OH no!!! More next week :)

Todays pm SKYPE session had a lot of technical difficulties: teething issues for people whom this is the first time to join in. I know this is frustrating and a number of people did not connect with the conversation who wanted to, so I will run another pm SKYPE next week Wednesday October 15^th at 8:30pm (in London time).

Looking forward to talking to you all.

Please indicate in the comment if you will be joining in.

Keep smiling!!

Adesola

Oct 7th AM SKYPE session conversation points

This mornings group SKYPE session went well – we had some helpful and interesting conversation. We were Lara, Gemma, myself and Hannah joined us at the very end.

The point of all the sessions we have (campus, skype even on-to-one with your tutor) is to feel like you are an ambassador for the rest on the BAPP learning community. That is share what you got out of the interaction what you learnt , what got you thinking, what it made you question. So true to form Lara and Gemma are going to write posts about what they thought was valuable about the conversation this morning.

Gemma is going to write further about how nice it is just to hear the voice of other students talking about their experience and realising they are like your own. Also practical aspects like adding people to your blog by making sure you have ‘follow’ activated on your blog site. Also starting to ‘follow’ other people to start to get connected. Lastly we talked about how basically this is all about starting to change your student self to a professional practice self, through reaching out and finding the information and connections that you need to develop your work. We are offering you lots of tasks and things to think about but only do this if you are linking it to your professional practice to developing yourself and your understanding. In other words ‘use’ things to find out more and develop do not just do them because you think you have been told to. We are seeing active development and responsibility for developing your professional practice what it mean to be professional and that is what this BA is about . Check out what Gemma has to say http://grwalker92.blogspot.co.uk

Lara is going to write further on how we talked about the importance of finding your own learning style. Try playing with some of the tasks to see what works for you in terms of how you have a meaningful learning experience. You don’t have to do everything suggested they are just ideas to get you thinking. You can try doing things or talk about the idea to people you work with to get their thoughts. The important thing is that what you do is purposeful. The purpose is not to do it to show you did it, it is to use doing it to think more about and develop your Professional Practice. That is what the BA is in. Check out Lara’s post on our conversation at http://larafbapp.blogspot.co.uk

Our next group SKYPE is 8:30 (in London) on Wednesday October 8^th (tomorrow). If you want to join in please say so in the comments box below. Also it would be great to hear what you think of the points made in our conversation. What do you think Professional Practice means?

Adesola

End of week one - question, posts and the journey

End of week one: Lets have a little check-in:

Module Ones you should have your blogs going and be trying out the tasks and posting reflections on the task (these do not have to be epic!! People are busy and what to know what you are doing and maybe reading on the train or something.)

Everyone what ever Module you are on, make sure your posts also include your reflective practice everything responds to your Professional Practice because that is what the BA is about. It is not just an exercise in telling us about something, it is about you looking at how it is meaningful to you in terms of your working life.

Module Twos are starting the journey of crafting your inquiry. Module two is a bit of a step-by-step process. You have to trust the journey and start it!! I have written a bit about thinking about inquiry questions below. Start blogging ideas and talking to other people, forming interest groups and chatting through possibilities.

Module Three you should be responding to your feedback from Module 2. Send a one page outline of your response and any changes you want to make after feedback. Then you can talk this through with your advisor. Check with your adviser that any consent forms you have are approved. After this you will be starting to get into the field, the data collecting process - exciting

Interesting blog post from Julia http://julia-v-gil.blogspot.de

about getting started back and asking questions raised some useful ideas about wording the question.

Wording the question is important not because the words are important but because the words you choose have an impact on where you go with the question. So I would advice to stay away from questions that imply an answer!!

Like "How can one become a versatile dancer?" that implies an answer and to get a good answer to this you would need years of inquiry not just next term.

But you could unpack this question like 'What do people consider a 'versatile dancer' means?' - you would then look at what you think of as a versatile dancer, what other dancers think, what a choreographer thinks, what people have written about this and then compare any differences or similarities (that is the analysis). Then you would know more about HOW to be a versatile dancer because you would know more about what it means to be one.

See what I mean?  The goal of the inquiry is not to answer something but to know MORE about something. To end the inquiry able to ask better questions about it because you know more about it!

