WK4 - Wimba Session

This Wimba session discussed the amazing book “The Art of Possibility”. I really enjoyed reading the book, which is usually not the case when reading is assigned. I’ve never become so into a book to where I crave for a follow up. It has opened my eyes to a lot of personal and professional issues that can easily become manageable if I approach in a different manner. Becoming the board, overcoming my calculating self and remaining optimistic about all possibilities in life instead of having tunnel vision to my typical actions are my new goals. I’ve never had a chance to read “The Power of Positive Thinking” or “The Secret” but if they are as enlightening as The Art of Possibility I think I’ll go ahead and check them out. My favorite chapter has to be between “Rule Number 6” and “Telling the WE story”. It actually was pretty difficult selecting a specific chapter since all of them were highly enlightening. I’m just going to say that all chapters are my favorite! The Art of Possibility is a life-altering read that I will not only utilize with teaching, but my everyday interaction with every individual I come in contact with.  I will continue to have a positive attitude, refrain from taking myself so seriously, and try to create a spark within those who continue to use their calculating selves.

I am getting excited about submitting my leadership project to the journals I chose this month. I really hope they take a good look at my article and at least entertain publishing it. I am slightly nervous about moving into the final month of this program. Seems like we still have a lot to accomplish within a short amount of time. A 10 minute video will be fun to complete but I just hope my crazy time schedule allows me to have a chance to sign up for a slot. Mention of the question and answer portion during the slots almost gave me a heart attack until Professor Bustillos specified we wont have to defend our project! Whew! I can’t wait until the end of next month! 

WK 4 Leadership Role Model Reflection

When I think of a role model I’m thinking of individuals that helped guide me at a tender young age and molded me into who I am today. These individuals are some of the most influential people I’ve always looked up to who gave the best advice whenever in need. There are several individuals that come to mind who fit the role of being an excellent role model. The one that sticks out the most is Mr. Derrick K. Yates. Mr. Yates is the director of bands for Alabama A&M University. He immediately saw potential in me during my freshmen year to become an outstanding musician and he never stopped pushing me since. Even during my rebellious stage during college, Mr. Yates put his neck on the line never giving up hope on my potential future. After receiving my bachelors in Music Business Mr. Yates immediately assisted in enrolling me into graduate school to earn a master’s in music education. He always looked out for me and pushed me to become the best well rounded individual possible.

Mr. Yates has always been an advocate for doing what’s right for the betterment of his program and institution. Since knowing him, he has always put his program before anything else to ensure its success. The amazing part is that he is the only full time director on staff leading a 250-member marching band, two concert bands, and a brass ensemble. His work ethic is impeccable and it is one that I desire to emulate as I continue to build my program. 

WK 4 Reading- Justin Fishel

It's 0-Fish-al: A blog by Justin Fishel

This is a blog that has been set up and will be a growing process for my Master's Degree program through Full Sail University.I am constantly learning new and exciting platforms and techniques in which I can and will utilize within my adventure of teaching. Please follow me and my journey hope you can keep up! Hope you all enjoy!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Wk. 4 Reading Blog Post: The Art of Possibility (9-12)

This weeks reading was in regards to finishing up Benjamin and Rosamund Stone Zander’s The Art of Possibility. This read has been easy and full of ways in which individuals can begin to make personal adjustments to enlighten themselves with new, never experienced before possibilities. Here is the breakdown of what I believed to have been the most enlightening ideas presented within the final chapters.

Chapter 9- Lighting a Spark                                              

What I received most about this chapter was that its message was about trusting in people that they are that ‘A’. By doing this, you as an individual are allowing their spark to enlighten you. If we do not allow this to occur then we are subjecting to the word ‘no’ that in turn places us in the downward spiral. This downward spiral does not lead to possibility.

Chapter 10- Being the Board

What I learned most about this chapter’s reading was that we are in control of ourselves. We are the board of the game of life in which we are participating. When unwanted occurrences happen, we will tend to self reflect and determine what steps we took that led us to the position we are currently in. If we can learn how to be the board, we are able to keep track of the path in which we wish to stay on in life.

Chapter 11- Creating Frameworks for Possibility

This chapter stood out the most with me through these final chapters. Creating Frameworks for Possibility points out that we as individuals must create and maintain these ‘visions of possibilities’. By doing this, we are able to keep our own lives and dreams on track along with creating possibilities for others, even those we do not personally know.

Chapter 12- Telling the WE Story

This heading could easily be used within the elementary classroom. Telling the WE Story suggests just that. Instead of being so fixated on ourselves and our own dreams and aspirations…lets shift from I to we. This message is also reinforced within the Coda of The Art of Possibility.

WK 4 Response - Tracy Myers

Friday, July 27, 2012

Week 4 Reading- Art of Possibility

My take away from the chapters this week- Chapter 9 Lighting a Spark- to inspire people to get on board with your ideas you must show a certain type of passion when meeting with them. Communicating this passion in your talking and actions demonstrates willingness for others to want to help in any way they can.   The energy will be magnetic and almost magical.  Chapter 10 Being the Board- accepting the choices I have made effect my life. Also realizing that life is a journey.  Playing the blame game does not help you it keeps you looking in the past.  Things that took place in the past you cannot change or have control over any more so you have to move forward with your life. Chapter 11 Creating Frameworks for Possibilities- creating a vision that stands around all possibilities.  Chapter 12 Telling the WE Story- This chapter was my absolute favorite from this week because it truly takes the focus off of “I” factor.  I like that the authors  centered the conversations to help us include ourselves in the problem solving for the issues that we face instead of pointing fingers or trying to be self centered (as we can sometimes be) by making everything all about “me”. 

