Task 2a: Reflective Practise

In this first section of part 2 we are told to keep a journal, a private journal to help us to reflect on our professional practice. I keep a dairy in my bag which i rely on from day to day about what im meant to be doing for that week etc, but i dont really write and reflect about my day. I used to do that all the time when I was younger but it seems as though I don't really have the time to do that anymore. it Sounds like a simple thing to do, but point blank my life is non stop?! But, this has to be done and i was excited to start my new journal. I thought of how i could write my journal and tried out different ways of writting but as the days went by i resulted in writting in a basic journal format. I was up to date and good for the first week or so but then as usual with me, things get hectic and i realised i hadnt wrote in it for days! Being busy with my play i had completely put everything on hold just because i was working two jobs, morning and night, and to be honest, the thought of sitting down and reflecting on my day seemed like a luxury! After a while, the run of the play was up and i caught up and got everything back on track. But when a few days/weeks went by I started to wonder why I had nothing to write about. I felt my day to day posts were boring and had nothing to do with my career at all! And I came to realise that I don't actually do that much from day to day to do with performing. I work all day at the school and either teach Zumba all night or am at home. It sounds bad but I would love to say I learnt this at class and I had this many auditions this week, but I really dont! For me to go to class every week would cost me so much money for me to get what I really need out of it, and we all know what the audition front is like at the mo..... Sloooooow. But after catching up on other peoples blogs I understand a few others went through the same problems, like Chelsie. I felt the same way and after checking up on her comments from clare Orlandi and Rosemary, I realised I do a lot more than what I thought I did. I go to the theatre an awful lot, me and my boyfriend (an actor too) try to see as much theatre as we can, and we dont do too bad. I watch all different types of film and cinema from all over the world, old and new as I have a massive interest in cinema. I also check daily for auditions on the stage app on my phone and from casting sites I am joined with. Looking back on how I see myself now to how I did whilst I was at college is entirely different, I understand how the industry works now and what it takes. I feel the hunger to dance, whereas at college it was handed to me on a plate. There's lots I took into account and added into my journal writing thanks to other bloggers! 

Reader 2 - The reflective practitioner.

In this reader we see that reflection is the tool to turn our experiences into knowledge.

One tool we can use for reflection is Kolbs 'learning cycle' - approaching the experience.

As you can see there is no specific entry point to the learning cycle, this suggests that we are all different in our learning processes. Our entry points could also vary depending on the experience we're having at that time.

I think Kolbs cycle is easy and clear to understand how initially we begin to learn and using the cycle I found it interesting to see how I enter the cycle and using it I can realise i have had an experience and therefore reflect and learn from my experience. 

My Learning Style usually enters at the Reflective Observation point and then the Concrete
 Experience. For example: during college, If I had to pick up a routine, the quickest way for me to learn it would be to watch someone do it first. When a routine was broken up and demonstrated slowly, i wouldn't necessarily always pick it up straight away and I think this might be because i'm very musical so to see movements to a beat at normal tempo, it registers better for me than if the moves were broken down and without a beat. Although 
this might seem as though i'm lucky to be able to pick things up that quickly without slow demonstration, it didn't/doesn't always go in my favour at auditions. Choreographers always break routines down and teach with numbers and not beats and i find this really hard, therefore not being very good at picking up routines quickly, which could jeopardise my change of getting the job. Then the concrete experience is doing the choreography myself 
and to feel the moves physically using muscle memory. Learning is watching and applying for me.

I'm not really a net 'savvy' person so when it comes to getting to grips with anything online i just kind of get on with it!? So setting up my blog I just followed some simple instructions then it was a case of trial and error with everything else until it looked fairly similar to the 
other blogs and I knew how to work it. Here I entered Kolbs learning cycle at the Active Experimentation point. I think I'm pretty good with picking things up after trying it out as a trial and error attempt.

Looking at Howard Gardiner's list of intelligences(gardner, 1983), I would say I am intelligent musically, bodily-kinaesthetic and intrapersonally. I can pick up a beat, play music by ear from what I have heard and can create music without being at any major high st andard of any musical instrument. But I think this is something that comes naturally within us, just like dancing. I have always had a great sense of rhythm and movement. Also intrpersonally, I do believe I can connect well with other people and their emotions as well as my own. I am a great judge of character and feel I naturally want to help others around me who need it. 

