Literature & opinions

From the literature I have looked at over the last few months it seems that people agree on the fact that "The Arts" are important but that not enough is done to make them survive. From my own knowledge of working in theatres the last 15 years has seen a decrease of school children attending theatre trips and more companies going into schools. Whilst they are still seeing live theatre I feel they lose some of the magic, culture and engagement. The general consensus from articles and websites is that the cuts to the arts affect the poorest areas most. Listening to a podcast of Sir Peter Bazelgette a key phrase stuck with me "a shared experience that moves us to laughter or tears". I personally feel from conversations I have engaged in that people don't get this any more. Either due to television/computers/smart phones etc and lack of 'live' experiences in the arts.
Most articles mentioned the fact that arts should be in all schools and that many didn't have enough arts subjects which led me to looking at our local schools curriculum. I found it interesting how arts can vary so much from school to school on both a curricular bases and co-curricular.

I think that arts mark really brings together arts and academia in this quote on their website "bringing arts and culture to life in every classroom". Not every arts classroom but every classroom. I asked some friends what they thought of this and these where the following responses:
1.
I personally think that schools should be primarily focused on the core subjects ie maths, English, science, history and geography but have arts incorporated too as not all people are artistic or need artistic talent for future jobs. I agree they should have 'arts' classes however this can be a follow on if chosen after school age or around school hours.

2.
I think you need both, especially as there are many children who struggle with the core subjects and express themselves through arts. I also think there isn't enough PE time in school, but that's a different story! Arts can be incorporated directly into the the core subjects such as literacy and history anyway. Just as ICT has to be. 

3.
A child who struggles to write English for example, can express themselves in art form or make a boring maths class colourful by using Art etc. For me, incorporating art into core subjects is vital.

4.
 I think the recent craze in adult mindfulness colouring books shows that there is real benefit from the arts across the spectrum of the curriculum. I perceive their to be a plague of mental illness in our country. If children and young people can de stress, vent or rationalise emotions by drawing, dancing, acting, singing, playing instruments etc then I perceive it as a positive thing that can only have a good impact on learning across the whole curriculum. As for whether that arts time should be stand alone or integrated... I'm not fully sure? I wish I'd had more arts time alongside all my science and maths! I do think it could have helped me manage my anxiety at school. Though I did dance outside of school 3-4 days a week. I think the arts stuff could well be after school or lunch time or holiday clubs.

I'm not sure if these opinions help anyone else but I thought I would share! 

Key Words

Arts in Education

Creativity

Improved academic performance

Motor skills

Confidence

Visual learning

Decision making 

Perseverance   
   
Focus

Collaboration
   
These are all words that have cropped up when looking at arts in education so I thought I would jot them in my journal - now its time to share :) Has anyone come across other key words?? 

6b - Merits and Limits

My initial thoughts I jotted down about the tools mentioned in reader 6:

Observations

Merits - real life situations, opinions, experiences.

Limits - teachers and students are not always natural when being observed.
.
Interviews

Merits - can adapt to the answers given.

Limits - hard to have questions that aren't influenced by your thinking.


Focus Groups

Merits - a good way to discuss opinions and questions freely

Limits - people may not wish to speak up in a group.

Questionnaires 

Merits - hard data/facts.

Limits - very black and white - no room for opinion.

6 - Mock Interview

I decided to try a mock interview with a close friend whom I have worked with in the past professionally when performing and workshop leading:

I explained what I was doing and that I was writing out her answers and she was more than happy to answer my questions -

1. What is your role at work?

Acting Course leader for  - BTEC Performing Arts Subsidiary Diploma Acting

2. How do you feel about the arts in education?

Great way for students to build key transferable skills to help them to achieve in other areas - for example employability skills; communication, customer service, presentation etc..

As I teach BTEC Performing Arts - I see a role for Drama as an academic subject in the curriculum.

3. Do you feel students that under achieve academically can flourish more in arts subjects?

I believe it can help build confidence and self-esteem to help students to believe in themselves and voice their own opinions.

4. Do you think "the arts" should be compulsory in all education settings from pre school up to 6th form?

I think it should be compulsory up to secondary.

5. How do you feel creative thinking helps students?

Helps them to think around a subject, see it from different points of view.

