Task 3C- Sources of information

Task 3C- Sources of information

It surprised me when looking at this task that I only use two main sources when I search for information about my professional practice. Internet and Friends/companions. Before Internet was so popular I would also look through the weekly paper for jobs and ‘The Stage’ wasn’t online it was delivered through the post. Below is a breakdown of the five main sources I use:

Internet

·      The Stage www.thestage.co.uk In or out of work I always find myself looking at The Stage website, it has upcoming auditions and job opportunities and well as news about the industry so keeps me in the know!

·      ISTD www.istd.org At the moment I am mainly using this for looking for ISTD Dance Teacher jobs and in the future I will use this to see when there are course days that will benefit my teaching.

·      Facebook www.facebook.com a lot of Entertainment companies, dance schools and organizations are using Facebook. Every business these days more often than not has a Facebook sight. I use Facebook to find out about auditions and to see what is going on at local dance schools.

·      You tube www.youtube.com I mainly use You-Tube to research Dancers, Shows and performances. There are some extremely inspiring videos that can be found o n You-Tube as you can see the talents of people of all ages from across the world and I find this very exciting.

Friends

If you ask people in this industry it is very common for people to say that they got their job because they know someone who was working there. ‘Who you know’ is very important in this industry. Therefore it is important to make connections and keep a good circuit of friends.

I have also found that word of mouth is very useful when finding out about auditions and upcoming opportunities. I have my friends to thank for a lot of ‘Heads up’ about auditions for example. I have found that the more people you are in contact with the more in the know you will be.

TASK 3B

Task 3B

Co Operation – ‘The will and way to win’

‘Co-operate until maximum benefit produced then defect’ Robert Axelrod (1984)

To me this seems like ‘using’ one another and unfortunately I do feel that in this competitive industry this happens a lot, using people to get to where they need to be and to be successful. An example of this I have is in auditions, I have seen people who cannot pick up the chorography so they ask another auditionie what it is, they then work together perfecting the routine, yet in the end it could be the person who didn’t know the steps who defects and gets the jobs at the end!

Also another example of this could be joining professional networks because there is something in it for you and then leaving and joining when a new one is offered to you.  I have personally gone to auditions, which I don’t necessary want the job at the end of it but it is about getting your face seen, experience and professional networking.

I ask myself do I think this is fair? Of course not, but do I think it is necessary in this industry? Unfortunately yes, everyone seems to be doing it and in this industry you are your own product and you have to put yourself out there.

Co-operation is closely associated with ‘Game Theory’

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/playground/pd.html

Above is a link to ‘Prisoners Dilemma’ an example of game theory. Looking at using this idea in my own professional network is interesting as I do see it being done a lot, however I feel as this has been developed by the ideas of scientists it has failed to consider the ethical side and is in our nature to be selfish? This theory does not consider our conscious thoughts. Not everyone is out to defect.

Robert Axlerod (p.6 1984) describes this theory as ‘an investigation of individuals who pursue their own self-interest ,not based on the concern for others or upon the welfare of the group as a whole’ This is were I have problems with this theory as in dancing and theatre you do need to work as a group and not ‘defect’ and of course you have to be careful because if you defect whilst in the professional network will these people want to work with you again?

For me I feel that in the future I will think about the game theory when professionally networking as it can work in your favor to help you get ahead but at the same time it could damage your reputation in the industry.

Affiliation

I agree with the general concept of Affiliation and I found reading about this very intriguing, especially the part about how it is in a nature to ‘ form close relationships’ (crisp + turner, 2007, p.266)

This is because the need for Affiliation differs from person to person. O’Connor & Rosenblood (1996, p. 267) suggest this may link to relative and preferred levels of social stimulation (introvert – extrovert)

 However I argue this point as I find that being socially interactive is different/harder for some people than being professionally interactive. I have seen it many times where a person is very extrovert at work but introvert out of the work place and well engrossed with professional networks.

I question the point is this information about Affiliation too vague in context to professional networking, as it is a social psychology concept and people are extremely complex. 

The course reader also states that engagement in professional networking takes place because it is a psychological need, for all people. I disagree with this, as some people do not want to be part of a professional networking. I feel some people consider professional networking as a must not a want.

Although I agree that you have to be involved in the professional network in order to be successful and get the most out of it that you can.

After reading about Affiliation It confirmed what I already knew that I am neither an Introvert nor Extrovert. I tend to change depending on such situation and that’s why I feel that sometimes it may not be natural to be fully involved in the networks for some people as really they may be Introvert, yet for the good of their profession they will act the best they can and be fully committed and involved.

I feel that social interaction may be determined by psychological determinants and individual and cultural differences between individuals.

Social Constructionism.

