D. Boud (2001) suggests that 'writing is a means of puzzling through what is happening in our work and our personal lives".
- Keeping a written diary- would be one way of using writing to 'puzzle through', however, the written word can only describe, it cannot always really capture a moment.
- Audio clips- keeping a dictaphone to hand and verbalising the journal would be quick and easy to do on the go and would also be able to capture you emotions in another dimension as you would be able to judge pace, intonation and volume as well as the words used.
- Video- I really like the idea of keeping a video diary, because again it allows you to use more than one dimension. I would be able to look back and really see how i felt on that day without even using words if I chose. The only thing with this is that it could be time consuming if not used efficiently.
- Bullet point lists- whenever I have to much in my head I jot it down into a list, it takes it out of my head and safely onto paper so I know it won't be forgotten and I can stop thinking about it. When its finished I can tick it off and feel some sense of achievement. I could keep a journal by bullet pointing what I hope to achieve in the day or bullet pointing what I did actually achieve. This would be to the point and quick but I fear not truly capturing the moments or the experiences, just the facts.
- Colours- at the campus session, Bobbie suggested using coloured pens or highlighters to enhance the emotion of a written text (particularly if it was bullet pointing), perhaps red to mean anger, blue to mean calm etc.
- Photos or drawing- I like the idea of taking one photo a day, quickly sketching a small scene, or just finding an image from elsewhere that depicts either a high light or perhaps a low in the day. I think being able to keep a record of one pleasant thing that stands out in the day would encourage a positive note to end each day on.
- Blog- everyone does it! I could possibly keep a seperate blog about the everyday things as my journal. I would get input from others which could promote either a positive or negative end note to each day.
I will probably keep a written journal of the main daily activities I do and then use a picture or video clip just to go into one area of it, if necessay, a bit closer to ensure that I can capture the moment as best possible. I find London (especially at this time of year, and when there are so few professional performing jobs available) quite depressing, and therefore I think picking out as many highlights as I can and capturing them would be a really good way in which to reflect on all the positive things that I am learning along the way.
Hi Georgie - I think you've made a brilliant point when you say that you want to keep a journal that is enjoyable rather than a chore to be kept up with.
ReplyDeleteI think we've all tried out different ways to make entries, and found that some are more successful than others but, by doing what feels natural "in the moment" I feel that my journal will be a more accurate reflection of who I am (both personally and professionally).
Like Bobbie said, when talking about learning cycles, they (styles of journal writing) are tools to help us find our own way rather than concrete ideas to stick to. S
Georgie - this is a well thought out post assessing strategies for reflection and indeed you have reflected well on these various tools - the advantages and disadvantages of each.
ReplyDeleteHi Georgie, I really like the way you have looked at different ways of keeping a journal. The idea of using some of the web based 2.0 tools we have previously learnt about is particularly interesting. We tend to think of a journal as simply a notepad we jot notes down in and actually there are many ways of recording the day. I have been finding that i tend to describe my day and then jot down bullet points as to what I have learnt or how I can move forward, I think I will try some of your ideas and see how I progress.
ReplyDeleteDid you try the picture one at all? It's a good idea to capture one positive moment of each day then no matter what else happened, you can have one positive point to think back on. I think I might try that this week!
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