6. Why do you feel some students gain more than others from creative learning?

Confidence, if the student doesn't have confidence to explore/experiment - they will find it hard to think creatively.

7. Do you think the arts award programme or something similar where you document your arts learning journey should be rolled out to all education settings as an option?

Yes I think it would be useful as an option.

8. Are the arts seen as a dumping ground for students that want an easy subject?!

Not in my sector.

9. How have times changed for the way in which the arts are taught?! Has discipline change or societies way of learning?

In my 6th form discipline within the arts space isn't really an issue - it's more getting them to hand work in on time and attendance which I feel is not a new problem. This was the same 15 years ago.
Sometimes my students come in with poor literacy/time management skills - but this is something I embed into my course to help students address these areas.

I feel that the attention span of students has changed over the last 10 years due to the internet. Teaching used to be more lecture based in 6th form where as I deliver short, sharp, active tasks to keep my students engaged!

10. How do you feel about experienced practitioners teaching without "teacher status". Should this matter if they have the knowledge?

I think if it delivered as an extra-curricular subject and not exam based (GCE/GCSE/BTEC) experienced practitioners are more than able to deliver the material - Experience within the industry is more important, but teachers have skills with regards to lesson planning, assessment for learning etc... which is needed for examined courses.

 
Doing a mock interview was very interesting - I kept wanting to interject and add more unplanned questions but decided against it for this mock however I may do another to see if the flow is the same. When reflecting back I found that some of my questions could be looked at as leading - looking for a certain answer so in future I need to be more careful in my wording/phrasing. I enjoyed doing a face to face interview and liked the personal touch.

5b Ethics

After my initial thoughts I went on to look through the documentation in the staff handbook at school. Most of the things I had initially thought of were more appropriate to my own dance school and not the full time boarding school so I hadn't considered the long list of policies and procedures that are in place there.

• Safeguarding policy - focussing on prevention, protection, support, operation of safer recruitment and maintaining a safer environment in which children can develop and learn.
• Duty of care - a moral or legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others
• Every child matters - there are five key principles to the policy: To be healthy, to stay safe, to enjoy and achieve, to make a positive contribution, to achieve economic well-being.
• Professional behaviour - keeping up the professionalism expected of the school.
• Online safety - asking students to work online and use blogs and making sure they are safe in doing so.
• 121 situations -  this happens frequently as we teach 121 classes. The dance studio has an open door policy so people can freely access the space during these sessions.
• Emails with students/ co workers - 99% of communication happens via email. These should remain professional at all times.
• CPD - it is important to keep developing as a teacher as students are like sponges who feed off you.
• Appraisal system - how can we as teachers improve unless we have feedback and set goals to work towards.
• Eating issues - making sure the students are taking care of their bodies and encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
• Self harm - report any issue to the health centre and house mistresses/playroom master.
• Students behaviour - this must be kept at the level expected of the school.
• Students dress code - these standards must be maintained.

Some of the list things I haven't had to deal with and others I have. For instance we have had students in the past that have had eating issues which have had to be dealt with in a sensitive manner informing the correct people.
I feel CPD and appraisals are an important way of keeping teachers up to date and in the no how of what they should be teaching.
I think most of the policies are there to protect not only students but staff and the school as well.

A couple of other things that keep coming back to me are the issues of not being qualified to teach but having years of experience in that field - is this ethical?! Could this do more harm than good to students?
I have also met several teachers over the years who have set up classes but have no affiliation to professional bodies...should this be allowed?  Should you have to be associated with others to be a good teacher?

5a Ethics - Initial thoughts

Looking back over my journal I am now posting my first list I made in relation to Ethics in the work place:

• DBS check - it is important to have your clearance to put parents minds at ease although this is not compulsory in all teaching private dance/drama class settings.
• Insurance - to cover both your students and yourself against accidents/injuries.
• Up to date qualifications - times changes/ideas change - teaching should keep up to date!
• Confidentiality - it is important not to discuss other students personal/private information.
• Age appropriate lessons - the work you teach must be correct for the students (physically, mentally,emotionally).
• Appropriate costumes for shows - teachers should be aware of how students dress in their shows as this can reflect on the teacher and how self concious the students are.
• Rehearsal/study/fee time balance - in the busy school I work at it is very easy for us to get caught up in rehearsals but we have to remind ourselves that the students need relaxation time and of course study time in the evenings.
• First aid consent - I make all of my dance school parents sign to say I can administer first aid and they sign to say if their child has allergies.
• Photo/Video consent - Again my schools parents sign for this and if I am posting anything on the web I ask their permission before doing so.
• Personal/medical information - when doing physical activity and being in my care I need to know certain details about students but of course this is only shared with other teachers and medical staff.
• Appropriate dress for the environment - if attending a school function I would not turn up in my jazz pants and ballet shoes. On the other hand I need to be dressed so I can move correctly  in class.
• Strict no smoking/drugs/alcohol policy - non of these are allowed!!!
• Physical contact with students - in my personal opinion you cannot teach dance and drama without a mutual agreement that there will be appropriate contact between students and teachers. There needs to be a trust that parents or children can openly say if they dont feel comfortable but I feel some contact if necessary in order to correct students and improve their skills for the better.

Responses from a newly qualified teacher

1.      How do you feel discipline has changed since you were a child?

I feel that despite being young myself that discipline has changed since I was young. I feel that children now do not have as much respect for their teachers as they used too. Children do not think twice about answering back or questioning a correction or what a teacher is saying to them. I feel that the development of social media over the past couple years, and also that the perception that children appear a lot older than there years, which again is I feel is down to social media. I don’t necessarily think its a lack of respect, I just think that its a complete different generation and a different way to the way I was brought up. We also now have so many rules and regulations as teachers of what we can and can’t do which does make it difficult for us to teach/give corrections and all it takes is for one child to say something to their parents and it could be blown all out of proportion, and I also think that children today are aware of this which affects their discipline.

2. Do you think experience is just as valuable as qualifications?

I do think that experience is just as valuable as the qualifications. You can’t teach experience and we do learn from our experiences which ulitimately makes us better. However I do think that the qualifications are important to have as well so that we do have a clear understanding of what we as teachers are passing onto our pupils

3. Should having dance/drama qualifications mean you should be able to transfer them to any dance/drama board?

I think it should. No matter what bored you train with the grounding and the technique is exactly the same, its just a case of learning different settings of exercises and sometimes difference in vocabulary. If you know how to correct a pirouette, its the same whether it is RAD ISTD IDTA – I believe that it is important that you do have a qualification with an exam bored but I do think that it should be transferable. If you are good at what you do, it shouldn’t make a difference as to what bored it is you should still be able to get the message across

4. Should acting experience give you the opportunity to teach LAMDA or Trinity performance exams?

I think that experience should be a factor, however I don’t think experience should allow you to be able to teach straight away. You may have all the acting experience of different genres but if you don’t have any experience in LAMDA or TRINITY how are you going to understand what's involved with them.

5. Should private dance/drama schools have an ofsted type inspection?

I feel that there should be some kind of system – There are so many dance and drama schools around at the moment how do you know which ones are better than the other, what each schools offer. If I was a parent I would want to make sure that my child was being taught safely and correctly in a safe environment and with no formal paperwork how as a parent are you able to define between a good school and an excellent school.

6. How do you feel about mixed level classes ie Grade 3 & 4 or bronze/silver together etc? Do you feel students can still progress?

I don’t think its ideal, as you have to average the level of the class and can not work with individual level specific exercises. If you need to work on specific exercises for exams etc then a mixed level class does make it difficult to achieve this as personally I am concerned with spending enough time with each group of student. Of course mixed level classes are okay on occations but not ideal on a regular basis

7. How valuable do you feel 'The Arts' are in an education setting?

I feel that its extremely valuable. I think that it gives students who may not be as strongly academic the chance to shine in something that they are passionate about. I also feel that it gives children confidence and is good for learning life skills. Like getting up and speaking infront of a large group of people confidently and clearly and giving them the confidence to do so. I also think its valuable to have a rounded education which means including the Arts as well, whether that be dance drama or music

8. Do you feel parents/students appreciate all that is involved in running dance/drama classes?

I feel that there are some parents who really appreciate what you do and are always willing to help anyway that they can to help and always say thank you. However I do feel that there are those parents who don’t have a clue what's involved! – They think that you just turn up and teach and then go home again. They don’t know the time you spend choreographing finding music doing the accounts extra time at exams late nights away from family and loved ones.

