Product not production

I attended an interesting Skype on Wednesday , where we spoke about artefacts. 

I shared that after conversations with Adesola I have learned that the artefact needs to be something that represents your inquiry but in a different way. If one person  was to read the essay and the other to look at the artefact , they would share the same message. 

I feel that an artefact needs to be 3 dimensional. Not literally , but there needs to be more depth than just one idea. You need to make your idea and artefact ‘POP ‘ 

On the Skype call Serena said that she was going to choreograph and dance a routine with no music. Instead  of music she would use a voiceover that she would record herself. That to me sounds ‘3D’ which is a great idea  

I interviewed 5 people during my inquiry process . So I decided to create 6 books. Each one a pop up book representing key themes that emerged from the interviews.

The sixth book is my own thoughts and reflections.

There were a few questions on the call about how perfect the artefact needs to be. Sophie wanted to perform a dance but was concerned about the lighting ,angle and the fact it wouldn’t be filmed in a studio due to Covid.

I explained that I have learned that the importance is in the product and not the production. By this, I mean that it is the thought process, meaning and message that is important. The actual production of it is not as important. It is obviously important to maintain as much professionalism as we can but perfectionism is not something we will be marked on  .

 

Instagram V Reality

 ‘Instagram versus reality’ I’m sure most social media users have come across this phrase in the past. But what does it mean and how does this hold relevance for a blog post connected with my BAPP?

Firstly, what does it mean ?

Usually two photos would be displayed. A perfect example would be trying to get a photo of a baby. The perfect photo is the one you put on Instagram , and ‘reality’ is perhaps displaying one of the many photos that did not quite make the edit !! Showing that so much work goes into getting the perfect photo. And it hints at not believing that the Instagram photo is as perfect or easy as it seems. 

How does this connect with my BAPP?

As I have completed my inquiry now, and have begun the reporting, I have continued to reflect on my own career. 

My Inquiry topic is ‘Does career transition exist for professional dancers?’

I am semi retired and so have reflected upon my own experience so far. It made me think back to module one where I was able to be indulgent and talk about my own career. I remember looking through performance photos whilst doing module one , and thinking ‘wow what amazing times !’. However , to quote another saying ‘ the grass is always greener on the other side.’ 

It seems so temping to want to go back to a life of performing. I looked so glamorous on the photos!! And I was really lucky to travel the world, but behind each photo is a story.

 A photo is just like snapshot of one moment in time. The photo doesn’t tell you the story before and after. The photo doesn’t tell you the struggle it may have been to look like that , or the photos that were discarded in favour of that particular one. It doesn’t show the vigorous rehearsal schedule , the fatigue or personal worries you may have. 

It made me consider how realistic photos are? And that it is only through social media being so big now , that we sometimes get to see a snapshot of something that isn’t always perfect. Something that is a little more real. 

Either way , it is always wonderful to remember the good times of any professional contract , job and experience. But from now on I will try to take a more balanced view as so many times we project an image that might not necessarily be the most accurate representation. It is worth remembering this when we go on social media and scroll down to see so many perfect pictures. We don’t know their before and after. It may lt be all that it seems.

Word counts

 It’s been a while since I have blogged but I have been busy cracking on with my research report. When I first saw the word count , 5500, I thought oh no!! I am going to struggle to fill that. However, now I have ‘found my flow ‘ , I am finding the opposite is happening !! I’m almost at my word count and withso much more to write !

This also happened to me in modules One and Two. I had the initial panic of how I would reach the word count but in the end found myself trimming it down so it met the word count !! 

I thought it would be useful for others reading this blog , to just confirm exactly what a word count does and doesn’t cover  

The word count usually refers to the main body of your text, eg the main essay. It does not include the title page or the bibliography. 

The main body of your text is from where you actually start to write the essay up to the end. This would include citations , possibly graphs, charts , diagrams , quotes, headings etc. 

Within the BAPP course there is usually -10% allowed under word count and +10% over the word count. It is always necessary to double check on each module though !!