Questions from the reader:

1) how do you reflect on events?
Depending on what I am doing or where I am at the time, reflection can vary for me. Like 
Donald Schon's idea (Schon, 1987) he introduced, reflection-in-action or reflection-on-action, I feel I use both of these concepts on a daily basis. For instance if I were in a dance class and picking up a routine, then I would be continually reflecting throughout using reflection-IN-action. I'm watching, learning, trying out steps, seeing how it looks on me all within the present tense. But then I could go home and sit and write about my day or talk to someone about it and then I would be using reflection-ON-action. Looking back on how I may have handled a situation or performed in that certain class. Here I'd be looking back on the past tense. I find Reflection-IN-action is a brief, efficient way to reflect in the moment, like a check list, whilst reflection-ON-action is something Where i can emote and think twice about something, more like a monologue. Using different tenses of time can vary how we reflect. 

From day to day using social media is another personal way i reflect. My twitter account is not only a way for me to stay connected with friends and personal interests but it is also basically my diary for other people to see what I'm doing or where I'm going later and also how I may feel about certain topics. updating a status allows me to open up freely to my followers, which is great because it allows me to actually tell myself how I feel too, although I would never tweet about something too personal or my deepest feelings towards something, just out of personal privacy. Another way in which I reflect is simply talking about how I feel either to my boyfriend or close friend. This allows me to hear aloud what is actually going on in my head and sometimes this helps because I may not always understand what I feel inside until I sound it out. 

2) have you ever said 'I learnt from that experience!'?
Yes I have, plenty of times! I believe that The best way for a dancer or actress to perform at thier best, is to be on stage and actually learn from the moment. Rehearsing at Italia Conti for my first ever end of year show at The Wimbledon Theatre had me prepared I thought, 
even though I hadnt ever been in a show like this, but when opening night came and I got on the stage infront of the hundreds of people in the audience, nothing could have prepared me for that!! The feeling I got was incredible and I had no idea where my inner performance came from! The best way to learn as a performer is to PERFORM! 

3) have you ever known something before you realised what it means to you?
This question is something I have always thought about in daydreams or quiet moments to myself. I sometimes ask myself 'I wonder when I first learnt the word ...' and then I think 'did someone ever tell me that word or did I just gather what it was from when I heard it in conversation?' because Im pretty sure someone didn't define every single word i know in my vocabulary!? So I'm sure I do know things before I actually know what it means. For example- ballet is taught using french vocabulary and I don't speak any French, so learning the moves and the names of them was pretty much standard, but then actually  understanding what the move meant was something I learnt after and actually resulted in me changing the way I demonstrated the move. E.g- plié - to bend the knees whilst standing in a stance. But it actually means 'to melt'. So then the way I bent my knees was now softer.

Working and auditioning

MORE GOOD NEWS!

I got a call from my agent to inform me i have an audition tomorrow for a tv series called Mad Dogs which is played on sky1!
Wicked news!! I'm really excited/nervous and just hope I get it as I think the role would be a regular part in the series and starts after my play which would be IDEAL! And just what I want!!
I met with my agent today to go through a few things on the script which has made me feel more at ease.
FINGERS CROSSED AYE!!? Haha will post on my reflective experience tomorrow!  X 

Helter Skelter life.

So I have been away for a while due to my HECTIC life! There's been ups and some downs unfortunately which has naturally steered me away from my Uni work. 

So a little Un-Uni catch up on my life: 

(The low) my dad had a big health scare recently and was hospital bound for quite some time. This had a massive impact on our family as we're all so close and none of us have ever had any problems with our health thank god. My evenings and any spare time i had were spent by his bed in hospital and luckily he recovered from his operation very well and is now home and back to his normal self again, with no signs of any scares to come in the near future! 

