WBS3002: Do web based technologies enhance professional practice?

Going back to WBS3002 and the question: Do web based technologies enhance professional practice? In my current situation: YES! I am currently waiting on my visa to take a dance contract in the USA. Here professional networking came into play as the Director knew me from seeing me dance in a previous contract. At the time he was working in the wardrobe department. When someone pulled out, he asked me to step in. We used Skype for about 2hrs to prepare my Visa. I managed to send all the relevant paper work by scanning important documents into the computer and instantly sending them by E-mail. I have connected with the Director, the Choreographer and all the dancers through Facebook feeling like I know them already. Initially I suggested uploading the choreography to YouTube, but this proved to take too long so I am now learning the choreography through my Facebook page while I wait. Without the use of these web tools it would make International contracts very difficult to achieve and when used correctly can definitely expand your professional career!

Social Media and the end of Gender

I came across this really interesting talk on TED by Johanna Blakley that argues the old demographics to understand audiences are becoming harder to track online. I found it a surprise to see that women actually dominate social media. Johanna points out it is important to know what people like to do in their free time for entertainment as it can tell a lot about people- political beliefs, health etc. I think it can be vital to new businesses starting out to see what people are interested in rather than categorising them into boxes such as age, sex, martial status as it can tell you so much more.  

Knowledge and Skills in the Workplace

Identifying Knowledge and Skills in the Workplace

Knowledge

Disciplinary Knowledge

This tends to be knowledge that is categorized for example what we learn at school; maths, science, English etc. The problem with this outlook on knowledge is that life and our workplace does not fit into neat little categories. When faced with problems we don’t say “how would a scientist solve this?” Or “how would a mathematician solve this problem?” Instead we use a more creative way to address everyday situations as they come.

Sector Based Knowledge/Inter-disciplinary Knowledge

This is where “more than one discipline is being used to contextualize the knowledge”. I am a freelance dancer but I also work as a self-employed promotional model in-between contracts. For this I also need to understand certain aspects of business.

Trans-disciplinary Knowledge

In order to get on in the world of work we need an understanding of how other disciplines function. Carolin Kreyber argues that in an ever-changing world problems do not arise as different subjects but within trans-disciplinary knowledge.

I would say I work in a trans-disciplinary workplace. As said above I am not always just a dancer, but I do a number of different jobs when not in a contract. Even when I am working in a contract feel that I use more than the “dance” discipline. An example of this would be when I was Dance Captain. My role included scheduling rehearsals,  giving notes to the cast on the show, teaching the choreography to new dancers and being on-hand for all eventualities, such as when a cast member was injured and I stepped in and did her part as well as mine. I used concepts of business and education as well as my “dance” knowledge. The workplace can be very unpredictable as you never know what may be thrown at you. I think it is important to have a good understanding of other disciplines.

My current capabilities and competencies are:

-          I can learn a number of different dancers places

-          I am able to teach dance routines to other dancers as well as all different parts

-          I can critique a show well and give constructive notes to the cast

-          I can arrange rehearsals, meeting with managers

-          I am able to sell a wide range of products given the brief

The above I only know how to do due to learning on the job and not because I was taught this at school. I think for the future I am going to need a better understanding of the management and business side of entertainment. I would also like to gain more knowledge in nutrition, health and fitness for my future career.

Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry

In order to develop a set of questions I first need to establish my current professional practice is and where I would like to go after. Currently I am a professional dancer. I go from contract to contract and when I am not dancing I work as a promotional model for various clients and brands. This is fine for now, but my reasoning behind taking this course was to establish what field I would like to go into after my life in dance. I have been dancing for almost 6 years now professionally and I am getting married this September. Although I plan to continue dancing for many more years, I took this course to help my confidence when I finally stop so I have something to fall back on and the knowledge to pursue it.

I have been thinking more and more over the past few months what I would like to pursue after dance and I have come up with the following:
1) Artistic Director, Producer or Casting Director
2) Personal Trainer/Aerobics and Dance Instructor

With that being said I would like to develop a set of questions that will help me in my future professional practice, which I may find links to my current pracice as well. I am excited about starting my new job in the States as I am going to be a part of a brand new show and development of a new theatre family. I think this will help in my understanding of setting up new businesses.

1) Artistic Director, Producer or Casting Director?
- What are the roles of the each and what other skills or qualifications would I need to acquire such position?
- How can I transition from Dancer to this role?
- Running a successful business.

2) Personal Trainer/Aerobics and Dance Instructor
- What is the role of a personal trainer and what skills and other qualifications would I need?
- What workouts are there that have been a success? Why were they successful?
- How could I incorporate dance and aerobics to make a unique workout?
- Why is dance such a good way to keep fit?
- Health and Nutrition
- Could look into the dancers and non-dancers idea presented in Task 2d (eating habits, personality traits, bodies, difference in genetics, difference in jobs)

I feel both these sets of questions will raise issues that I am currently facing in my professional practice. I noticed many of the blogs up so far raise the question of castings and whether it is all based on how you look over your ability. This is something I too could explore looking at the role of casting directors and what they look for.

New Term... new thoughts!!