Most word processor programmes in computers have a feature built in , so that you can easily see at a glance where you are up to with your word count. Make sure you select the main body of text to get it right. 

 Best of luck !

Game changer

 I attended a great writing workshop Skype last week led by Peter Thomas. 

I found it really interesting and it was great to have the input of someone else as well. 

Peter explained about a website that really did make me stop in my tracks. This will help many others regardless of which module you are on. 

The website :

http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

( Click on ‘giving examples’ on the left hand side, and then ‘examples of the main information in a sentence )

Basically this site will give you alternative ways to phrase is sentence.  

For example if I was writing ‘this writer shows us’ but felt that I wanted to write this in other words that were more ‘academic ‘. The site gives you alternative phrases. 

‘This is evident in the case of’

‘X illustrates this point clearly’

‘This distinction is further exemplified in studies using ‘

A very good site for if you need alternative phrasing or if you have writers block  

On the topic of writers block ! It is now time to really make a  start on the essay for module 3. In each module I have always found it hard to get going but once I have started it had flown easier than anticipated. My advice is to get the front page of the essay started and you will feel duty bound to start your introduction and then hopefully the rest will start to flow.

I’m struggling a little with time at the moment as I’m juggling a newborn baby along with my 4 year old but this coming week I plan to draft my literature review out as I have been preparing that already  Wish me luck !

Books for university

 Middlesex university has a library both online and an actual real life library ! You can request via post some books subject to circumstances and availability too. 

However I wanted to have an actual book ( not an online version ) to study and find quotes. I found libraries too restrictive with time constraints and needed an alternative. 

I came across a company called ‘world of books ‘. They are online and you simply search for the book and pay a vastly reduced price and get it posted to you. The books are all used hence the low prices. But when you need quite a lot of books it can get very expensive and so for me it was a perfect solution. 

I searched through to find the books that would be of interest and sometimes selected them due to low prices due to budget constraints. All others I could access online. 

Hope this is of help to others. The website address is :

https://www.worldofbooks.com

Perseverance

 I remember around 20 years ago , working in a cabaret show abroad. The lady I was working for had plans for a photo shoot. On the morning of the shoot we had rehearsals and the photographer didn’t turn up. There was also an issue with the hotel where we were rehearsing and we had less time than originally planned  Basically everything that could have gone wrong did !! I remember being amazed that this lady was moving everything around to still be able to do the photoshoot. I remember thinking why not just give up ?? Admit defeat ! 

But you had to admire her absolute tenacity and iron strong will to get the job done! She bought a disposable camera used a different part of the hotel and ran the photoshoot  herself! 

You may be wondering what relevance this holds to my BAPP. The answer is quite a lot. 

From that single experience I learned that actually you simply cannot give up so easily. This learning can be transferred to many other experiences in life. Adult life doesn’t allow for giving up so easily. I have even blogged about perseverance before, in module 2!

Over the years I’ve sometimes had challenging situations and have realised that one of my strengths is perseverance. To unpick that idea .....I think I can sometimes only feel satisfied when I’ve chased the answer down and solved the issue. 

As humans we find it easy to criticise ourselves but we are often not as quick to identify positive character traits, and for me perseverance is one of mine  

As I enter into module 3, I need to remember to persevere. No module has been easy initially. I have had to work on it and chase down the answers until it was complete. This module is no different, it still raises challenges, I just need to persevere. 

Failure to prepare... prepare to fail !

My first blog of the new term and first of module 3.

It’s been a busy few weeks. 

Over a week ago we welcomed our daughter, Valentina into the world ! I had a c -section and although the baby was fine at birth , we soon realised she was unwell and she was whisked away to neo natal intensive care with suspected pneumonia. She stayed  there for 2 nights and then we both went to transitional care for a further 4 nights. Luckily she picked up and we are now finally home. Big sister Amara is very pleased she now has a lovely baby sister to look after. 

It was quite a worrying week and really makes you realise how important health is and how valuable our NHS is. 

