YouTube Link to Full Song: https://youtu.be/5NbKFjn3Q5c
(I went back and forth throughout this semester playing the song with two strumming patterns and one strumming pattern; however, I ultimately decided that I was more consistent and the song sounded cleaner with just the one D-D-UDU pattern.)
Bonus Finger Picking: IMG_3381
Well, it’s been a slice, but as the semester comes to a close so do my blog updates…
As you already know, my personal inquiry was experimenting with a more sustainable diet (ie. eating less meat/animal by-products, trying new recipes and foods, and educating myself on what it means to be vegetarian/vegan. The journey has been fun, challenging, and enlightening, and I definitely have a newfound respect for vegans and vegetarians alike.
In the world we live in today, it is difficult to avoid animal produced foods because they tend to be almost everywhere you find food, and it can be hard not to eat whether it be because someone serves it to you, you’re buying food out and vegan options aren’t available, it’s a habit, or you simply like those foods and don’t want to give them up. Over the course of this semester, I encountered all of the above, and while these stopped me from going full vegetarian (and obviously vegan) I still managed to render my diet more animal-friendly! I also developed an awareness of the impacts that my diet and lifestyle choices have on the Earth.
In addition to these developments, I discovered an array of new recipes and foods that for the most part I actually really enjoyed! These include (but aren’t limited to) the following:
Despite the difficulties I faced, I intend to keep progressing towards more sustainable eating habits by incorporating more plant-based proteins into my diet, expanding my vegan and vegetarian recipe repertoire, and simply making conscious efforts to eat as clean as possible and feasible for myself. I love baking so I’m specifically looking forward to finding more vegan baked goods that I like! With the newfound free time I have in self-isolation right now, I’m expecting to do lots of this, as well as finally watch the eating documentary I blogged about several weeks ago.
To anyone wanting to know my main takeaway from this inquiry, it is that everyone can make a difference in regards to this subject. You don’t have to be a full vegan to positively impact our Earth, you just have to be willing to make at least one animal-conscious eating choice every week or so. This could be as simple as having a handful of nuts instead of a pepperoni stick… Because every effort counts!
Appreciate you sticking with me through my journey😊
Not going to lie, our inquiry journey has been a bit of a start and stop adventure. Our initial plan of getting our Google Level 1 Certification – while something my group and I still all intend to pursue – was not a feasible option for this semester. After discovering how much time is required to complete the course, our advice to others is simply to be prepared to dedicate some actual time to Google. We calculated that a person could get their certification in just 7 weeks if they were to invest an hour and 45 minutes a week to the course!
Emma Cottier, one of our aforementioned seminar leaders, has achieved far beyond her Level 1 Google Innovator Certification. During her lectures first semester, she frequently demonstrated different ways in which she uses Google as an educational resource and advocated the advantages such technology has brought to her students. With Emma’s presentations and our own independent exploration into Google Certifications, we found the following benefits…
BENEFIT #1) Fancy title to include when applying for a job
BENEFIT #2) More resources for organizing presentations/documents/worksheets
BENEFIT #3) Implement innovative technology in future classes (fun projects)
BENEFIT #4) Aware of a variety of tools that may help students better showcase their learning
Despite our desire to obtain our Google Certification, we obviously failed in our attempts to complete the course over the span of the semester; so instead, we explored the following Google platforms…
SCIENCE JOURNAL → Free app that allows students to document their science experiments through measurement, picture taking, and note-taking.
CODING WITH GOOGLE → When paired with Google’s free course curriculum on teaching computer science, teachers can help their students learn to code and create various instructions for actions they want to elicit from their computers.
GOOGLE JAM BOARD → Program that allows you to visually display your ideas using an interactive canvas where you can paste images, add notes, and incorporate assets from all around the web.
Our Takeaways: Google offers MANY free resources that can be especially useful for educators; however, it is important that teachers use these resources in ways they see fit for their classes… Not every resource will be a perfect match for every student, but every program does have unique ways that it can be adapted!
On March 22nd, I am submitting a final documentation of my musical journey.
