Coming to the End of 'Part 1' - Task 1D

So I am coming to the end of Part 1 of Module 1 on my BAPP Course.  I must admit although I am feeling a lot more confident with my approach to this first module I am still anxious as to where I am heading.  I felt the ideas flooding in after our chat on Skype last week but unfortunately after a week of teaching I can't seem to get my train of thought back.  Something I am also finding hard is finding the right balance between work and study, I do understand that my work is my study in a way but its finding the way to combine the two I'm struggling with.  Not sure if that even makes sense but hopefully someone on the course can relate to me.

So far I have approached this module in a 'step by step' manner, completing each section as it comes and not reading ahead.  I am not sure if this really the best way to work but it seems to be working for me.  I actually completed task 1d without even knowing it.  In a previous blog I mentioned that I had set up a professional Instagram account, I didn't know it was a task as such at the time, but previous tasks had got me thinking about ways to get my professional self in the public eye.  I have decided to keep my Facebook account private and for mostly personal use. Where as I will use Instagram to advertise myself as a Dance Teacher.  In the future when I find my self more established as a freelance dance teacher I will then look into creating a Facebook Group to advertise my services. 

In case you missed it in my previous blog,
https://instagram.com/alexandriablakejacks15

Task 1c - Audio-Visual........ this scares me a little. I have never been good at public speaking and the thought of a video of me speaking about my self being out there on the web makes me very nervous.  I know I will need to over come this to be able to progress, I just feel this task might take me a little longer.  I think I will be able to complete this task at a higher standard once I have learnt a little more from this course.

I am really excited about my Instagram account, its possibilities are endless.  So far I have uploaded a few professional dance photos of myself, I have also uploaded a picture of my new NATD Membership card stating 'I will be offering their Contemporary Syllabus as from December 2015'.  I thought this would be a good way to advertise my new classes starting in the new year.  Most of my followers are students of mine so it is vital that I stay 100% professional with what I'm posting, but I'm finding it really handy to advertise new classes and myself as a dancer.  Although I am no longer dancing professionally I still think it is useful to have professional dance photos taken to show off your skill and encourage students to admire you.
I am also going to use my Instagram to document my journeys to any CPD Courses I attend and to dance festivals etc, making sure any students photographed have given parental consent for use of imagery.

Using 2D images to sell yourself is a way of life these days. This is because it has become so easy for anybody and everybody take photographs, edit, add dialogue, crop and do practically anything they want to them.  I remember as a child my friends and I would buy a disposable camera for special occasions and I'm sure I've got some undeveloped film reels in a box somewhere, who knows what's on them.  Now with all this advanced technology children as young as 4years old can snap a picture of anything on their IPad and it can be shared worldwide within seconds.  I am learning how I can use this way of life to my benefit and I look forward to sharing my journey with you all. 

Answers were not what I was looking for. (Skpye Session 16.10.15)

Hi everyone,
I am back to share an experience that I just shared with a few other BAPP students.
It was great to meet and chat to people in the same position as me but scattered around the world. Unfortunately our breeze session was unsuccessful but we had a good old chat on Skype.

This has been the first time I have spoke with other people on the same course and now I wonder why I have not contacted them before now.  I was so nervous but Paula asked us all to introduce our selves and that really broke the ice and made me feel more at ease with speaking to complete strangers.

It is just helpful knowing that I am not the only one who is struggling with things and feeling a bit lost.  One of the questions I had jotted down to ask Paula was:

'how will I know if I am heading in the right direction as some times I feel as if I'm waffling and drifting away from the point I'm trying to make.' 

I learnt that there is no right or wrong way to go about what we are trying to achieve as all of us are individuals and will see and explore topics and tasks in very different ways.  We are on a journey trying to find what way works for us personally.  I think I felt I was waffling because I was so excited about this new way of sharing my thoughts and feelings, it was hard finding a way to start.  There are so many current topics that are affecting me in the work place that I want to share and discuss with others in the profession which leads to the next question I had for Paula:

"can we use our blogs to speak about other topics that are not tasks?"

I now know I can discuss anything at all as it will all add as experience and hopefully generate a wider audience and allow me to debate and discus matters that are affecting me as a professional. 
Relating back to Reader 1 - Remixable data and transformations, In my previous blog I struggled with what to write for this topic as I felt I had nothing that related to it.  I know understand more about this and it obviously relates to me in so many ways.  I think it was Lucy Calvert who asked "can you delete and edit your posts?"  Paula made it very clear that this is what we should be doing. Writing blogs, reading them back then editing and improving them. We also discussed how it would be useful to screen shot the blog before you edit it, as you will be able use these to document on your learning process through out this Degree.
So yes I do remix my personal information constantly, the blog is only one example. I pretty much edit every post I put on social media for one reason or another.

We also touched on the subject of our personal information being out on the web for everyone to see and how important it is to be careful with the way we are portraying ourselves as professionals. Also an interesting subject to look further into is, if someone else has published information about your self can you then delete that?