      It use to be people genuinely cared about other people because you were raised that way, but as family dynamics have changed so has the cultures/values changed... too the selfishness. This is ever presently seen in the classroom with my students, in the office among my co-workers, staff/faculty (friends) even within the family dynamics.  Often when I reflect in my journal each day after work I notice that my observations of the day are quite different from my teammates.  I believe what contributes to those differences in our observations has to be from our personal values  and beliefs.  I look at the "We" in and my teammate often centers all situations around the "me" or "I" factor. I am more hopeful that situations can be resolved by working together to reach a resolution whereas my teammate can only see things from a pointed view. 

WK 4 Reading - "The Art of Possibility"

Enrollment is a great way to motivate others in visualizing the spark I am promoting and all of the possibilities that accompany this spark. The first thing that comes to mind are the students participating in my music program. As musicians their possibilities are endless. They have the ability to utilize their musical talents to meet an endless amount of goals they choose to set. But, in order for this to occur, students needed to visualize the strong possibilities in participating in the program for all four years of high school. Zander specified that enrollment nothing but a life force at work, lighting sparks from person to person, scattering light in all directions. It is up to me to deliver that spark to motivate my students to become enrolled. In delivering that spark, I have to remove myself from placing blame and focus on analyzing factors that’s placed on my board. Becoming the board allows one to become the structure of all events in life. The journey of life places you in different positions to place blame in every direction. Participating in the blame game can only lead you into more negativity. How do we overcome placing blame? We have to remove our calculating selves and analyze why certain questionable issues are placed on our board. Then we can carefully analyze the proper procedure to learn from the situation and move on. Telling The We Story really stuck out to me the most of all chapters in this book. It really struck home now that I’ve just recently entered a binding relationship with my wife. Even though it is a process, removing the “You/I factor from our relationship is something that takes time. We are now considered the “We”, which means we are now one. We have to arrive beyond the blame factors to over come the “Revenge” creature that lurks to tear us apart. This point becomes evident even with my program. Everyone participating must have the mindset to reach a common goal and envision an excellent performance. The only way to accomplish this goal is by removing the You/I factor and focus on “We”. We have to ultimately work together to reach all goals we strive for to produce top-notch performances. 

WK3 Wimba

Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to week 3 Wimba (Just love having a marching band that rehearses all day and night!). I did have an opportunity to contact two of my critical friends who unselfishly offered their precious time to review my Leadership Project. I am appreciative of their desire to assist me and the input provided to ensure this project is better prepared. Nothing is better than having extra eyes overlooking your masterpiece.

The first comment comes from Devloun Jeter:

 Hey Hunt,

Wonderful article! The fact that you are trying to use music web 2.0 tools to help increase the student’s knowledge and help motivate them is great. Many students today learn faster by actually doing things hands on along with the guidance from their teacher. Also the software you use is awesome, the group of students that access the web 2.0 tool all where able to do weekly lessons to help them become better musicians and showed them how to create composition. This article is a great read even though I don’t know much about music and creating compositions after reading this I did take a deeper look into the music web 2.0 tools, just to a take a closer look at how technology is changing in the music field. 

The second comment comes from Charlene Swoboda:

Hi, Hunt! You article reads nicely and adequately reflects the awesome, successful musical journey you had with your students. What an outstanding summary of your analysis, design development, implementation, and results, as well as ideas for the future. My comments are minor tweaks/grammatical suggestions.

Intro-

Line 3-Change to past tense. The purpose of the study was to …

Line 4- …through social networking, computer software use, (add the word use and then a comma) and peer…

…sight read advanced literature? Is literature the correct word to use? I don’t know since music is not my field but it sounded weird like you meant score or composition instead. This might be due to my own lack of musical knowledge/terminology. (When I think of lit I think of words rather than music.)

Change The development of sentence…

Research development for my project discovered better methodologies to motivate students and build their musical literacy.

Tech Advances paragraph 1, line 7

Not or but and-classwork and maintenance

Paragraph 2, lines 2,3…increased as well as academic performance.

Par 3, line 5…Bebell and Kay (add the date) since its more than 3 lines away from original reference. (It’s a rule of thumb for citations.)

Use either 1:1 or one-to-one, but stay consistent…in Maine’s statewide program,

It reads a little smoother then I think.

Dalgarno & Lee or Dalgarno, L? (2010)…next sentence a little clunky/awkward.

 Consider rewording …explained that when students explored environments which allowed for the observation and measurement of results as specific forces were applied to objects, students’ conceptual understanding improved.

Wow! I’ve never heard of Resource Theory. You mentioned that it included teachers and students. I think to make it really work it needs to include community, too, since as part of culture, we are community, too, and to think of it in this way, expands our resources. Interesting stuff.

Implementation Process-

Again use past tense.

Line 6- in case (add space)

Or their personal (add word computers or laptops.)

Ross, & Simpson…(add and sign)

Cycle 1 (space) and 2

The rest looks grammatically good and sounds smooth in reading. I don’t see an official “methodology” title to a specific paragraph heading, although all of your methodology is certainly there. I did the presentation verses the paper, but make sure the format is Ok for the assignment. All the info is there very thoroughly however. There just might be a bit too much detail for the overview. Then again, I love detail because it gives me a clear picture. (I’m in the process of cutting mine back some now.) Great paper and Good luck with publication! Charlene

Again, I do appreciate Dede and Charlene for overlooking my Leadership Project since I was unable to make it to the week 3 Wimba session. I will head back and revise my project and have it prepared to turn in on its due date.