As you know, I have been teaching myself Riptide by Vance Joy this semester and it has been a bit of a tricky endeavor. I struggled a lot in the beginning with the different strumming patterns and the rapid chord changes, but have improved a lot since then. Unfortunately, the time I felt the most confident with this song so far, was right when the risk of COVID-19 in Canada (and specifically BC) was becoming an increasingly alarming concern. As classes transitioned online, final projects were adapted, and everyday life, in general, was altered, my progressions with the ukulele were briefly put on pause. Despite having had extra time to spend around my house, I was distracted by my roommates moving back home, packing up the house we’ve been renting, and then packing my own things and traveling back home as well. I have now been home in Penticton for a day and attempted Riptide for about 30 minutes. I’m hoping it starts coming back to me more, but at the moment, I feel as though I am retraining my hands, fingers, and brain to play certain parts of the song. Knowing now that I definitely need some extra practice, I am dedicating a portion of each of the following few days to practice Riptide in the hopes that I’ll be able to play to the best of my ability on March 26th.
On a closing note, I have to include my disappointment that classes were canceled for the remainder of the semester. I was so looking forward to our class’s end of the year music party, and I greatly valued being able to turn to my fellow ukulele-playing-peers so easily for tips and advice… Life goes on though, and I am managing alright on my own now.
Thank you Anita for a great semester, I am going to miss music class next year!
Well here we are, COVID-19 has sadly shutdown UVIC and we are carrying on with online classes and school work… Luckily, there are a number of computer-accessible platforms that can help students and professors to share information, finish assignments, and facilitate various forms of online discussions (whether those be written or oral through phone calls or programs like facetime and Zoom).
In this blog post, I am specifically discussing Zoom, as it is the program allowing this Technology class to continue. Zoom is a free video-conferencing application that is compatible with Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, hosts up to 100 participants, and features the following and more:
There are Zoom plans that cost money and boast more exclusive features, but for this class’s purposes, the free version worked magically. Four or so groups used the screen sharing function to present slideshows on their inquiry, while the rest of us were able to mute ourselves, watch, and listen. There was also the option to turn off your camera so that you could hide your face while still observing and partaking actively in the discussion. I made use of this simply because I hadn’t showered or gotten ready for the day when we started the call and was still rocking some major bedhead. I am interested to see how using this program goes next week when it is my group’s turn to present and make use of the screen sharing function, so I’ll keep you updated!
Update from self-isolation: COVID-19 has slightly disrupted my plans for trying new recipes, experimenting with new forms of vegetarian proteins, and attempting to stick to a fully vegan diet.
I recently found my self confined to my house and not wanting to venture out to the grocery store, so I have been living off of the ingredients I already had in my house. This has meant lots of stirfries (classic rice, tofu, and random vegetables), eggs, and canned soup which I have for backup meals when I am feeling too lazy to cook. Fortunately, with these staples, I have managed to avoid meats, and, for the most part, dairy! I also was able to try out a new baking recipe with my newfound free time.
I searched vegan cookies in google and settled on this recipe (with a couple of modifications to match the ingredients I had on hand)…
I used vegetable oil in place of coconut oil, white sugar in place of coconut sugar, wheat flour in place of almond flour and finally, milk chocolate chips in place of non-dairy chocolate chips. I could have left the chocolate chips out to preserve the full vegan aspect of this recipe, but thought what are cookies without chocolate chips… In the end, they turned out pretty well but didn’t exactly satisfy me as a cookie. I shared them with my roommates and they agreed that if you called them a bar, they were delicious, but if you labeled them as a cookie they didn’t quite live up to expectations.
Horrible quality picture, but this was the result!😁
Hello everyone!
We are coming at you with one of our final EdTech Inquiry blog posts. Today’s topic is how to “unleash your creativity” with Google Jamboard. First, we will be describing and outlining the technology and then we will move on to discuss it’s pros and cons before showing a video of the technology in use.
