Below is my Summary of Learning. There is some scratchiness with the mic throughout the video, but I had so many other tech issues just trying to record it that I had to go with this version (for my sanity).
Month: December 2024
Going into this learning project, I did not know just how much I would come to enjoy crocheting. I had a feeling that I would enjoy it, but I certainly did not think that it would become one of my staple hobbies in such a short time. I always need something to fidget with, and crocheting has been filling that gap for me when I watch videos and movies, am in class, or when I am bored and have nothing else to do. Plus, I get something cool, fun, and/or practical/useful when I am done.
Throughout the course, I have been able to go from a basic beginner to someone who can follow random patterns and adapt them with at least some success. I have outlined my journey below:
Week 1
Introduction Post: What Is Crocheting?
- I identified some of the crocheted things that I had been gifted or have bought myself over the years.
- I identified my goals for the semester, and outlined the steps I would take to achieve them.
- Includes links to the primary resources that I used throughout the semester.
Week 2-4
Learning the Basic Stitches: Chain and Double Crochet, Treble and Half-Treble, and the Double Treble
- In these weeks, I was learning the stitches that I would need for any and all crochet projects I would ever attempt. I wanted my foundation skills to be strong.
- I created several videos and included several photos in each post to document my progress.
Additionally, I learned:
- The difference between UK and US Terms.
- How to count stitches and rows.
- What different ply and weight numbers were, and the differences between the UK, US, and AUS Terms are.
- The weight of yarn I could use for my projects.
- How to create Reel videos on Instagram (which I would then use to create and edit all of my subsequent videos).
Weeks 5 & 6
Learning Plushie Specific Skills: Plushie Fundamentals 101 & Plushie Fundamentals 102
- I learned how to do the magic ring/loop, slip stitch, front and back loops only, stitch increases, stitch decreases, and invisible stitch increases and decreases.
- I learned how and when to use stitch markers.
Creations
- I created the crochet rose during the “101” week.
Week 7
I created my first plushie! A Duck!
- I learned how to read a written pattern! (very important)
- I learned how to close up a plushie. (also pretty important)
Week 8
My second plushie: The Side-Eye Dino!
- I found out that embroidering was easier before the plushie had been stuffed.
- I learned that I need to double-check what terms (UK or US) the pattern is using!
- I learned how to re-connect yarn to a hole in order to create an appendage (like a tail) using a standing double-crochet stitch.
Week 9
I created mini versions of Deadpool and Wolverine!
- I learned how/found my own way to switch yarn colours on any crochet project.
- I learned that tension is very important when it comes to creating identical things that are the same size.
- I learned how to work with felt and got comfortable with working with it.
- I got slightly more comfortable with re-jigging a pattern to fit my needs/available resources.
Week 10
Plenty of Christmas Creations!
I created, or was beginning to create, a frog, another dino, a mini murder, a cat sweater, and a dishcloth.
- I created my very own pattern for a top hat! (Yes, it was small, but I am still proud of it.)
- I adjusted a Chihuahua pattern on the fly to meet the sizing requirements for my cat. (Big progress there!)
- I figured out how to crochet on the side of a piece that does not have defined stitches to go off of.
My Thoughts About Learning Online
For me, learning online is my strong suit and something that I honestly prefer doing. Yes, I do learn a lot from the classes that I have, face-to-face or Zoom, but I love to learn on my own time and at my own pace. Online spaces allow me to do that. I can also go down the rabbit holes that I want to go down rather than be forced to explore some rabbit holes at the surface level (if you know what I mean). For instance, the completely asynchronous classes that I have taken are ones that I have enjoyed the most. It is a curated group of resources and highlights about what I have to learn, and I have the freedom to dive in whenever I am ready to. Although, I will always miss the discussion parts of most face-to-face classes as they can reveal perspectives to me that I never would have thought of.
For my learning project specifically, I am grateful that I live in an age where I can find videos that physically show me exactly what I have to do for a technique. When it comes to skills like crocheting (or my old hobbies of dancing and skating), I learn better when I am physically shown a skill instead of having it described to me. My mother was jealous of me throughout this learning process, because she learns in a similar way and never had the technology that would have given her the same opportunities to learn crocheting. Without the video and picture resources I used, I would not have been able to get to the skill level where I could read the steps for a technique or pattern and understand exactly what I had to do.