(The High/s) So After a low something goods gotta come right?! I landed myself a part in a play! I am going to be playing Yuliya in Checkovs play 'The Wood Demon' which is going to be shown at The Lord Stanley Theatre in London from the end of Nov to the middle of Dec. I am soooo excited and rehearsals are going great! 

Also I have kind of been promoted at work (my side job in a primary school). My previous role was of a general teaching assistant in a year four classroom, but seeing as there are so many children in my class with needs, whether they be special needs, academic support or behavioural issues, I have been asked to work with one child in particular as a one to one mentor because our relationship is a very good one. This is asking a lot more from me in my side job than any other role I have played before on the work front and can be very tiring but I love it so far and feel I am helping his life. 

ONE LAST THING BEFORE I BORE YOU TO DEATH! 

I'm 21 this Sunday!!!!! And I'm MEGA excited!!!! I am having friends and family come together to celebrate at my house and can't wait to see everyone together which doesn't happen much! WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!

THAT'S ALL!! Haha sorry- but thought it necessary for me to continue on if you all know why I have been 'avoiding' work! 

IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING THEY THINK WOULD HELP ME WITH THESE NEXT SET OF TASKS PLEASE LET ME KNOW! - I hate feeling out of the loop, especially not being there for the last campus session!!!! Arrghhh! X

Onto the next set of tasks! Much love, Ellis x 

Task 1b: Professional Communication Technologies

How Web 2.0 or professional communications technologies can advance your professional practice, learning and knowledge

Web 2.0 is the creative commons for users on the web. It has changed our workplace and the way we relate to each other enormously; and with platforms such as facebook, youtube and twitter we can search, find and add friends, music and other useful information that previously with web 1.0 sites, wouldn't be so accessible or easy to find. We become the creator and the user which means we have power and control over these platforms which is and has already created a massive boom of users in social networking sites. 

These platforms are used in almost everyones life nowadays, one way or another and is such a big part of todays society. But are all these social networking sites doing our world the world of good? Web 2.0 is a highly debated concept in the sense that whilst these sites can allow us to gain access and information easily and freely, i think we should look at what it is doing to our future generation. Here are my views:

Pros

I myself am a bit of a social networking junkie! I have a Facebook profile, a Twitter account, a Yotube channel, Instagram and a blog. I love the fact that I can contact the people in my life so easily, I can share photos with my friends in seconds and can check up on how friends or other followers are feeling or what theyre doing at that moment. There has been many times when my phone has ran out of battery and i need to get in contact with my mum, so i pop into an apple store or a phone shop, click on Facebook and sent my mum a message and she has recieved it instantly! 

The average user on Facebook has 130 friends. that's a lot of friends! Currently I have 1,245 friends on facebook... that's rediculous!! I DO NOT have 1,245 friends in real life at all! but people add me because i might be friends with someone they know or who they are interested in and so they add me to stay connected. I think its great that we can do that, we can find family who live on the other side of the world, add them in a single click and then that's it you're connected. As Feenberg & Bakardjiva (2004) quote 'Strangers and almost strangers come together as equals'.

Web 2.0 platforms have helped me in many various ways in a professional manner. using facebook as a target, i have in the past been able to send out invitations and information about productions i have been a part of to boost ticket sales. I am also a Zumba fitness instructor and have a zumba page via Facebook and this is where i can advertise myself and bring in customers in. I am also part of the Zumba instructors network page on facebook which is private and enables instructors to swap classes etc. This has been a huge help for me and my Zumba classes and has saved me lots of time and money.

Our world today is constantly changing- with our biggest followings such as fashion, music and the latest gadgets (phones, ipods..) all continually and frequently updating and getting better. This is also a familiar feature with web 2.0 sites and familiarity is a comfort to most people. 

These platforms are all free, quick, easy and availible to the user 24/7 so ultimately user friendly, which is in turn building web 2.0.   

Cons

On the other hand i feel these new, continually updating sites might be driving u forward to a good future with web 2.0 but then steering us away from the simplicities in life. 

For example i'm a very creative person and have always loved to write stories, draw pictures and read books, but honestly i was a bit disappointed at first reaction when i found out our work for this course would be written online and posted on a blog. Maybe i'm a bit old fashioned and not used to writing anymore since i have been out of school but i have always enjoyed feeling my hard work in my hands in a hard copy. It always gave me such satisfaction after working so hard! 

