Web 2.0: You've made a believer out of me!

At the start of this module, I had my reservations about web 2.0 although it has always been a invaluable source of information I was reserved in regards to social media and whether it causes more harm than good. Well....I've been converted . It amazes me the impact that web 2.0 can have on our lives. A recent example is Sophie's Appeal. Sophie a 19 year old from Wirral, who died from cervical cancer after being refused a smear test due to her age. This sparked a petition to lower the age of cervical screening tests which is currently set at 25, with it's 310,000 signatures breaking the record of any other government e-petition. A Facebook campaign was also so launched to raise awareness, so here's my no make up photo in memory of Sophie.

I have also found myself giving colleagues advice on how they can use Web 2.0 to help their work. I overheard a member of staffs conversation with a student and offered my knowledge on how they could share and comment on videos using Web 2.0.

Inquiry

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about?

• Over the past few years the ISTD have been updating the Tap syllabus. The new work has been created to better showcase a more Rhythm tap style. This is something that has always appealed to me. I am always enthusiastic to learn new things and this work has been no exception. Although I found the new syllabus challenging at first as it was so different to what I had been taught with regards to style, weight placement and many more aspects, I embraced the new work and it gave me a deeper love for the genre. I am enthusiastic to learn more Rhythm Tap and develop ideas myself.

• I really enjoy to choreograph although I sometimes find it hard, and cant always be creative spontaneously in class instead I prefer to create work in my own time without the pressure or restriction of time and adapt during class. With this in mind I am curious about the creative process of others and finding and exploring new choreographic ideas

• With the introduction of the new Tap syllabus there is a greater emphasis on rhythm development and use of improvisation, the more I learn the better at this I become. I enjoy passing on my love of rhythm to my students and hope that it inspires them to be better. Finding new ways to develop rhythm and improvisation allows me to help the student to develop their skills.

• I like nothing better than a debate focused around teacher training, every lesson I learn different and new ideas. I enjoy taking those ideas and adapting them and changing them into something I can use in my classes, then bringing it back to the student teachers and showing them what I have learned, how best those ideas worked and how we could develop them to suit other circumstances. Sometimes a simple statement can turn into a full discussion, I am always eager to see where these discussions take us.

Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

• Alison Forrester is a member of the Tap committee for the ISTD and was part of the creative team that developed the new work. Once new work has been created courses are held at various ISTD centres around the country in order for teachers to learn the new work. I am lucky enough to work at one of those centres. Alison has been our lecturer at these courses and I have learned so much from her over the past couple of years. She has inspired me to research and learn more about the genre, as she not only teachers the syllabus but tells us where the steps have come from and how the can progress as well as teaching tips and advice.

http://www.istd.org/staff/alison-forrester/%E2%80%8E/

• I recently attended a workshop with the company Tap attack. One of the classes was run by a Hoofer named Lee Payne. The focus of the class was on improvisation. Lee is deeply musical and expressive and has a strong passion for rhythm and its development. In one class I learned so much and I couldn't wait to try out what I had learned with my students. I admire his style and passion for tap he told us in his class "Tappers have to be fearless. the arts is at the bottom of the pile, dance is at the bottom of that and Tap is at the bottom of that. We can't be afraid."

  

What gets you angry or makes you sad?

• I find it frustrating when the older children do not show the correct level of commitment and dedication to achieve their goals. Some of the children complain about the grade they are in but then do not show the commitment to attend more classes during the week and better themselves through hard work. I find it frustrating that they expect rewards such as to be entered for exams or to be put on point but are not prepared to take the responsibly to gain the reward for them self.

• I find I also become angry when children/students subconsciously hold themselves back. Many students I have taught over the years have not reached their full potential as they are too scared to perform to their best ability in class. Its seems the fashion these days to not put 100% into your work, it is uncool to appear eager to learn or to be working hard. Why is being the 'class swot' such a bad thing. 

• I am saddened by the views of some parents towards my profession. I had one farther tell me in response to my question as to why his daughter was late for class "some people have to work!"  although he did apologise afterwards the belief behind his words was still quite clear. Mine is not a proper job.