Google Jamboard is described as a way to “visualize your ideas in a new and collaborative way.” It is a way to “sketch your ideas whiteboard-style while benefiting from the access and connectivity of an interactive canvas.” This platform allows for images to be dropped, notes to be added, and it grants access to assets from all around the web. It is a portable 55-inch, 4k display screen that can move around an office or school with a “purpose-built portable stand and single-cable setup.” It comes with a passive stylus and eraser that do not require pairing so it cannot run out of batteries.
Co-authoring can occur both in the same room or across the world using a physical Jamboard or even the Jamboard app.
Pros:
Cons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RaT2sHL4aw&feature=emb_logo
Let us know what you think about Google Jamboard and if you think it is an effective tool for collaborative, inquiry-based education. Is it a tool just for offices/business or do you think it could transfer over to education as well?
Practicing Riptide is going better!
I’ve found a video that walks me through the chords, strumming pattern, and timing needed to play Riptide; although, the guy goes a little fast for my current level.
This is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBFp6do9WE
My biggest struggle right now is switching from Am to G quickly enough for the song. For Riptide, you only perform one set of the strumming pattern on G (D-D-UDU), and I find that by the time I’ve got my fingers properly placed on G, I should already be moving onto the next chord (C). While I need to keep working on this, the last individualized learning class we had really helped me. Anita showed me the proper way to transition from Am to G (since I was originally using the wrong finger placement for G) and this has made the move from Am to G so much easier!
At this point in my learning, I’m not sure I will be able to sing along to this song as I play… As much as I would like to sing, it uses all of my brainpower to simply keep up the proper strumming pattern, and switch from chord to chord at the right time. For “You Are My Sunshine”, it really helped me keep timing to sing, but that was a much simpler, and slower song so it was easier for me to add in the extra singing component.
Perhaps as the strumming patterns and chords become more natural to me, I will try to sing along with the song as well!
Welcome back to another exciting entry on the abilities of Google!
In today’s classrooms, we are seeing the importance of technology and the amazing things that students are able to do with it. A current trend in North American schools is the use of coding. Coding allows students to use computers and create instructions that pave the way for endless opportunities and possibilities. How does this relate to Google? Well, let us tell you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2i4MC_BFv4&feature=youtu.be
CS is “a free computer science curriculum that makes coding easy to teach and fun to learn”. This program is supported by Google and offers a variety of coding courses and programs that teach a variety of introductory coding experiences. CS First provides both free and paid coding courses that can be accessed through your school or free through your Google account. Since we are not a school, we decided to explore what was available in the free version. There are 2-options for students to choose from. The first is a variety of 1-hour stand-alone coding activities that usually revolve around a story or character development. The second is a course option that offers 8 coding activities in one specific area of interest. What we like about the coding options is that there are 3 different levels (Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced) for students to choose from. This allows students to gauge their coding abilities and pick an activity that works best for them.
We attempted to complete the first activity, however, we were unable to figure out how to complete the project. Unfortunately, none of us have experience with coding and would have to dedicate more time and effort to learn how to code. We all think that in the future, it would be fun to incorporate coding in our classrooms; however, we need more experience before feeling comfortable enough to teach it.
In today’s class we were joined by a teacher from Colquitz Middle School and several of her students. They showed us how Minecraft can be used in schools as a way of enhancing students’ learning experiences and engaging classes that are hard to keep focused.
I was very skeptical of using Minecraft at first, but after the presentation, I understand why this teacher is so passionate about educational Minecraft. Traditional Minecraft has two modes (survival and creative), whereas EduMinecraft is a blend of the two and allows the teacher to control the students’ settings and controls. Through this program, teachers can teach math, language arts, science, history and culture, computer science, and art and design.
Here is a link to a website that provides Minecraft lessons plans for each of these subjects https://education.minecraft.net/class-resources/lessons/
Despite the clear benefits that Minecraft can have in an educational setting, I would still hesitate to implement this sort of technology in my own classroom because of its association with video games and its addictive aspect. In today’s world, children are surrounded by screens so often that it is important for them to learn to navigate technology; however, it is also important that they be taught ways to learn and entertain themselves without technology. For this reason, I’m not sure it would be my first choice as an educational tool, but I am happy to now have it in my tool belt in case I ever change my mind.
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