Leeds Leeds Leeds!

Just got back from Leeds, furthest I have ever drove and really enjoyed it actually but very tired now. Leeds is such a beautiful city, so many old buildings and shopping centre was incredible! Us girls went out on Tuesday night and it was such fun, we went to a club called Hifi which had really good music and Leeds is sooooo cheap! It was crazy! I definitely want to go again sometime soon :)

Task 1D

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 (which is also known as web 2) is a popular term for advanced Internet technology and applications including blogs, wikis, Facebook etc... This is all to do about social networking and communicating with each other. If we go back to web 1.0 where websites were not interactive, visitors could only look at the website and not comment or like or make any sort of impact to the site. They could only look but not contribute to what they were reading. Most organizations had profile pages but visitors could not alter the profile in any way. With web 1.0 companies develop software applications that visitors could download, but they could not see how the application worked or how it changed. After Web 2.0 was invented in 2013-14 it was more often that people used social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace which allowed the visitors to directly comment on the web pages and websites which was not previously possible. Web 2.0 will get better with the more people that use it, we will all interact off of each other and all have different opinions and facts we can share. For example if I re-posted a page on my Facebook about my dance school my friends would then see it, and could contribute by sharing it again with their friends, or just by liking or commenting, they can give me more ideas or suggestions which will help me learn and expand my own knowledge. With this being on my Facebook it means it is being pasted down the line which also means more people see it and know about it. 

After the web crashed people decided that the web was still more important than ever. Tim O’Reilly and MediaLive International started brain storming session and this is where they came up with the idea of Web 2.0. Tim O’Reilly describes Web 2.0 with a ‘meme’ map which is like a spider diagram with different sections of Web 2.0 surrounding my main points. It represents all the different ideas and concepts and what really identifies something as Web 2.0. Not long after he released the meme map in 2007 he posted and shorter definition of Web 2.0 while blogging ‘Web 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning, all connected devices; Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming ad remixing data from multiple sources, including individual users, while providing their own data and services in a form that allows remixing by others, creating networks effects through as “architecture of participation,” and going beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences.’ http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NpEk_WFCMdIC&oi=fnd&pg=PT3&dq=tim+o%27reilly+web+2.0&ots=OYMCObnyGZ&sig=ha25rwSwCdk8VZ_XCRrJ_YH4E0E#v=onepage&q=tim%20o'reilly%20web%202.0&f=false
http://home.arcor.de/nils.skyline/Studienarbeit%20Winf/Web%202.0/Web%202.0%20Building%20the%20New%20Library.pdf.pdf

This then brings me to my next point of architectures of participation. Architectures of participation is about using the tool of networking and communicating which encourages and enables us all to participate with social networking. This is really important as we need visitors to be able to connect and interact by using Web 2.0. We need to be active and take part in both reading and creating our own opinions to share worldwide. We all need to participate which means we all need time, money and skills and as long as we are willing to try something new Web 2.0 will keep improving and gives us the successful relationships with each other and the social media. Web 2.0 is very powerful when you really start to think about it, when you share information on a website or social media you are sharing it with the world, and this has only happened recently. When we send letters to each other that is on a one to one basis and will still always be needed with private and confidential personal situations, but on the other hand we have mass media now such as TV and radios which is a many-to-many approach and is a lot easier, but with Web 2.0 we can all use and all see each other’s thoughts etc.. And it is a much quicker approach to sharing whatever we want with the world. There is so much for us to use by using Web 2.0 we can comment, criticise, share, remix information, music, pictures, video and the list goes on and on, this gives us the opportunities and the freedom to communicate. We all have the choice in what we search for online, what we follow, what we download and what we like as individuals, and all have a choice in what we share with the world and what we think is suitable to put out there for everyone to see. www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/mcloughlin.pdf

I personally use Facebook, Youtube, twitter, Skype, google +, Hotmail and lots more on a daily basis normally, and not only do I use it for business but for social networking with friends here at home that are just down the road and for friends half way round the world. As I am a dance teacher I am always downloading music and researching what music children like at all different ages. Most people have emails and that's how I keep up to date with my work colleagues and via Facebook with some. We all send emails and attach music tracks and documents for performances as we don't have the time to see each other every day (most of us are so busy with work and commitment.) When you sit down and think about how much we all use Web 2.0 it is insane, I don't know how we all communicated before. It is so quick and easy to use within a click of a button you can send whatever you need, and the fact we now have all of this on our phones, tablets, Ipads etc... We can do it anywhere and at any time.

We can all now remix data and transform the information we read on the screen into our own words. We all share pictures, music, ideas, text and all this information we share bounces off of each other and to other people using Web 2.0 this slightly brings us all together and emerges who consume the data and the people who make media. This now makes the artist the audience and the audience can also be the artist if they like, this makes Web 2.0 more popular and is one of the key selling points that we all get to watch and get a say in what we put out there. Also no information will ever be unfinished because somewhere out there in the world there will be someone sharing, commenting or renewing that information, the world is always changing and improving and hopefully has a snowball knock on effect. http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Mar_10/article04.htm  

Web 2.0 also gives us the chance to communicate with strangers, we can connect with our next door neighbour just as much as we can communicate with someone the other side of the world to us. Social networking has improved greatly that we can now find strangers that have things in common with us such as; the same secondary school, live/lived in the same location as us, people we have mutual friends with etc... We also come across people with completely different and diverse backgrounds to, and we can all come together as equals. Web 2.0 encourages social networking, where our pages or link can connect with someone else's, our information can be searched and positioned online where we are allowed to connect with other people. The fact there was 1 billion users using Facebook at the beginning of 2013 shows how powerful and how effective it can be for businesses trying to advertise.

