Task 3c

Information gathering is a vital and valuable commodity in any business or profession. As a performer information gathering is something I take part in everyday. In order to absorb the most valuable information I use a range of sources in order to gain the most knowledge I can. I have actually made a mind map on a website which I just found that has been very useful in helping me really think deeper in where I gathering information from. The website I used incase anyone is wondering is http://www.mindmup.com which was very easy to use!

Phone

Calls
This allows me to call anyone and speak to them directly to talk to them and retrieve the information I was looking for by asking questions

Text
I can gather information by being able to talk to people directly through short texts and I can look back on previous texts to retrieve information I may have forgotten. It also allows you a bit time to construct what you are going to say that talking on the phone.

Apps
There are a massive range of apps on smartphones these days and also these apps provide me access to the internet which has access to a lot of information.

The Internet

Google
As you can see internet has a massive amount of outcomes and is probably where I would go first in order to access information. These days, we have unlimited access to a range of information if you just 'google it'. It has a massive wealth of information and is the fastest and most efficient way to get a lot of information in the quickest time. You can get anything from casual blogs and forums to factual articles and academic papers so whatever you are searching for you can find.

Youtube
Here I can get a visual connection where I can watch factual videos with deep explanations in a wide range of subjects within dance to filmed performances and it can be a good source of research which looking into a company or choreographer.

Social Media
As I have discussed in previous blogs, social media is great for networking and also people can share articles or blogs which can supply you with valuable information.

Email
Email is a social way of interacting with people and you can exchange information about many things on a professional and social basis. It can be a good way of discussing with people and asking questions to people.

Casting Networks
On the internet there is access to a range of casting networks which allows me to gain information on upcoming auditions.

Writing

Planner
I keep and constant planner (or diary) which I rely on to keep me organised as without I am not always the most organised person. I can go back and look on stuff I have written in advance for that day to remind me of things i need to do.

Journal
I can find information from the journal I have written as I may have writing something that I have learned that day and if I have forgotten it, so I can go back and find it in my journal. 

Notebook
Often when attending lectures or rehearsals I take a notebook with my where I can take notes and gather information so that later I can go back and look at it and retrieve the information.

Letters
Letters are used less often these days but occasionally I still receive letters with information such as bank statements.

Social Interaction

People say that a lot of business conversations happen in coffee shops these days and I often spend a lot of time chatting to friends and colleagues in places such as coffee shops as it is a good place to sit and relax and have a good talk about things.

Newspapers, Books and Magazines

A lot of the time you can access these online but I still have a subscription to The Dancing Time which sends out a monthly copy which keeps me up to date with what is going on in the dance world. I still like getting the paper copy as sometimes I find it easier to read than reading it online.

What sources of information do you not use enough?

Personally I think I should be attending more workshops and take part in more of a variety of classes but as many of you will find I sometimes struggle to find the time and money. Although I do want to try and get to more if possible as you can a lot from these kind of experiences.

Task 3a

Currently, I don't have an agent (although I am in the process of trying to get one) therefore I have to do the majority of looking through sites at job advertisements and networking myself. Here is a list of ways I am Currently networking for my professional life;

Dancers pro/The Stage/Network Dance

Dancers Pro is the main site in which I am a member of which I receive the majority of the work I have done. It post daily paid jobs and unpaid opportunities so there is always something new coming up. Also directors or potential employers can view your profile via dancers pro and Network Dance so they can immediately see your CV.

Peer/Colleagues

Word of mouth is one of the most valuable ways you can get information within the dance world whether its on future auditions or possible job openings. Also people you have trained or worked with know your abilities therefore can advise you on jobs they think you would be suitable for.

Facebook/Twitter

We have discovered earlier on in the module how valuable web 2.0 can be and these social networking sites can be invaluable for networking. Sometimes I see friend on facebook share auditions and also following or like pages of companies can make you aware of job positions they are posting.

To further my networking field I am looking to get onto Spotlight and get an agent. Firstly my hesitation for getting onto Spotlight was because someone told me once that you should go on until your CV has lots of experience on it as directions are most likely to see your profile in the first 3 months of you being on the site. Now, I don't know if this is true but it has put me off from immediately signing up as I want my CV to look really good if possible. Also I am currently in the process of emailing agents with my CV and showreel as unfortunately my school didn't help us set up getting an agent and to be honest I didn't realise how vital there are in furthering your career until I graduated. But so far I have had no luck with any yet but still many haven't replied to me yet so hopefully I can get one soon.

My ideal network would be somewhere where there was a massive directory of auditions and job post which also have a good filter for which I could find jobs which I was interested in. I would also like it to have a way in which all the people that were on it could be seen equally by directors so the people with the most experience aren't at the top of the list but all mixed up so that everyone get a fair chance of getting looked at.

Task 2c - part 1

Beginning this course 'reflective practice' and 'critical reflection' are not things that I had considered or applied during my professional and personal day to day life. But since reading more about it a discovering its benefits through this course I have really begun to understand and personally develop the concepts.

