Breeze Room Chat- Wednesday 28th October

Breeze Room Chat, Wednesday 28th October.

Todays chat was the first regarding reader 2 and our journaling process.  Like others in my class…I had a journal but it was blank.  I just didn't know where to start, almost like my first blog post! We talked about all the different theories within the realm of reflective practice, all the different people mentioned in the reader and our current understanding of what we had read so far.  There were lots of things mentioned this morning that I found useful.  We mentioned the idea that this is not necessarily going to be a comfortable process- something said by John Dewey.  Personally, I was a little relieved to hear this acknowledged, It’s something that I had been thinking about and was probably a reason I was reluctant to start my journal. This could be an emotional process with things involved that I may not have considered before.  But, as was said in our Breeze chat, thats ok.  It’s ok to feel uncomfortable, to delve deeper into things that you may have been just been bypassing. 

We then discussed what we wanted our journals to be.  I had been thinking about this too, what type of process was I going to go through.  For me, I would like my Journal to be a place I can collect the experiences from all aspects.  So much of my day to day life is segregated, time at work, time at home then time spent studying.  I think it will be useful for me to reflect on my day as a whole.  A place where there are no pre-placed boundaries, where I can write freely about my day.  I may even find links between things I never knew existed.  I particularly liked the idea a fellow classmate mentioned in regards to writing a letter, either to yourself or someone else.  I believe this is a valuable exercise in puzzling through what you would really like to say to someone.  From that letter, you could then construct a more useful solution to a situation, digging out the meaning of what it is you are trying to communicate. 

I did write in my journal tonight, I sat down and reconstructed my day. I’m sure I have a lot to learn about this process and will be referring to the tasks to help me do so.  It was nice just to sit and be quiet and still for a while.  I will be making time for my journal every, I’m glad it’s not blank any more.

    

Task 1c- Audio Visual

Task 1c Audio Visual. 

This task was something I have been thinking about for a while, I wasn't sure exactly how to approach the idea.  There were several options available but I wasn't particularly comfortable with any of them.  The idea of filming myself was something I was honestly quite scared about.  I toyed with the idea of an interview style approach potentially using another person.  So today I actually sat down, pen and paper ready, and decided to tackle it.  Over the past few weeks I have been really thinking about the idea of an online personality and digital footprint.  I have been spending time making sure I am happy with the information have online.  So now I need to put something else out there, add something else to my digital footprint.  Something else that can be seen by everybody and anybody. Like a lot of performers, give me a script and I’m fine, direct me and I will follow. Be myself? Not likely.  I’m not shy by any means, but the thought of a video online were I am talking in an informal manner made me feel incredibly self conscious just at the thought. I began to feel because of all these insecurities I was missing the point of the task. Time to think about plan B, an alternative route.  Do I really need to talk on this video for my message to be communicated? Do I even need to be on it? The answer is no.  There is a wealth of information and media out there on Web 2.0 that is communicated simply through images.  There are so many images and inspirational quotes that are shared each day via social media, they are successful at communicating a message.  So maybe this was what I needed to try.  It was a process of trial and error and being a perfectionist it was also quite a lengthy process! So here we go, I published it.  When watching it, please keep in mind my video editing skills are relatively new!  Please feel free to leave comments. 

CLICK HERE

Tuesday 13th October Breeze Room Chat

Tuesday 13th October Breeze Room Chat

In tonights's chat several topics were covered in regards to the first reader and the idea of Web 2.0. We talked about the tasks and how we were getting on with everything, it was really comforting to just chat to people on the course and as I have mentioned in other blogs it's good to feel like we are creating a virtual classroom.

A topic we discussed in this chat that I think we all found useful was the idea of our 'social media footprint'.  For example, I had a myspace page from the age of about 15, that's ten years ago.  I have ten years worth of data on many Web 2.0 sites that are easily accessed by anyone!  I was astonished at this thought; not to mention a little bit troubled. So I went ahead and googled my own name to see what details were there for the whole world to see.  I have a stage name so I tried that first. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised.  I found all my head-shots, show videos from Youtube and my Facebook page which I am extremely careful with! So all in all, it wasn't bad.  I was pleased with the material that was there.  I will, however, be removing my old head-shots!

