Learning Dispatch - April 10th, 2020 - Learning through Infographics

Hi,

Why the dispatch? - I want to understand how I can make my learning more social. I love having interesting conversations with friends and colleagues about the new things I learned. So these dispatches are part of an effort to get those conversations started. I decided to send my first dispatch to a bunch of my closest friends, mentors, and colleagues. Basically this periodic mailer/letter/email is just a small update about films, books, articles, music, podcasts I have consumed during the week or month that I want to personally share with you, the reader of this series. If you decide to take up any of these recommendations, that would be awesome. In a small way, I would have made your life a tiny bit better. And that is all I ask in return for writing this dispatch. No commitment! Just learning! All fun :) 

Why am I sending this email to you? Because you matter to me and I know this is something that will add some value to your life based on my conversations with you in the past. 

Learning Dispatch - February 14th, 2020 - Why I love Podcasts?

Hi,

Why the dispatch? - I want to understand how I can make my learning more social. I love having interesting conversations with friends and colleagues about the new things I learned. So these dispatches are part of an effort to get those conversations started. I decided to send my first dispatch to a bunch of my closest friends, mentors, and colleagues. Basically this periodic mailer/letter/email is just a small update about films, books, articles, music, podcasts I have consumed during the week or month that I want to personally share with you, the reader of this series. If you decide to take up any of these recommendations, that would be awesome. In a small way, I would have made your life a tiny bit better. And that is all I ask in return for writing this dispatch. No commitment! Just learning! All fun :) 

Why am I sending this email to you? Because you matter to me and I know this is something that will add some value to your life based on my conversations with you in the past. 

Why I love podcasts?

I've been a big fan of Podcasts for a very long time. I use public transport a lot and that means I have a lot of free time there. I am unable to read on buses as it gets me sick. So I listen to podcasts. It is also a really fun companion when you go for a walk or do some exercise. Another time I enjoy listening to podcasts is while doing chores. It is fun, flexible and great company. It is hard to not love a good podcast. So podcast away...

My favorite podcasts

Here is a list of my ten favorite podcasts with a one-line review:

1. Seen and Unseen by Amit Varma - interviews and in-depth analysis on local and global issues from an economic perspective
2. How I Built This by Guy Raz - the backstory behind every entrepreneurial journey
3. Cyrus Says by Cyrus Broacha - great interviews with great humor
4. Cult of Pedagogy by Jennifer Gonzalez - all things teaching
5. Truth for Teachers by Angela Watson - all things for teachers
6. Longform by Aaron Lammer, Max Linsky and Evan Ratliff - the story behind non-fiction stories
7. Google Talks - 40 minutes talk on cool ideas by cool people
8. TED Talks - 20 minutes talk on cool ideas by cool people
9. 1619 by Nikole Hannah-Jones  - understand everything about the legacy of slavery in the United States
10. The Guardian Long Read - an audio reading of the long-form articles

Abhishek 

14th February 2020

Learning Dispatch - January 20th, 2020 - Films, Podcast and Youtube Channels

Hi,

Why the dispatch? - I want to understand how I can make my learning more social. I love having interesting conversations with friends and colleagues about the new things I learned. So these dispatches are part of an effort to get those conversations started. I decided to send my first dispatch to a bunch of my closest friends, mentors, and colleagues. Basically this periodic mailer/letter/email is just a small update about films, books, articles, music, podcasts I have consumed during the week or month that I want to personally share with you, the reader of this series. If you decide to take up any of these recommendations, that would be awesome. In a small way, I would have made your life a tiny bit better. And that is all I ask in return for writing this dispatch. No commitment! Just learning! All fun :) 

Why am I sending this email to you? Because you matter to me and I know this is something that will add some value to your life based on my conversations with you in the past. 

Films

I would like to recommend the film Bavra Mann by the filmmaker Jaideep Verma. It is a documentary film on Sudhir Mishra. It is beautiful because it shows you the highs and lows of being an artist. There are days where everything just falls in place and then there are years when nothing seems to work. In the middle of all of this is the artist trying to come to terms with his life. It is a conversation more than a film. It is a conversation with a filmmaker talking about his life and what he wants his life to be. 

Podcast 

Longform Podcast is a weekly conversation with a non-fiction writer about how they tell stories. The interviews are insightful. It tells you the stories behind books and the stories behind the ideas in those books. I highly recommend the episodes with Malcolm Gladwell (Columnist and Podcaster), Jerry Saltz (Art Critic at the New York) and Parul Sehgal (Book Critic at the New York Times). 

Youtube Channel

I found this really interesting film recommendation YouTube channel called, 'Chalchitra Talks'. Every week you can find three new film recommendations by Vaibhav Munjal. I found a lot of great recommendations over the last few weeks on this channel. I highly recommend it. Check out these guest episodes by Dhruv Sehgal and Sayani Gupta. 

P.S - If you want to unsubscribe to this email series, just send me a reply and I will remove your name from the list. No hard feelings. I get a lot of spam and this can easily fall under that category. 