Reflection to me feels very integrated within my professional practice even if I hadn't initially realised it I have always been using it. Now I am able to acknowledge this I can use and develop it more and help it progress me as a professional. If I were to describe reflection in a sentence I would say it is an evaluating process of which you look back on what you have done and explore the good and not so good aspects of it and what you would change. Being a dancer you are frequently looking back on movements, sequences or performances you have done and self criticising in order to improve as dance being a very competitive profession you are always striving to improve so reflection is very relevant. Now using tools such as my journal I can successfully reflect on myself and retain all the information as I have it written down which allows me to apply my personal reflections and critiques and learn from my experiences.

As I read through the reader I discovered how important reflection is in our professional practice. Boyd and Fales (1983) claim that critical reflection is the core difference between whether the person repeats the same experience several times, and become highly proficient at the behaviour or learns from the experience, therefore showing cognitive change. With that in mind reflective learning can be thought as as a transformational way of learning which is allows you to adapt and experiment in order to improve.

David Kolb's 'Experimental Learning Theory' is what I related to most and found easy to understand through the concept of the table which has been produced of his "Learning Cycle" as shown. The table helped me to visualise the process of learning and understand the process which is advised for optimum learning. As you can see the cycle is recurring which shows how you can be learning and experiment over and over which i very relevant, especially in dance, when styles, steps and technique is always evolving. Also the Reader goes into detail about how everyone begins to learn at different stages of the cycle; 

"Some people start to learn when they are involved in a concrete experience, (doing something), some people can do something but start to learn about it when they are watching the people around them doing it (Reflective 
observation), some people need to “work it out in their head first” (Abstract 
conceptualisation) and some people start to learn when they start trying out ideas 
(active experimentation)."

Reader 2

This intrigued me to think about where about in the cycle I began the learning process and I believe I start at "Active Experimentation". Personally when I am learning a sequence in a dance class I am immediately thinking "right, how should I do this move?" or "can I put my own style into this" so straight away while having the experience I am experimenting mentally and physically with the movement and learning more about the way I dance.

Here is a continuation on my example of learning a sequence and its written out beside as the picture is quite small...

Active Experimentation: As I am learning the sequence I am thinking about how the movement goes and trying different ways to interpret my style.

Concrete Experience: I go on to performing the sequence within the class.

Reflective Observation: I think about how that felt during the sequence and how I think it looked in the mirror.

Abstract Conceptualisation: I learn from the experience and think about different way I wish to experiment with.

...and then the cycle repeats

Task 2b - Journal writing experience

Over the past 7 days I have been attempting to follow the ways of journal writing that was shown in the handbook and I have actually found it very beneficial in working out what is the best way for me that really allowed me to deepen my reflective writing. 

Description - I found this quite easy to write a lot about but looking back on it after the week i found that it was less reflective and more informative about what I did that day and didn't really inspire me to really think about what happened.

Initial Reflection - As this type of writing is strongly bases on reflection it did make me think further into my thoughts, feelings and actions of that day. I did really like this form and I think looking back and comparing it to the other days it is the most reflective journal input from that week.

List - To be honest I didn't really like this way of writing. I found it really detached and impersonal and it didn't really inspire me to reflect it just allowed to write down some things that happened that day. I think you may want to include small list occasionally if necessary within my journal but I wouldn't base my whole journal writing on this style alone.

Evaluation - I did like evaluation although when I was writing it did take me a little while to get into it and I didn't feel like I could write a lot except my mood that day and whether the day/events that happened that day were good or bad. However, since finishing this 7 day task I now draw a little smiley face next to each entry determining my mood for that day which I find quite fun and makes the page look a bit more interesting.

Graphs, Charts and Diagrams - I found this really hard as I didn't even really know what to put in a graph but on this day I resorted to the good old mind map which did make me reflect into what happened that day but for me I didn't really get much out of it and it seemed like a lot more effort that it was really worth.

What if - This section actually reminded me of when I was young as I was a very shy and nervous child and was scared to try anything. My mum always used to tell me to stop thinking 'what if' because I would always imagine all the bad things as a child and obvious children have a vivid imagination and I would scare myself out of doing things. Although my mum advised me against it I have always been a bit of a what if kind of person as I can be a worrier at times but I found this form of writing quite interesting. I tried to think about my day and thought about small things I could have done differently and tried to focus on some of the small positive outcomes that could have come out of doing things slightly differently rather that negative repercussions which I seemed to focus on as a child. I did find this quite good as it made me really think about what I could do to make improve in things professionally as well as personally. And when I say improve I don't mean I thought out changing the whole way I live my life day to day but it just made me think of the small seemingly insignificant things that might make your day that little bit easier.

Another view - Okay I am going to admit and say that on this day I spent most my day in my bed on my laptop just not really doing anything. Everyone is allowed a lazy day once in a while! So at the end of this day I actually wrote from the point of view of my bed. It was quite an interesting journal entry and as I had a lot of time on my hands that day it ended up quite long and descriptive but I would say it came out a lot more like a short story rather than a reflective look on my day. Maybe I didn't really pick the best day to use this process but for me I didn't find it very helpful.