9. Should exams in dance/drama be compulsory or optional. Do students work as hard without a goal?

I feel that they should be optional – Some students come dancing to just get some weekly exercise which is fine. If students are focussed enough and  want to do it then they will work hard towards the exam but I think you shouldn’t pressure any child into taking an exam.

10. How valuable are the arts to under achieving students?

I feel that its extremely valuable! – The arts is somewhere that students who are under achieveing to shine and gain confidence, maybe even let off some steam and some frustration that they have when they are struggling with there academic studies.

4c - Questions to colleague within the arts and local parents

I have decided to email out to 3 of my colleagues who work with me the following set of questions -


1. How do you feel discipline has changed since you were a child?

2. Do you think experience is just as valuable as qualifications?

3. Should having dance/drama qualifications mean you should be able to transfer them to any dance/drama board?

4. Should acting experience give you the opportunity to teach LAMDA or Trinity performance exams?

5. Should private dance/drama schools have an ofsted type inspection?

6. How do you feel about mixed level classes ie Grade 3 & 4 or bronze/silver together etc? Do you feel students can still progress?

7. How valuable do you feel 'The Arts' are in an education setting?

8. Do you feel parents/students appreciate all that is involved in running dance/drama classes?

9. Should exams in dance/drama be compulsory or optional. Do students work as hard without a goal?

10. How valuable are the arts to under achieving students?

I will await their responses and blog about those later.

I have also asked my line manager her opinion of The Arts in education -
This was her response:

"An education in the arts on its most basic level, gives a knowledge & understanding into the historical journey of auditory and visual creative beauty, genius and talent. 'A life appreciation' ...such an education has the power to open minds into creative thinking across all fields in education ... To inspire the development of inspirational leaders & artists to achieve the previously unthinkable & untouchable.

An arts education is the life force of learning - without it an education would be static and my rote!"

I have also asked an ex student the same question regarding the arts in education -
Her response:

"The arts had been incredibly important in my education. The arts have allowed me to explore talents and areas of growth that are unaccessible with other academic subjects. The arts have given me the freedom to follow a career path less widely chosen and the support whilst following this dream."


So far from verbal conversations I have had I feel  "The Arts" are well supported and valued however I am concious that I have only asked people who are associated with the arts.

I decided to post on a facebook group for local mums and see what their feedback was for arts in education for their primary school aged children - 


1st response - 
"I think the arts encompasses every subject which allows freedom of self expression ie. Art & design, drama, music, dance etc and I believe these are as crucial to a child's education as maths and English. Children need to be given the opportunity to learn about themselves and the world around them and how to express themselves creatively"

2nd response - 
"Totally agree with xxxxx* answer. Also if a child isn't particularly academic, giving them an opportunity to excel in the arts can have unlimited benefits, not only educationally but with self esteem too"

I was interested to see the 2 mums in question didn't see dance/music/drama as just subject that helped them during those lessons - but that they were transferable skills for life.

4a - Question relevant to my practice

So my initial questions that sprung to mind after going through Reader 4 were the following:

How has teaching changed in the last 20 years?

How has children's discipline changed or the way in which a class is managed?

What are the important skills a teacher must have and use?

Should you be able to teach with experience or should it be compulsory to have the correct level of qualifications?

Should someone who teaches for a  dance (ISTD/RAD) or drama (LAMDA/Trinity) board be able to teach GCSE/A Level dance or drama?

Should exams in extra curricular dance/drama be compulsory? Does it help their progression to work towards a goal?

How to deal with a student who fails an exam or doesn't get a high result?

Should students always work towards performances? Does this help with their personal expression?

Any opinions??

4b - SIG on google

I have now created my SIG on google - feel free to join as I would love to read your views and opinions:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/sig---the-arts-in-education

4b - BAPP SIG on Facebook

If anyone would like to comment in my SIG on Facebook the link is here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1682626381972917/?fref=ts

This SIG includes teachers and parents with arts and non arts backgrounds to get a mix of views from my questions and discussions on The Arts - how they have changed, what is important and how valuable they are.