Then I went on to google my full legal name.  The thing that struck me first was the amount of private information that appeared.  On one website I found my name with my home (parents) address.  Postcode included! The website then requested that I sign in to access any further information including what they called a 'background check'.  After being on this website a little longer I saw that it stated it's information was taken from the electoral register.  So is this a good thing or not? At first I will admit I was a little shocked and surprised that it was so easy to find out where I lived. It does seem like a breach of privacy, security too.  It is very easy to link an address to my name. But then I had to think, how many times have I given out my address to various organisations? Had I even thought about it on that level before? Before easy access to the internet many people had their address's and phone numbers in phone directories given out across the country. So why did I react so defensively?  I think it purely is because no one physically asked for permission.  Which made me think, when we give out personal information such as address and phone numbers, how many people are going to have access to it?

Information is so readily available now, especially since the development of Web2.0, i had not stopped to think that it would include my information.  Personally, I would never choose to put my address on any social media site.  It is disconcerting to think that in this case, I didn't have a choice.

            

    

Task 1.d 2D Images

Flickr Account. 

For this task I created a Flickr account, something completely new to me.  In the past I have used Instagram and uploaded pictures to Facebook but this time I thought I would look at an alternative way to share images.  Images and audio-visual is vital in today’s social media, people post pictures for  number of reasons.  They can illustrate a story, provide a visual aid to an example and some are posted just for fun.  As I have mentioned in the past few posts, I have been thinking a lot about the idea of an online personality.  So when I was choosing images for my new Flickr account I kept this in mind, what type of image would portray a professional personality? If a prospective employer or just complete stranger was looking at these images what would I want them to say about me? So I chose images such as, my head-shots, show pictures and a few travel images .  Nothing too personal, but hopefully something that someone out there might find interesting.  Flickr is a great site to share art, looking around the site I was absorbed in a wealth of images, some very thought provoking.  This is another great example of Web 2.0 and how this site encourages users to share and be actively involved. 

When using images, careful consideration has to be applied.  I work with children and there are several child safeguarding issues to consider.  Recently, in my place of work we were creating a book for one of our students, they requested pictures of their friends in the book.  Therefore permission had to be obtained for the children involved from parents and guardians.  It is vital to use caution when working in this environment.  The pictures taken are then to be used for that project alone, if they were suitable for another project permission would be needed again.  Under no circumstances should those images be taken anywhere else.  Teachers and adults working with children need to be extremely careful when working with images.  Also in the same way, any pictures of themselves online need to be in keeping with any policies implemented by the school.    

Feel free to have a look at my Flickr page by clicking here.

    

Task 1b: Professional Communication Technologies.

An Online Personality

Diving into the world of Web 2.0 was eye-opening in many ways, mainly in the sense that this concept is such an active part of our society and I realised I knew very little about it.  In all honesty, it’s not really something I had ever given a lot of thought to; it’s just ‘there’. Studying the Reader lead onto lots of further research into certain topics that particularly stood out for me.  I was overwhelmed with the amount of information available and I read many other articles and interviews, one of which I have previously blogged about here. I began to brainstorm ideas and produced a very messy mind map as a result!  

Web 2.0 is undeniably a huge part of today’s society, so how can it be used within professional practice? One word that came to mind: Networking. There are a number of ways to contact other professionals and to send them a copy of your C.V., email, phone, etc., but there are now ways to connect with other professionals who could potentially develop your career or experience - websites such as LinkedIn.  I then felt a twinge of guilt as it was apparent from my lack of a LinkedIn account that this was something I hadn't really considered before. So, I now have a LinkedIn account and have connections to people who are involved in my industry. I was also surprised at the flexibility I had in creating my own profile page - I was able to add videos of performance projects as well as follow the Education Group and support my work as a Teaching Assistant. I feel like the page gives people a very accurate account of my professional history in the fields of performing arts and education. It is not restricted to representing itself to one particular job role; it’s an active, up to date reflection on my professional experience in all aspects. As I mentioned in the first task, I have two different C.V.’s so it was a welcome change to combine everything as an online professional profile.   