I hope this gives you an idea of how I reacted to each form of journal writing and now I would say I base the majority of my entries on initial refection with a bit of description, evaluation and what if involved in some entries. I think to reach the optimum level of reflection you have to use a few of these techniques simultaneously rather than just one.

Task 2a - Reflective Practice

I had some of the similar feelings about starting a journal as I did starting a blog. It's that recurring question that seems to be coming up a lot recently, 'Where to start?' But this time without the previous hesitation i just dived right in and gave it a go. I think almost knowing that no one is going to read it relieves a bit of that pressure that I put on myself when I know people are going to be looking through your work. 

Transferring my writing skills from screen to paper feels slightly alien to start with because I feel like these days I don't spend a great deal of time handwriting anymore due to the advances in technology. Even thinking back to my later years at school I wrote most of my more substantial essay work on my laptop and only wrote notes by hand. But I am now getting into it and I find it quite therapeutic and knowing that it is aiding my learning and development as a professional it is quite rewarding.

I do have memories of attempting to write diaries when I was young which unfortunately didn't last very long as I think I got all excited for about two days and after that i kind of forgot about it. I hope this time it is more successful! But being 'older and wiser' as they say, I think I understand the benefits much better and I am more driven to keep up my writing.

I am interested to read everyone else's blogs and find out how they are getting on with the reflective aspects of journal writing so far.

Task 1D - Flickr

So I think I have talked about quite a lot in previous Blogs about how important first impressions are to a potential employer and within the performing arts world frequently when applying for jobs you are asked to attach some photos. First and foremost is usually your headshot and then they may ask for a few full length dance or commercial photos. 


I have a Network Dance account which has a version of my CV and some photos which people can look at and allows employers to look at.

http://www.networkdance.com/Rohanne-Compson-Bradford

I have made a Flickr account which has a stream of a few photos of me dancing and a headshot so feel free to have a look.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/104937699@N03/

As performers we use photography to advertise ourselves so of course we want to make sure that we look our best in our dance action shots and headshots which we publish online or send to people. This is the first thing people see is a still photo taken of you before they even see your movement style but in this day and age that is how employers may make the first cut when applying for a job. I personally feel that this can be a bit harsh that you are initially judged on a photo before people have to see you move in person as although a photo can show a lot about you I don't think it can show off a true ability that can only be seen through a live or video viewing. Although if someone does see a photo a can tell straight away that for example they are looking for someone who is has brunette hair and not blond hair then I suppose it can be useful and save people spending money to audition for something that they weren't suitable for to begin with.

Task 1b - Reader 1

Okay so I have started off a little bit baffled but after taking a bit of time and re-reading I am starting to get a bit of a grasp around Reader 1 and the concept of Web 2.0. As a regular user of social media sites such as facebook, twitter and instagram I have to admit I can take for granted the easy access I have to communication on a social and professional scale. Until I looked through reader 1 have been very oblivious to the process of how communications have developed over time as to me this is something I have just done automatically without really considering how beneficial it has been to my life. 

Something that has really bought to light some of the major advances from Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is O'Reilly's "meme" map as shown below.

Web 2.0 has acted as a big step for many people in terms of the social and professional aspects of their lives. It has enabled people to not only convey information but it allows discussion and debate and allowed the internet to be a platform for opinions and information to be accessed globally with just the touch of a button. 

Web 2.0 for example is aiding me as a BAPP student greatly as it allows collaboration, critique and comments on my blog which is helping me to grow as a professional and learn as a student, also allowing editing to ensure what is written comes across as intended. Without Web 2.0, courses such as BAPP would not be able to run as efficiently as the distance learning aspect of it relies heavily on social media in order to be able to communicate and guide our learning. For me as a dancer it has aided me greatly, it has allowed me immediate access to sites such as youtube where I can watch, learn and discuss about other dancers, choreographers and companies all over the world which can help me research into possible employment and study and learn new skills.

There are also some negative aspects to Web 2.0. Understandably in this country there is freedom of speech, but such freedom to say whatever someone wants to such a wide audience can sometime cause offense. There is regularly cases on the news where people in the media such as well known MP's who have a wide circle of followers may say something accidentally which they think is just a casual comment on twitter and it can offend thousands of people and could possibly jeopardize their careers. Ethical consideration is something that everyone using social media must be aware of. The statistics shown in reader 1 say that there is over 1 billion users on Facebook, 800 million users on YouTube and 500 million users on Twitter. The vast of people using these types of sites makes it very easy for anyone to see what you have posted so you must be aware of how vast your possible audience when posting things. Also from a professional point of view you have to be wary when applying for jobs that possible employers may look on your Facebook or other sites and you don't want the most recent photo on your wall to be the one of you last saturday night looking a bit worse for wears to say the least because that maybe be detrimental to the impressions someone ma get of you.

I, like many people in Britain, rely heavily on Web 2.0 and social media in day to day life and I think it has come to the point for many where we couldn't imagine our lives without it. People may disagree but I do not think that is detrimental at all, in fact I think it is a huge advantage to our lives socially and professionally if used in the right way and not abused. Although there are flaws in the system Web 2.0 is always developing and I think it can only get better. I would love to hear everyones comments!