What do you think? In comments have a go at writing a question and explaining what you would do to anylase the data you got as I have done above. It’s a fun thing to think up a question even if you are not on Module 2. Also I would love to hear where you read other peoples blog post. Is it travelling to work? One evening a week? At work? Over breakfast???

Looking forward to hearing from you

Adesola

Week One and Office hours

We are Week One, our first week. Now is a time to be sorting out and getting started. As we talked about in induction here are some points that are important as you start:

1)   Work out when you have to have your assessed work hand-in by (January 2015) and make sure you understand what it is. In other words where are you heading on the journey of this module?

2)   Make a space for your work – in your diary through organised times for when you will working, in your house/office/coffee-shop through having a place to ‘shut the door’ and start working, in your life embracing the notion you are a student (again!!).

3)   Start to open lines of communication with the BAPP learning community, this is through starting your blog and giving us the address, visiting other people’s blogs and leaving comments, getting skype sorted out, contacting your advisor if you have any questions etc…

I am going to have virtual ‘office hours’. These are times when you can skype in to talk to me without an appointment. These will be Tuesday and Thursdays 10am to 11am and Saturdays 8pm to 10pm.

So for comment to this post please let us know what tips you have for starting back/starting-up. What has worked for you?

Adesola

Contemporary Dance classes

Passing on info about Contemporary dance classes from David Tse:

If you're 16-25yrs, and interested in exploring a professional career in contemporary dance or just want to "have a go", these FREE classes are for you!

Organised by CAS in association with Goldsmiths Confucius Institute for Dance and Performance, CAS particularly wants to encourage young Chinese / East Asians to apply, to redress the current under-representation in British dance.

To register, pls follow the instructions in the flyer attached. You must be able to commit fully to 10 x 2hrs workshops either in the Autumn or Spring term (informal sharing after each block of workshops), pls state which term when you register with xiaoxiao@chinatownartsspace.com

The Summer begins….

Just finished sending out feedback today. Make sure you received it! This is your feedback only, your grades will be announced by the University next week. You can find them in the usual manor on the MDX web-site. 

Often I am asked what your grade means. Here is a helpful table:

For reference:

1^st/Distinction                        2i/Merit                                2ii/Pass                                    3^rd/Pass                                 Fail

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Please note:

17-18 – Compensation Allowed

19 – Compensation not allowed

20 Fail – Incorporating failure to participate in assessment necessary to achieve all learning outcomes. Compensation not allowed


As the summer begins I really want to keep the blogging going. I hope you will help me in making my blog a place people come to read, share and COMMENT!!! 

Looking forward to sharing the summer with you. 
Any thoughts? 

Adesola

Interesting workshop

Dance UK Business of Dance: Digital Marketing

Monday 30 June, 6:30-9:30pm at Sadler's Wells, London

Explore ways to reach a wider audience Find out the most effective digital marketing techniques Discover tips and trips to improve results and save time Learn how marketing theory applies to dance Dance UK's 2014 Business of Dance training programme commences with Digital Marketing on Monday 30 June, 6:30-9:30pm, at Sadler's Wells in London.

see more details at this link 

http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=ad0cf73b152fa2f69150e1816&id=03f894b918&e=c43a79724c

Adesola

SKYPE chat tomorrow and residency for fun!!

Hi Don't forget we have our group SKYPE Chat (Second Tuesday Coffee House Chat) tomorrow Tuesday April 8th. we have one at 11am and one at 8pm this month. Looking forward to hearing how things are going.

Also triip (Turning Research Ideas Into Practice) is holding a one day residency at Hendon on April 22nd  2pm-6pm. triip is the dance opportunity company we run that gives dancers the opportunity to work with choreographers and get known. This is important because often choreographers like to work with people they already know. April 22nd we have Leroy Dias Dos Santos. If you are not a member of trip you can come as a guest. Just email me and let me know. It might be something fun to do as a break from all the BAPP writing !! Keep up-dates at
http://dancingstrongblog.blogspot.com

Residency with Leroy Dias Dos Santos, April 22nd 2pm-6pm

Notes on sending work for feedback

Please do not send documents called 'Proposal' or 'AOLs' or 'Reflection' because everyone doing the same tasks. The title of the document is as much for the person receiving it as it is for you. If I get three documents called 'Proposal'. I then open them and hope that the persons name is clearly on the document!! But no!!! Often it is just the written work no page numbers or footer or header with the persons name and id number. I write this for both my BA and MA courses because they are both in professional practice and it is good practice to do the above in general. Send people things with your name on them!
Akinleye_blog post.doc
then when it is opened your name again and page numbers in case they need to print it out.