Prior to all of this excitement and drama , I had luckily managed to get a head start on the final module. In the weeks before the baby was due, I managed to do my 1 to 1 Skype with Adesola , enrol for the term , complete my feedback for the feedback received for module 2 and I even managed to complete all of my interviews for my inquiry project. 

So although this is my first blog of the term , I do feel I have hit the ground running !

Module 2 complete - perseverance

Studying for this module has undoubtedly been assisted by the lockdown due to Covid 19. It has given me valuable extra time when I desperately needed it. 

I am expecting another baby due in September  :) 

( much to the delight of my 4 year old daughter  !!) At the start of this module I was suffering from terrible morning sickness. I was managing to continue with my teaching work but was so tired and feeling terrible most of the time. The morning sickness was getting worse by the day. 

I started to wonder how on earth I would ever be able to complete this module of my BAPP. 

I got to the stage where I sent Adesola an email entitled ‘struggling ‘. I was just honest and said I felt so unwell. I really didn’t know how I could continue.....I didn’t want to abandon the course , but perhaps defer for a term.  

Adesola wrote back to me with some very supportive words which really helped my determination to continue. I am very grateful for this especially due to lockdown. 

When the lockdown happened my morning sickness actually got worse !!! However I didn’t have the pressure to go out to work every day and had lots more time. There were moments where I wondered how I could do this module. But I don’t give up easily. Us mums simply don’t ! 

I tried to do bit by bit of my study and use the time when I felt better to fit it in. Luckily after a few weeks I pushed through the other side and started to feel so much better. With all of the extra lockdown time I was grateful to be given more time and opportunity to do it. 

I remember thinking, if I can do this module it will be a great achievement, and I hope this offers hope to anyone else struggling for whichever reason. 

My greatest challenge will probably be module 3!!! My baby is due in September !! So I will be recovering from major surgery plus looking after a newborn !! As well as my 4 year old !! Although she will be in school by then ( assuming schools go back in September !)

I do have my husband to help too. Although he does work night shifts so won’t be there ( or won’t be awake !) all the time.

My advice to anyone struggling is to be honest and seek help. Try to persevere where you can but remember there are options with a course like this such as deferring etc. 

Submitting my work for module 2 ahead of the deadline was euphoric !! It feels like a big achievement in itself which will prepare me for my bigger challenge of module 3!

Corona virus

A new type of normal has begun. 

A different life than I have experienced before. Corona virus has hit the Uk fiercely and life as we knew it is on pause. 

Two weeks ago the government advised us to practice social distancing , especially those in a high risk group ( of which I am ). The dance classes I run all got cancelled and slowly everything started to shut down. Schools were then closed , restaurants , libraries ,  non essential shops etc, and finally a lockdown.  The lockdown is to stop the spread of the virus and to protect the NHS , which are already to capacity. 

The lockdown currently allows you to go to a supermarket to get essential items ( advice is only once a week ), essential workers are still allowed to work but many people are working from home. We are allowed to leave our homes for one exercise per day eg a short walk. 

So it is a very different way of life at the moment. We are very lucky we live in a developed country as we are being offered help and assistance financially from the government. It is also important to remember how lucky we are in that we are safe , healthy and have food, a roof over our heads and live comfortably. Other people are not so lucky.

I wanted to show how my life is continuing within my dance teaching work. 

I run a franchise of pre school ballet and tap and we are continuing to run classes online. Engagement with customers is really important at this moment in time, everyone has more time to social network , so it’s important to stay on the ball!

My living room has been transformed into a make shift studio ! I now have a tripod and use my trusty iPhone to film videos that I upload. ( I also sometimes do live videos too)

The feedback has been really lovely. Everyone has been so pleased with the videos and the little ones have been really engaged. As we approach the final week of this term, I then need to invoice everyone for next term which will be online classes. It’s unlikely everyone will stay due to the current situation and it’s understandable that not everyone can afford to. 

Staying positive is really important as we all need to have a business to go back to at the end of this awful crisis. 

The best thing we can currently do is to keep things going , stay safe and stay at home to protect the wonderful NHS. 