I found it particularly useful to talk to my partner about this as he has used LinkedIn for his career for a while.  I began to talk about the idea of an online personality and we discussed the aesthetics of LinkedIn and how clean it looked, giving a very professional appearance. It forced me to re-evaluate my the design of my Blog.  It was a very bright purple with a busy background. Did it look particularly professional? Or was it just a background that I liked the colour of? I hadn't given much thought to what it would look like to others as part of a professional personality. So, I decided to opt for a more neutral colour scheme. I feel like this choice portrays a more professional, and less personal, online personality - something I now realise is important to me and my development. 

There are many other aspects of Web 2.0 that have evolved not just our professional lives but our online social lives too.  The numbers of people on Facebook is staggering, considering it started as a college website.  So what is it about Facebook that is so appealing? Why does it draw almost a billion users each day?

Mark Zuckerburg said on the subject: 

“The question isn’t what do we want to know about people? It’s ‘what do people want to tell about themselves?’”1

Thinking about why I use Facebook, I can see that this quote really sums up one of the reasons this site is so popular.  People love to tell stories, myself included, and Facebook provides a space to do this. We can share events, pictures and interests and in return we can view this from others. It provides a platform for a wealth of opinions and enriching information. Facebook encourages us to actively participate, and is one of the many Web2.0 sites that is made better by its users.  

Another valuable aspect of Web 2.0 is just how cost effective it is. It encourages users to participate by being easy and free. This is also supported by the use of technology and its rapid development.  It is incredibly easy to access and will even send notifications directly to my phone.  I don’t even have to remember to check it! This supports a very inclusive community feel to Web 2.0 meaning that more people from all walks of life are now sharing experiences and opinions. I found this incredibly useful when I was working away, as staying in touch with family was made much simpler.  If I want to share an experience with a picture I just have to load it once and then everyone can see it.  I have also used this in a professional sense as I have loaded show videos when I was working away. Again, this is all part of creating a professional online personality.    

Web 2.0 can also have some negative effects and I feel it is important to be aware of the things that could potentially go wrong. Web 2.0 should be approached with caution and careful thinking.  A discussion arose in my place of work between the teachers and other staff when our Head Teacher reminded us that it is against the school policy to state on any social sites the name of the school at which we work. This is for many reasons but includes safe guarding the children in our care. This is a particularly sensitive area and mistakes could cause harm both professionally and personally. Whilst Web 2.0 has a wide range of benefits to our education and social life, I believe it really does need to be treated with caution.  Just like anything used in the work place, risk assessment is paramount and now most places of work have a social media policy stating their rules.

I feel like I should also be careful not to take it all for granted. Web 2.0 provides a feeling of instant gratification, and then frustration when it takes more than a few minutes to find our answer. There is so much information to be accessed and now I just expect to find an answer to a question immediately and with little effort. For example, when I worked on a cruise ship for the first time, I learned that the internet onboard was very slow - comparable perhaps to the internet speeds we were all used to 10 years ago. It took me some time to readjust my expectations and get used to the fact that I couldn't find the answer to a question instantly - the internet was no longer a tool of instant gratification to me.

Web 2.0 is a huge driving force in today's world. It is powerful and empowering, giving more freedom of knowledge and learning to its users. We are actively involved in not just reading and procuring information, but we can now all be involved in producing it. This can give us a unique opportunity to give our own reviews and opinions.  Wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone - there is strong sense of “trusting your users” as said by Tim O’Reilly. The clarification of the term 'Web 2.0' can be understood further by looking at the Meme Map created by Tim O’Reilly^2. However, to me Web 2.0 is a valuable source of information and guidance, and can be actively involved in progressing my professional career. I have to make sure that I allow it to do so by being an active participant. Web 2.0 can be a powerful tool in the professional world but as with most things, I believe you get out of it what you put in.


1: ZUCKERBERG, M. (2011).  Exclusive Interview with Facebook Leadership [Online interview] Available from: http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60001374 [Accessed 12/10/2015]

2: O'REILLY, T. , 2005. O'Reilly. What is Web 2.0 Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software , [online] Available at http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html [accessed 12/10/15]

Interesting article- "Why Web 2.0 is Good for Learning and for Research: Principles and Prototypes"

http://wwwconference.org/www2008/papers/pdf/p705-ullrichA.pdf

I really enjoyed reading this article and was struck by several things that I found interesting, it was one that I read online then instantly printed so I could scribble notes on it! This article explains the role of Web.20 in education and how it can be used.  They write about an experiment conducted with language students and how the use of micro-blogging enhanced their learning experience.  