I think this is important because it means what you send is intended for the person reading it. This shows you have taken a moment to think about how the thing you are sending will be experienced by the reader and it means it does not look like you did something and sent it the first moment you thought you wanted reassurance it was ok.

Get what I mean? What do you think? Have you experienced the same thing? Do you suddenly realise you did this too!!!!!!
Adesola

Making meaning through talking to each other: April 8th Group Skype chat.

Almost April and I mean that in a its-got-to-get-warmer-and-warmer sort of way not time is flying by!!! Either way our April group SKYPE chat is coming up APRIL 8^th. These chats are really helpful and support the campus sessions in that they are opportunities to ask questions and talk to other people on the course, some of whom have done what you are doing and some who are doing it now too. We have two times to fit around different work schedules. You can join in with either (or both!!)

‘Lunch time-ish ‘ – 11am

‘Evening-ish’ – 8pm (note sometimes we do 8:45 but it will be 8pm this month)

If you have not joined in before you need to make sure I have your skype address, do this by sending me a request on skype. In the request write BAPP so I know who it is from. If you have joined in before you know how useful and inspiring talking to each other can be so please be a part of the chat again.

As we get closer to the hand-in date it is important to keep blogging and talking; sharing your ideas. This is part of working through your initial ideas to find a deeper more meaningful way to look at the experiences of the module and what they mean within your professional practice. It is also important to know your experiences are shared by the rest of the BAPP community and interesting to hear how other people have interpreted and dealt with things.

Look forward to talking with you

Adesola

Debate - what do you think…..

Ethics is about how your actions are experienced. It is the reflection on interaction outside your skin; the counterpart to reflective thought which is reflection going on inside your skin[1]. Although society, professional organisation and personal morals can have clear ideas about what the right and wrong things to do are. Ethics is about a step before this reflecting about how what you do affects or changes the environment / ‘things around you’. The origins of the study of ethics is interwoven with aesthetics. The arts, ethics and aesthetic are all connected in this through the idea of truth, representation and experience.

What do you think

1) So Ethics is about reflecting on how you are experienced - do you agree or disagree? 

2) Does this help you with your module activity - i.e. does this idea about ethics help you create the situation you want to be a part of?  

Please leave a comment.

---

[1] At some levels this simplification to outside and inside your skin is problematic within the principles of embodiment and concepts of the body as they are understood in pragmatism and phenomenology that we are using.

Added skpye session on Thursday AND a little about our Tuesday chat.

Yesterday was our SKYPE chat. the morning chat was pretty small!! but I think quite useful. We talked about making sure you know what your analysis process is going to be. this is important for both Module two-ers and three-ers particularly. There is no point collecting data if you don't know what you are going to do with it. If you don't know what you are going to do with it you start to feel you just need more and more data as if collecting it will somehow get you to some answers. But it is the analysis that takes you to the step of addressing the questions and desire for more knowledge that the inquiry is addressing. 

There are a couple of ways to engage with analysis, here a few ideas:

-Mapping: using the data to start to better understand how something works, or what something is like or where things or people stand within a topic. For instance, this would be to have data that about 'what dance teachers think of teaching boys dance'. You would use the teachers responses to look at the landscape of teaching boys dance - where does it seem to be 'easier' (teachers feel that when teaching them street dance they are more engaged than when teaching ballet, it seems that the boys in doing dance classes in state schools are have better behaviour than boys in private dance schools), then you look at why you think things have mapped out like this - you use the literature to help to theorise about why things look like this. You also use your own experience. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.

- Critique: you use the data to inform a critique of the behaviour or phenomena of something. Maybe you asked 'why do dancers get injured?' you use your data to look at a problem (getting injured). You might then identify that certain circumstance lead to injury. You compare what you found with what the literature says and your own experience. You explain the practical situations when something happens and explain why you think that is. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.