 

These are a few words Paula said that really stuck with me. It made me realise that I have been only looking out in my research and blogs. Relating topics to other people in other circumstances and not to my own personal self. Although its important to relate to other peoples situations it is equally as important to look back at your self and your own experiences.  This is how I will learn and improve what works best for me.

I hope this blog has been helpful for anyone that couldn't make the session today. Look forward to meeting you all in the future.

Thanks again to Paula, Cassie, Bethany and Lucy for making my first session so enjoyable and informative.

Moving with the times and becoming one with technology. (Task 1b)

I am no techie, me and technology have never got on, or at least that's what I thought.  I have now realised it is me who has never given technology a chance. Starting on this degree course has made realize how behind time I am but that's got to change if I'm am going to progress as a professional.

 

I have recently upgraded to my first smart phone, I don't know why it has taken me so long, I was just happy with my old little Mobile. Wow it has opened a whole new world for me.  I can access pretty much anything in seconds. Amazing when you actually think about it.

 

Reading through http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html really helped me understand more about how the web works and how it has and is continually evolving.

 

 

Above O'Reilly diagram of Web 2.0 Meme Map.

In this there are number of core competencies listed, I have read further into the three that affect me as a professional practitioner, which are as follows:

 

Architectures of participation

 

I have never really thought much into how Web 2.0 platforms work, probably because I didn't even know they existed as such.  Now thinking about it, I wouldn't have a job if the Web 2.0 didn't exist.  I am a freelance dance teacher and I have found all of my jobs on Facebook on a dance teachers group (its a fab group for any other teachers out there https://www.facebook.com/groups/166706590140616). Its scary to think how hard it must of been for teachers fifteen years ago to find work only having Web 1.0 to rely on, for example classified adds in  Newspapers.

 

When I created my profile on Facebook back in 2006 it was all about uploading fun statuses and silly photos, I'm still doing that now but I have become wiser and am more careful with the way I portray my self with data I upload.  I have never added any of my students or their parents as friends on Facebook as I feel this is not professional and it can also blur boundaries, although on the other hand if I owned my own school I can see why it would be beneficial and sometimes necessary to create groups on social media sites when trying to organize an event or advertise a new class.

 

Having worked on the administration side of things at both a Vocational Dance College and a local dance school, I can now think back at how the use of Web2.0 differed in each establishment. 

The College defiantly used more Web1.0 resources to advertise their services and get their name out into the world, than what they did Web2.0 social media sites.  We used to print out flyers for various workshops and send them out to our contacts via post, which was very costly and time consuming, when you think you could upload a flyer on Facebook for free and there is no limit to how many people can see it, people who will then like, share and comment on your flyer spreading the news further. Sending it via post you are never to know if it even reached its destination.  At the local school we use more Web2.0 resources such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get our name out and advertise.

 

I wonder is this because the principal of the college was from an earlier generation and was still stuck in their old ways, where as the principal of the local school has grown along side these technologies?

Or is it because more professional establishments find the use of social media to contact, interact and share with customers "unprofessional"?

I have recently set up an Instagram account. I am going to use this professionally to advertise my self as a teacher. I feel I will enjoy documenting my journey through photographs.

Please follow me on Instagram - alexandriablakejacks15

 

To be continued off teaching now 😉 



Keeping your Curriculum Vitae up to date

My First Dance CV Created in 2009 whilst at NBS.

Above I have attached my first ever CV that I created whist in my final year at NBS.  I had never really created a document like this before and I chose to use Microsoft Word. I now know there are many different programs that offer many more editing tools such as Microsoft Publisher and PowerPoint.  I must admit I am no tech genius and it has taken me over an hour just to convert this document from a Word Doc to a JPEG, but now I know how it is so simple! The of having the big wide web at your finger tips. You can ask absolutely anything and you will more often than not get your answer.   If anyone else would like to know how to do this please follow the link below:
http://www.wikihow.com/Change-a-Word-Document-to-JPEG-Format

 



My "Normal Job" CV

This is the CV I created once I had graduated from NBS and I realised I had to get a "normal job" to fund my traveling to and from auditions.  This is my most up to date version.

I think a good way to start fresh along side starting this degree would be to create a new CV to sell myself as a Dance Teacher as this is the way my career is taking me, using all the techniques and tricks I have learnt over the years to make it eye-catching and professional.

WATCH THIS SPACE :)

Edit 22/10/15

I'm back to upload my new teachers CV.  I have removed quite a lot of 'bumpf' from my original current CV.  I realised potential employers may be put off by my CV being too long, I have only kept qualifications that are relevant to Teaching job positions and also deleted most of my employment history as I feel this is not relevant either.  i used both of my past cv templates and decided to keep on picture.   I have also included my Teacher Membership Numbers and my Registered Self-Employed Number which I think enhances my employability.

 

Please feel free to leave any comments or suggested improvements. :)