1. FRIENDS:
To me, friends are the easiest and most natural way of gathering information. I agree with Melanie Brown in her blog when she says meeting for a coffee or or having a quick chat over the phone is the perfect and most enjoyable combination. What it makes so enyable is the fact that it's not forced upon us, we choose to meet up with our friends and we like socialising with them. By talking to your friends you can not only find out about parties, films, music but in a more professional way also about auditions and jobs. At the same time, friends are always there to support you to the best of their ability. Of course, friendship is a balance between giving and taking, which brings me back to the previous task and Cooperation and Axelrod (1984). Personally, I think friends are probably my most important source of information and knowledge.
2. FACEBOOK:
Honestly, I can't imagine a world without Web 2.0 anymore. I've grown so used to it that I'd probably be lost if I couldn't rely on it. For me, I would say Facebook is the one Web 2.0 tool I use the most. The good thing about it is that it's so easy. You are basically just a mouse click away from any information you need. Just 'like' the group you are interested in and you get all the information there is on it. I find it very helpful when it comes to audition websites because it gives details to various auditions and vacancies. The amazing thing about Facebook is that it's used by so many people all around the world and is therefore being constantly updated. There is so much information on it that there is no way we are able to access all of it but it's always good to know that if you need anything or have questions, there is a platform for everything.
3. PHONE:
I just recently got a Blackberry and I have to say it's amazing. To be completely honest, I never used to care much about my phone. Previously, I had an old Nokia which could only do what a mobile was to: send texts and ring people. Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with that, I was completely happy. But now, a completely new world has opened up for me. I can go on the internet, send e-mails, go on facebook, download apps, etc. with my phone. It's awesome. Not only get I get information by calling people or texting them but I can also use Web 2.0 on the go. That's always helpful when you go to an audition and what to check the time, place or date again. Whereas before I didn't miss my phone when I left it somewhere, now I'd probably feel pretty lost without it.
4. DIARY:
For somebody who hasn't kept a diary before starting out on BAPP, it's amazing important it is to me now. I feel like it helps me lot when I read through my older diary entries and to see how various situations have effected me then and now. Getting me thoughts and feelings out on paper helps focus again on the important things and to stop worrying and over-thinking about the unnecessary. To me, my diary is like a self-learning manual. I learn from my actions my reflecting on them.
5. BAPP BLOGS:
Without the blogs of the other students on this course, we wouldn't be able to discuss, talk about and be inspired be our work. I find always very interesting to read through people's blogs on certain topics because you see a different view of things which also helps me in my professional practice. Many of us have similar ideas on certain topics, f.i. reading through blogs on 'Theories relating to networking' I realised that Emily Hunt aswell as Clare Orlandi both also wrote about the 'Survival of the fittest' in regard to Cooperation. What I find very surprising is that although we are at different stages in out career, we still quite a lot in common regarding our ideas and views on certain subjects. In regard to my professional practice, I would say the BAPP blogs from all the students are definitely the most helpful and important ones when it comes to gaining and exchanging information.
Monday 10 December 2012
Sunday 9 December 2012
Task 3b: Theories relating to Networking
WOW ... that's what I call information overload! Reading "Reader 3" for the first time was like reading something in a foreign language I've never heard before. I literally didn't understand at all what it was actually about! But after reading through it again and again, I feel like I understand it much better and therefore, I'm giving it a go to discuss the different concepts and what ways I am using them in my own professional practice.
Cooperation
Thinking about Cooperation, a group of people that works together, all of them giving and taking, discussing ideas, etc. to achieve a certain goal comes to my mind. This is very much related to the 'Game theory'. Here, people work together strategically so that one player succeeds but always at another's expense. Axelrod (1984) explains this with the 'Prisoner's Dilemma'. He states that it's important to 'cooperate fully until maximum benefit and then to defect' and that there are always bigger results achieved if you consider patterns in all our interactions and networks.
Axelrod questions: "Should a friend keep providing favours to another friend who never reciprocates?" This question was one my mind for when I first read it. Looking at it objectively I would say no. A relationship shouldn't be based one person just giving and the other one taking all the time. But then again, I'm somebody who tries to help as much as I can even if that means not getting anything back. I do believe that at some point in my life I will getting something back for what I've given that one person .... Personally, I think 'Tit For Tat' is a safe way to get through life.
I do believe that living life under the principles of 'Game theory' would make many things much easier. Last week I went to an audition with a couple of my friends. While we were still learning the choreography, we all help each other and made sure we all know the routine. But when it came to performing infront of the panel, it was everybody 'against' each other. Obviously, each and everyone in that room wanted the job, so you can't think of your friends in there but you have to contrate and focus on yourself. I think cooperating with others is necessary, healthy and needed in a certain dosage but when it comes to essential events in life you have to think of youreself first. Just like Charles Darwin said "Survival of the fittest".
Affiliation
Affiliation is a concept in the field of social psychology. Crisp & Turner (2007 pp266) explain it as a social process that provides us 'with a network of support that will help us when we are in need'. It's human nature to want to connect, bond, network and build relationships with other people. Each and everyone of us affiliates in all areas of our life, professional and personal. As we are all different, we all decide on the preferred level of social stimulation and on the balance of social interaction ourselves (O'Connor & Rosenblood 1996 pp267).
