Byron Alexander

My Journey to Becoming a Teacher

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Cyber Sleuthing/Digital Identity

This week I am writing about cyber sleuthing, we did a fun engaging exercise in our last EDTC300 class in which we performed cyber sleuthing of people online (all the people we were given to do this on had given permission). It was amazing how much information you could compile about someone from simply accessing their social media accounts and using google. From where people live, the dynamics of their family and their profession and hobbies. It was somewhat unsettling realizing how easy it was to gather all this information in such a short period of time. Combining this with the growing trend of cyber shaming and it highlights the seriousness of online shaming and bullying. Monica Lewinsky speaks about the price of shame and how quickly she went from an unknown to a worldwide figure as her scandal become public knowledge through the media and internet. She says, “public shaming as a bloodspot has to stop” and she is right.

Our wonderful instructor Ms. Hildebrandt writes an incredibly intriguing blog about catfishing and how crazy it has become. Take a few minutes to read her story as it shows exactly how “the internet is an utterly crazy place” as she tells the story of a catfisher/catfishing victim who seems to lack common sense, but what she lacks in common sense she makes up for in nonsense. I simply cannot summarize the complexity of this woman, Srkj, without recounting the entire blog post. But this example shows how someones digital identity can become victim to identity fraud in a way as this individual who Ms. Hildebrandt references, Alec Couros, seemingly has to tirelessly fight to protect his online identity from scammers. As I previously mentioned, this story is definitely worth a read to better tell the story than I ever could.

Left side, strong side…

This week I chose to focus on my left hand more since I was struggling when it came to playing anything with both hands. I feel that (being right-handed) I am starting to feel fairly comfortable in playing the piano with my right hand, however, my left hand is definitely the weakest link. I utilized YouTube this week to find a couple lessons that focused on left handed playing and while they were fairly basic, I found them to be beneficial. I enjoyed one of the videos for the first half of the instruction and then I found that the instructor dialed up the difficultly and lost me at that point. It was at this moment where I had to change the way I was doing things. I have found myself starting to lose interest in the piano as I feel as though I am smashing on the same keys over and over again to see minimal progress. Yes, I know I know! I must slow down and stick to the process, but that is so much easier said that done and I want to play some music now!

So, I have taken the approach going forward that I am going to learn a song! I am narrowing it down to a couple and am going to decide in next weeks blog post as to which one I am going to choose. I am leaning towards All Of Me by John Legend, but I am definitely open to suggestions. But enough typing for now, I must practice if I wish you master a song before the end of this semester. Thanks for reading, until next time.

They’re creepy and they’re kooky…

Each week of my learning project has taken on a life of its own, what I mean by that is that I tend to find a theme while practicing and that tends to be the focus. In weeks past I have focused on children’s songs, playing notes and this week (I am not sure how) I found myself learning the Addams Family theme song! I was able to find some really awesome tutorials on Youtube that made learning this song seem somewhat obtainable, while I have yet to master the “quicker” parts of the song I am starting to see some progress. Playing different notes with both hands has proven to be incredibly difficult, it reminds me of my old math teacher who would tap the top of his head with one hand and rub his belly with the other.

Accurate picture of me after kids bedtime and piano practice

I have found the best practice time to be after we put the kids to bed (albeit it requires my to play quietly) as I can focus on the task at hand and not have wondering little fingers pressing random keys at every opportunity. The funny thing about trying to learn this song has been that I feel I look similar to Lurch on those evening practice sessions.

Tickling the ivories…

Week 4 has come and gone as I continue my journey towards becoming a master pianist. While I can not say I am “there” yet, I think I am starting to see some progress. However, practicing has grown to be increasingly difficult as every time I press a key its like a dog whistle to my son as he comes running over to try mash away on the keys, so most of my practice time involves me defending the keys with on hand from this piano crazed toddler while playing sweet rhythms with the other.

How I feel practicing

This week I utilized a video from Youtube that highlights the top 5 piano exercises for beginners which I found to be very helpful. I have come to notice that my left hand is much more coordinated than my right, even though I am right handed! Also, my right hand tends to cramp up much faster too, I will have to look at my form as that must have something to do with it. Well, if I hope to improve at piano I must quit spending time typing on here and “type on the keyboard”, til next time…

Tweet Tweet…

Over the past 15 years Twitter has become a staple of social media as it provides people with a source to find information or a platform to express their thoughts, which could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. Twitter can be personalized to provide the user whatever they are looking for. Based off who you choose to follow you can create a timeline full of political takes, sports updates or even educational resources. I have found Twitter to be beneficial in growing my professional network and in implementing reflective practice as I learn new ideas, see what has and has not worked in the classroom from other educators and strengthened my knowledge base.