Reading this has helped me to really think about how I can use this theory to help benefit my career and professional networks in the future, this is because it is saying that interacting in a network helps us to construct meanings. In other words you get our what you put in. In the future I would like to do a schools direct program or a pgce, in order to do this i have to engage in schools networks to construct meanings and realations.

 ‘With a network of support that will help us when we are in need’ (Crisp & Turner 2007 p. 266).

I can relate this to my current professional practice as I am currently teaching dance at my old dance school and I got this job as I am always staying connected and involved with the dance school network which in turn supports me.

Connectivism  

This links back to Professional networking, this theory is saying that there is so much information around at the moment and so many different sources for example the use of Web 2.0 we can learn and share information so much easier than previously with this in mind in can help our professional networks to expand and grow.

I am using this a lot on this course by using the Blogs, this is helping me to share ideas and find new ideas from others.

I am constantly using the Internet and you-tube to find out more information and using ‘the stage’ and web pages to find out about professional networks.

Communities of Practice

I agree with this theory that being part of a community or practice you are in a group of shared experience and learning,

Wenger identified a community of practice as existing on three dimensions:

• what it is about – its joint enterprise as understood and continually

Renegotiated by its members;

• How it functions - mutual engagement that bind members together into a

Social entity;

• What capability it has produced – the shared repertoire of communal

Resources.

This is something that as a dancer and performer you do naturally, when you join a dance school you are part of that community then when you join a show or production you enter a community. Like Wenger says you are sharing the same experiences and in this network you work together in order learn and grow.

Ethical Considerations

I have touched on ethical considerations throughout this post, but to conclude I feel that we need to think about how what we do affects other people. Are some of these theories a bit selfish? Game theory does it really work in our favor or by defecting can you hurt other people and your own reputation?

Another point worth mentioning is using Web 2.0 when we share things to our professional network you have to make sure that it is only visible by those who you wish to see it.  I mention a lot about this in my blog about Web 2.0

Martin Weller in Thee Digital Scholar suggests “It is not just the internet that is significant in terms of networks but, more recently, the advent of social networks that is having an influence on scholarly practice” (2011, p.7).

This relates to us on the BAPP course, this is because the majority of our work is done over the internet, especially if you cannot attend the course days or Skype sessions, so I will conclude with one finally question; Can you form a successful professional network without having direct contact with those in the network?

Task 3a Professional Networking

TASK 3A

In this industry I find myself relying a lot on professional networks to find out about upcoming auditions and upcoming job opportunities. I belong to a lot of different professional networks at the moment, ranging from dance school networks to different entertainment companies.

Professional networking is very important as the success of your networking is evident in the success of your career. In this industry you hear, 'it's who you know' a lot and this is very true. So by networking with others in the industry and getting to know as many people as possible will really help your career. I always find that i get to know people through my friends and friends of friends so being professional and keeping in contact with people is key in professional networking. A simple coffee and a catch up could work in your favour in the long run! 

The current way that I engage in my professional network is mainly by Internet. Facebook sights for example, the dance school I am currently teaching at has their own Facebook page in which pictures from dance shows can be posted and information can be shared to those in the network. I know that this is the same for lots of different networks for example different clubs and organizations.

There are Facebook pages which share auditions, so many people want to join this network and their motives are to find out about new and upcoming auditions. It is a great place to share information with people who have the same interests and ambitions.

Twitter is very popular especially with celebrities and more established practitioners. I believe this is so popular because it’s a way on getting across information quickly and ‘to the point’ which is accessible for people to see all around the world. Recently twitter has become very popular but as well as its good points it has its bad, for example people sometimes tweet in the hear of the moment and say something that they wouldn’t say face to face. So although it is a good way to promote yourself and your business, if you are using it for your professional network I think the key is to stay professional at all times and think before you tweet!

I was told about ‘LinkedIn ‘ a couple of summers back by a friend of my parents and I had never heard of this before so I looked into it and I singed up for it, but I never really used it, I now feel that many more people are using LinkedIn to help create a professional profile and network. Do any of BAPP use it and if so how useful are you finding it? Would you recommend it?

Ethical considerations for networking in the workplace is very important to me as a dance teacher, I see it all the time people posting videos of dance classes on Facebook for everyone to see and I do have to question that why it is good advertisement for the class and the choreographer, whether the parents and people in those such videos have given permission for it to be shown publically. The scary thing about the internet is once something has been put on there it can be copied and saved so if it is deleted by the owner people would have had the opportunity to copy the video.

Another consideration I see is Personal details, I don’t feel that you should give away your personal details on professional networking sights unless it is the company’s address, work email and contact information for example and definitely not the people who are part of that network. It is just a means of safety as well as keeping your work and personal life separate.