Affiliations in both your personal and professional life are essential! Personally, I think they are what keeps me focused on what I try to achieve aswell as putting everything into perspective. For instance, whenever I'm cut from an audition my friends and family help me see it from a different angle and get me to feel positive about auditioning again and they help me to keep going. Personal affiliations are like a bouncy castle. Whenever I fall there is always somebody there I can bounce off and start again. After reading about affiliation in greater detail, I realised how important all the relationships we have are and I came to realise that they are the base of our society.
Social Constructionism
According to Reader 3 Social Constructionism is a set of related explanations about how meanings about the world are made. One of the key principles is that we construct meanings of the world through social interaction.
Crotty states that all knowledge is contingent upon human practices and is, therefore, based on interactioin between humans.
We need to network and communicate in order to be able to construct meaning and to be able to develop new networks for the future. I find it very interesting that Crotty says that "...meaning is not discovered but constructed". You have to think about and discuss everything new in order to be able to find meaning in it. Through socialising, discussing and developing new theories, we give meaning to things and that's how we learn.
Before reading about Constructionism I didn't even know it existed let alone that I 'use' it but now, I am aware that most things I've learned and the experiences I had where through Social Constructionism.
Connectivism:
Reading about Connectivism, I'm not sure I entirely agree with it. In relation to Professional networks, Connectivism explains how networks both learn and provide the means for individuals to connect and learn. It is also very closely connected to 'network theory' and Web 2.0.
I don't agree with the idea that the traditional way of learning should be modified or rejected. Of course, thanks to the BAPP course I learned a lot about Web 2.0 and how to use it and it gives us the opportunity to stay in touch via blogs, facebook, etc. But I don't think we should rejected the traditional way of learning. Even though Gonzalez states that the "half-life of knowledge" is shrinking and that the amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years I still think that we have to keep the traditional way of learning in mind. Generally, it's never good to just forget about the traditional/original way of doing things. I would say a mix of both, traditional and modern (in this case virtual technology) is the way to go.
Communities of Practice:
This is a topic I have discussed in previous blogs and tasks and I have to say it's the one theory I can relate the most to.
All of us are part of different communities, privately and professionally. Being part of social groups is essential nowadays because you meet people that share the same interests or profession as youwhich helps you in hugelyin your professional life. It's a great base to communicate with people that are in the same industry which helps you with auditions, jobs, vacancies. Socially, we can stay in touch with friends and share are thoughts and ideas on f.i. films, music, food, etc. In my point of view, we learn through the social groups. Chatting to other people or reading through other people's blogs helps us see thnigs in a different way and teaches us new ways of thinking. Lave and Wenger state that the communities of practice define possibilities of learning. I find thought that once we learn from other people, we can deepen that knowledge by combining it with our own thoughts and ideas and therefore broden our professional practice very intriguing. Being part of a 'community of practice' such as the BAPP group is amazing because it gives me the opportunity to learn from my peers and to share my interests, thoughts and ideas with them.
I was never aware of how important networking is in our industry and how many ways of networking there are. Reading the theory has made me much more aware of it and helped me see some things in a different light. Even though I don't agree with all of the theories, I did find it very interesting to read and it has helped me to learn from others.
Cooperation
Thinking about Cooperation, a group of people that works together, all of them giving and taking, discussing ideas, etc. to achieve a certain goal comes to my mind. This is very much related to the 'Game theory'. Here, people work together strategically so that one player succeeds but always at another's expense. Axelrod (1984) explains this with the 'Prisoner's Dilemma'. He states that it's important to 'cooperate fully until maximum benefit and then to defect' and that there are always bigger results achieved if you consider patterns in all our interactions and networks.
Axelrod questions: "Should a friend keep providing favours to another friend who never reciprocates?" This question was one my mind for when I first read it. Looking at it objectively I would say no. A relationship shouldn't be based one person just giving and the other one taking all the time. But then again, I'm somebody who tries to help as much as I can even if that means not getting anything back. I do believe that at some point in my life I will getting something back for what I've given that one person .... Personally, I think 'Tit For Tat' is a safe way to get through life.
I do believe that living life under the principles of 'Game theory' would make many things much easier. Last week I went to an audition with a couple of my friends. While we were still learning the choreography, we all help each other and made sure we all know the routine. But when it came to performing infront of the panel, it was everybody 'against' each other. Obviously, each and everyone in that room wanted the job, so you can't think of your friends in there but you have to contrate and focus on yourself. I think cooperating with others is necessary, healthy and needed in a certain dosage but when it comes to essential events in life you have to think of youreself first. Just like Charles Darwin said "Survival of the fittest".
Affiliation
Affiliation is a concept in the field of social psychology. Crisp & Turner (2007 pp266) explain it as a social process that provides us 'with a network of support that will help us when we are in need'. It's human nature to want to connect, bond, network and build relationships with other people. Each and everyone of us affiliates in all areas of our life, professional and personal. As we are all different, we all decide on the preferred level of social stimulation and on the balance of social interaction ourselves (O'Connor & Rosenblood 1996 pp267).
Affiliations in both your personal and professional life are essential! Personally, I think they are what keeps me focused on what I try to achieve aswell as putting everything into perspective. For instance, whenever I'm cut from an audition my friends and family help me see it from a different angle and get me to feel positive about auditioning again and they help me to keep going. Personal affiliations are like a bouncy castle. Whenever I fall there is always somebody there I can bounce off and start again. After reading about affiliation in greater detail, I realised how important all the relationships we have are and I came to realise that they are the base of our society.