One section of the article that I focused on was the theory of Constructivism,

“Constructivism is based on the premise that knowledge cannot be transmitted but has to be constructed by the individual. Therefore learning is an active process of integrating information with pre-existing knowledge…In constructivism the control over the learning process shifts from teacher to student with the learner playing an active role in the learning process”  

Ullrich,C., Borau, K., Luo, H., Tan, X., & Shen, R. (2008) ‘Why Web 2.0 Is Good For Learning and For Research: Principles And Prototypes’ , ACM, pp. 705-714 

This really brought together the whole idea of the BAPP course and why it is structured the way it is, why we have Blogs for example. The idea that by using Web 2.0 you are experiencing  a very different learning process in which tutors don’t necessarily provide a classroom type delivery but guide you towards constructing your own personal learning space. We also, as professional practitioners, have lots of pre-existing knowledge and experience in our field, tools that we can use in being an active learner.  Reading this article, for me, was like switching a light on over the whole Work Based Learning Practice and it's relation to Web 2.0.  Without Web 2.0 this type of learning experience would be extremely difficult if not impossible.  It made me realise the implications of “playing an active role”.  Not just waiting for things to come to me but to actively look for information and then research it further.

 Has anybody else read this article? I would love to know other peoples thoughts and ideas!       

Tuesday Skype Chat. 

Today’s Skype chat included several points that I found really useful in my own studies.  I think the Skype sessions are incredibly valuable for discussion and ideas.  We don’t have a regular classroom to attend so its really nice to physically talk through things we have been thinking about, especially if someone else ideas can help to develop mine further.  My main reason for being a part of today’s Skype was to see where other people were up to and to see if anyone was having similar thoughts to mine.  After reading the reader and several of the recommended articles I was almost overwhelmed with the amount of information! There was so much that I didn’t know about Web2.0 even though I have been using it for years, for example Facebook.  Speaking to a Module 2 Student was extremely helpful as they have been through the process already and arrived at the other side.  I have been finding it difficult to filter through all of the information that I had been reading, there was just so much to consider I didn't really know where to start, but now I feel a lot more confident and focused on a more specific direction.  A point was made that I should ask what my position is within Web2.0, what does my online personality look like? If someone , i.e a prospective employer where to search for me what would they find? It’s a question now of utilising the information I now have and making it work for me.  Web2.0 is a mass of recourses and I can honestly say that I am not using it to its full potential, I realise that now.  

It was also particularly helpful to discuss our Blogs. Again, in keeping with the idea of an online personality, how do I want my Blog to come across? Do I wish to keep things looking strictly professional, writing in an academic style? Or, is it more useful to write in a more informal style including links to useful recourses etc.  After discussing this I feel like a mix of the two will be most productive.  One one hand I want my Blog to be a professional reflection of my learning, a place that I can practice writing in a certain way . I also want it to be an open space where people feel like that can comment on things I have said.  I don’t want to restrict how I post on my Blog, if I feel like if something has been useful to me then I will informally blog about it and make the effort to reach out to the community, sharing what I have found. 

 I feel like I really have clarified a lot of ideas within this Skype chat and hope the other participants found it as useful as I did. 

I’m really looking forward to the next chat we have!    

