. And how a better understanding of how the children work as learners would help me teach them more productively.

At this stage of my career I don't really have anyone to discuss and share these thoughts with. I have started doing some research on this topic. Once I am a bit better acquainted with the subject I intend to use my new found communication technology skills to find others interested in the field to further extend my knowledge.

I am at present acquiring a copy of the journal linked below to continue my reading.

http://www.springer.com/education+&+language/journal/11218



• What gets me angry or makes me sad? Who do I admire who shares my feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?

Nothing gets me more angry professionally than other so called professionals ignorance when it comes to the value of The Arts in Education.

I think that it is very sad that some people's narrow mindedness can lead to whole groups of children missing out on this part of there education.

At present I work in primary school settings where they very rarely have dedicated dance or drama teachers and as subjects they get skimmed over and left by the way side!!!

I have an Aunt who I have always found inspirational. She is a primary school teacher who has worked her way through the ranks and is now a successful head teacher. Although not a dancer or actress she has always enjoyed and seen merit in these areas and has consistently stood her ground in including these when putting together her lessons and curriculum.

Her school is certainly challenging with English being the 5th most common spoken language and many of the children coming from poor or under privileged backgrounds. Yet her school has achieved a privileged Arts Mark and is increasingly successful. She puts a lot of this down to the inclusion of the Arts and I have to say I agree with her.

http://www.artsmark.org.uk

I hope that when I eventually qualify to teach full time in state schools that I can aspire to be the great influence that she has been.



• What do I love about what I do? Who do I admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what I love?

I love to perform and give others the opportunity to. One of the best bits of what I do is managing to inspire children to have a go. Nine times out of ten getting them engaged and to give it a try is half the battle as most children fall in love with performing in one way or another once they give it a go.

I think that groups like Diversity have done wonders making dance more appealing, acceptable and down right cool. They are fresh, modern and appeal to a large market.

The members are great role models and inspirational to young children. The lead dancer Ashley Banjo gives as much credit to his academic studies as he does his dance, proving that the two can go hand in hand.

They push boundaries and constantly try new things, like there collaboration with the English National Ballet.




• What do I feel I don't understand? Who do I admire that does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as me?

There are several things professionally that I don't yet fully understand. This course has really opened my eyes to the idea of being a life long learner. Of looking at things differently and turning them into positive, knowledge gaining experiences.

I would love to be able to see these opportunities more for myself rather that relying on tutors to present topics to explore. I'm hoping that with time I will be able to manage my own learning.

Paula Nottingham our course leader as I'm sure you are all already aware is so keen and passionate on this topic. She is so open to learning and the fact that there is always something more to learn. She seems to see a learning opportunity in so many different situations and scenarios.

If you haven't already give her blog a read. It is so varied and interesting...

http://paulanottingham.blogspot.co.uk

Reflective Thoery Task 2c

Here is my link for my Critical Reflection on Reflective Practice.

It has been posted to Google Docs, my choice of public Wiki.

I look forward to your feed back :)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HY-0yoyJwZIAl0tw7aXM48eiK2-qjJrRg0-2612Qcgg/edit

Journal Writing Experience - 2b

  A reflective Journal...

What is reflective practice? Moon defines reflective practice as "a set of abilities and skills, to indicate the taking of a critical stance, an orientation to problem solving or state of mind". In a much simpler form I like to think of it as 'consciously thinking and analysing what one has done or is doing or of what one may do next!

The use of a Reflective Journal is a great autonomous way of identifying and learning about oneself allowing us to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Trying out the different ways to approach writing my journal suggested in the handbook were a great eye opener and a brilliant confidence boost to move on and explore other methods and techniques.

• Description - I found this a great way to bring back my actions and experiences. Sometimes after a long busy and varied day certain activities fade into the background. But going over everything that happened to me and where and when helped me get an outline and piece together everything that had gone on.

• Initial Reflection - Although not in depth enough to give any real insight or meaning this tool helped me flag up things that I wanted to give closer inspection to.

