My main source of information is Google. I use it on a daily basis to research people, companies, scripts, music, news stories, events. It is such a valuable tool and we are very lucky to have so much information at the touch of a button.
In preparing for my lessons I often use Google as a jumping off point. In my school workshops the lessons always have a theme eg the Great Fire of London. I would first of all familiarise myself with the background information of that topic. I would then think about what I could use in drama to bring that topic to life. Usually a poem or script as well as improvisation. Sometimes I can find a good poem or script online. Often I get inspiration and then write my own script or poem. You have to be careful what you take from google due to copyright issues. For example, we were doing a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the Saturday school I work in. We didn't have time or the rights to do the full show. So I was able to find inspiration online through using google - I then wrote my own short scenes to work on with the children.
I am also able to research companies that I am going to audition/interview for. I think it is important to be clued up on the people you plan to meet. So much is available online I think it would be surprising to them if you didn't do your homework.
Another source that I use in a similar way is YouTube. I can watch videos of musicals to gain ideas on what to do with the students. Sometimes I also take my tablet to class and show example to the students. Not all of them have had the luxury of attending the theatre. This way they can see high performance standards and get an idea of what they are trying to achieve.
I also enjoy watching interviews with people that I admire. I have also recently discovered some great talks on YouTube such as the one Adesola posted in her blog about the education system. Also events such as the WOW festival post all of their talks online so that you can catch up even if you can't attend. It's a great way to keep up with current news and see what issues others in the industry are highlighting.
I also use it as a source for music. I often will listen to albums or songs on YouTube first before I will buy them.
I then of course have my colleagues. We put our heads together each term in teacher planning sessions to organise all the lessons. We can bounce ideas around and each contribute. We share our experiences of classes since the last time we met. What worked and what didn't. What we have felt we have achieved over the term. I really enjoy these meetings face to face. As I mentioned in a previous blog I work extremely well when I work with others. I find it stimulating. I sometimes find I can be overloaded with information and ideas but unless I talk them out with someone they often come to nothing because I don't allow them to develop. Whereas when you talk to others they push you to do something about it. I think I learn from my colleagues and the experiences they have. We cannot possible experience everything so we can learn from connecting with others who have had those experiences. (Siemens, G. 2004)
We have a dropbox for our theatre school which all the resources for the term are available on. Videos of the dances, music, scripts etc. in case anyone needs cover throughout the term. We also keep in touch via email on an almost daily basis.
Although I don't tweet as regularly as some users I do use Twitter as a source of information on a daily basis. I find it extremely convenient and easy to find news stories and information that I would be interested in. My feed is full of accounts that are arts or education based. I can scroll through in the morning and see what the current news stories are. At the moment I am particularly interested in stories to do with the general election and how the different parties manifestos would have an influence on the industry I work in. So I can follow BBC news or other news outlets. I can follow certain politicians or parties. They tweet or retweet stories that are relevant. For example I found this story on twitter today about being self employed in the arts... http://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/2015/apr/23/self-employed-arts-freelance-susan-jones
Another source of information I use is friends and old work/drama school colleagues. A lot of my friends in London are connected to the arts in some way. I love to catch up with them as much as possible, it is great to be around like minded people. They will often share their experiences in a recent show which I love to hear and learn from. I could get an idea of a company I would like to aim to work for. We can also help each other with teaching resources for example sharing scripts. Recently I have also been talking to a lot of my friends about this course as I like to get their opinion on some of the ideas. They may see something differently that I didn't before.
They can also recommend good classes or events to attend. Or even give me someone to attend those events with. I was able to attend a great workshop at Central last year with the MA movement-directing course because a girl I knew from drama school was unable to make it last minute and I was able to take her place. I never would have heard about this otherwise. I do think connections with people and word of mouth are extremely important. Often you take the opinion of someone you know and trust more seriously than one that you might find online.
I found Catherine's thoughts on downfalls of online sources a good point to consider. Online sources are brilliant, and as I said I do we believe we are so lucky to be able to access information easily. However, I think it is equally as important to be able to gather information from other sources. I am an avid reader - maybe now is the time to begin reading more books for research purposes.
You can learn so much from talking to others and hearing their experiences. The arts is about bringing things to life. As much as we have to utilise what is available to us and sometimes for work we have to be connected almost 24/7 it is important to also live in the real world. We can take information and inspiration from the world around us.
References
Siemens, G., 2004. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for The Digital Age. elearnspace [online]. Available from: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm [Accessed on 12th April 2015].
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