Task 3c - My 5 Most Important Sources of Information

As well as acknowledging the five sources of information that I consider to be the most important to  me, I have decided to rank these top five to see what is my most important source of information and therefore will be presenting this blog as if it was the countdown of the chart on Top of the Pops.  So here we go!

In at 5 we have - Colleagues

In my current professional practice, my colleagues act as a kind of support network for me.  Not only do they support me whilst I am working through informing me of various techniques and teaching practices but also through informing me of developments within the professional and also information on potential job opportunities along with other outside information.  The reason I believe colleagues to be one of the top five most important sources of information is because on a whole they are individuals that commonly do a similar job to me and therefore they are also professionals in my field.  In any profession, I believe that it is very important for colleagues to work as a team and therefore help each other.  The most common way this help is delivered is by the answering of questions and the delivery of information that may be useful.

At 4 it's - Traditional Media (Newspapers/Magazines)

Newspapers and Magazines, that I have labeled 'Traditional Media', are still a great source of relevant information in my day-to-day undertaking of my professional practice.  One of the main ways in which I use magazines is mainly for looking for job opportunities and also researching the opportunities that are out there to continue my professional development, like classes and seminars for professionals.  Magazines also play a large part in the gathering of information by the delivery of popular culture.  This may seem like something that is not important in the professional industry but it is most definitely important within the arts industry.  The reason for this is because the arts industry is largely based in the world of popular culture and therefore it is important to have a knowledge of the developments within the popular culture world.

A tie at number 2 between - Mobile Phones and The Internet
Much like Melanie Brown I am quite ashamed to say that I do rely on my mobile phone and the internet to gather a great deal of information and I agree with her when saying - how bad is that!  It is crazy to think about how much we all rely on modern technologies when things like these have only been accessible by all in the last few years.  It really raises the question of how people survived, developed and progressed in the past.  My mobile phone is connected to the internet and the two work in unison to make sure that I am continuously updated with the information that I want to receive, so much so that I can wake up to job adverts and go to bed watching the latest choreography of my friends and professional colleagues.  Though said in jest previously, I do feel it is important that we all remember that people were able to develop, progress and ultimately survive without these technologies before the last 15 years and therefore we should not base our existence on them either.  The influx in the reliance on modern technologies is slowly breaking down the use of older sources of gathering information but in a fast moving world it is most important to stay up to date with the progression than work against it.

At number 1 - Friends
The source of information that I consider to be the most important is my friends.  As I said in my previous post, my friends are a huge part of my networks and play a great role in my professional practice and further development.  Through my networking of friends it has been common that if I have a problem or puzzle that I need to solve I will usually have a friend that knows the answer, either due to  having gone through a similar puzzle previously or knowing someone else that knows the answer.  Ultimately, friends are a working network that is constantly being developed, but to be able to rely on this network and this source of information, it is important to help the network out in the same ways that they help you out.  If one was to become a non-active member of a network, and by that I mean not contributing information to the problems, questions and puzzles of others, it is possible that one could become ostracised from the network and therefore loose that which is, in my opinion, the best source of information.