The Networked Professional Task 3A

I attended the campus session on 22nd March with Alan Durrant, which focused on "Networking". The class discussed Networking in depth before separating into smaller groups to devise a visual to represent our own current networks. My group created a diagram which represented our own networks in the form of a universe. Those people closer to us were near the centre of the universe while those we rarely see where in another solar system.

This visual tool helped me to reflect on the importance of individuals within my own network. It demonstrated who is currently closer to me and who is further away. I have discovered that those further away are mostly the people from my past. Because of the path I have chosen in my career I may not have regular intervention with my previous college principal and employer, however they have given me my knowledge and influenced who I am today. This has highlighted people who I desire to bring closer to my earth's core.
In order to do this I must make more time to network with particular professionals. This could also support my own teaching experiences and future job opportunities, so is well worth investing my time in. However, on a day to day basis (with an ever increasing workload) this is a challenge. I have taken this into consideration before making decisions and taking steps to improve my own professional networks.

I have decided the most effective methods to make some positive changes to my professional networking are to set up a new Facebook account for dance colleagues and work related friends, who can browse my profile without the risk of them seeing too much personal detail. My profile photo does not identify me (reducing the risk of fraud or stalking), I will remain selective when adding new friends and I have increased the privacy settings to prevent others outside of my network viewing my blogs. I will maintain a professional manner when posting news and photos and intend to use this social networking site to increase my conversations, observations and feedback from other practioners who share similar interests at work. You can visit my link below;

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003715278018

I will also endeavour to maximise my potential for continual professional development through attending more meetings at work, observing lessons / taken on board constructive feedback and to engage more widely in inspirational discussions from other BAPP students such as Jo and Ahmet, who often express, share and reflect ideas.