• I am angered by the lack or rules and regulations there are surrounding  teaching in are profession. anyone can set up a school no one seems to care or be aware that they are sending their children to unqualified teachers. what impact could this potential have on these children when there teachers have not studies how their bodies change and develop?  

What do you love about what you do?

• I love my Job! I don't think many people can say this put we are lucky enough to be able to say that we did what we dreamed of doing since we were small

• I love being challenged in my work. I enjoy debates in my teacher training classes and welcome students to share their ideas.

• I love music, having a dad who is a musician how could I not.

• I Love the sense of accomplishment I get when one of my students succeed. when they just can't wait until class to show me they've mastered that move they had been struggling with. I recently came across a new experience regarding accomplishment. This is my first term working with children with special education/physical needs. In my first lesson I was introduced to a boy who was extremely high on the autistic spectrum, I was told that he was extremely hard to engage, and has spent most of my lessons running round the room or in a corner with one of the assistants. Last lesson, my 5th at the school, he joined in with two of the exercises and when I asked him to he made eye contact and clapped. Myself and his teacher were overjoyed it was a amazing feeling.  

• I love my work with children. They are by nature naturally inquisitive and sooo much fun. Their imaginations astound me.

Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is and example of what you love?

• I admire the teaching/choreography skills of a college and friend. I find her ideas inspire me and help as a platform for me to think of my own. I worked with her a few years ago on a piece of choreography for a children's performance, her ideas where fresh and original I enjoyed working with her and would love the opportunity to repeat the process as a feel I learned so much about choreography and ways in which it can be developed 

• I admire a student of mine who I have taught since he was small (I entered him for his Primary Ballet) Regardless of who is in the class he listens applies him self to every movement sometimes trying above and beyond the difficulty level I expect, in fact it wouldn't be a normal day of teaching if I didn't have to pick him off the floor for trying to add that extra pirouette. I find his eagerness refreshing and love to work with him especially with regards to choreography.

• Savion Glover is a American tap dancer and choreographer. His mission is to bring rhythm back to tap dance, he feels rhythm has been lost through the generations. He started his Broadway career at the young age of 12 and has performed all over the world, younger generations may know him from his appearances in Sesame Street or as the tapper behind Happy Feet. I find his grasp and ability to develop rhythm dumbfounding.

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What do you feel you don't understand?

• I sometimes can't understand the students lack of enthusiasm and passion, they love to dance they must do. The college where I work is private and unfunded and the fees are expensive not to mention the costs of equipment and exams. Some students find grants while others work after college to fund their education, this takes great commitment to which they surly would not adhere to if they did not love what they do so much. However I find myself pleading with students to perform and discuss passionately things which the feel are important. This relates to what I was talking about previously in regards to student holding themselves back. Is it a confidence issue or a unconscious process? Is there something we can do as teachers to help these students express themselves and work to their best ability or is it simply a maturity problem? 

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? 

• There are many insentiences in my job where an appropriate ethical response is important. When dealing with parents questions or complaints, I find it best if there is time before a response is needed to discuss the situation with other members of staff. It helps me to see and understand any views different to my own and better make the appropriate response. I feel it is important to ensure you have taken time to consider all options and their outcomes in order to make a informed decision on the best course of action. I understand there is not always time to reflect before a response is needed in these circumstances I try to put myself in the shoes of the other person. If I can understand their point of view I am better equip to respond, I think empathy is very important when ethical situations occur.     

I found this article explains well how we should think about and come to the correct ethical response.  

http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/ethics/ethics/response/  

To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society? 

• Working in the private sector does lend its self to a more relaxed setting. Teachers are not bound by the same rules/regulations as those in main stream school, I do however feel that certain codes of conduct should be upheld whether it is required or not. Physical contact is needed in dance to help and correct the students with their work, how can you demonstrate or assist a lift without it? I am definitely a hands on teacher and as this breaks certain boundaries that teachers teaching other subject do not, there are some rules that I make sure I follow in order to hold my professionalism and ensure my student are comfortable. For example, I always ensure that I ask permission off my students before I use physical contact for a correction. I feel this is the exceptionable response in these situations. The college where I work also asks parents when there children start to sign a deceleration stating that teachers may use physical contact to correct positions. Most teachers use physical contact during their classes to varying degrees, I feel the important factor is that the student in comfortable with the amount of contact used and the teacher implicates a professional attitude. 