Facebook teacher and pupil relationship is another point I’d like to discuss this is because at college we were not allowed to be friends with the teachers on Facebook, although we were training to be professionals and it was a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere between teacher and student than at school for example I believe that this was the correct rule for the college to apply as it helps to distinguish between teacher and friend. I also feel that it helps to protect both teacher and child from accusations. I feel that unless there is a professional network sight created for a dance school or group for example, personal Facebook accounts should not be shared with pupils. 

In terms of my own professional network, eventually I would like to have my own Facebook ‘group’ page. This could then be used as a page to share information to classes that I may teach or show information I have been in. However I think this is something that I should work on for the future as I am just developing my own teaching network and as I mentioned earlier the dance school which I am cover teaching at had its own Facebook page and webpage which I can communicate through if need be.

I used to have Spotlight and this would have been a great example of my professional network as here is where you are promoting yourself to agents and casting directors. For those on BAPP who have spotlight I think this task is a great opportunity to look over your spotlight looking at it as a professional network and seeing what improvements could be made.

At the moment I feel that my biggest professional network is my BAPP Blog so I think I can continue working on how I come across as a professional and discuss and share points of views with others on the course.

I feel that my professional network will be a working process and I will be interested to look back after the course and see how it has develop. 

Reflecting on my Blog Posts so far!

After an email to Alan I have realized that I need to evaluate and reflect on my own work more rather than seeking approval from others. Reflecting on my own work will help improve my own work. Below are some questions that I will try and answer to help me evaluate my own blog posts so far.

What sorts of qualities and characteristics do I observe in my posts?

I have noticed that I tend to express my personal feelings a lot in my blog posts relating points to what I know and have experienced. I seem to write in a descriptive way and go into great detail when needed. I feel that in my Blog on Task 2D I have set out my argument well as I have backed up points I have mentioned.

 I have noticed that I have added pictures or You-Tube clips in most of my Blog posts, which shows that I like to use Visuals to help get my view across. Reflecting on this is interesting, as I didn’t consciously do this, so shows that I use visuals to help me and I didn’t even realize I was doing it. Although I am not a visual learning it does help me in my blog posts.

My Blog on Task 2C ‘Reflective Theory’ is very long and written in an essay style and again I have used diagrams to explain my view and I have linked my findings to my professional practice. I use lots of quotes in this blog posts and I believe I do this as I am used to quoting from when I did my Religious Education and English A levels.

I have also noticed that my posts are quite frequent and mainly when I am writing about a task I have completed.

What are the different ways I observe others structuring and creating their posts?

I have noticed that a lot of people have posted pictures of their learning, for example how they have tried doing graphs for their journal and others have posted pictures of timetables they have created for themselves. I am not comfortable in doing this as I find this a bit personal and the journal is a private way to reflect.

I have noticed that some people are a lot more active with their blogging than others and it is those who are being active who are getting the most feedback from others.

I have also noticed that some have quite short and precise blog posts and others have very long descriptive blog posts. Some people are very good at reflecting on recording this in their blog posts, however I have noticed that some people have completed tasks without showing they have fully reflected. There are some very good blog posts where people have related their opinions and reflections with their professional practice and these are the Blogs that I enjoy to read the most.

Some of the Blog structures are a lot clearer than others, the clearer ones are the people who have got headings for different parts of their blogs and who have set it out in sections so it is clear to read. Some people write in a big clump with no spaces or headings and I find this quite difficult to tackle, as it doesn’t invite me to read it.

 What are the good qualities in my Blog posts?

What could I improve upon?

I could try and link my thoughts and ideas to my personal professional practice more rather than my general knowledge of the industry and people in it. I feel if I try and link things more to my personal involvement it will help me to grow as a professional.

I do feel that I am very good at backing up my ideas and views and I have included many quotes and have done a lot of extra reading especially for my Blog on ‘Reflective Theory’ (Task 2c)

I feel that I could lay out my Blog posts so they are easier to read and not so overwhelming if the post is long.  To make it a bit clearer I could use different colors to help show different sections. 

To what extent are my posts demonstrating effective or meaningful reflection?

I Feel that my Blog post are really helping me to reflect on my professional practice, especially when people comment on my posts it makes me reflect on what I have written in my post and helps to open up my mind to new things.

Completing the Tasks opens up my mind to new ideas and ideas that have always been there yet become more obvious when I reflect on my professional practice. It does amaze me that if I really think about my professional practice there are so many things that relate to me and I know so much more than I thought I did and this is all down to reflecting.

As I write my Blog posts I am reflecting on things I have done in my professional practice for example see my Blog on Task 2C it shows how I have really reflected on my professional practice already.

I am really starting to reflect more on my every day professional practice and put into effect things I have learnt and thought about. I am very exciting to keep reflecting throughout the Degree and for my knowledge of my professional practice and my own thoughts to expand.