Packing boxes, looking at blogs, and 'capital' for the course

One of the things that I have been doing yesterday and today is putting things in boxes in preparation for putting things into storage and hopefully moving house in the near future. It is always difficult because you want to throw things away but don’t have the willpower to go beyond a few boxes, see things you would rather forget, and then need to categorise and label the boxes so that they can be moved with as little fuss as possible. I have moved quite a bit, so I have routines that I can use to lighten the load, like buying sturdy double ply boxes 12x12x12 for books, permanent markers and packaging tape all the way around when finished for a secure move. I also try to pack very densely so that when the items are moved, the things inside do not shift and become damaged.

So I moved from packing boxes to my computer and started trying to organise my things for this new semester. As a ‘trained’ researcher, I know that is my ability to access useful information that is my value. I sometimes do it better than others, but having an organised desktop and filing system helps.

The blogs can act to organise the activities that we all do for the course. There is a structure in each module that should provide some reference points to where you are in the course. So looking at my blog I noticed that I had not made an entry since the 14^th February. Not only that but that no one seems to be commenting on the blog entries! So I decided to try to put something up that might be useful questions people have asked…

Module 1:

Ahmet and I had a chat via skype and discussed when he could know that he had ‘finished’ a task as they could be reworked ad- infinitum. However, there is a time to move on, and when you are somewhat satisfied – try writing a summary to help see if you feel you have finished. Ahmet suggested this for himself and has done one a good example of this thinking: http://mrahmet.blogspot.com/.

Also on Module 1 Liam has some photos that others think work well http://liampentland.blogspot.com/2012/02/flickr.html?showComment=1329660506564#c1244510425943684437.

Jo is using the blog to think about the course and having a dialogue with others http://jo-clarke.blogspot.com/. She is also adding a few suggestions for learning: http://jo-clarke.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-to-mind-map-with-tony-buzan.html?showComment=1329660932843#c8648842948066352153

Module 2:

Fione has begun the module with a relevant positioning – looking at the materials and also deciding her mental place for the beginning of the module http://fionerettenberger.blogspot.com/ in ‘moonwalking with einsten’

Lisa has begun a frontal assault on the issues of inquiry questions – now discussion can ensue http://lisawhyte.blogspot.com/

Victoria is also reading and linking at where she is now in the workplace to the professional inquiry http://www.victoriabapp.blogspot.com/2012/02/log-five-getting-back-into-swing-of.html It is very useful to be up on what you are doing as the professional inquiry has both ‘philosophical’ and ‘practical’ elements. People come to their inquiry topic using both of these angles.

Module 3:

Laura it well into her inquiry activity and finding the information and data that she can use in her topic about self-managing a freelance career http://laurasinigaglia.blogspot.com/

Samantha too is doing her interviews trying to find out about artists who take part in ”open Mic nights’ http://samanthawebber.blogspot.com/

Some good questions about why it is important that your professional inquiry has the groundwork of ethical practice offered by Stephanie http://stephaniethomas-blog.blogspot.com/

Just like my packing and organising, the process of doing the BAPP (Arts) modules are a part of the experience of learning. I would like to have everything happen at once with a ‘bewitched’ twinkle, but actually the process has a start – the middle bits- and a conclusion. The boxes are just a way of organising the contents, but they are a helpful way of filing and I actually have a similar way of organising content on my computer.

Where-ever you are now in the process, keeping organising your materials to see where you are on the module in terms of tasks and/or activities. You might get some surprises – whether you are further behind than you though or you could find you are ahead of the game and the whole Higher Education (HE) thing is actually beginning to make sense.

That idea where critical thinking plays a part in everyday thinking – and it is a part of your job to debate or add to the capital of your own practice and your workplace. Whether or not we agree with the tenets of ‘capital’, the ability to think through events and issues using critical thinking is an aspiration of HE. I will leave this blog with some of the concepts of ‘capital’.

The idea of capital started with philosophers like Bourdiou who suggested that cultural capital was a hidden asset for those who had a higher place in society or had an educated background (Weininger and Lareau, date unknown, online, Available from http://www.brockport.edu/sociology/faculty/Cultural_Capital.pdf ). 

So what forms of capital do you possess and how can they help you to think about the work you are doing on the course? 

Now other forms of capital exist, including intellectual capital:

Intellectual capital - Information or knowledge captured in a useful form that gives an organization a competitive advantage over those that do not possess, or may not legally use, the information (Shamos, 1999, online. Available from: http://euro.ecom.cmu.edu/resources/elibrary/icgloss.shtml )

Can the concept of ‘capital’ empower people in the pursuit of their careers?