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.

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!!

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

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!!

Task 1d: post a set of images to Flickr

Here are a couple of my CV photos I posted on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paolakolic/sets/72157631798912010/

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. 

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!! :)