I work in a school from monday to friday as a TA in a year 4 class and the children practice their handwriting everyday. but now i'm starting to think what for? whats the point when they're not going to use it? and I love handwriting practise! 

We have Kindles instead of books, we send invitations to parties out on Facebook- not by hand, we get e-cards online for our birthdays rather than through the post and it feels like personal sentiment is forgotten. 

The most worrying factor for me is how bad it is going to affect our next generation. Kids would rather stay in and play games online than go outside and play in the park. This to me is a worry and i can see the difference at work with the children now to what i can remember from when i was at school myself. I used to be eager to get to the park after school if the weather was nice, but listening to the kids at school they are eager to get home and play the new Fifa game on their playstation. not only could this affect their healh but also their social skills which i think a massively important for their future. I know times have changed and we do live in a bubble wrapped world now and we do have to be careful, but it's the parents who should be encouraging their children to do more socially and i think they should be made aware of the long term damage it could have. 

My boyfriend says: 'When we are older, we will all remember the friends we've made, not the TV shows we've watched.' which i think is ultimately true. 

O'Reilly attempts to show what 2.0 means. He starts off giving of general views of other people towards 2.0 saying that some think the web is 'overhyped' whilst others say it is a 'technical revolution'. He goes on to show the benefits of 2.0 compared to 1.0 sites and from first reading his article it opened my eyes to how many doors web 2.0 actually opens for me and us as users. 

Ulrich et al speaks of the 'perpetual beta' which means web 2.0 has the functions to develop and replace data, which I mentioned earlier. 

I read through a few of these tasks on other peoples blogs and I agree with Melanie browns comment that 'Technologies in learning and communication should be completely cast aside. We must not let the younger generations of today get completely lost in Cyberspace.'

To conclude, even though networking sites will continue to develop and grow, i hope that our world will not forget the beauty of the simplicity of life. 

1st Campus session today

Today I attended my first campus session for module 1.
Prior to today, The one task I didn't start was task 1b; this was because i wasn't sure what the question was asking or where i should start?! and although I had read through the reader, copious blogs and seen how others began to answer this task, I still felt like I didn't fully understand what i needed to be looking at to complete the task correctly. But today's campus session was extremely helpful as we looked at all the areas i was unsure of.
I found it helpful to read the articles independently and then talk about the notes everyone else and myself had made aloud. I now know how to pick out the important points in the article that could help what i'm looking for. The long words used in the articles threw me at first, but Bobbie had a great idea of replacing those words with simplified terms in the actual article itself, after finding the definition in the dictionary. Then every time this words pops up it will help me to get through the text quicker.
From reading the O'Reilly article on his attempt to explain what web 2.0 means, I came to a clear understanding of what O'Reilly wanted to get across. He showed a positive approach to 2.0 and gave pros and cons in comparison to 1.0 sites. I thought this article was a good introductory visit to web 2.0 and have made a few bullet points to explain to other bloggers who might want to know what 2/0 is:

What is web 2.0?

• Web sites that use technology beyond the static pages of earlier web sites
• Users can participate in 2.0 sites (delivered as a service- not a product)
• Can be formal, informal, social or an informative database
• web 2.0 sites are said to be 'continually improving'

Examples of web 2.0 sites: Facebook, Twitter, Wiki, blogs, Youtube

Hope this may help future bloggers looking for a better understanding ;) 
Tomorrow i will start my task 1b! Until then.. x

LGE Runway @ Business Design Centre 2012

This summer I did a job for LGE Runway which was at the Business Design Center in Islington.

With rehearsals and the shows it lasted 2 weeks altogether. It was such an enjoyable job and with my friends doing it with me, it just made it so much more fun.

It was different to any dance show i have done before as it was dance/runway. The stylists watching the show spoke to us dancers after and said it was like a revelation for catwalk.

I made some really handy contacts too and booked another modelling job!

Just thought i'd post the promo for you guys to have a sneak peek! 

Enjoy! x