Using Social Media

I am coming to the stage in my inquiry where I am piecing together all areas of investigation in order to analyse and produce my findings. In this time of reflection I am looking back on how I used social media throughout the course and how it has affected my work.

What Social Media Have I used?

I think the obvious form to point out straight away is this blog. Before starting this course I had never blogged, I think like many of us. I can think back to starting Module One and writing my first blog post and staring at the screen not knowing what to write. As I have progressed through the course I have learnt just how valuable blogging can be. It is a great way to document your learning and to communicate with others on the course. It is great to be able to gain ideas and inspiration from others as well as receive feedback on my own work. I have found my blogs essential when it comes to producing my final written work at the end of each module. To be able to look back at my entire learning journey and reference the posts in my evaluation is extremely helpful. I have definitely increased the amount I have blogged in each module as I have realised how helpful it can be. I hope that my blogging for this module is helpful in producing my final work. To ensure it is I have tried to blog about every aspect of my inquiry. Considering this it is my aim this week to blog more about my work with my literature.

Facebook has also played a major role within the course. Although there are many ethical implications to consider when using Facebook there are great positives. My fellow students set up a private group page where we can share ideas, ask questions and gain feedback. This is a great addition to our blogs as it is way that everyone can be notified when a discussion is taking place. I have also used Facebook privately for interaction with my SIG's. Considering the ethics of this, all of my interactions have been done privately and not on public pages.

My other social media pages such as Instagram can also be a place of inspiration and reflection. On my social media pages I tend to follow a lot of people within the Musical Theatre industry and occasionally images and messages pop up that I can relate to my work on the course. For instance part of my inquiry is looking at teamwork within a Musical Theatre rehearsal environment. Whilst on one of my social media pages the following image came up - 

 

It was interesting for me to consider this opinion on teamwork and relating it to the opinions that have already come up in my inquiry. Social media allows access to many opinions and ideas very quickly. It is always important to consider the bias and ethics of what you seeing but overall I have found it a useful tool.

My skills 

This course has forced me out of my comfort zone in terms of social media and technology in general. I was someone that had always used social media as a sideline for interaction with friends and sourcing performance work. My work in Module One highlighted the power social media can have and this made me more conscious of what I post online, it's purpose and who is going to see it. For example I am in the process of setting up a secondary Facebook page. I have made this decision as I am aware of how much I am using sites such as Facebook to look for work as well as interacting with fellow practitioners and customers for my teaching work. Creating two pages will help me to separate my work life and private life.

Committing to a blog has been positive for me as I have seen the benefits that having a journal of a learning process is in terms of reflecting and progressing as a practitioner. The benefits of web 2.0, having people comment and improve your work is great. I wish to carry on blogging my work as a Musical Theatre practitioner so I can continue to use it to develop in my work.

Overall this course has pushed me to try things I have never done or used before. For instance during Module Three I have been carrying out interviews over Skype. I was able to record my initial interviews easily using my mobile. However a change in location to a public setting for my recent interview meant that using my mobile would not be sufficient. Therefore I researched a programme that would allow me to record the interview directly from Skype onto my laptop. I then was able to download the software and use it successfully. This is something I would have not felt comfortable with in the past but this course has given me confidence to try and experiment with technology.