Blogging

I have had a productive few hours of reading current and older blogs - gaining wisdom and a feel of Module 2 from others! I think this module is going to be an organic development throughout the next few weeks. I really like the idea of making sure you final choice for a line of enquiry is something that interests you and not a series of questions you happen to jot down. Keep blogging :)

My first group skype call

I've just finished my first group skype call with the others from all 3 Modules of BAPP. I'm so glad I made the call after racing home from teaching my last class. I was never available during my Mod 1 to join in the calls but will be attampting to make the ones during Mod 2.
It really gave me an insight into how others are thinking and what they are currently working on. I think it really helped to hear from others at different points...some just starting out (feeling as I did) and some already doing their enquiry. It helped to understand why they chose the topic and why other Mod 2's are looking at topics close to their line of work.
One main part that hit home is how ALL the modules are so closely linked. I came into Mod 2 with a clean slate not really thinking about what I submitted last May....however the call has made me realise I need to look back over my notes, blogs, tasks and submitted work before adding the next piece to the jigsaw. I really feel before making any decisions on lines of enquiries I need to refresh my prior learning and research before moving forwards.
If anyone is wondering if the Skype group calls are worth it then the answer is 'yes'!! They are a great insight into how others are working and what their thoughts and opinions are.
I look forward to the next one :)

Module 2

First week into Module 2 and I feel like at did at the start of Mod 1......"argh i'm not sure what it's all about"!!! Looking forward to getting back into the swing of blogging and reading what others are working on....Lets see what the next 12 weeks bring :)

Discipline

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32195063

I am wondering what peoples opinions are of the way discipline has changed over the years?? I remember being told....having it drummed into us as children at youth theatre. You need to be disciplined to get anywhere as an artist. We weren't allowed to discuss the outside world until rehearsals or class was over. These days I feel children are less committed and don't have the same work ethic.
What are other peoples views on how it has changed?

My Top 5 Sources

My top 5 sources of information:

My Phone - Talk about having information at your finger tips. My phone is constantly attached to me...whether it is whilst I am making dinner or out for a shopping trip I am constantly looking and checking it. I think it has grown to be part of the society we live in. When I am at my parents house they think its crazy how me and my siblings are if we don't look at out phone for 30 mins. My mum has never had a mobile and dad only uses his for work. I went out on Sunday without it and felt like I had lost a hand. It is so useful and apps are an amazing invention!

Facebook - I remember changing from My Space to Facebook and my friends saying it would never take off.....there certainly were wrong on that one! I use facebook everyday to update students and parents that I teach. It is a fountain of knowledge in a dance teachers world as there are so many groups you can follow and get advice if needed.

You Tube - What a fabulous visual way of gaining knowledge. I have used you tube for many dance routines to get inspiration from other choreographers. Even watching music videos to see how the artist of a song wants to be represented or what visual style they have chosen. Even if my personal life you tube is fantastic. My husband was working away and we were having issues with our radiators....the power of you tube helped me fix this by using step by step videos to help.

Google - Any question I want the answer to....I ask my good friend Google! My in laws are astounded by what information it can give you. From the height of Fred Astaire to the population of China. I use google almost everyday to access websites without knowing their address.

Dance teaching friends - we have an I Message group of 5 of us who all trained together and now all work as professional dance teachers and most of us run our own businesses. This is such a useful group as we all support each others ventures and give as much help and advice as possible. We also try to cover each others classes or do special one of workshops at each others schools.

Networking

Until looking into professional networking in this module I didn't know much about the internet and certain sites can really help with linking you up to other people in your field.
I have realised that I need to use my business twitter much more than I do at present. My facebook is used for both business and personal but I don't think I have taken advantage of how best to use it which is something I now need to focus on. I have just set up a Linkedin account as I think this will be a great new way to network and meet new contacts.

What sites do other people feel work best for them??

Advertising

WOW....Facebook has just amazed me!! At 9am this morning I posted a quick post about a new pre school class I am starting this week......by midday i had 15 enquiries!! I have posted on my own profile before but decided to post on a local selling site!! I didn't expect so many people asking about various classes so soon. It just shows how Web 2 and the internet in generally can reach out to so many people. As my dance school is only small paying for adverts is something I cannot afford to do and this proves how using the internet to my advantage has really worked! Lets hope some of them turn up to class :)

Facebook points on professional issues of dance teaching!!