• List - A fantastic way to think aloud, key words, thoughts and feelings flow freely ready for closer inspection and analysis. I found words sprang to mind seemingly for no reason but I listed them anyway only to go on to give them more thought and realise they were key in the experience that I had had.

• Evaluation - I found this the hardest way so far, I felt I was only evaluating what was already obvious to me...Made me realise that in this sense I definitely needed to think outside the box.

• Graphs, charts and diagrams - I think I can safely say this is not the journal writing experience for me, I found it frustrating and time consuming! I stuck with it and tried playing around with a few things but I have to say it tugged on an artistic and mathematical side that just didn't want to come out to play!!!

• What if? - How fantastic, such a great way to look at things, I found this really positive. I’ve definitely been putting this tool to good use. Its not only made me realise just how bad a situation could have been but its made me look at what potential there was and how to bring this through with me to enhance future experiences and learning.

• Another View - I found this quite depressing at first, through someone else’s eyes I was very hard and negative on myself. But looking at the view from an inanimate object without feelings of pre conceived ideas I found that I was able to give myself a great positive critique another great tool I will be using in the future.

Another technique I've come across and would like to share with you all as it works really well for me...

• The unsent letter - Write your experiences and thoughts to someone in letter form, its not meant to be sent but added to your journal. I found that doing this I asked a lot more valuable questions and in turn had to reflect and answer them.

The whole Journal writing experience has already certainly been a journey for me. It’s led to hours of self realisation and some self doubt. It’s made me feel high and low all in a matter of minutes. I think it is a much more valuable exercise than I first gave it credit. I realise that it is a process that will forever be developing and there will always be more to gain from it. I think it is something I will carry on doing long after this course is over.

I'd like to end with a quote from Biggs "a reflection in a mirror is an exact replica of what is in front of it. Reflection in professional practice, however, gives back not what is, but what might be, an improvement of the original"

Information overload!!!

Ok my journal is really starting to be an eye opener and I'm really starting to notice the things I'm learning about myself on paper actually happening in the real world of me!!!

A very common theme throughout my journal so far is my thirst for information. I'm having real trouble knowing when to stop.

I was meant to conclude my further reading on the processes of reflection and learning earlier this week so I could complete all the tasks and be ready to move on to the next part of the module. But I keep coming across new and interesting things to read.

When is it enough? This is a real problem for me!!!

How do you all know when to stop???

There is so much information out there that it can be exciting and overwhelming all at the same time.

Somebody help me :)

Further Reading....

A nice little visualpiece i found whilst further investigating John Dewey, thought i'd share :)

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aacu.org%2Fmeetings%2Fppts%2Fknefelkamppresentation.ppt&ei=HEOaUI-sDeq00QXhmoGIDQ&usg=AFQjCNEPax5F921NKSVBXcXTUrhgAwebQg

The down side of reflection...

All this reflective thought has obviously got me thinking and definitely opened my eyes to a few things about my life.

On one hand this is great because for instance i've already realised that I seem to live my life with the whole 'my cup is half empty' attitude and just how negative this is personally and professionally and am actually managing to turn that cup into one thats half full and rising.

But on the other hand what happens when you start to notice things that need to change and realise that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. For instance I knew that every aspect of my life was full and busy, but It has only been since putting pen to paper in my journal that I've realised just how ridiculous my schedule is!!!

After lots of reflecting on this I see no way to change it and now find it a whole lot more frustrating than I ever did in the past.

So to conclude yes reflection can be a very valuable tool but also sometimes ignorance can be bliss!

Module 1, Campus Session 2, The Reflective Practioner.

Another great campus session, I really recommend to everyone that if at all possible try and make some of the sessions as they are a great help and opportunity to get your ideas into perspective.

We had a look at how we see ourselves and how others perceive us.it was very interesting and a tool that through good reflection we can really get to grips with.

We spent some time going through the different learning cycles and ideas of Kolb, Gardner, Honey and Mumford. For me the main points I focused on at the session were...

• Kolb - That his cycle is a tool to help us unlock our learning experience, allowing us better to reflect on all aspects of our experience.
• Gardner - Showed me that I may have a strength in one specific way of learning but that I also draw on other aspects of the learning genres.
• Honey & Mumford - That there is no right or wrong and that everyone is different.

