Lesson+1+-+Dance+Detective

= = = = = = =Goals for this Lesson: You will...=
 * Engage in independent research about the life of the Choreographer you have chosen, using a variety of tools in the Google interface
 * Understand the importance and value of searching strategies in a Web 2.0 environment
 * Assimilate artifacts and information which represent the life and work of the Choreographer studied
 * Track your research strategies and terms in order to see how your search evolves
 * Create a storyboard with content and information needed for your Digital Story

This lesson has been designed as a independent online research project, within which you investigate the life and work of a notable choreographer in preparation for your creation of a digital story about their life and contributions to the field of dance in general, as well as to specific forms or genres of dance. The information you managed to discover should reflect a broad search in a variety of media, and include both written documentation about their life and career history, as well as at least one video source of an example or examples of their work. By taking the most important elements of your choreographer's work and reflecting upon or analyzing the information that you discover, you will identify the most concise resources and collect materials for use in creating a storyboard and outline for your digital story.

The presentation and analysis of your choreographers life and work can take a mixed form of artifacts, and should be representative of the noteworthy contributions to the art of dance made by those individuals. In addition to technical knowledge of dance and the form itself, you should also demonstrate your understanding of the cultural influences and life/career circumstances that have shaped the choreographer's work, and include the major innovations or styles which set apart their choreography as defining or unique.

The below guidelines should be referenced in collecting your research, and you should keep a list of URL's and search parameters for all pieces of information which you plan to incorporate. At this stage of your research try to be exhaustive, and look for scholarship or artistic criticism of the choreographer's work as well as success achieved and his/her contributions to dance.

Part of what we are focusing on is how to use and adapt advanced search tools, and you will be limited to using Google tools for your search for this reason. In your Google Doc Notebook, you should attempt to capture and copy/paste and then subsequently summarize the most important or relevant findings in your research. It would be best to keep your Google Doc Notebook open while you are searching, and please use the main document space for research findings, and use the "Comment" function to indicate your search parameters or tools employed as search strategies.

Below, please watch the two video tutorials which show several tools available in Google. First, there are two video tutorials which demonstrate a brief introduction to using Advanced Search tools to find the kind of information you are looking for. Please watch them both, and if you want, you can open your browser and stop and start the tutorials so that you can see or DO what they are explaining and try out some of the cool tools available in Google.

=**Using Google - Advanced Search Tool**=

media type="youtube" key="Mqy_LTm4S_E" height="315" width="560"

=**Using Google Advanced Searching Tools**= media type="youtube" key="uUXQ5ABOCr8" height="315" width="420"

NOTE: Although you may begin your search with the many links that have been provided in the Form-specific pages (Ballet Dance, Jazz Dance, Tap Dance or Modern Dance), your search MUST extend beyond the links provided directly in course materials. Part of the objective of this assignment is for you to learn how to become a better researcher using Web 2.0 tools, so please expand your search and trace the links into your Google Doc Notebook as topics connect and web into other related sources.

Next, there is an even more detailed video about the useful tools available in Google Scholar. Although this video is specifically dedicated to searching within Google Scholar, there are a number of tricks explained to all searching in Google, such as using global commands to filter such as, "site: domain" for a domain-specific result, using "+" or "-" to include or exclude certain results, and much much more! Furthermore, using Google Scholar is an excellent way to find more academic and critical texts, and for your projects, you will need to use Google Scholar to find at least three sources for use in your Choreographer Study. Many full texts can be found entirely online in pdf form, and although they may be more complex, these are great resources to mix with your other findings, particularly to satisfy the requirement of "criticism" and critical acclaim or analysis of the choreographer's work.

=**Using Google Scholar Search Tools**= media type="youtube" key="bJByIPRrTfE" height="315" width="560"

Spend time refining your search and adapting your parameters or search tools to see what you can find. Since YouTube is part of the Google interface, if you are SIGNED INTO YOUR GOOGLE ACCOUNT while you are researching, you can use the "pages visited" or "pages not visited" functions to see what you have already looked at or perhaps to find things that will fill the gaps in your search. Be prepared to fetch resources from libraries (don't forget about public libraries, they often have or can find almost everything, but it may take time) or video stores if needed. And lastly if you are having trouble finding something specific, please ask for help, I can probably help you find it!

Assimilate the findings of your research into your Google Doc Notebook, and title the Entry, "Entry 2, The Personalities of Dance" along with a subtitle that indicates the name of your choreographer. For a review of how to edit and share your Google Doc (or create one) please see the Help & Tutorials Page and view the screencast entitled, "Creating & Sharing a Google Document." Again, it is strongly suggested to keep your Google Doc Notebook open WHILE you are searching, and take notes, copy links as you go along, noting your searching strategies as comments.

__**CONTENT**__: 60 points

 * Timeline of major life events of the choreographer, including early childhood, school, and young adult career experience
 * Identify major works considered innovative and landmark created by the choreographer or in which he/she performed as a dancer
 * Description of the choreographer's main style or styles in terms of choreography, using dance terminology, Laban's efforts, and dance or choreography concepts for descriptive elements of choreographer's work
 * Highlights or specific details or examples which demonstrate style and contributions to the form or dance in general
 * Implications or effects of their work for dance or performing arts/musical theatre
 * General themes explored by the choreographer, elements of their experience or life which shaped their work

__**STRUCTURE**__: 40 points

 * Research findings are summarized and organized
 * General statements are linked to supporting material which further explains and demonstrates ideas
 * Video archives demonstrate choreographer's style and body of work
 * Critical response and acclaim have been accurately represented in the material found
 * Research parameters are changed and adapted to yield the most accurate and relevant information, links are appropriately logged and student has reflected thoughtfully in adapting search techniques to find valuable sources of information
 * Presentation incorporates visual and audio-visual media to demonstrate conceptual understanding and provide clear details
 * All materials used in presentation are properly credited and sources attributed for original work
 * Outline /Storyboard of major sections of digital story have been clearly identified, with supporting materials organized accordingly that could be used for visual storyboard and audio narration.

Once you have updated your entry in your Google Doc, **be sure to save and share with instructors for review.**