- Action research - you identify something you want to 'try out'… you try it out.. you look at whether it had the affect you were expecting, you think about what happened and why. You use the literature to both plan the change you try out and then to understand what happened after you tried it out. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.

How are you finding the idea of analysis?

The evening session got moved to Thursday March 13th….. so you can still join in this month. 

Looking forward to talking to you
Adesola

OMG - its almost another Second Tuesday (non-campus session)

Finally some spring-ish weather and the second Tuesday of March!! So tomorrow Tuesday 11th is another SKYPE chat day. We have two times one in the morning at 11am and one in the evening at 8:45 (London time).

The SKYPE calls are like non-campus sessions where you can ask questions and find solutions and up-date on how your work is going. If you have not joined in before it's a great chance to collaborate to other people on the course and hear their experiences and ideas and solutions.

All you need to do is be on-line  on SKYPE.
BUT
if I don't already have your SKYPE address then make sure you send me a contact request so I can call you.

Looking forward to hearing how things are going and speak to you tomorrow…
Adesola

Knowledge, information and Web 2.0

I have been looking a texts about on-line teaching. I thought that the following was really useful. Especially for module two-ers and three-ers. It is important you don't just use information you happen to come across when you google a subject. Researching into things is not just about finding something someone has written on it. It is about evaluating what things mean in terms of what you already know (and who you respect who also knows about it) with what you want to know more about.  Don't let Google determine what you know; allowing your information on a subject to be whatever comes highest in a search! So here are some questions to ask yourself: 

 Authority. Who says? Know the author.

• Who created this information and why?
• Do you recognize this author or their work?
• What knowledge or skills do they have in the area?
• Is he or she stating fact or opinion?
• What else has this author written?
• Does the author acknowledge other viewpoints and theories?

Objectivity. Is the information biased? Think about perspective.

• Is the information objective or subjective?
• Is it full of fact or opinion?
• Does it reflect bias? How?
• How does the sponsorship impact the perspective of the information?
• Are a balance of perspectives represented?
• Could the information be meant as humorous, a parody, or satire?

Authenticity. Is the information authentic? Know the source.

• Where does the information originate?
• Is the information from an established organization?
• Has the information been reviewed by others to insure accuracy?
• Is this a primary source or secondary source of information?
• Are original sources clear and documented?
• Is a bibliography provided citing the sources used?

Reliability. Is this information accurate? Consider the origin of the information.

• Are the sources truth worthy? How do you know?
• Who is sponsoring this publication?
• Does the information come from a school, business, or company site?
• What's the purpose of the information resource: to inform, instruct, persuade, sell? Does this matter?
• What's their motive?

Timeliness. Is the information current? Consider the currency and timeliness of the information.

• Does the page provide information about timeliness such as specific dates of information?
• Does currency of information matter with your particular topic?
• How current are the sources or links?

Relevance. Is the information helpful? Think about whether you need this information.

• Does the information contain the breadth and depth needed?
• Is the information written in a form that is useable (i.e. reading level, technical level)?
• Is the information in a form that is useful such as words, pictures, charts, sounds, or video?
• Do the facts contribute something new or add to your knowledge of the subject?
• Will this information be useful to your project?

February Second Tuesday talks

The Second Tuesday Group SKYPEs went well this week. We had a mix of students from across the modules. It is really useful to talk to people who have just done the module you are on or who are a step a head of you so you can see where things are leading. We talked from UK, China, Germany and USA.
We were:
http://ehbutterfly.blogspot.co.uk
http://ionaholland.blogspot.co.uk
http://pipspalton.blogspot.co.uk
http://julia-v-gil.blogspot.de
Lucy Jennings and
Ruth Woods
Visit their blogs and say hi too.

We talked about the anxiety of getting started. Trying to avoid the idea of 'confusion' and embrace the idea of 'not knowing yet'. If you are going to have a genuine  learning experience you are very likely not to know where it will end. You can't know the end at the beginning or you wouldn't be learning anything new. We talked about how if you are feeling 'confused': work out specific questions or identify particular issues rather than just see the whole thing as 'confusing'.

For Module Two we talked about how you do not need a specific question at this point just a bit of an idea of the general area you are in. Also that the word 'question' does not mean something to answer. But 'question' in the sense of something you what to know more about.

