Task 3c - My current sources of information

I have thought about this a great deal and had a read of other peoples blogs to see if we all share common sources and the range of sources others use, as i know i'm finding it hard to pinpoint just a few as i feel information (professional and personal) comes from many places. Here are my thoughts on the ones i feel i use the most.

FACEBOOK - and indeed other social media sites such as twitter, but certainly facebook is the predominant one; it's on my phone, it's on my kindle, its always open on my laptop and i must get distracted by it far too much! However i use it as a source of daily information both ppersonallyand professionally. I belong to groups such as dance teacher hub where i can find out about jobs, or get advice on dance related subjects, as well as belonging to groups where i can advertise my classes. I use it to keep in contact with my friends and share information and often follow links posted by friends that relate to work (such as links to articles about dance/teaching and posts my the ballerina project) or ones purely for entertainment. From reading other blogs it appears a common issue with facebook is the personal/professional line. Many offices now block it due to the distraction it causes and it seems most people have a personal account but belong to professional groups too.   I discussed this in a previous blog about web 2.0 - its definitely something to consider further.

MEDIA - I watch the news as i wake up each morning and i listen to the radio in the car. I spend at least 2 hours a day in the car so i listen to the news reports several times a day. This is how i gather and organize my general day to day information on what's going on in the world. Its not often a source i use for professional purposes it keeps be connected to the rest of the world - and is perhaps a more reliable source than Facebook!

SOCIALIZING - By talking with my own professional and social networks i feel i gain most of my information. Talking ideas and issues through you can bounce off one another and get another point of view or idea that you might not have thought about or heard of. I meet with my team at Popdance once a week and now attend networking sessions with my boss in order to gain information. Once a week i meet with my boss at the dance studio over a coffee and talk about the week, how things have gone etc. I think it's so important to do this as information amongst your professional networks should be shared. I would also hope that this source of information can be relied on as it's coming from someone you trust, whereas you have no or little connection to where online sources come from or started. I do believe that 9 times out of 10 face to face contact is the most beneficial but i know i'm guilty of sending an email instead!

LITERATURE - I like to read, both for work and pleasure. I always have a fiction book on the go as i like to read when on the train and before bed and also like to read autobiographies on dancers or choreographers, as well as books on technique and training. All my books however i access on my kindle so i guess my source is technically coming from the internet as well as my reading for the module, all of which i have accessed online! I also attend ISTD training sessions once or twice a year in order to refresh work and receive any updates, including new music choices or syllabus. These training sessions are another good source of information, to meet other teachers and network.