Social Constructionism
According to Reader 3 Social Constructionism is a set of related explanations about how meanings about the world are made. One of the key principles is that we construct meanings of the world through social interaction.
Crotty states that all knowledge is contingent upon human practices and is, therefore, based on interactioin between humans.
We need to network and communicate in order to be able to construct meaning and to be able to develop new networks for the future. I find it very interesting that Crotty says that "...meaning is not discovered but constructed". You have to think about and discuss everything new in order to be able to find meaning in it. Through socialising, discussing and developing new theories, we give meaning to things and that's how we learn.
Before reading about Constructionism I didn't even know it existed let alone that I 'use' it but now, I am aware that most things I've learned and the experiences I had where through Social Constructionism.
Connectivism:
Reading about Connectivism, I'm not sure I entirely agree with it. In relation to Professional networks, Connectivism explains how networks both learn and provide the means for individuals to connect and learn. It is also very closely connected to 'network theory' and Web 2.0.
I don't agree with the idea that the traditional way of learning should be modified or rejected. Of course, thanks to the BAPP course I learned a lot about Web 2.0 and how to use it and it gives us the opportunity to stay in touch via blogs, facebook, etc. But I don't think we should rejected the traditional way of learning. Even though Gonzalez states that the "half-life of knowledge" is shrinking and that the amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years I still think that we have to keep the traditional way of learning in mind. Generally, it's never good to just forget about the traditional/original way of doing things. I would say a mix of both, traditional and modern (in this case virtual technology) is the way to go.
Communities of Practice:
This is a topic I have discussed in previous blogs and tasks and I have to say it's the one theory I can relate the most to.
All of us are part of different communities, privately and professionally. Being part of social groups is essential nowadays because you meet people that share the same interests or profession as youwhich helps you in hugelyin your professional life. It's a great base to communicate with people that are in the same industry which helps you with auditions, jobs, vacancies. Socially, we can stay in touch with friends and share are thoughts and ideas on f.i. films, music, food, etc. In my point of view, we learn through the social groups. Chatting to other people or reading through other people's blogs helps us see thnigs in a different way and teaches us new ways of thinking. Lave and Wenger state that the communities of practice define possibilities of learning. I find thought that once we learn from other people, we can deepen that knowledge by combining it with our own thoughts and ideas and therefore broden our professional practice very intriguing. Being part of a 'community of practice' such as the BAPP group is amazing because it gives me the opportunity to learn from my peers and to share my interests, thoughts and ideas with them.
I was never aware of how important networking is in our industry and how many ways of networking there are. Reading the theory has made me much more aware of it and helped me see some things in a different light. Even though I don't agree with all of the theories, I did find it very interesting to read and it has helped me to learn from others.
Monday 26 November 2012
Task 3a: Current Networks
In an industry like the dance and entertainment industry, networking is the key to a successful and long-lasting career.
In the course of this task I had to look at the networks I'm using, how I'm using them whether good or not to its full extend, and ways to improve my networking skills.
I think one of the biggest networking groups and one that probably everybody has is Friends. Networking with your friedns is the easiest way of networking. You can be yourself, don't have to worry about appearances and there's no pressure like there is when you're talking to an agent. Personally, I think it's the easiest and best way to find out about auditions, castings, jobs, workshops, etc. There have been numerous auditions and castings I went to because one of my friends told me about it. The great thing about a group of friends is that it's a give-and-take. One time one of my friends tells me about a casting and next I'll tell her about an audition I'm going to. Back in college it was much easier to network because we used to see each other basically every day but since I graduated we all moved to different ends of the world. Since then, we moved on to using social networking more and more.
Nowadays, in the time of Facebook, Twitter and co. it's so much easier to stay in touch with your friends. To be honest, as far as the social network is concerned I've only made it to Facebook. I tried using Twitter but seeing as my phone doesn't have any internet (yeah, I'm probably one of the few people left in the world that has a phone that can only text and call people) there's not really any point in me using it. Besides, I never really got the hang of it ;). But Facebook I think is a great networking page. Not only can you use it for your personal networking but also in your Professional Practice. The good thing with Facebook is that you can join different groups that share the same interests as you, f.i. your favourite films, books, leisure activities, food, clubs, etc. Professionally, you're able to see upcoming auditions, castings, workshops, vacancies and we can share our experience and advice.
Another web 2.0 tool I use is DancersPro and Spotlight. Both of them give dancers, actors, singers the opportunity to create a profile and put all the important information about themselves on it, f.i. CV, Portfolio and Showreel. Employers are able to view all of this and to hire dancers.
Since I started out on BAPP, I started to use web 2.0 much more. Before, I didn't know that Flickr, Google+ and Blogger even existed but now, I'm getting more and more familiar with it. I'm still not using Google+ to the max because I just can't seem to figure how to get people into circles and I don't think I actually realise all the ways of networking I can do with. I guess one day I should go on an exploring mission through the deep ends of Google+. Flickr was also completely new to me. It's great because it gives me the chance to share my portfolio pictures aswell as other photos so that people (employers) can look at them, comment and maybe even give me advice on how to improve. The great thing about Blogger is that it created a group including everybody on BAPP. It gives us the chance to talk to other people with the same interests, to discuss certain topics with them, to make suggestions on how to improve and to learn new ways of thinking. Personally, I could and should be more active in commenting on other peoples blogs and ideas because that's the way to make new connections and that's the actual networking.
