skimming through Part 2 The Reflective Practitioner

Skimming through The Reflective Practitioner, has made me think of a swimming pool of reflection, making me at first want to reach for the float or arm bands to help with the reflection of myself. Knowing I am about to question my own feelings and how I feel about things, predicting the emotions that may come. Then I started to feel the 'softness of the pause' just like I did on 'Induction Day' and felt I didn't need the float or arm bands because the water was no longer too deep and I could walk. I glance at the questions 'What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about?' 'Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?' 'What do you love about what you do?' As I started to skim through these questions, I started to feel a bubble of fresh air as I started to think about my current practice, I also started to reflect of how I would have felt about a year ago. Would I have felt the bubble of fresh air? What has changed? Is this a bubble of fresh air that would travel with me throughout my practice? Feeling a little apprehensive because it is feeling like a bubble, yet also feeling the warmth of the fresh air that is moving me forward.

Blog

Have started writing a journal, and have also enjoyed looking at other student's blogs.  I also want to become more of the creator of other  people's blogs, as said in Web 2.0 reader. I am going to aim to write on someone's blog everyday, aiming to develop my questioning and improve my speaking.

I have found managing and keeping a blog up-to-date can be time consuming for one person. However collectively a Web 2.0 blog can grow if more people are engaged in writing it. I see the potential  of Web 2.0 to do develop a network and improve the organizing of a PTA, because people would become more engaged over a period of time.

Flickr 1d images

Set up Flickr account, still somewhat anti Flickr. However have used it, added the first draft of the thinking hats. We use the Six Thinking Hats for collective thinking, have added the White Hat for information, will add other drafts of the other Hats over the next couple of days. Will adapt hats the       more I reflect.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94075531@N06/

task 1c

Okay, totally out of my comport zone, with me being in front of the camera and speaking for a brief moment.  Haven't animated the images yet, but may do towards the end of the course if I have a little a time. I would have also benefited from a moving tripod, but knocking out the green screen or blue screen did work though. Got load ideas from when I went to Hampton Court, great setting for stories, movies, music videos etc.. for children and adults.

I will upload images to Flickr soon, started reading Part 2 and will be updating CV over the next few days.

task 1c

Sky Studios, 1c Audio -visual, 2d images, cv

Spent last Friday at sky studios with children from school, absolutely loved it. Children were given different jobs each, Editor, Producer, Director, Camera Man, Script Writer, Presenters etc.. Children were creating a News clip, they selected different types of film and edited it. Film in front of a green screen. Software they used was very simple and children could grasp it straight away. We also got a tour of sky studios and took some photos. Children really loved the filming, but felt it was a little short and would have liked to try different jobs. 

The day did give me a foundation to how I might start my Gifted and Talented club, as I am planning to mix talents E.G a child could have SEN but be talented in art etc... I felt I could teach and expand what the children were taught, even if it is with a 'cheap' camcorder compared to the price of the ones at Sky Studios.  I plan to create different group projects (not just filming) for my club and seeing how they delegated job roles really helped along with other elements of the day, it also gave me ideas of how to plan my club. 

Furthermore I even got a few ideas for my audio visual, because normally I am the one behind the scenes and starting the BAPP is about trying something new, so I very much want to brave the unknown an show an element of me on my audio visual.  

For the last couple of weeks I have been think about my 2d images, as I am not overly keen on Flicker, after seeing my son's photos all over Google. He needed to upload photos when he was applying for University, thinking they were only going on Flicker. The thing is my son is doing a Photography course, so we were not amused. So I might have a look at other image-banks before I embark on Flicker, Flicker is good for advertising though. I have decided to create either few Montages, mood-boards or illustrations that relate to a school/education - thinking I might link them to SENs or Six Thinking Hats that my work place is passionate about. I will continue to update my CV while I complete other tasks, now that it is easier to up-date, my interactive buttons work and I can change and edit them easily.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is World Book Day and dressing up as Book characters is what goes on in the Professional Practice where I work. I am dressing up as Dennis the Menace and I am just about to paint black stripes on a red top. (quick drying paint) 

Task 1b Communication Technology – web 2.0

When Web 2.0 was first mentioned I was unfamiliar with the term even though I would say I have good computer skills and have the ability create a website. But the more I read the Reader 1 – Professional Communication Technology the more I realised how much it is a part of my life and how much I understand the concept.

I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family, as well as add more professional colleagues. However I do currently keep my Facebook closed off and limit the people I add, because I work in a school.  I also use YouTube a lot to access software training videos, music, stories for children etc… I can also see myself adding my own software training videos in the future. Using Google to research has become second nature and I have also used Wiki, to give a guide on a subject before doing further research.

Working in a school and having created my own website, I can recognize the importance of eSafety, I am also where that not all the information when researching is correct and it often has a ‘long tail’ as suggested by ‘Tim O Reilly’. It is easy to create a website and everything you put on the ‘WWW’ is on the World Wide Web and has the potential to be hacked. However you can limit the risk by using passwords and firewalls, plus you can also make an educated judgement on the information researched because a lot of it is very useful.

Facebook is at times avoided by schools because of eSafety, but this is not always in the best interest because Facebook has moved on so much since it started out in 2004 that it has become a part of many people’s lives, it is a good way to communicate and keep in touch with each other like Twitter.   (Attitude not technology - meme map – Tim O Reilly)  They are starting to teach eSafety when it comes to Social Networking, they also use Fonter and Frog to sometimes interact, some councils use Twitter to tell parents about snow days etc..,  However when it comes to Facebook, schools are very much at the early stages and are beginners even though there 400 million active users.but they are reluctant to embrace it potential to communicate with parents and create a professional network, because of potential repercussions.  I see Web 2.0 is having great potential to develop a PTA; yes it would need to be monitored, have some rules but it would encourage engagement, give the instruments (as quoted by Bourdieu 1993, Duncombe 1997, McCarty & Junnett 2001, O’Hagan1996, Schuster 1991) to parents to be able get more involved, raise awareness, become the reader and creator – over coming barriers.

As quoted in reader 1 - Communication encourages and enables participation, an active and passive aspect, taking part is as important as creating it.  People who make media and people who consume, encourages people to engage, artist are the audience. Consumption and production, key selling points, network or industry, reading and consuming materials.  I feel this sums up its benefit and Facebook, Wiki, Google are all positive examples of the growth of Web 2.0.   eSafety is also very important as mentioned before because at times you could be talking to complete strangers and you don’t always know who owns the website. Raising awareness, keeping an open mind on the information out there, applying common sense as well making an educated judgement can limit the risk, a bit like a crossing a busy road.

I will continue using Web 2.0, because it has become part of my life. What's more even though I enjoy meeting up with friends, family and professional colleagues, it isn’t always possible due to the instruments of life and web 2.0 gives me an open platform of social and professional networking while I am at home or on my travels.