Abhishek 

20 January 2020

Learning Dispatch - December 30th, 2019 - End of Year Learning Review

Hi,

Why the dispatch? - I want to understand how I can make my learning more social. I love having interesting conversations with friends and colleagues about the new things I learned. So these dispatches are part of an effort to get those conversations started. I decided to send my first dispatch to a bunch of my closest friends, mentors, and colleagues. Basically this periodic mailer/letter/email is just a small update about films, books, articles, music, podcasts I have consumed during the week or month that I want to personally share with you, the reader of this series. If you decide to take up any of these recommendations, that would be awesome. In a small way, I would have made your life a tiny bit better. And that is all I ask in return for writing this dispatch. No commitment! Just learning! All fun :) 

Why am I sending this email to you? Because you matter to me and I know this is something that will add some value to your life based on my conversations with you in the past. 

Documentation of Learning

Every year I create a digital document where I record the names of all the books, films, videos and podcasts I consume through the year. It is a practice that I regularly followed for the last five years. At the start of the year, I set a target and push myself to accomplish it by the end of the year. In 2019 my target was to read 50 books and watch 500 hours of video. I was able to complete 42 books and 420 hours of video this past year. The reason I document my learning is that it allows me to make correlations between things I am learning about throughout the year. It also allows me to keep track of the kind of material I consume during the year. I try my best to expose myself to a large variety of material both in terms of depth and breadth. 

Learning Dispatch - October 24th, 2019 - Toronto Trip, Films to Watch, Reading

Hi,

Why the dispatch? - I want to understand how I can make my learning more social. I love having interesting conversations with friends and colleagues about new things I learned. So these dispatches are part of an effort to get those conversations started. I am also very curious to know more about what you have been learning in return for sharing some of the learning highlights of my week/month/year.

Course Update - The B.Ed course has kept me busy. But it has been an interesting week for me personally. I have really enjoyed reading for the coursework this week and faculty lectures have kept me quite engaged. 

Reflection Notes from Trip to Toronto - I got to visit Toronto from 14th October to 18th October. I fell in love with the city and hope to visit it again soon. I also got to catch up with some old school friends. I visited the Royal Ontario Museum, Kensington Market, Queens Street, Ed Mirvish Theatre, CN Tower, Distillery District, Art Gallery of Ontario, Film Reference Library at TIFF Lightbox,  Union Station. I loved Toronto because it is such a great city to walk around. 

Film Recommendation - I saw some great films in the last two weeks. The list includes Ben is Back, Capernaum, The Incredible 25th Year of Mitsy Bearclaw, Salam. I highly recommend all four films and really enjoyed watching each one of them. 

What I'm currently reading - 'Coming Back to Me' by Marcus Trescothick and 'Being Adolescent' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Abhishek 24th October 2019

Learning Dispatch - September 23rd, 2019 - Autumn Learning

Hi,
Why the dispatch? - I want to understand how I can make my learning more social. I love having interesting conversations with friends and colleagues about new things I learned. So these dispatches are part of an effort to get those conversations started. I am also very curious to know more about what you have been learning in return for sharing some of the learning highlights of my week/month/year.
Films

Wildlife by Paul Dano (Trailer Link) - The story of a family that moves to Montana in the 1960's in an area affected by fires. The father loses his job and this starts putting a lot of strain on the family. The young son watches his young parents deal with the pressures of managing in a family in these difficult times. He is unable to understand his parent's behaviour in most cases. The fire outside is similar to the fire in their house that is hard to put off. The cinematography is brilliant to bring 1960 Montana to life on screen. Carey Mulligan gives the performance of her life as the mother, Jeanette Brinson. But the highlight of the film is the young Ed Oxenbould who plays the son, Joe Brinson.

What They Had by Elizabeth Chomko (Trailer Link) - Easily one of my favorite films this year. It is the story of a family that comes to terms with a mother who is in the last stage of dementia. They grapple with the question of admitting the mother to a nursing home. The father and married daughter are against this idea. While the son pushes for it constantly insisting it is what his mother needs. Each character is so defined and layered. I relate to Bridget Ertz, the daughter and the loneliness she feels in a marriage she doesn't feel committed to. I relate to Nicky, the son and his quest to constantly get the acceptance of his father as he is not in good professional standing. I relate to Bert, who is now trying his best to support his wife who has dementia and constantly fights his children's suggestion to put her in a nursing house. I relate to Ruth, who tries so hard to remember things but is just unable too and then smiles or makes a joke when she knows she has forgotten something very important. In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Elizebeth Chomko said this was the story of her grandparents that she wanted to tell on screen. She wrote it over a three year period. And man it was well written. It is such a joy to consume something so beautiful in such a small period of time that takes so much time and effort to create and bring to life.

Learning Dispatch - August 30th, 2019 - Mid Year Learning Update

Hi,

Why the dispatch? - I want to understand how I can make my learning more social. I love having interesting conversations with friends and colleagues about new things I learned. So these dispatches are part of an effort to get those conversations started. I am also very curious to know more about what you have been learning in return for sharing some of the learning highlights of my week/month/year.

Personal Update

There have been a considerable number of changes in my life. I have started a Bachelor of Education Intermediate/Senior Program for the subjects of English and Social Studies at Western University. I moved to Canada on 19th August 2019 to begin this course. I am now based in London, Ontario. The course will begin on 3rd September 2019. There is some information about this course at this link.