The concept that the cycles can happen simultaneously and that we can go through them several times in one learning experience was key to me and will certainly have an impact on my thought process when writing my journal.

The session really did help me to see that there is no right or wrong way to go about our journals, just be honest and open and we really will start to see some results :)

The Reflective Practioner/Personal Journal???

Well this has all got me in a bit off a tizzy!!! I didn't realise just quite how much I needed structure to learn!!! this is something I am definitely going to have to reflect on about myself.

The fear I feel about getting this whole journal thing wrong was eye opening to me. I decided to just get on with it and have actually been enjoying the whole process, but still with that nagging thought at the back of my mind that I might not be doing it right!!!

My journal has taken form as a written piece but i have made use of different colours to express my different moods and thoughts. I've noticed a tendency to grab for the red pen alot to express anger and frustration. I'm hoping that over time this whole experience will help me understand myself and maybe give me the tools i need to approach things for a more positive outcome and the red pen can spend a bit more time in the draw. I'll keep you posted on how i get on with this :)

Writing Exercise 23/10/12

At the writing workshop we went through a whole process of writing and re-writing to come up with a final piece, it was a great experience.

Peter asked us to write about a performance that we had seen,

• Firstly we had to brain storm some ideas.
• Then we had to find themes amongst our brainstorming and generate a piece of free writing, this involved just putting pen to paper. no hesitations and no stopping!!! 
• Then we had to read it back and have another go at free writing...
• Only then did we put pen to paper with the intention of someone else reading it as a final draft.

My work changed dramatically over this process. I have to say that the final piece is so much better than my first draft.

I will share with you my first and last draft so you can see the difference the process made and hopefully get some feedback from peter himself, the first draft was meant to be for my eyes only but I'd like to be able to share with you just how much difference the process made :)

1st Draft....

Starting with the positives as i have picked a kids production, the performance certainly had the argh factor, the children certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves and at times the visuals were great. on the other hand from the audiences point of view although we all know the plot it was at times hard to follow and to be honest just a tad dated. the story is so overdone and could have benefited from a lot more preparation and attention to detail. The volume issues were typical of any school play but could of easily been addressed.The whole performance was far to long and there was a definite show of conflict which only comes from to many directorial influences. the spacing made it hard to follow. i suggest that next time they pay more attention to the children's strengths and use a bit of innovation.

Final draft...

After yet another evening spent watching a group of primary school children's rendition of Oliver, I have to say...Is it not time that the school play as we all know and love it is dragged kicking and screaming into the modern day. Over the last ten years the importance of the arts in education has most certainly been acknowledged, so why are we not yet doing more to impliment it and reap the benifits that it can provide. With just a little more thought, time and innovation we could certainly make a huge difference to the children's experience and learning. In turn also relieve that element of 'Oh no not again!' that goes hand in hand with the obligatory tear in every parents eye.

Writing Workshop 23/10/2012

I'm a little behind as have has a couple of manic weeks but still wanted to blog about this as I found it a really useful session and it certainly helped put to rest some of the fears I have about academic writing.

Peter Thomas was very easy to talk to and had a great way of explaining to us what was expected, he runs one to one sessions either in person or by phone etc, I'll list below the ways he gave us to contact him for those of you that missed it...

p.thomas@mdx.ac.uk    awl@mdx.ac.uk    http://tiny.cc/ldubooking

Also Paula has put up a video thatwas made on the day which is great http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nweh7Fi4zRI&feature=plcp

Hope this may help some of you :)

Module 1 - Task 1d

Due to the nature of my work as a teacher I am unable to publish photo's of the children in my classes so I thought I would share with you my other work of art my daughter :)

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjCqrG1Y

Module 1 - Task 1c

Just awaiting the arrival of my webcam so will get my video up by the end of the weekend :)

Module 1 - Task 1b

Professional Communication Technologies - My thoughts....

Web 2.0???????? I add so many question marks because before enrolling on the course it was a completely alien term to me, and if I'm honest one I think that I may of actually never heard before!!