Tips people talked about were:

• Look at other peoples blogs especially blogs from people who have just finished the module you are on now. 
• Read the whole Reader/Handbook first so you get an overview of the whole module. You can just skim-read just to get the overall picture. 
• Work little and often don't wait to the 'end' to get everything done.
• Work out your time management across the term
• Work with peers

The next group SKYPEs are Tuesday March 11th, 11am (London time) and 8:45 (London time)

Second Coffee shop SKYPE group meeting

Hi
This Tuesday (February 11th) are our SKYPE group meetings
One is at 11am and a second one at 8:45pm
They are really a great way to exchange ideas and find out more about the course and how others are getting on with the tasks.
If you are going to join in make sure I have your SKYPE address by sending me a request. All you have to do is be on-line at the time. But you can send me an email to let me know you are joining in too or leave a comment. Hope to speak to you Tuesday.
Adesola
:)

Just saw my blog post last week did not post properly so here it is again:
Welcome back to BAPP. …..Now I lost the whole post!!!
But I was basically saying looking forward to working with everyone this term. Now is the time to look at feedback if you are returning. And if you are new, have a look at other peoples blogs to see what people have said and done before you.

Adesola !!

Feedback

All most Christmas: I wanted to say a quick word about feedback. Remember the idea behind having an advisor and not a ‘puppet master’(!). Is that it is your work. You are not writing to please us. I understand that sometimes the University culture can seem quite foreign and you appear to be asked to do things for no particular reason other than to say you did it, but do not let this mean you start to feel you are just ticking the box of the whim of the ‘teacher’. We are trying to help with two things:

Firstly, the form you present your ideas in – that is they are your ideas but we are helping with the conventions of academia.

Secondly, we are helping with teasing out more ideas or helping you develop your ideas further. But they are your ideas.

So how does this reflect when you ask for feedback?

When you ask for feedback – explain what you want feedback on, what you want your advisor to look at. Just sending your essay again, again until the advisor says it is ‘right’ is not what this is about. You are in discussion with your advisor with your work write a note explaining what the draft is attempting to do or explaining changes you have made.

For example:

“Dear Adesola, I have changed the order I introduce the different elements of the research inquiry. Can you tell me if you think it is easier to follow in terms of understanding what I did to collect data? “

It is important you feel ownership of your work and you don’t feel you are having to stab in the dark at what someone else wants from you.

Happy Holidays!!

What do you think. Looking forward to reading your comments

Adesola

What you say and what other people say….

Hi

Christmas is coming!!! First, I wanted to put in a word for citations and using them!!! This is about linking your ideas to things beyond yourself. In Module One we talk about communication, reflection and networks.  These are foundational ideas that we return to each module. Think of citations in terms of them. Citing (talking about) other peoples’ work and ideas is how you show how your ideas link to the ‘network’ of ideas about a subject. This also shows how what you think links to the ‘reflections’ of others. As you do this you communicate your ideas in your own way and then share how other people have ‘communicated’ similar ideas.

Now don’t be afraid of citations just because they have a particular format. The formality of citations is just so there is a standard way of doing things; so we can all find the work you are talking about. I have talked about this in a couple of past blog posts have a look.

Starting up

What Sam and Billy say

Citations

Rubric

 

Now for word counts and editing – again don’t be afraid of these. Word counts and starting to edit your work is part of sharpening your skills in writing and being clear in your own head what you want to say.

Here are some ‘tips’ on self-editing

• Don’t get too attached to everything in the essay; nothing is ever lost; it can be used elsewhere. 
• Whatever you write, write about what is necessary to the points you are making.
• Be sure that everything in the essay contributes to what you want the Reader to experience or learn from your writing.
• Don’t read to edit immediately after you have written something. Take a break and come back to it.
• Write what you mean and stop when you’ve said it!!
• Put your ideas in order.
• Think of the essay as a whole: have only one beginning (introduction), middle (the points you want to make) and end (a conclusion drawing it all together). Don’t write a beginning middle and end for every thought you want to talk about.

Looking forward to reading your comments

Adesola

2nd Tuesday Coffee SKYPE

Great lunch time Coffee SKYPE but not many people! Hope to talk to you this evening at 8:45pm (London time) if you missed this mornings.

Adesola