Sources of
Information
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When beginning
this task I must admit I struggled to think of five different sources as it
seemed to me that most of my information has come from the internet. I decided
to peruse the blogs of my fellow BAPP Arts students to see what they had
chosen. Upon reading only two blogs my train of thought began and I realized
that I actually have a wide variety of sources. Some of which I had not thought
of as sources of information but rather a casual conversation between colleges
and friends.
My Boss/ Colleagues
I am very
fortunate to have a number of inspirational and intelligent people working
above me that are extremely approachable and very resourceful. I make a conscious
effort to build working relationships as I feel it not only makes your
professional life more manageable but more enjoyable too. The head of the
performing arts department at my school is a wonderful woman with a brilliant
mind and an open door policy, I find in times of need I will always go to her.
She always makes time to sit down and go through any schemes of work and
discuss ideas I may have. I can always go to her with any questions or problems
however big, small or relevant to my work. Even the simple things like how to
use the copy machine and what the codes are, she is always ready and willing to
help. I consider myself very lucky to be surrounded by so many talented and
experienced professionals as the performing arts department in my school is one
of the best departments I have worked for. Everyone has so much experience and
knowledge of the industry and the working world I feel I am a sponge in their presence
and everyday though general and casual conversation I learn so much. I make an
effort to ask as much as possible and extract as much information about their experiences
and opinions whenever I possibly can.
The Internet
Anything I
want to know I can always rely on the internet, I have always been a very proud
person and asking for help about the little things always bothered me. Then
came the internet, an endless open book with
all the answers you could possibly need. Della
Estlin says on her
blog: there is so much to be learned from research that can be done via the
internet. She says she uses the internet for things such as:
- · Inspiration for ideas regarding class work and choreography
- · Buying books, syllabus and dance equipment
- · Reading articles relating to work
- · Gathering sources
- · Sending and receiving email
- · To keep in contact with people in the same profession
- · Searching for jobs
The internet
is a brilliant source of information from all of the above and like Della I use
it for the same reasons. Understandably you may have to sift through a few
wrong sites before you find a creditable and reliable answer, but the internet
for me is by far my biggest source of information. If I don’t understand
something, if I need an answer urgently, if I want to read into the night about
a topic then the internet is the place for all that. I am not one for reading
books and going to the local library, I love that the information I need is but
a click away. Obviously with the internet you have to make sure your
information is correct and you can’t always accept the first answer you find.
As a teacher I have to ensure that the information I pass on is correct as that
is my job, so when gathering information for the web I always make sure I visit
plenty of sites and look up published facts. There have been times when I haven’t
done as much research as I probably should have and my information has been a
little wrong, at that moment there is always a student ready to point out your
mistake, which leads on to another source of information I have, my students.
My students
As I am a
secondary school teacher I mostly work with teenagers, teenagers talk and surf
the web more than any other age group and their supply of random information is
endless. At the start of everyday one of my students with walk in the class
room and say “miss do you know.....” and 50% of the time it’s something I didn’t
know. Students are a great source of information for me and I will always ask
their opinion on schemes of work I am teaching and ask what they enjoy learning
the most. Students will often fill me in on the latest music and trends which
is important information for me as it helps when planning lessons or
choreography. If I know what the students like I have a better chance of
motivating them and developing their ability. Having students as a source of
information not only keeps me up to date with the latest trends, but allows me
to build teacher- student relationships, which are important to my work.
YouTube
YouTube is
one of the most important sources of information for me with regards to
choreographing. I can spend hours watching new music videos to better educate
myself on the current trends and styles. I believe as a choreographer you must
have a vast knowledge of choreography and always be up to date with the latest styles
and trends. I will also use YouTube to
research styles I am unfamiliar with for example: I had to do a dance piece for a ball scene set
in the early 1900s, I am confident that without the use of YouTube I would have
got the style completely wrong. It’s also helpful when you have to choreograph
a style that is unfamiliar to you and you are struggling for inspiration or
ideas, watching YouTube videos inspires me and I always come away with ideas of
my own. It’s like your own little muse for whatever or whenever you need a
little inspiration. YouTube is also brilliant as a quick fix for a problem, For
example, when setting up this blog I struggled for about an hour setting up the
display page, I decided to search for a video on setting up your blog and I
found one. Ten minutes later I was fully informed and ready to go, from then on
whenever I had a blog query I would just Google a specific video for that problem.
Events
As a working
member of the Arts I feel it is important to attend as many shows and performances
as possible. Pip Spalton says in her blog: I extract
information and gather experience from going to watch performances. I completely
agree with this and whenever there is a performance in town I will always go if
I can. Liverpool is a very creative city with so many plays, musicals, arts
shows, fashion shows and dance performances to see that there is always an
opportunity to learn something new and be inspired. As most of my friends are
in the Performing Arts Industry I never struggle for company to events, it is
great sharing the experience with someone who understands and being able to
discuss in depth your opinions and new ideas.
Hi Claire,
ReplyDeleteI defiantly agree with your thoughts on the internet, I even find myself running to Google to see whether other two year old's playing or eating habits are normal. I think that with such a valuable source at our finger tips we need to take careful consideration not to forget what other valuable sources we have at our disposal, I too struggled initially to think of other sources I have at my disposal, and like you I don't particularly like asking for help. This task has made me realise the many different sources I have, and question whether I am taking full advantage of them. If I have a question I will go straight to the internet for an immediate answer but I could be using another source, I might find more information might come from a discussion with a colleague or a student might have a better or more efficient way to deal with one of my technological problem. Its something I will be considering in the future.
On another note; You asked me about how I looked at other peoples blogs, ones who where further on in the course. If you go to the Uni Libguides ( I type Bapp blogs into Google) you can see blogs from students on Module 2 and 3 as well as graduates. Hope this helps, it does for me x
http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/content.php?pid=121076&sid=1075436
Great - yes digital and social media communication are here to stay - like the blog about your colleagues - I find this - none of us work in isolation. Remember to continue to use the theory - form practitioners or those critiquing practice - to add to the conversation . thanks for the links to fellow BAPPers. So rounding out - what would you add to the networking and our knowledge of the social and cultural way that we learn through this medium? How has high school education had to develop pedagogy to adapt to the current learners and prepare them for work? I just had an interesting conversation from Tring - expert practitioners - about the 'thinking' that professional modern dancers need to develop in order to work with choreographers. Creating can also be linked to generations and new knowledge. I think your comment about attending shows is so important in this fast paced world we now reside in.
ReplyDeleteHi Claire,
ReplyDeleteI too struggled at first to think of other sources other than the internet. Networking through social events and face to face communications don't at first spring to mind when thinking of Networking sources but yet they are in fact vital to creating strong and genuine connections.
Like Della I look to the Uni Libguides to find other blogs as I find this really useful when I feel I'm at a bit of a dead end or need a bit of reassurance that I'm on the right lines!
Nicola x