Task 3c: Sources of Information

Information can be found everywhere.  Yes the internet and Web 2.0 is now a big pool to source information from but do we sometimes forget that we can use each other for information?  I decided to look into the benefits of the varied sources of information I use for my professional practise...

Websites

I love google!  If I have a question that I don't know the answer to, I am more than likely to google it.  With sites like Wikipedia, we have information at our finger tips.  I have very often used this to support my teaching, for example if I can't remember the definition of a ballet term or if I need to get words for a song I am planning on doing.  In the same way I use the web to search for inspiration.  If I am struggling to devise a themed session plan then I use a teachers site where others post their session plans to help others.

Books/Articles

Since joining the world of blogging I have been reading more articles.  Some of which have given me ideas for dance classes, particularly those that improve the technique or flexibility of dancers.  Although I would say I have a sound knowledge of appropriate exercises, what works for one, may not work for the other so it is always useful to have other ideas. 

Books have been very vital to the teaching I do in dance schools.  The syllabus of ISTD has changed several times since I did my training at college.  Because of this, the use of syllabus books have been my bible to learn new exercises.

Facebook

As previously mentioned in tasks I have joined several 'teaching' groups on facebook.  These forms of communication provide a great location for other teachers to share their knowledge and to learn new things.  These have proved a great source of information for finding new pieces of music or themes to suit a new piece of choreography.

Face to Face

An obvious choice to find out information about something is to speak to someone face to face.  This has been an important part of working in a professional environment when there is important information you may need to know.  Within my practice in schools I have found that unless you ask fellow teaching members, you will never be told all the information which should be vital to teaching in a school environment.  This is an on going form of communication I use to find out information about students which may aid my teaching methods and to also give feedback to teachers about student progress.

Visual

You tube has provided some great videos for me to learn new positions, movements and styles of dance.  I was recently asked to deliver African dance for a term and so the use of you tube helped me to understand the style and to also as a visual aid for the students to see some traditional dance.  Pictures have also helped when organising costumes for a particular era, just a quick click on google and there you have an array of images to show the style of clothing you need.

I am currently working on a Bugsy Malone themed medley for an upcoming show so put together the document below with varied images to inspire costume, style and movement ideas.  The sources of these images came from a simple google image search using a variety of search words to gather images of interest.

A compilation of images to inspire me

Information will always be essential for the line of work I am progressing towards, and what a great way to learn.  I find that varied sources and styles of information can create different ideas and manifest exciting inspiration that will hopefully inspire others in the same way.