After studying The Reader for this part of the module and several other related texts I can't believe that I was so blissfully unaware of something that plays a huge part in today's social and economic structure. I mean sure I have a facebook account (who doesn't?) but I never really thought about what it really does and more importantly what it and other web 2.0 platforms enables us to do.

I've realised that web 2.0 is not just a medium but a huge platform. A world where the reader becomes the creator, and as someone with a lot to say I cant believe I've not been making the most of this amazing technology.

Tim O'Reilly the originator of what defines web 2.0 states that 'Web 2.0 is changing the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators' and i couldn't agree more. The whole platform is so changed from the technological world I grew up in and I can now see just what an effect it has had on day to day life without us even realising it.

Web 2.0 for me is a great symbol of democracy, where the users contribution is key 'The Wisdom of the Crowd' where collective intelligence is the key to market domination and rightly so :)

A new world has been created where we the audience can decide what is important, with access to the Internet and these platforms now being so much more accessible it means that traditional barriers have been dropped. We have moved from a world where designated people get to share and dictate there opinions. To one where many people can share, discuss and develop ideas and opinions together on a huge scale that would never before have been possible.

With key features such as perpetual beta we as consumers are never left behind, in fact the Bruns idea of 'Produsage' for me is key, Everyone gets to produce the knowledge and we all get to consume it. This collaboration and continuous building of existing content is a great pursuit for further improvement.

The 'Innovation of Assembly' where information that is already there and available is collated and used in novel and effective ways opens up the accessibility even more and makes for a lot more informative and interesting pursuits.

The whole time is was kicking my self for socially and professionally not embracing this technological revolution already a few alarm bells were starting to signal...is it all the go to be true???

In my capacity as a teacher I can see several drawbacks. 'Contructivism' where the emphasis on learning shifts from the teacher to the student although has many advantages I don't think we are anywhere near ready to give up the roles of teachers, where students are drawing many advantages from the self learning that web 2.0 opens up to them the teachers role as moderator is one that becomes more important than ever.

The drawback for produsage is that it is more that easy to sow the seed of mis and disinformation. One persons or group of peoples thoughts may be misinterpreted or misunderstood by others.

The vast range of literacies used on the web now mean that it is not only a matter of knowing how to read and write but applying the knowledge needed to understand the new literacies for specific purposes in specific contexts of use.

I have read briefly on Grubers theory of 'Collective Knowledge' where the social web meets the semantic web. to me this sounds like a perfect step forward where we all still get the great advantages brought to us from web 2.0 applications but the semantic webs steps into to somewhat structure and organise what we have put there...roll on the production of web 3.0!!!! I'll certainly be reading more into this.

I would like to end with a little bit of thought to Bruns term 'Generation C' I'm not anti web 2.0 by any means but the new relatively found love and use of communication technologies has led to a strong following and a new way in which we live our daily lives and perform our interaction could he be right in saying that 'As Generation C, whose creative engagement in context development will lead to a casual collapse , the on going demise of many beliefs, rituals, formal requirements and laws modern societies have held dear.'

Module 1 - Task 1a...

Right...the dreaded C.V, after much deliberation, idea stealing (checking out everyone else's efforts) and re-writing of my formal C.V I have decided that that an informal approach is best suited to this forum at this time :)

So please check out my About Me section for the low down.

I can see why this is a work in progress, I am already on this course not only acquiring skills to add to my C.V but my ideas of what makes me a professional and how to practice this and put myself across especially in this communication technology age are certainly developing.

I'm pleased to say the technophobe in my is slowly dying :)

Web 2.0???

Hey all,

Had a great time in Milan :)

Am spending my day learning my way around web 2.0 today so i can crack on with the tasks set in module 1.

Am also teaching a new musical theatre class today, bit scared as it turns out there are 50 children wanting to come and give it a go!!!!!! and im sure most of them could teach me a thing or two about social networking!

Wish me luck, i think i'll need it ;)

Hey all, was lovely to meet you all at the induction yesterday :) looking forward to sinking my teeth into some of the tasks we have been set...but first im off to Milan for a long weekend!!! :)