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Posts tagged ‘#dplitcomp’

Feb 19

#Muisquality update

I was interviewed yesterday about the project – you know – this whole co-learning California recording music adventure that my students and I are going on – and I asked the people (who were from the International Office at my Uni) to please film a bit on my phone… The interview is going to be made into a 5 min description of the project – interspersed with photos from our fundraising efforts to date, and some of the things that have crossed the pond between learners.

This is what was on my phone:

We are going to launch a big fundraising campaign – a crowd sourced one, but in the meantime my students are writing to companies faster than I can type myself. It is hard work, but SO inspiring.

And just to report, so far they have repaid £593.68 of the bill for the airplane tickets. That is money received – there is more pledged. -Long way to go yet, but definitely not bad going!

Feb 13

Walking and talking and singing that song

This morning I did something and I’m not sure if I am crazy or stupid, or maybe a bit of both. What I am sure of is that I believe in this. I booked the 5 airplane tickets for a project, that might actually be a way of life that is beginning to spill out into other pursuits. It’s all about that self-actualisation and doing something that really has essence and meaning, and connecting. Don’t get me wrong, there is incredible meaning in the simplicity of a cup of tea, but sometimes there is also meaning when you (or me or a student or anyone) allows themselves to go beyond what they expected, what they thought they could do. (Photo CC licensed: http://bit.ly/1KT1eSb)

Laura Gibbs posted an article by Carole Dweck about the perspective on intelligence and it goes back to the concept of ability vs. capability that Frank Pajares put so well when contextualising how we look at self-efficacy. I love that. This whole project is about capability. I can. I dream, but also I can. I want to do, and very fortunately for me – in May I will be on a do-ing journey with 5 of my students. We will be working with dozens of other students and teachers too, to create, learn, teach, and make some music.

There are people asking how do we get out of the box. This is my out of the box – my striving to go beyond and do something else. To be quite honest, I don’t quite know where this will take us. We came up with a blurb, and have started raising the money to cover the costs, because let’s face it, students today don’t generally have the kind of money that just takes them 5,000 miles away to realise a collaborative dream. They are going to have to earn it, and I am going to work my socks off to make sure they are able to make the most of the opportunity.

We started with a vision that started as conversations between 5 teachers/professors working across 5 different disciplines and then over the months it has become more tangible and taken on a form of its own. Here’s the way my students and I decided to phrase our understanding of it:

This project is an educational initiative that is about open sourced learning (free and connected) where individuals pursue their goals with passion and the hope of being able to actualise their dreams. Working through music, we will teach, communicate, reaching out to making connections with people, learn new skills, and develop confidence. Working across cultures and outside the traditional educational learning environment.

We’re going to California! Oh My Goodness!!

The one thing we do know is that we are going to document the whole thing – and record – we’re going to make music – an album. That in itself is incredibly exciting. This all started as a project to connect and open learning. It is challenging me and my students to really use the skills we have, and go forward. We are really being like new children walking – we know there will be scabbed knees and we will trip up, but I am confident and inspired in what we have already done and I’m willing to dive in wholeheartedly to see where we can take this. We’ve turned our boxes into cars and planes and we’re off on one hell of a ride.

ps watch out for the hashtag #musiquality on future posts about this project including plans, connections, and our funding adventures/opportunities! I think I’m on bake sale duty again in 2 weeks time. My brownies and banana muffins were a hit 🙂

 

 

Feb 10

Connecting it up… testing, testing…

Tonight I had a visit from my sound guru, Richard Earnshaw, to advise me on sound equipment for the trip. What trip?? Well….

I’M TAKING 5 STUDENTS TO AMERICA IN MAY!

(I am afraid that is an all caps moment, and if you knew me you would hear it in my voice)

We have been working with a class outside of LA and it is all very exciting, and we are planning all sorts of things… For one, we are going to make an album as a result of our collaboration. The 6 from the UK will make a sort of string quartet (two cellos, a viola, and a violin), a guitar, and a vocalist. Besides being one of our chief cookie bakers for bake sales, I sorted out the audio equipment yesterday. In California, we will be recording on location in the fringes of Yosemite and are hoping to capture ambient sounds as well as interviews and music.

So back to Richard and audio equipment…

After talking about a few different mics and discussing how and where the recording would take place, we tested out this supremely cool little H4n zoom device. All by itself it sounds like this (well, Richard sounds like this when recorded on it, but you knew what I meant… and he is very silly -well worth a listen!)

and some talking…

and then we recorded a bit of cello using my very portable stereo mic to see how well it picked up the sounds and the ring (in my kitchen?? I am not quite sure how this compares to Yosemite, but it’s a start). It is going to be really important to be easy to set up- and we might well be hiking somewhere and need to record – and not having a tag-along crew, well you know. We thought this little setup might just do the trick.

Back to work for today. Meetings with students and planning and typing and practising 🙂 oh, and some baking. First bake sale is tomorrow!