During my time in using Twitter I have come across some great educational resources that have already provided me with resources I plan to use for years to come, from Edutopia to Ted Talks there are so many possibilities that I have found very beneficial for an inspiring educator.

This past week I took part in the Sask Ed Chat with my fellow classmates and also other educators from Canada and even a few from the USA. This was my first time in participating in a twitter chat to this magnitude and found it to be a very fast paced, enjoyable experience. It was great to hear from others who are currently working in the classroom as they were able to give real life examples as opposed to the theoretical discussions that normally dominate University classes.

Last but certainly not least, maybe the greatest thing about Twitter would be the Gifs and memes it provides that seem to swallow up hours of time that would otherwise be used being productive!

Piano man? Close but not yet…

Week 3 of learning to play the piano has definitely been the most progress I have seen to date. I focused on quarter, half and whole notes this week, while also trying to get a better grasp on finger placement on the keys. I am happy to report that I was able to play “Merry Had a Little Lamb” and while that is not going to get my invited on the stage at the next duelling pianos performance, it certainly strikes a tune with my kids as they have been singing along to me keying away. While in reality I am keying one slow note at a time, in my mind I can’t help by feel like I am blazing a trail of notes as I shred the piano.

I have found many useful videos on Youtube to teach me along as I try new things on the piano, unfortunately I have yet to find a very good App that can guide me along as they all look great off the start but then quickly upon filling out a profile are asked for your credit card information. I am going to keep looking for something that can guide me a little bit better than my self paced approach I am currently taking. Well, I must get back to practicing as I continue on my journey to becoming a piano SUPERSTAR!

Youtube… yay or nay?

The digital world is forever changing and growing at a rate we have never seen before and in watching the lecture by Michael Wesch, even if it resulted in me going down a rabbit whole and watching the Numa Numa and other videos for longer than I care to admit, created a nostalgic feeling for me as I was being taken back to my childhood as we were just being introduced to things such as Youtube. As mentioned in the video, the most difficult thing I have found in utilizing things such as Youtube, or even this blog, you must perform/write as if everybody is watching and yet nobody is there. It brings with it a feeling of great vulnerability as you throw your thoughts and ideas out to the web to be interpreted in who knows which way. With that said, it makes me think about how we can utilize the digital work in the classroom while also providing students with a safe and beneficial experience. Wesch refers to the digital space as possibly the most public space on the planet and while that brings with it the possibilities to connect and learn with different cultures or explore unknown phenomenons, it does bring with it that sense of uncertainty that we must ensure remains guarded.

The possibilities offered in the massive digital world offer so many positive, interactive activities that could be used in the classroom and with proper proactive work done we can help alleviate the possibilities of negative experiences. As show in Wesch’s lecture on Youtube, the different “masks” or identities people are able to come up with are alarming and do bring with it an uneasy feeling when utilizing such a tool such as Youtube. I feel that if we as educators are wishing to utilize Youtube as a tool we simply must do our “homework” and do background checks to ensure we provide a safe environment.

One thing is forsure, when writing a blog about Youtube be sure to give yourself a few extra hours of time to complete it as you will undoubtedly waste an amazing amount of time watching videos. And one things we know is ain’t nobody got time for dat!

Nostalgia

We are well into the semester of EDTC300, my twitter feed is alive and doing well as I read others posts, share my own, and grow my online persona. I always thought I knew how to use twitter “good enough” however, I was shown some new thing in last weeks class that have enriched my experience, who can see tagged posts, different people to follow, and how to properly utilize hashtags has been beneficial. As things continue to evolve and technology is further used in the classroom I feel its my obligation to evolve and find new innovative ways to incorporate technology into my future classroom. We are long past the days of TV’s and VCR’s on a wheelie cart following by a couple desktop computers along the side of the classroom (if you should be so lucky). For those of you who don’t know what a VCR is, check it out, its pretty cool!

The symbol that today was going to be a good day

Keep practicing…

So week two is in the bag and I am absolutely thrilled with the progress I am seeing…from my daughter! Her grasp on remembering finger placements has been awesome. Me on the other hand, I need to keep practicing! I utilized an online resource this week to help me along with my learnings. This video was great, however, while it said that it was basic and beginner lesson #1, I still found it to be a lot of information to take in.

I have always thought I knew the alphabet and would never need to “brush up” on my alphabetical skills. That was until the instructor would move up and down the alphabet I found my fingers bumbling along the keys as I kept thinking “ok, what comes before G? A,B,C,D,E,F, thats it, F”. With that said, I feel as thought this lesson went well and I have learnt a lot that I just need to practice. I can now find all the keys on the piano and can “somewhat” put them together to make notes.

Well, time to get back to practicing if I want to one day be referred to as the piano man!

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