Term 1

I have had a busy term so far, but only one more week until half term. We moved our dance school to a different premises at the beginning of this school year in September. The new dance studio is much nicer than our old one, its more modern and we have fitted wall barres and mirrors. We even have a waiting room for the parents which they really like and have fitted lockers for the children to put there belongings into while in class, the younger students were very excited about these for some reason but its much more organised having them. Also the new studio is in a nice location it is above a nursery school which has also helped gain a few more students too, our last dance studio was at a landmark and above a pub which was a horrible situation having the students walking in and out with people smoking outside etc... The new studio is a lot smaller than what we were use too, it can sometimes be difficult to fit leaps and travelling steps across the room when there are a lot of students in one class but it is also a lot easier to keep control of the younger classes as they don't have a huge hall to run wild in.
I have nearly finished all my choreograph as well for our annual pantomime in January which will be a huge relief after I've finished it all and taught it all the dances to the classes. I can't believe how quick this term has gone, it is crazy! We had auditions a couple of weeks ago so we have chosen who has the main characters and different roles in Cinderella which is very exciting! All the children did really well and they were all very supportive of each other which is always nice. We have even started sorting out costumes and measuring some classes for new costumes so I think it is all coming together really well as we are not normally this well organised but I'm sure January will be here in no time. Roll on Christmas!!

Task 1d

I have recently been thinking about how the use of images and audio-visual is so important to social media this day and age. Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, blogging etc... all use images and videos. It makes it easier for us to show rather than explain our situation in detail. We can now take images and audio-visual with a click of a button on phones, cameras, we have now invented such a thing as a 'selfie stick' which gives us more length (than an arm) to fit more in our pictures. Everyone takes pictures of everything; food, sunsets, views, friends, injuries, tourist attractions, holidays etc... it is such a good way of advertising!
My dance school is now designing/updating our old website because everyone uses social media, already there has been an improvement on more newer children wanting to try out classes. We also have Facebook and post pictures and details on events, classes, half term workshops etc.. the parents loves sharing photos of each other's children and it also shows their 'Facebook friends' our dance school and what the children learn. I think it is so impressive how we can all share images and so on so easily but on the other hand it is so scary with a click of a button we can show everyone world wide our life. Many people regret putting things up online and that's why we all have to be very careful!
For example Adele the singer-songwriter, was offered a recording contract from XL recordings after her friend posted a demo on Myspace in 2006, this was life changing to Adele obviously and made her who she is today. But also on the bad side people that are interviewing/auditioning for jobs more recently have found that their employers have been checking their Facebook and other social media, which can be a downfall for some people if they have posted inappropriate pictures, audio-visual or posts on their page. Social media is incredible as long as we think before we post it for everyone to see. It is such a powerful influence for good and bad.

Cheeky trip to the Shard

I spent the day in London today, after an early start to our Sunday morning we got to the big city at about 10am, we then walked along the embankment which was very busy full of tourists taking pictures and not having a clue where they are going. We eventually got to the Shard and I had a slight moment of panic when we got into the lift but after the doors open and you could see the whole of London it looked incredible! The River Thames and the rail line looked impressive winding through all the office blocks, housing and tourist attractions. I would suggest going to the Shard if you haven't been yet, as I really enjoyed it myself, doing something completely different is always a nice change to the normal day life but  I would make sure you go on a clear day as I was lucky we got there in the morning as in the afternoon it clouded up and was grey and miserable.

 

Later in the day we went for afternoon tea and filled ourselves up on finger sandwiches, scones, cakes, tea and champagne which was very yummy. I have to admit I felt like I should of been rolled home after eating so many calories! I need to work hard this week at dance to burn it all off!

 

 



Skype session 1

I had my first Skype call with Adesola yesterday and it was a huge help. I found it really helped me understand how to use blogging more and how to make the best use of it while working towards this course.
We also discussed that it is not about completing a million tasks, but doing the tasks that will most help me. I need to focus on what will benefit me the most so I am constantly collecting information and research on my practice. Other tasks I do not complete myself I can comment on and over vue someone else's task on their blogs so I still understand the point of the exercise.
Over all it was nice to speak to people and know how they are feeling, it was reassuring to know that blogging was not just new for me but for others too.

Power cut Monday morning

So I got to work today and as I jumped my class up to start the warm up we had a power cut... stood in darkness with 22 screaming girls was not the start I had in mind. We were then evacuated for the dance studio into the school hall and ended up playing bench ball. It wasn't the class I had planned but I think we had fun and all ended up a very good workout for a Monday morning!!

Back to work...

I've just returned back to another school year and have lots of new faces to put with new names. It is important for the children to get into the routine of listening to others and concentrating in class again after their long summer break. It has been complete chaos right now and have lots to do in the next few weeks as we have started choreographing for our annual pantomime in January, and we are performing Cinderella this year at the Winter Garden Theatre, Margate. Our aim is to complete all the dances by half term so we can then clean them in the few weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday. I know this is the longest term but it always feels the shortest, it's only 80 days until Christmas!