I have just been reading some posts on a dance teachers facebook group regarding dance teaching and professional practice. Three interesting points that were brought up were  -

1. other dance classes being brought into the venue you use
2. teachers working without qualifications from recognised dancing bodies
3. attend more than one dance school

How do people feel about these points??

1. I run my own classes from a local church hall. I would find it extremely unprofessional and rude for another teacher to set up that same classes as me in the same venue. I have heard of this happening more and more.

2. I think that it is ok for people to teach general 'dance' classes as long as they are free work classes or show classes without being linked to a dance organisation. However many people say they are qualified when this isn't the case....this can lead to uninsured teachers... students with injuries and parents confused about what good teaching practice is.

3. I have found over the years that if you attend one dance school then you shouldn't attend another and many teachers don't allow this!! I have taught many girls who have asked if they can attend another school on a Saturday as I don't run classes for them on this day and I always recommend good schools and say of course as long as they are honest about this then I am happy for them to attend other classes.

So please let me have your opinions on these issues/topics :)

Blogging

ARGH - I was finding the whole blogging thing difficult and now I have just read through a post that Paula has put up and think it will really help. As i'm teaching daytime and evenings (and running around after the kids) switching into blogging mode has been a difficult task so lets see how the theory of "getting into the zone" works for me :)

My CV explained!

After finishing school I started auditioning and performing for many different companies across the UK and worked as a dance/drama performer for several years. As we approached the 2006 and I knew I was getting married,buying a house, wanting to have a family etc I had to take the decision to change my career path slightly and move more into a teaching role. I had always taught when not performing but had never entered students for exams. After 4 years at dance college (teaching in the evenings and weekends) I set up my own company AM-PM Academy and a year later became a member of staff at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. My teaching is currently split between these two jobs over 6 or 7 days per week depending on shows and exams etc. My teaching covers drama and most dance genres (except Latin and Ballroom unfortunately!)

An example of my CV

ANDREA MORRISON

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Preston Dance Academy (Preston College)

Professional Dancers & Teachers of Dance (Full Time Course 2005-2009)

• Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) Foundation in Dance Instruction – Ballet/Modern/National/Tap
• Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) Diploma in Dance Education – Ballet/Modern/National/Tap
• Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) Advanced level of Ballet, Modern, Tap, National 
•  Royal Academy of Dance Advanced 1 Ballet

British Cheerleading Association/NCSSE

• Cheerleading coaching Levels 1, 2 and 3

ZUMBA

• Zumba Basics
• Zumba Kids
• 1 day courses per qualification 
• Monthly dvd editions to continue Zumba training

ARTS AWARD – Trinity College

• Arts Award Bronze, Silver and Gold assessor

Teaching experience

Stonyhurst College – Dance Teacher – 2010-Present

AM-PM Academy of Performing Arts - Head of School - 2009-Present

.

Kirkham Knights Cheer Squad - Head Coach - 2009-2012

Freelance Dance and Drama Teacher – 2009-2013

KADRAG – Arts coordinator - 2008-2014

Carol May School of Dance and Performing Arts - Dance and Drama Teacher - 2006-2009

Dance Captain – Pele Productions Pantomimes (Understudy) 2006/2007/2008

Cinderella 2006/Jack and the Beanstalk 2007/Aladdin 2008

Camp America - Rocky Mountain Village - 2002/2003/2004

Impact On Learning - Workshop Leader and Actor - 2002 – 2005

Drama For Training – Workshop Facilitator/Actor – 2005

Say Two Theatre Company - Workshop Leader and Actor - 2000 – 2006

Say Two Youth Theatre - Dance and Drama Teacher - 2000 – 2006 

Waterfall Theatre Company – Actor and Workshop Leader – 2001

Back to work!

Been back at teaching for 2 days since half term and already I am overwhelmed with how much I need to fit into this term with both of my jobs, BAPP and family life!! Its a good job I LOVE keeping busy :)  Now I have managed to update my blog successfully it's time to do some real work and get my head around the Reader....

My lack of knowledge!

Hi everyone....so I currently have very limited knowledge of how to use blogs!! I am a complete newby and not even sure if I have set this up correctly but hey ho I guess that's the whole point of me doing it!!! I'm looking forward to Module 1 of BAPP and getting to know some fellow 'bloggers' :)