Task 1A: Professional Profile

Task 1a: Professional Profile 

The first experience I ever had of writing a C.V was, like most others, from school.  I sat down with my mum and we talked about all the different things that potential employers might want to see.  How to make it readable and easy to understand, the last thing you want is to lose an opportunity because your C.V doesn't clearly represent who you are.  As a performer it's vital to have another type of C.V. In college we had a talk from a spotlight representative on different formats, what people wanted to see and,  most importantly… information that wasn't deemed relevant.  I remember finding this hard, how to sell yourself to a casting director in just one sheet of A4. To me, it seems very impersonal.  I have two C.Vs, one that I refer to as my academic C.V and one that is my performance C.V, from reading other students blogs I feel a lot of us are in the same boat! I once had a workshop with a London casting director and a few people asked for advice on C.Vs and headshot etc.  He reminded us of how important it is to just include relevant information and to leave out things that simply don’t matter to them. He said it was common to get thousands of C.Vs for a castings so time was always an issue! One of the main differences between my two C.V’s is that my performance C.V contains my headshot displayed in the top right corner.  For a job that is not performance related it seems completely unethical that you could be selected for interview purely because of how you look, but of course in the performance world your headshot is the first thing they look at.  

Both my C.V’s are designed to promote myself and advertise to a potential employer that I have the right skills and experience to work for them.   There are plenty things you can learn from looking at a C.V but also plenty of things left unanswered.  Maybe you will be asked about a specific topic  in an interview, maybe they just don’t see it as relevant. Today, I had an interview and I couldn't wait for a certain topic to come up as I was eager to share my experience, it seemed to be the type of thing they were looking for and I knew, given the opportunity, that I could excel with my knowledge in this area.  Today, my C.V guided the potential employer into asking that question, so maybe they are more of just a guideline into a persons professional experience. 

In this task, I'm given the opportunity to miss out the middle man and to write a profile that includes things I particularly want to mention.  I’m not going to set it out like my current C.Vs ( see below) but more of a readable story.  This is the first time I have ever attempted something like this and it took a few drafts before I thought It was worth publishing! I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave comments.

   

My name is Kayleigh Hughes, though on my Equity card it says Kayleigh LeMay, I adopted a name change for my performance career simply because my surname can be quite common.  My first experience of the performing arts was a recreational school when I was four years old and by the time I was a young teenager I had decided that performing arts was more that just a hobby, I switched dance schools in order to gain exam qualifications.  I was also attending De La Salle High School which had a performing arts status at the time.  Throughout school I was actively involved in anything and everything I could be, from the big end of year productions to the orchestra and the choir. 

I then went on to pursue my A levels in Dance, Performing Arts and Drama and Theatre studies.  Whilst at Winstanley College I was auditioning for Schools across the country and was fortunate enough to gain a full scholarship to attend Liverpool Theatre School on their three year course in Professional Musical Theatre.  It was here that I had my first experience of the professional world and just how challenging it was going to be.  Liverpool Theatre School was extremely disciplined and I am proud to have attended a school that really prepared me for the industry. 

Graduating into the professional world I secured my first job as a performer working as a lead vocalist for Warner Leisure Hotels.  This job was incredibly demanding and required a lot of hours, here I learned that to be in this industry, sacrifices were not uncommon. 

 After that contract I took the leap and moved from the north of England down to London. This is were I became a teaching assistant.  This was primarily supposed to be just a job but I was surprised just how much I enjoyed it.  I found myself asking my teaching agency for more challenging roles and placements in a range of schools. Often I worked one to one with children who had SEN, I found this particular rewarding.  I also worked in a Children's' Hospital School where  I was constantly required to be creative and ‘think outside the box’  the children in my care had various barriers to learning and it was and extremely rewarding to rely on my performing arts background to solve problems.  I quickly learnt that no two days were ever the same when working with children and young adults, I found the challenge exciting and invigorating. It was here that I developed and interest in Arts used as Therapy, I am fascinated with this topic and am looking forward to learning more.  

I also have experience teaching the performing arts in private dance schools. Like other fellow performers, this is something I love to do.  The experience of helping a student develop their skills is a journey I am proud to be a part of.   

I was then given the opportunity to work for Stiletto Entertainment in LA and then perform on board a Holland America Line Ship.  I jumped at the chance to develop my performance career and was given the F1 role as a lead vocalist.  Cruise ships were never part of my plan, but I am so glad that It happened!  Cruise ship life presents so many opportunities not only to do the job you adore but to travel the world and meet amazing people. I met my partner on my last contract, he is a navigation officer, and now we live in South Shields whilst he completes his next licence. It was on my last contract that I started to really think about the BAPP course and what I would like to do next. Im incredibly excited to develop as a professional and look forward to the challenges ahead.