And, as I said at the beginning, networking is the most important part of any profession. It doesn't matter in which aspect of your life because you never know what opportunities might arise through networking.
In the course of this task I had to look at the networks I'm using, how I'm using them whether good or not to its full extend, and ways to improve my networking skills.
I think one of the biggest networking groups and one that probably everybody has is Friends. Networking with your friedns is the easiest way of networking. You can be yourself, don't have to worry about appearances and there's no pressure like there is when you're talking to an agent. Personally, I think it's the easiest and best way to find out about auditions, castings, jobs, workshops, etc. There have been numerous auditions and castings I went to because one of my friends told me about it. The great thing about a group of friends is that it's a give-and-take. One time one of my friends tells me about a casting and next I'll tell her about an audition I'm going to. Back in college it was much easier to network because we used to see each other basically every day but since I graduated we all moved to different ends of the world. Since then, we moved on to using social networking more and more.
Nowadays, in the time of Facebook, Twitter and co. it's so much easier to stay in touch with your friends. To be honest, as far as the social network is concerned I've only made it to Facebook. I tried using Twitter but seeing as my phone doesn't have any internet (yeah, I'm probably one of the few people left in the world that has a phone that can only text and call people) there's not really any point in me using it. Besides, I never really got the hang of it ;). But Facebook I think is a great networking page. Not only can you use it for your personal networking but also in your Professional Practice. The good thing with Facebook is that you can join different groups that share the same interests as you, f.i. your favourite films, books, leisure activities, food, clubs, etc. Professionally, you're able to see upcoming auditions, castings, workshops, vacancies and we can share our experience and advice.
Another web 2.0 tool I use is DancersPro and Spotlight. Both of them give dancers, actors, singers the opportunity to create a profile and put all the important information about themselves on it, f.i. CV, Portfolio and Showreel. Employers are able to view all of this and to hire dancers.
Since I started out on BAPP, I started to use web 2.0 much more. Before, I didn't know that Flickr, Google+ and Blogger even existed but now, I'm getting more and more familiar with it. I'm still not using Google+ to the max because I just can't seem to figure how to get people into circles and I don't think I actually realise all the ways of networking I can do with. I guess one day I should go on an exploring mission through the deep ends of Google+. Flickr was also completely new to me. It's great because it gives me the chance to share my portfolio pictures aswell as other photos so that people (employers) can look at them, comment and maybe even give me advice on how to improve. The great thing about Blogger is that it created a group including everybody on BAPP. It gives us the chance to talk to other people with the same interests, to discuss certain topics with them, to make suggestions on how to improve and to learn new ways of thinking. Personally, I could and should be more active in commenting on other peoples blogs and ideas because that's the way to make new connections and that's the actual networking.
And, as I said at the beginning, networking is the most important part of any profession. It doesn't matter in which aspect of your life because you never know what opportunities might arise through networking.
Monday 12 November 2012
Task 2d: Inquiry
I found this task quite challenging so I did put it off for quite a while. Personally, I find it hard to sit down and think about my passions and to evaluate them. But luckily I have a journal now that has helped me with this task.
The one person I really admire because she's not only an amazing singer but also a great entertainer is Adele. Yeah, I know what you're thinking .... me and 5 million other people. But I'm not an obsessive Adele-fan, I just appreciate her as an artist and feel inspired by what she's achieved in life. Another thing I like about her is that she has various styles, it's not like she's just doing pop, rock, hip hop, ballads, etc. When I listen to her album I find a song for every mood which I feel makes an artist so special. I love making choreographies to her songs or to those of Ed Sheeran who I feel is the male equivalent to her: fantastic singer, songwriter, musician and not to forget, both from the great UK ;)! Their music really inspires me and helps me discover new sides of my dancing.
Here are the links to Adele's and Ed Sheeran's homepage:
http://www.adele.tv/home/
http://edsheeran.com/?loc
Thinking about it, the main reason I would get sad or angry is, if something bad or unjust happens to somebody near and dear to me. I can't it when my family or friends get treated badly without reason or for the wrong reasons. That makes me really angry. And if then, I can't do anything to prevent that or to help them that's, I would say, is when I feel helpless and sad. But thankfully, that doesn't happen often. One of my favourite quotes in terms of feeling angry and sad is from a TV-show called "How I met your mother" where one of the characters, Barney Stinson, tends to say
The one person I admire because she's quite similar to me is my mum. We are both aries, both stubborn and are generally quite similar therefore she understands me and tries to help. I wouldn't say we have a "best friends" rather than a "mother-daughter" relationship but she always helps me put everything in perspective.
On one of my best friends from dance college and flatmate is probably the most driven dancer I know. She loves it so much and everytime I felt down in college or was depressed after an audition she used to pick me up and remind of how much I love to dance and the joy it brings me. I admire how she always keeps looking forward and how she puches herself so hard which ultimately makes me want to keep up with her and therefore makes me a better dancer.
