My first Adobe Meeting Room online chat with Paula

So today I was the 'first guinea pig' in testing out the Adobe Meeting Room and having a one to one chat with course leader, Paula.

 

All in all...

I loved it!!!

 

There were, as always, issues with microphones and Paula had to restart her computer, but everything was fine after that and we were able to proceed in talking about the RoL and what I had done and found so far.

 

What did I think about Adobe Meeting Room?

I really liked the Adobe meeting room, mainly because when comparing it to the first Skype session we had, there were a good few issues with as many as 18 people trying to talk and interact all at once! This meeting room allowed us to talk more evenly and the use of the webcam enabled us to have that personal interaction. Paula said herself that she learns visually so it was incredibly useful for her to see my face and took a screenshot of our meeting room session. I liked the mixture of ways to communicate through, whitboard, audio, microphone and messaging. All different methods which are themselves, very ideal for for different types of learners.

 

What did we discuss?

 

I talked about how beneficial Activity Two (and the reflection of my teaching processes in Activity One) was in looking at learning process and how I've had to adapt my own lessons and teaching methods to cater to all.

 

Paula told me about a conference she has recently been to in which a woman was talking about B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning and that when it comes to learning used animals such as pigeons, (yes, pigeons...) as a way of saying that we are much more than simple. We have a mind and are aware of the things around us.  I discussed one particular girl, who two weeks ago tried my acting class and had a certain barrier. She was afraid to feel embarassed. She was the only one of her age there. However, what I did tell her was that the young ones would enable her let go and embrace being silly and the younger ones would learn self discipline from someone who was older. This I have found when we decided to mix the younger 'mini performers' group with the main theatre school group, with even autistic children braving being put on the spot mainly for the fact they look up to the older ones. The girl from my acting class undoubtedly struggled to let go and didn't expect her back at all. But she surprised everyone, as last week she came back...with a friend! I was shocked and this time she threw herself into the task and this time with someone she knew would support her. I was amazed. But she didn't let an obstacle beat her. Instead, she tried again with a new attitude.

 

I also reflected on how I learn best and how I have recently been taking driving lessons and that it's been taking me a little bit longer than everyone else. I spoke with Paula about this and established that it's most probably because I am naturally a thinker and repeater, which was apparent at drama school when I had to learn lines...I would repeat, repeat and repeat again until it was entirely automatic. My driving instructor keeps saying to me 'Stop thinking and just DO.' Paula made the point that it's fine learning as children, but how do we continue to learn when we become adults?  Drama school taught me to become more of an activist through improvisation and what a coincidence that the theme for this term's acting classes is...improvisation!!!

 

My reviewing of learning processes taught me that we can apply this to everyday life and that at times we can be all different things and learn in many different ways, something I've learnt at my tutor training. I can tell a child that 5 + 5 is 10, but that child may not be able correlate this unless they see it right in front of them. Children I tutor could be one of the different types of learners; audio, visual, verbal, physical, logical, social and solitary.

 

I also talked about how I've been taking advantage of social media and how I made a radio appearance spontaneously on Sheppey FM and how beneficial it was to 'be an activist' and tell the whole of Sheppey and even my friends who were in Canada at the time!! It was nice to reflect on the things benefiting me  as a professional and helping the school to grow through many different social media mediums.

 

RoL

 

Paula said that my blogs so far have been fantastic in showing my journey so far and reflecting on my learning process up until now. The next stage was to look at my CV and job description which I have already started to annotate and look at. She told me that she would check with Olivia from Trinity College to see exactly how many credits I would need to work towards but we worked out that it be be around 75 credits for Level 4/5. Paula also wants to put me together with some other people on the course who are looking at teaching and how their professional skills have enhanced their skills in the classroom and will be getting us in touch with each other via email. The next step is to look at Activity Three and keep adding to my CV and job description.

 

Overall Thoughts and Feelings - where do I go from here?

 

I am very excited to contunue my exploration with my teaching and learning and I am glad that I am running with this project with the right attitude. I am excited to see how my lessons in improvisation progress at the theatre school and see how far my students can take what they've found and use it to their advantage. It was lovely to simply discuss my findings are relish my achievements already with my teachings. It's also showing me that people don't just grow as a result of things they do...they can also grow as a result of other people and that's why social interaction is so incredibly important.