Task 3C Sources of Information

After writing task 3a about current networks it helped me realise sources of information I use on a regular basis to network with other people on a social and professional level.  I found it difficult to choose 5 most important sources as I use various sources of information which are all important in one way or another in networking with other people. However, I decided to list the sources of information that benefit my professional practice the most and ones I use on a daily basis.

 

Work Colleagues (Face to face communication)

Communicating with my fellow teachers and colleagues provides one of the most important sources of networking for my professional practice. Every day I discuss lesson plan ideas and effective timetables. We can ask each other advice on topics we are unsure of and pass on expertise of elements we are confident on. Through networking face to face we can share ideas and bounce off each other to plan for future learning activities e.g. recently in school we brain stormed ideas for Christmas cards and calendars for the children to make for the Christmas holiday. As a foundation team we always have regular meetings every morning to discuss what the schedule is for the day and make sure we all understand what our individual tasks are and what needs to be prepared. My school St. John Vianney has its own community and network by having school policies and regulations all staff follow. A good network communicates well and shares thoughts and ideas in order to progress as a whole, from a personal level I feel our school demonstrates this and as an employee enjoys where I work as a have a feeling of belonging, importance and appreciation within my early years role. Another key concept of colleagues as sources of information is the wide variety of ages and experiences you can interact with; this allows a diverse opinion and allows me to access an overall opinion on a particular subject I want to find out more.

 

Facebook

For me Facebook is a powerful source when networking. I use it to socialise socially and professionally. I can access it on the go via my IPhone which helps me to continuously network.  I can network with people who live all over the world. Facebook is a great source to promote events. The company I teach singing for, ‘Starmaker’ use Facebook to advertise for their school and put regular updates up about school events and information. Facebook allows me to upload photos and videos to promote my professional practice an example of this I used within task 1d, when I uploaded a video of my class singing I put this video on Starmaker’s Facebook page to show parents what we do within our classes. However, the difficulty with large sites like Facebook is security and privacy issues. Working with children you need to make sure you have permission from parents to upload an image or video of their child. You also have the dangers of people hacking your page and uploaded posts which you have no control over, which can jeopardise your professional practice.

 

Google

I use Google every day, if it be to research ideas for teaching or generally researching something I want to find out. With society being more technology based it’s far easier and quicker to type into Google to find an answer than researching through books and asking someone. It is seen as the lazy approach but competent at completing the task. With Google being so vast sometimes searches don’t give me the information I’m looking for so I need to keep my search title direct and use key words. Below are a few examples of sources I use through Google that benefit my professional practice;

·         You Tube

I use You Tube to give me new ideas for drama/singing exercises and games. Having a visual source is really helpful to trigger ideas and make my lessons more fun and fresh evolving new ideas to keep the pupils engaged. I also use You Tube to watch video’s about how to do something, this came in useful when researching how to complete task 1c I could view various BAPP students video’s to get ideas.

·         Find Song lyrics

·         Wikipedia

·         Search for songs for Lamda exams

·         Searching websites for information.

 

BAPP

Since being on the Professional practice course It’s opened my eyes to new ways of networking one of these sources being ‘Blogging’. Having the network of other BAPP students is so beneficial to help progress my professional practice. By blogging I have discovered similarities with other student’s e.g;

·         Beth Bullman http://bethanybullman.blogspot.com/  

·         Amy D’Arcy http://amydarcybappfirstblog.blogspot.co.uk/

·         Geri Masucci http://gerimasucci.blogspot.co.uk/

I can benefit and learn from these student blogs as they are all involved with education and involved with teaching. I can share experiences and reflect on my own professional practice by reading their blogs and relate to their experiences. We can discuss similar topics and turn to each other for advice. Campus sessions are also very important source of information, on these days I can gain from talking to other students and find out their thoughts on current tasks and ask how they approached them. Having contact with tutors gives me that sense of reassurance and encouragement.

 

E-mail

I check my e-mails every day. Through e-mail I network with people on a professional and social level. For singing teaching I e-mail my lesson plans weekly to my Employer so she can comment and advise or generally know what I will be teaching that week. E-mail allows me to send documents, photos and music to people I network with. I have various e-mails e.g. Hotmail account; for social everyday interaction, G-mail account; for Work & BAPP and I also have a Middlesex e-mail account to receive information from University. I prefer to use e-mail as a use of contact than ringing someone as I can get my thoughts and ideas across far better in words than talking on the phone.