It is at times like this that we really appreciate what we have. We are so lucky to have freedom in our normal lives, good heath, family and friends. And it’s going to make for an amazing party when it’s all over !!!

Our BAPP course luckily can continue throughout ( one of the perks of distance learning  !). So I am trying to use my extra time to really get to grips with the essays in module 2. 

Stay safe everyone. And thanks to our wonderful NHS and all key workers 🌈 

If in doubt ask :)

I had a great Skype with Adesola today. I started to unravel some of my questions and Adesola helped make sense of it all.

We both agreed that Skype is much quicker for a quick question or two rather than an email, and she asked me to pass this onto everyone else. As long as it’s during office hours of course :)

As a mature student it is quite amusing that I’m often not the first to ask a question , when as a teacher I encourage my students to ask any that they have! Practice what you preach is a lesson to be learned here !

I am starting to ‘put pen to paper’ now with my literature review ( or fingertips to keyboard !!). 

I always feel better once I have actually written something as you then have a starting point to improve. 

Within this module there is a lot of research required before you can actually write anything ( or at least that is my finding). I like to plan and do diagrams before I draft any work , so that I have a clearer direction with it 

My research is far from over , but I feel I have sufficient to at least start my literature review , while I continue to accumulate more 

Wish me luck !!

My first Skype of the semester

Wednesday 5th Feb at 8.15am marked my first Skype this term.

It was with one module three student and the rest of us were module 2 students.

It was comforting to know that my fellow module 2 students were at the same stage as myself. We are all reading and narrowing down our inquiry topics.


Some good points to take away from the Skype:

• Go and see what other people have said about the inquiry topic you are considering and see what literature is out there 
• What interests you ? ( with regards to picking an inquiry topic )
• What will benefit my practise ? Pick a topic that will be of benefit 
• Look at the ethics surrounding your topic
• Research qualitative research ! This is the type of research we will be dealing with in our inquiry 

One concern that I had was that I wasn’t sure how to put my initial inquiry ideas into the question that will be used for the inquiry. Adesola reassured me ( and others with the same worry) that it will take time to get the exact question of the inquiry. She said it is likely that by the end of module 3 you will confirm that ! 

So as always we must trust the process. 

Similar to module one , all became apparent as you worked your way through the module. 

Adesola emphasised the importance of researching really well in module 2, to ensure module 3 time is used wisely and correctly. 

Another useful reminder was summarised in a diagram :

Topic ——-Ethics ——-Literature

Whilst we are at the early stages of selecting our topic we need to look at the ethics surrounding it and to research the literature available. 

Handy hints on starting module two

I have always wanted to find a blog post that was giving away tips quite blatantly !

So I hope this post is of use to someone :)

Starting module two I have read and re-read the module handbook and have made separate notes on what we are required to submit at the end of term.

A portfolio containing: 

Practice based inquiry proposal 

Literature/archival review

Critical Reflection drawing on practise based processes

Feedback exchange form

Appendices: 

i) Award title rationale form

ii) Signed Employer Form

iii) Ethics Form

iv) Draft data collection/participant consent form

I have also looked at a few different books, but one has been very ‘easy’ to read.
‘Doing your research Project’

I have also started to do some spider diagrams to help me to decide on an inquiry topic.

Wishing everyone a great start to module two :)

 

New Year , New Term , New Module

A new year signifies to many people a new start, but actually a new start can come at any time of the year. Mine started in September when I started this degree course.
I haven’t made any New Years resolutions as such , but this is an important full year of my course and so I really want to do well and I feel ready to start the new module.

Module 2. I have already read the Module 2 handbook from September , so I will wait to see when a new one is uploaded in case of any changes. I plan on reading the handbook again and again until I start to to brainstorm some ideas for the direction I will go in this term.

I watched a great Video which is great for inspiring the mind for the challenges ahead. Anything is possible with the correct positive mind set.
Wishing everyone a successful and happy new year.


https://www.ted.com/talks/diana_nyad_never_ever_give_up/up-next?language=en