Hello BAPP Network!!
After a busy time I am finally back and ready to continue this course. I have recently done a contract in Holland and I am currently waiting on a Visa for another contract in the States. I wanted to quickly blog about how important my current network has become to me in this process.
For the type of Visa I am getting I must not only send off any certificates in dance, records of high achievement and published materials I have been in, but also references. My network has proven to be of most value here. I managed to contact past managers, co-workers, teachers and friends who all sent me some fantastic references. And you guessed it all through contacting them on facebook! This social network tool has proven to be of great use to my dance practice when it comes to finding work overseas and staying in contact with people from the past. It also has helped to contact people who I will be working with soon on contract.
Also, I blogged about last term about how you never know who you might meet. Turns out a guy that worked in the wardrobe department in my previous job in the States is now the Artistic Director of this new show. He had seen me dance before and when a girl from New York pulled out and couldn't do it, I got the job. Strange how things work out, but proved my point of you never know who is watching you and how that may help in the future.
So with those thoughts out there, I am going to tackle this Course Reader 4 and Develop some lines of Professional Inquiry. I have just scanned through the blogs so far and there are some good thoughts emerging that interest me also.

Importance of social networking

I came across this video on YouTube which explains social networking sites and just how imprortant they are in this day and age.

Assesment draft!!! Feedback appreciated

Hi guys. Please leave any constructive comments for this. The deadline is fast approaching and I really need to get this mailed off so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I really struggled summarizing in just 750 words but I hope the appendices helps, which mainly is taken from my blog. Question: in our appendices is it okay to just put the link to our blog page or should we attach whole quotes/extracts?

A Critical Reflection on my Developing Professional Practice

This essay discusses the three main topics covered in Module WBS3002- Web 2.0 technologies, reflective practices and professional networks and what was learnt through each part.

Developing my Web 2.0 Skills

After reading through the Course Reader on ‘Professional Communications Technologies’ I feel I have come away with a much better understanding of Web 2.0. It has made me think in ways I never have before. I have learnt how to blog, upload photos to flicker (Appendix 1) and create Wiki pages (Appendix 2) as well as further developing my current skills such as YouTube (Appendix 3). I have been able to directly apply these skills for work purposes, for example I added the link to my YouTube showreel and professional Flicker photos for a recent one off dance gig. Using blogging I have been able to discuss the power of the web with others on the course looking at the pros and cons and the outcome it can have on people’s lives (Appendix 4).

I have been introduced to some new sites such as Dancers Pro and LinkedIn, which have helped in expanding my professional network. I came to question what is ‘being professional’ in terms of social networking sites, it influenced me to set up a professional Facebook account (Appendix 5). This has been successful in keeping my personal and professional lives separate.

Developing Reflective Practices

Reflective practices forces us to take a step back and look critically at our work. It is vital for professional development. Through journal writing, I have learnt that reflection is a great tool to self discovery and allows us to learn from our experiences and reflect on what has taken place. At first I was a bit skeptical to start this having made failed attempts in the past and it has been challenging to find time to write entries, but I have found it a very useful tool for my work (Appendix 6). Using the David Boud and Jennifer Moon frameworks I found I could take an important day and write about it in detail, a valuable task for not only recording the events but seeing how my opinion changed and learning from it. I found that Donald Schon’s (Appendix 7) reflecting-in-action is a task I often use in my daily professional practice, and is Reflecting-on-action through journal writing will help my professional development and is something I need to continue to improve on (Appendix 8).

Discovering that I am a kineasthetic learner (Appendix 9) allowed me to discover how best I learn. Moreover I gained good insight into my weaknesses and strengths by identifying my learning style and researching it, which I can use to my advantage.

Through looking at David Kolb’s learning cycle I discovered myself to be a Diverger (Appendix 10) I like the idea of perception continuum through which people learn by feeling as I think this is an important part of learning in dance. I am still unsure if David Kolb’s learning cycle can help in my development as a performer

I do think we have to be careful that acknowledging a particular learning style does not give us a tendency to behave in a certain manner.  However recognizing our learning style can help us to become better learners with a more positive attitude towards study and greater confidence in applying ourselves.

Developing Professional Network

I have found the course reader on The Networked Professional most interesting and of value to me at this point in time. It reiterated the importance of connectivism and technology to my professional practice (Appendix 11). It taught me that experiences, literature, talking to people are all nodes that we can learn from, challenging the traditional teaching methods. I never thought about how I can learn through engaging in various communities of practice (Appendix 12).  Sharing thoughts, ideas and experiences with others can change the way in which you think as well as affecting your actions.

 I have tested the theory of cooperation (Appendix 13) during my current contract. It has expanded my network and given me links to future jobs.  I have learnt that being a pro-active networker is vital in building on and improving your network. It is something I will be working on. Ivan Misner (Appendix 14) points out that it is how well you know people that matters. This has encouraged me to reconnect with people I have not engaged with in while through social networks and email.

I questioned why people are willing to help me out. My current dance captain is going to notify me of future jobs. Is this because she already has work lined up so doesn’t mind giving up other opportunities? The idea of why we have the need to affiliate is something I would like to discover further. (Appendix 15).

Critically looking at my current networks has helped in looking at areas I can expand and improve on. It made me realize that although I thought I had quite a large network as Ivan Misner points out it is limited if you do not keep contact with these people. I have started to expand my networks through LinkedIn and my professional Facebook page and need to continue to develop these areas (Appendix 16).