I ams ure every dancer on the planet has been in the same situation before, the "What went wrong? Why didn't they pick me?"- situation. On the bright site, it's a problem of a whole profession group and not one of an individual. Though I do have to admit that it's getting easier the more auditions I do and I am keeping my hopes up that at one point I'll just move from asking the big "What; Why; How"-questions and just move and focus on things ahead. THAT would make life so much easier!!!
- What in your daily practise gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?
The one person I really admire because she's not only an amazing singer but also a great entertainer is Adele. Yeah, I know what you're thinking .... me and 5 million other people. But I'm not an obsessive Adele-fan, I just appreciate her as an artist and feel inspired by what she's achieved in life. Another thing I like about her is that she has various styles, it's not like she's just doing pop, rock, hip hop, ballads, etc. When I listen to her album I find a song for every mood which I feel makes an artist so special. I love making choreographies to her songs or to those of Ed Sheeran who I feel is the male equivalent to her: fantastic singer, songwriter, musician and not to forget, both from the great UK ;)! Their music really inspires me and helps me discover new sides of my dancing.
Here are the links to Adele's and Ed Sheeran's homepage:
http://www.adele.tv/home/
http://edsheeran.com/?loc
- What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?
Thinking about it, the main reason I would get sad or angry is, if something bad or unjust happens to somebody near and dear to me. I can't it when my family or friends get treated badly without reason or for the wrong reasons. That makes me really angry. And if then, I can't do anything to prevent that or to help them that's, I would say, is when I feel helpless and sad. But thankfully, that doesn't happen often. One of my favourite quotes in terms of feeling angry and sad is from a TV-show called "How I met your mother" where one of the characters, Barney Stinson, tends to say
"When I'm sad, I just stop feeling sad and start feeling awesome!"
... WELL, if it just were that easy!!
The one person I admire because she's quite similar to me is my mum. We are both aries, both stubborn and are generally quite similar therefore she understands me and tries to help. I wouldn't say we have a "best friends" rather than a "mother-daughter" relationship but she always helps me put everything in perspective.
- What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?
On one of my best friends from dance college and flatmate is probably the most driven dancer I know. She loves it so much and everytime I felt down in college or was depressed after an audition she used to pick me up and remind of how much I love to dance and the joy it brings me. I admire how she always keeps looking forward and how she puches herself so hard which ultimately makes me want to keep up with her and therefore makes me a better dancer.
- What do you feel you don't understand? Who do you admire who 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 you?
I ams ure every dancer on the planet has been in the same situation before, the "What went wrong? Why didn't they pick me?"- situation. On the bright site, it's a problem of a whole profession group and not one of an individual. Though I do have to admit that it's getting easier the more auditions I do and I am keeping my hopes up that at one point I'll just move from asking the big "What; Why; How"-questions and just move and focus on things ahead. THAT would make life so much easier!!!
Thursday 8 November 2012
Task 2c: Reflective Theory
I have thought about reflection and if I actually reflected in my everyday life, and, if I do, how it effects my life, thoughts and personal development.
Thinking about it now, after reading about reflective theory and keeping in mind everything I read about it, I am certain that each and every one of us is reflecting on a daily basis in various ways.
Personally, I am more of a pessimist. So, if I've for instance taken an exam or after a performance, I would usually reflected on it and think "I could have done this better", "I should have known the answer to that question", " I could have done better turns", etc. I don't think that's very good cause I can't change what I did and it just makes me feel bad. After reading "Reader 2", I'm trying to get something positive out of it. I maybe still think "I could have done it better" but at the same time I'm trying to learn from my experience!
And I have definitely said that a couple of times before although I do believe, even if people don't say it they still do because that's the way we all learn. Sadly, most times I learned from my mistakes which wasn't very pleasant at the time but it definitely helped my for my future.
It was interesting to see how many different ways and theories of reflection.
The one I found most appealing was Kolb's learning cycle.
David Kolb created this on-going cycle where one point is leading into the next. We are all in this cycle, the only difference is the point at which we start to learn. Personally, my learning style is "Reflective Observation". I think it's due to my long experience in dance and having to pick up choreographies and corrections that I have to watch somebody else do it first to be able to learn from it.
This also applies to Donald Schön's idea of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, I am using more the last one. I find easier to go back to an event and think about so that I can get some distance, which helps put everything into perspective. Although as a dancer, I am also used to reflection-in-action. Being on stage, you never know what can happen. Since it's a group of individuals performing at the same time, you have to be able to adapt to the situation in that very moment.
Having my experience with both types of reflection, I do agree with Kottcamp when he suggests that reflection-in-action is harder to achieve "... because the actor must simultaneously perform, oberve and analyze the action ..." but I disagree that it's the "more powerful for improvement of practice". On the contrary, I would say reflection-on-action is the more powerful and lasting because it gives the individual more time to reflect and to learn.
As dancers, we probably wouldn't say that reflection-in-action is harder because we are more likely to reflect 'on-line'. Being focused on the choreography, steps, music, performance, etc. is part of the job which we wouldn't be able to do if weren't 'on-line' reflecting. Whereas in everyday life I am using 'off-line' reflection. After every show I would reflected on my performance and try to think of ways to improve it.
I am very intrigued my the idea of tacit knowledge and Osterman's and Moon's idea of trying to find ways to articulate it. Any form of art is a tacit knowledge and each one of them, be it dance, photography, poetry, etc. have a deeper meaning in them and I think it would be important to access that meaning, so that people who have difficulties expressing themselves with words would still be understood.
