Reflecting vs Analysing

On Tuesday night I attended the first coffee shop chat hosted by Adesola, this involved not only Module 1 students but Module 3 students.

As there was a large group we each had to state what we wanted to gain more understanding on. As it was the first time with students from other modules 1 I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to ask for their advice on the course, what they learnt, gained and wished they had done more of.
Most of them emphasised to 'KEEP UP WITH THE REFLECTIVE JOURNAL!!'

Adesola also reinforced for me the importance of 'Analysis' during module 1 and stated that analysing helps identify what you are interested in and helps with the process of coming up with lines of inquiry.

I feel I did not input as much as I like to into the conversation and was holding back, I think i was intimidated by large number of people.  Learning from this I need to express ideas no matter what in order to progress. With an idea there is no such thing as right or wrong!

It was interesting to take a step back and listen to what stage module 3 students are at and what I will be working towards and took away some interesting pointers to consider when I am at the interviewing stage of my inquiry.

• Think about location- is the candidate comfortable? is there any distractions (traffic, people walking past etc.) 
• Important to build a repertoire with the candidate so they feel comfortable 
• Take into consideration peoples personality, learning styles, they are human (might have had a bad day and not be responsive or be ill or not have much time)

When constructing my questions- 

• Should questions be leading or not?
• Should you adapt the questions or be strict with times
• semi -structured questions?
• Highlight the important questions and prioritise them 

One question I came away with was is the difference between analysing and reflecting?
I have done some reading into this and below is my idea of the difference-

Descriptive writing: Sets the scene. Descriptions should be organised and detailed and sets the scene. Description is called for when you are asked to state, list or describe.

Analysing: Shows the thought process used to arrive at your conclusions about a topic, situation event. Shouldn't be writing a story of what you did, its analysing what you did. Analysing of module 1 will be to state the significance of my findings from the tasks to my practice.

Reflecting: The thought process that occurs after analysing the evidence of a situation or event. This is when you think deeply about what did and did not occur during the experience described, then make decisions about how you would approach these similar situations in the future. Reflective writing must show how the learning you gained from your teaching experiences was used to inform and improve your future practice.
Amanda's blog from the chat highlighted some good questions that could be used to apply when reflecting. Why did I do it? how did i feel? would i do it again? and if I did would I do it differently?

Source:http://www.waproteach.org/rsc/pdf/WAProTeachWritingGuidlines.pdf

I have started writing my reflective journal and enjoying the process and looking forward to seeing how it will progress. Now time to read reader 2 :-)

Reader 1 idea: Visitor/Resident

Whilst looking at other peoples blogs I came across this idea posted by Paula of visitor/resident as a way of describing individuals behaviour for engaging on the web. This idea has been proposed to replace 'Prenskys' idea of digital natives and immigrants. I strongly agree with both ideas as a typology to describe our online presence. I particularly like how White suggest that his theory is a 'continuum' and you can be anyway along the spectrum and it can change depending on an individuals 'motivation and context'.

Through much reading on both theories I don't think the visitor/resident theory can wipe out that of Prensky's, although it is more ethical in terms of metaphors suggested age and language. 

I do think this idea of visitor and resident is much more relevant to current day as the 'immigrant' era is slowly disappearing. 

Below are the links to sources I have used to explore these ideas- 

http://daveowhite.com/vandr/

http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9IMObcyKbo

Task 1d

The use of Images and audio visual is becoming more and more prevalent in todays social media. In the past year we have seen a big increase in audio visual aspects on various sites. 


Instagram- added an audio visual aspect where you can create a story
Snapchat
Facebook live
Facebook- videos automatically play on your news feed. 
YouTube- big increase in 'vlogging'. 

There are numerous reasons why I think images and audio-visual are important aspect of social media today- 

1. Time- Taking a picture or videoing something as your doing it is less time consuming than writing what you are conveying.

2. Draws attention- Having an image on a post makes it stand out and more memorable.

3. Direct

4. Language- There are no language barriers. I like the quote Amanda used in her blog 'Photos are a universal language'. 

5. Clarity- Writing can be misleading. The writer knows the type of mood and tone but it could come across differently to the receiver. Audio visual allows both sides to observe facial expressions and gestures. Hear tones and inflections in the voice. 

6. Engaging

7. Creates ideas

8. Retention- when audio visual are combined it increases message retention. I found these stats quite interesting- 
10% is retaninted- from oral communication 
35% is retained- from visual communication
65% retained- from audio and visual combinded. 

Source: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/audiovisual-media-considered-powerful-tool-means-communication-33541.html 

9. Creates stronger relationships- Being able to put a face to a name helps create a better image and eases communication.  

As with anything in life; there are implications of the use of audio-visual 

1. Cost- Technology comes at a price. Having a phone with a camera is going to cost more than a phone without one. 

2. Ethical considerations- when taking the picture have you asked all of the people in the picture or video shot for their consent for you to post it on social media?

3. Ownership- Although you 'own' the photographs you grant the social media sites a licences to use your photograph. I found this  a very interesting read-

http://www.nyccounsel.com/business-blogs-websites/who-owns-photos-and-videos-posted-on-facebook-or-twitter/

4. False advertising- as there are so many photo editing applications out there are you getting the 'real image' or is it something that has been recreated. 