Reflective Writing

Writing a journal is a new concept to me. Although I have always evaluated my lessons and reflected on how I could improve I have never thought to write down my feelings or what I had learned during the day. I first came across Journal writing in the RoL Module, I found it helped to focus my thoughts and gave me insight into to what would be my best areas of learning. I have continued with my Journal since then but this task has given me a chance to develop different ways to write. I looked back over my previous Journal entries and found that my choice of writing was to write a description of what happened and the main events I realised that I did not write much about what I had learned and how I would approach the situation differently should it arise. I think the reason for this is that I didn't feel I needed to, I know what I learnt and how I would change this I didn't need to write it down. As I worked through the different methods of Journal writing I discovered I had been wrong, by writing down what I had learned it allowed me to consolidate that learning and I could understand better where and how my learning had occurred.
I was surprised by how much I learn on a regular bases, even after 10 years of teaching. I always tell my students that you will continue to learn far after your formal education had ended, I was just surprised by the amount. It wasn't until l wrote down my daily experiences that this became apparent.
On writing my Journal I tried out all the different methods to see with one suited me best, however as each situation was different and lent itself to different difficulties I decided to take one event and write about it using all the methods in the hope that I would be able to find the one best suited to me.
As I have mentioned descriptive was my default but I feel it didn't force me to look at how I would change my work mealy just a description of what had occurred.

Initial Reflection
In the initial stages of using this method I struggled to write about how I felt. However the more I used this, the easier it was and the more beneficial it became.

List
I was very surprised by this method, making lists is something I do well. I have endless lists and spreadsheets for a multiple of different thing from general work to do lists to proposed Christmas presents for friends and family, it is something of an obsession and a running joke in the college staff room. It's strange therefore that I never considered a journal in note form. I did have initial reservations however, how can you write all your information in list form. My reservations dispersed once I tried this method. Similar to the way lists are used in Listograpgy my own lists expanded taking my thoughts down different pathways.

Evaluation
This is something that I do after every lesson I teach, while walking to the next class or preparing my music. This is the part that I never write down. When using this method I understood the importance if not to just process my learning it allowed me to see further into my learning and find ideas and evaluations that I may have missed.

Graphs, charts and Diagrams
I thought I would share the same success with this method as I did with Lists, this was not the case. I found that I struggled to expand on my ideas and evaluate my learning in the same way I did with the others. I felt it limited my learning instead of expanding it.

What if?
Before trying this method I did not feel it would be of use. I thought that to write what could have happened and what I would or wouldn't have liked to happen would not be proactive as those circumstances did not happen. After using this method I was surprised by how it guided my thought process. As I wrote about what I would love to happen I found myself thinking of how I could achieve this, and I was able to plan a new approach for the next class. When writing about what I would hate to happen, I discovered what parts of my class where successful and I was able to take that knowledge and use it in my plan for the next lesson.

Another View
I found I struggled to write down my thoughts and experiences, it just didn't make sense for me to write from a different perspective as it was myself having the experience. Writing me journal using this method took a lot longer than the other methods and I found myself loosing concentration and focus throughout my writing.

I found that all methods made me think deeper about my experience and learning, however I did find some more successful than others. To show a complete refection I would need to combine description with evaluation, I then feel I could use this method with success. My favourite methods would be this, What if? and of course Lists. I can cover all aspects of reflection and expand my learning from each of these. I have found this task has helped me to better reflect upon my work in general, before this I found it hard to write down my feelings and thoughts on reflection. With the methods I have chosen I find myself better equipped to reflect and evaluate my work, which in turn will expand my learning and impact my classes and lesson plans.

A nod to the north...

I know this has no immediate reliance to this course but I felt the need to share. I've been looking for a suitable way to introduce my son to the theatre for some time, when I came across The Northen Ballet's Three Little Pigs. the ballet is aimed for young children and tells the story of the three pigs and the wolf. A live soundtrack accompanied which included Frank Churchill's 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf' and Charles Williams' 'The Devil's Galop'. The performance lasted 30min and my son, only two years old, was captivated from the first note of the Clarinet to curtain down. A fantastic experience that I hope will start a life long love of the theatre.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w7v24Acles‎