And I think that journals are an important tool to express yourself, to try understand what is happening in the world and around you, to reflect and to LEARN. At the end of the day, there are many purposes of a journal as Jennifer A. Moon says but like David Boud states "... journal writing is intimately associated with learning, no matter what else it may aim to do."
Here is the link to the whole essay online:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tk4qSEYWaeJFgzT89UM6-XtztkPc6r7hG7VyR6383PM/edit
Thinking about it now, after reading about reflective theory and keeping in mind everything I read about it, I am certain that each and every one of us is reflecting on a daily basis in various ways.
Personally, I am more of a pessimist. So, if I've for instance taken an exam or after a performance, I would usually reflected on it and think "I could have done this better", "I should have known the answer to that question", " I could have done better turns", etc. I don't think that's very good cause I can't change what I did and it just makes me feel bad. After reading "Reader 2", I'm trying to get something positive out of it. I maybe still think "I could have done it better" but at the same time I'm trying to learn from my experience!
And I have definitely said that a couple of times before although I do believe, even if people don't say it they still do because that's the way we all learn. Sadly, most times I learned from my mistakes which wasn't very pleasant at the time but it definitely helped my for my future.
It was interesting to see how many different ways and theories of reflection.
The one I found most appealing was Kolb's learning cycle.
This also applies to Donald Schön's idea of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, I am using more the last one. I find easier to go back to an event and think about so that I can get some distance, which helps put everything into perspective. Although as a dancer, I am also used to reflection-in-action. Being on stage, you never know what can happen. Since it's a group of individuals performing at the same time, you have to be able to adapt to the situation in that very moment.
Having my experience with both types of reflection, I do agree with Kottcamp when he suggests that reflection-in-action is harder to achieve "... because the actor must simultaneously perform, oberve and analyze the action ..." but I disagree that it's the "more powerful for improvement of practice". On the contrary, I would say reflection-on-action is the more powerful and lasting because it gives the individual more time to reflect and to learn.
As dancers, we probably wouldn't say that reflection-in-action is harder because we are more likely to reflect 'on-line'. Being focused on the choreography, steps, music, performance, etc. is part of the job which we wouldn't be able to do if weren't 'on-line' reflecting. Whereas in everyday life I am using 'off-line' reflection. After every show I would reflected on my performance and try to think of ways to improve it.
I am very intrigued my the idea of tacit knowledge and Osterman's and Moon's idea of trying to find ways to articulate it. Any form of art is a tacit knowledge and each one of them, be it dance, photography, poetry, etc. have a deeper meaning in them and I think it would be important to access that meaning, so that people who have difficulties expressing themselves with words would still be understood.
And I think that journals are an important tool to express yourself, to try understand what is happening in the world and around you, to reflect and to LEARN. At the end of the day, there are many purposes of a journal as Jennifer A. Moon says but like David Boud states "... journal writing is intimately associated with learning, no matter what else it may aim to do."
Here is the link to the whole essay online:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tk4qSEYWaeJFgzT89UM6-XtztkPc6r7hG7VyR6383PM/edit
Sunday 4 November 2012
Task 2b: Journal writing experience
I've done it ... I've kept a journal for over 2 weeks now and trust me when I say, THAT'S A BIG DEAL!! I've mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that I'm not really into writing diaries and putting my emotions and thoughts on paper. Therefore, this task was quite a challenge for me but I'm proud to say that I've stuck with it and succeeded in keeping a journal.
I have tried various ways of writing my journal and I figured out that I prefer some to others. I'll start with the ones that really suited me.
It's probably a bit unusual but my favourite one was writing a List. It gave me the chance to just brain storm what happened during the day and to just get it all out of my had. With this method I was able to see what was most present in my mind and what stayed in the back of my head for the whole day because those were the things I put down on paper first. Unfortunately, my initial list was mostly a bit chaotic therefore I usually had to put it in order and write it down a bit neater but than again, this just gave me another chance to put everything perspective and put those things first I thought most important.
In combination with writing a List I usually also did an Evaluation of the things that happened during the day. I felt like it gave me more of a chance to figure out what to work on, what things I can do better, anythings that needs improvement, etc. When I only did an Evaluation of my day, I felt like it lacked something. I only put down what I need to work on and what, in my opinion, went well but I didn't actually have an overview of the whole day so the events where just events and not tied together.
The same thing applies to Description and Initial Reflection. I didn't feel like they worked for themselves but in combination with another one, they offered a much more detailed a varied way of writing. Though thinking about it, Description is actually part of all the other ways of keeping a journal. In one way or the other, you always describe what happened throughout the day. So I guess I would have to say that my favourite way of writing my journal was Description.
Probably due to my lack of interest and, yes I admit it, knowledge in mathematics, I struggled hugely with writing a journal entry in Graphs, Charts and Diagrams. To be completely honest with you, I only tried it once and gave up after half an hour because it was one of the most frustrating things I have done in a while. At first, I didn't know where to start and once I decided to just go for it and try it I just got REALLY confused and annoyed with the whole thing that I almost threw it out of the window. So, yeah, I think it's safe to say that I'll NEVER to that again!!