As you will see from my other blogs I have used images frequently. For me they help convey what I mean as I feel sometimes my words aren't strong enough to display my thought pattern. But after reading about copyright right and laws I feel I should not be doing this without asking permission. This is something I will have to take into consideration as I continue my practice and progress into inquiry stages if I would like to use images in my work. 

One image bank I have used extensively over the past few years is Instagram. I started using instagram as a social tool to keep in touch with friends and family as I was travelling. But over the past few years it has progressed and I started to use it more as a professional tool. 

Instagram has played a big part of my life and become more apparent as a professional tool when I started suffering with anxiety; depression; hyper gymnasia; and no idea of how to have a balanced diet, exercise regime or lifestyle. It became apparent to me I wasn't living a healthy lifestyle and the mind games I was suffering with each day weren't healthy and that I didn't have to go through with it. I choose to use this technology to educate myself and begun following other people that posted about health, food, fitness and wellness and in turn feel I have educated myself and managed to become one of those educators and now enjoy a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle. Below is the link to my Instagram page if you would like to get more of an idea of me and one of my passions. 

https://www.instagram.com/harpers_healthy_habits/?hl=en 

As I am unfamiliar with Flickr I have decided to become acquaint and utilise the time to learn a new technology tool. Below is the link to my first album where I have chosen to display some images from my time as a performer in the Arts industry. 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/152689824@N04/Gae26h


As Amanda and myself have discussed through blogs and comments that our 'level of knowledge about the other person effects interaction'. Because of the nature of the BAPP course I hope allowing other peers to have an insight into my life through my social media profiles will allow more interaction to further our studies. 

What does professionalism mean to you?

One of the discussion points that Paula raised in our Skype session was 'What does being professional mean to you?'

This is something that I have never really thought about but for the past few years I have openly said I am a 'professional dancer'. I decided to actually see what the definition of professional is- 

I feel this is quite a board definition. You may have the qualifications and skills to be able to engage in an activity as a paid occupation but I feel that many other skills are appropriate in stating you are a professional. To explore these ideas I have chosen to explore a new web 2.0 based technology that I have not used before called 'Prezi'. I came across this from a blog by a primary school teacher, Ashley Azzopardi (2012) who gives a list of web 2.0 tools that can be used for effective learning within the classroom. 

As my career plan is to go into primary teaching I feel now is the appropriate time in becoming equipped with the use of new technology tools. I have found it quite stressful but have a real sense of achievement as I pursued through and completed my first presentation. Please use the link below to check it out (caution: it is rather rough around the edges, but it is my first attempt!) 

http://prezi.com/apfk4e_obt0n/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

I think is a fantastic web 2.0 tool that I think I will continue to develop through out my practice. 

Communication:

Factors that effect my communication?

• Audience
• Effectiveness
• Time 
• Cost

Taking into consideration what professionalism means to me I think my communication is greatly effected by who my audience is . Is it a fellow professional/peer, parent, or pupil?

I always want to keep a professional relationship and as there is a blurred line with social media (as discussed in other blogs) of professional/personal use. I would personally choose not to use a web 2.0 professional communication technology to communicate with pupils. 

In terms of my practice I am using the web 2.0 a lot for communication with peers and tutors because of the nature of the course but I will always consider my use of language to keep things professional. 

So far I have already been opened up to the world of web 2.0. I have created a blog, used Skype, developed my skills further with YouTube, and Prezi. I am discovering there is a whole other world out there beyond Facebook, twitter and Instagram and I am interested to see what other tools i discover and how I can effectively use these communication technologies in my practice. 

Task 1b in practice

It is strange how when you read or see something or explore and idea it then becomes so apparent in your day to day life. After reading reader 1 I have noted the use/concerns/ and ideas regarding web 2.0 in my workplace, on the news, with friends, family and in articles. Is it by coincidence or is that I am just paying more attention?

I am currently working as TA in a school in a class with 3 other professionals who are older than me. Each morning the class teachers have brief and then pass on relevant notes to us. This morning's notes related to that of web 2.0 devices such as YouTube and that we need to be more aware of pupils using them as not all our banned on the computer system. Often the case is that the internet is sending links to things that are recommends for you, which can then lead them on to things that are not suitable for their age group. We discussed the matter and after discussion they said they don't even really know how to work these sort of sites. Having read about it and seeing it relevant in practice made me think even more how important it is to be update with these technologies and understood the security risks of them. I like Prensky's theory we are either a 'digital immigrant' or 'digital native'. Although I have been brought up with many of these technologies they are rapidly developing and I don't want to become lost and become an 'immigrant' within the technology world. As I am learning web 2.0 technologies are a vital tool not only as for communication but as a learning device.

Back to reality

The above picture sums up how I am feeling right now....

As I work in the education sector I am fortunate enough to benefit from school holidays. I strategically planned to dedicate two working days to my BAPP studies but then had a few days away in London to visit friends and family. I have not had a holiday in a long time and I consciously decided to not allow myself to think about work, studies, other life stresses (for me this is very hard). Whilst I really enjoyed my time away, (and think it was very beneficial for me) upon returning I feel like a fish out of water and so much to catch up on.  I have scheduled for this evening to look through the slides that Paula posted on her blogs from our first Skype session to get my head back in the game; stimulate the brain again and to then review other peers blogs that I have missed whilst being away.

Wish me luck.