This leads me to the last two, What if? and writing from Another view. I just don't see the point in thinking about what ifs. Everything that has happened, happens and will happen is for a reason and I don't like sitting down at the end of the day and thinking about what could have happened differently, better or worse, if I had done something in a different way. Honestly, I've tried it once and I just felt drained and a little depressed afterwards. It didn't actually help me reflect on the day.
And the same thing goes for writing from Another view. I tried writing from the perspective of my sister which wasn't too bad. I didn't actually enjoy it but I thought I'll give it a try and see what happens. I struggle to stay in the other persons mind and to write about it the way I've seen the day, although I do have to say that it still sounded very much like me.
What I tried and absolutely failed at was writing from the perspective of my handbag. The whole time I was writing I was just thinking, "Bags don't think. They don't have a brain.". Therefore it ended up being a very short resumee of the day and not a very good one!!
I think in future I'll still stick to keeping my journal although I probably won't be writing in it every day. The recipe for keeping my successful journal will be writing a List with a hint of Description and Evaluation.
I have tried various ways of writing my journal and I figured out that I prefer some to others. I'll start with the ones that really suited me.
It's probably a bit unusual but my favourite one was writing a List. It gave me the chance to just brain storm what happened during the day and to just get it all out of my had. With this method I was able to see what was most present in my mind and what stayed in the back of my head for the whole day because those were the things I put down on paper first. Unfortunately, my initial list was mostly a bit chaotic therefore I usually had to put it in order and write it down a bit neater but than again, this just gave me another chance to put everything perspective and put those things first I thought most important.
In combination with writing a List I usually also did an Evaluation of the things that happened during the day. I felt like it gave me more of a chance to figure out what to work on, what things I can do better, anythings that needs improvement, etc. When I only did an Evaluation of my day, I felt like it lacked something. I only put down what I need to work on and what, in my opinion, went well but I didn't actually have an overview of the whole day so the events where just events and not tied together.
The same thing applies to Description and Initial Reflection. I didn't feel like they worked for themselves but in combination with another one, they offered a much more detailed a varied way of writing. Though thinking about it, Description is actually part of all the other ways of keeping a journal. In one way or the other, you always describe what happened throughout the day. So I guess I would have to say that my favourite way of writing my journal was Description.
Probably due to my lack of interest and, yes I admit it, knowledge in mathematics, I struggled hugely with writing a journal entry in Graphs, Charts and Diagrams. To be completely honest with you, I only tried it once and gave up after half an hour because it was one of the most frustrating things I have done in a while. At first, I didn't know where to start and once I decided to just go for it and try it I just got REALLY confused and annoyed with the whole thing that I almost threw it out of the window. So, yeah, I think it's safe to say that I'll NEVER to that again!!
This leads me to the last two, What if? and writing from Another view. I just don't see the point in thinking about what ifs. Everything that has happened, happens and will happen is for a reason and I don't like sitting down at the end of the day and thinking about what could have happened differently, better or worse, if I had done something in a different way. Honestly, I've tried it once and I just felt drained and a little depressed afterwards. It didn't actually help me reflect on the day.
And the same thing goes for writing from Another view. I tried writing from the perspective of my sister which wasn't too bad. I didn't actually enjoy it but I thought I'll give it a try and see what happens. I struggle to stay in the other persons mind and to write about it the way I've seen the day, although I do have to say that it still sounded very much like me.
What I tried and absolutely failed at was writing from the perspective of my handbag. The whole time I was writing I was just thinking, "Bags don't think. They don't have a brain.". Therefore it ended up being a very short resumee of the day and not a very good one!!
I think in future I'll still stick to keeping my journal although I probably won't be writing in it every day. The recipe for keeping my successful journal will be writing a List with a hint of Description and Evaluation.
Friday 26 October 2012
Task 1c: Video on starting out on BAPP
Finally, I've managed to upload my starting out video. It took my long enough, so now I'm just happy it's up on my blog =D!!
Thursday 25 October 2012
Dear Diary, ...
How wrong was I?!?! ....
I was one of the people who thought diaries and journals were for little girls with boy trouble. I could not have been more wrong. Since I've started my own journal for this course I find it so much easier to concentrate on my actions and to questions why I am doing certain things or why I am not. It helps my rethink things and if possible change them for the better =)!
At the moment, I am trying the different ways of keeping a journal and even though I don't like all of them I definitely have some favourites.
Hopefully by the end of next week I'll be ready to Tell you about my journal writing experience in further detail!
Until then,
Good Night everybody,
Paola x
I was one of the people who thought diaries and journals were for little girls with boy trouble. I could not have been more wrong. Since I've started my own journal for this course I find it so much easier to concentrate on my actions and to questions why I am doing certain things or why I am not. It helps my rethink things and if possible change them for the better =)!
At the moment, I am trying the different ways of keeping a journal and even though I don't like all of them I definitely have some favourites.
Hopefully by the end of next week I'll be ready to Tell you about my journal writing experience in further detail!
Until then,
Good Night everybody,
Paola x
Thursday 18 October 2012
Task 2a: Reflective Practice
I am still having difficulties uploading my video to "Youtube" so I figured, in the meantime, I could just get started on the second part of this module.
Personally speaking, I am not a big fan of keeping a journal and I've never had one in my life so I think I'll have to get used to the idea of writing my thoughts and ideas down in a book. Until know I never felt like there was anything worth putting down on paper so that I could go back read it in the future. Knowing myself, I'll probably struggle at first to put my experiences and thoughts I have throughout this course down on paper (I know we can use any other media but I'm sticking with the classic written diary).
Furthermore, I'm not sure what exactly I am supposed to write. Of course, I could write about my everyday life which would include working in a gym and teaching in a dance school but I don't think that would help my studies. I guess this gives me enough things to think about and to get me started on my first ever diary!!
Tuesday 16 October 2012
Task 1b: comment on Reader 1 - Professional Communication Technology
So, here I am again trying to get on with the module 1 tasks. Unfortunately, I was ill the whole past week which put me back quite a bit in my studying plan. But, Web 2.0 technology has definitely helped my through this past week, especially to keep in touch with the world.
Before I read about Professional Communication Technology I didn't know something like web 2.0 existed. Web 2.0 includes networking sites (like Facebook and Twitter), blogs, collaboration sites which are all created to enable the users to share information. Creator and reader can interact and it's an opportunity for the reader to become the creator. Some of the features of a web 2.0 community include:
- 'Network as platform'
- Users of the site own and control their own data
- Users add content to the site -> the more users access the site and add data the better the site becomes
- Interface is user friendly, simple to use and quick to load
- It allows users to interact with each other, make formal and informal connections and share --> Social Networking
Tim O'Reilly who is often reffered to as the originator of what defines web 2.0 has developed a meme of web 2.0. It looks at what identifies something as web 2.0 and what the conditions are under which communication or interactive processes occur.I think it shows very clearly what belongs to the term web 2.0 and on what principles each of the sites is based for instance Wikipedia is solely based on radical trusted while Gmail and Google Maps uses rich user experiences. Furthermore, it lists the core competencies of web 2.0, such as the architectures of participation, remixable data and transformations and harnessing collective intelligence.Those core competencies represent the outcomes of the wider use of web 2.0 platforms in workspace alongside that of the social space.
Architectures of Participation Web 2.0 as a tool of networking and communication encourages and enables participation.I like the idea that participation is the ability of people to interact and it implies an active and passive aspect. To be able to participate you definitely have to have the facilities and instruments to participate, i.e. time money, skills, etc.Hamilton mcakes a good point when he notes that and increase in participation can contribute to the successful building of relationships and the democratisation of media. Of course, the more people share there opinion and views the more democratic it gets. Web 2.0 is making participation cheap, easy and quick and therfore accessible to more people.Ulrich adds that each web 2.0 application has a base set of principles that enable users to participate, be creative and engage with other communities. I completly agree with Ulrichs suggestion that the key aspect of web 2.0 is that it is constantly evolving and that each platform is progressively developed and replaced. In my opinion that is what web 2.0 is, a platform for people to interact and share and, therefore, it has to be in a constant progress and change.
Remixable data and transformations A key element of web 2.0 is the opportunity to share photos, music, text, ideas and opinions. So, I think Bruns has a got point when he says that each of us is producer and consumer at the same time. We all, f.i. share our ideas and opinions but at the same time we read and deal with other peoples point of view which makes us producer and consumer at the same time. Bruns calls this produsage which is a suitable term beause it combines both words to one which also happens to us when we use web 2.0 aplocations.
Harnessing collective intelligence I like the idea of Feenberg and Bakardjieva that while using web 2.0 we all come together as equals and act collectively.
Personally, I think it's important to realise that web 2.0 is crated to bring people all around the globe closer to together and give them the opportuniny the share their thoughts and ideas with everone around the world. It' thanks to sites like Facebook that we can easily stay in touch with people living on the different continent. In my opinion, Facebook is a perfect exmple of a very successful web 2.0 tool. It' s used all around the world, it links people together and is accessible to almost everyone. Networks like that are definitely the future and it will be iteresting to see in what way they will develope.
Tuesday 9 October 2012
Task 1a: rewrite CV
Right, today I've decided to get properly started on my BAPP tasks, so let's get right to it :)!
I've uploaded my blog quite a while ago and I've even written a text version of my CV in the the "About me" section but since then, I've kind of neglected my little blog-baby.
So, today I had a look at a few blogs and it's amazing how everyone treated the task differently.
At first, I just put a very short segment about myself but after reading a couple of the others I felt I hadn't put enough effort in it and started to rewrite the whole thing. Personally, I think that Georgie Bird did a very good job on her segment because it's not too long but still has all the important details in it while still being interesting to read.
I have to say, it definitely helped me reading through other peoples blogs because I have to admitt that, at first, I was completely lost and didn't actually know where to start. For my "About me"- section, I've used my dancers CV because that's basically what I've done up to now and what I'm trained at. I've also tried to put a bit of my personality in it so that potential employers can see who I am as a person.
Well, that's it for now. Hopefully, I'll manage to get some more done today!! :)
Friday 28 September 2012
First ever blog!!
Hi everybody,
My name's Paola Kolic and I'm a BAPP (also known as "BA Honours Professional Practice (Arts) --> that's why it's just called BAPP ;) ) student at Middlesex University. And as you can see, this is my first ever blog and blog post.
To be honest, I don't really know what to write on hee yet but hopefully, with time, I'll get used to it :).
Anyways, it's kind of late now so I'll head to bed but I'm pretty to get started on this blog and to fill it with some interesting, fun, entertaining and, well, just awesome stuff!!
Good night everyone,
Paola
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