I also recognize that online learning is not for everyone. If my method of learning does not work for you, I am sure that there are a bunch of people and groups out there that would be willing to help you and pass down their knowledge.
Final Thoughts
At the beginning of the semester, I truly did not believe that I would progress, or feel confident, enough to be able to create plushies. I remember the skill of crocheting plushies being deemed by many different sources as including some of the most difficult crochet techniques. I was definitely intimidated. However, I learned and absorbed crocheting knowledge faster than I could have dreamed to.
Despite all of my success, I am still not the biggest fan of doing the embroidery parts of the plushies as I do not feel that I am the best at it just yet. Realistically, I just need to get better by practicing, find alternatives, like felt, that can produce a similar product, or start creating pieces that do not involve embroidery. I mean… I found patterns for, and am planning to create, a cardigan and a couple of blankets, because they look cool and I want to see if I can pull off pieces that are really big. Maybe I will one day I will even be able to create my own patterns, but that’s still going to take some time.
I am grateful that this class gave me an opportunity, or rather forced me, to put aside some time for myself to cultivate a skill that I had been interested in learning for a very long time (and a skill that can get me out of having to stress out about actually buying people presents when I don’t know what they want). Thank you for this class, and thank you for this project!
This has been a long journey to the end of this class (and the year)! There was a lot for many of us to juggle with this class, other classes, and the things that were going on in our lives. Yet, we still made time to help out each other and contribute to one another’s learning.
Commenting on Blogs
I had a great time reading other’s blogs, especially their learning blogs. I loved seeing the successes and learning curves that everyone was going through just as I was going through my own. I also just really liked seeing all of the crafty things that others were pursuing/able to do. I mostly did read people’s learning blogs for those purposes, but I did try to go out of my way to comment on several people’s EDTC 300 blogs. I did like reading other people’s perspectives on the topics we were learning about, and I often found different perspectives that pointed out something that I hadn’t considered.
My goal for the semester was to comment on a minimum of 6 blog posts each week, and I succeeded at this. There was a part of me that wanted to comment more some weeks, but I knew that I had to put aside some time for creating my own blog posts. I logged copies of each of my comments on the linked document below. There are names and dates for each week that we were able to comment, although I maybe should have copied links and wrote out blog titles as well.
Discord Course Community
While I was worried about this aspect of the course at first, it wasn’t as daunting as I anticipated. Getting everything set up and ready to go was probably the worst part, and that wasn’t even that bad. However, keeping it running as intended was a struggle. I had downloaded Discord on my phone so that it would be easier, and faster, for me to reply to the questions that my fellow classmates asked. The notifications were working well, although I had to fiddle with my phone a bit to get them to work properly. Additionally, I had to go back and reset my notifications for the app no less than 3 times throughout the semester as they just decided to stop working. No other app on my phone has ever done this, so it was just plain weird. I have no idea how it kept happening.
Despite the spurts of time where I was not answering questions or involved in discussions on the Discord due to the notification issues, I think I contributed the best I could. I never had any questions about the course, so I just tried to answer the questions I could whenever I could. See the linked document below for a collection of screenshots of my Discord contributions. The photos are in chronological order. They are also in two documents, because I could not upload them as one whole document.
Miscellaneous Contributions
Other contributions that I have made are my analysis of educational articles within my regular EDTC blog posts. I think that I sufficiently analyzed and proposed good uses for each of the theories, concepts, and strategies that we encountered. I posted each of my blogs at the appropriate times (minus one week where I posted a day late, because of circumstances) so that my classmates would have a good amount of time to read and comment on my posts if they wanted to. Along with this, I think that I have sufficiently recommended and/or warned my classmates about the different sources and resources I encountered on both of my blogs.
I also feel like my Portfolio at large has been something that my classmates can look to as an example of how to set theirs up. Granted, a lot of its creation was done during my very first semester of my Bachelor’s Degree, but I have updated and revitalized it over time and for this class with the numerous resources and plans that I have accumulated since then. My Portfolio is now a place that others can hopefully gain resources and/or inspiration from.
There are probably some aspects that I am missing, but I do believe that all points outlined above include the bulk of my contributions to my classmates and the course community. Thank you for this class and what it has taught me!
My placement of the Frog’s legs.
There has been a lot going on in the past couple of weeks. Large snow storms, plans for family gatherings being set, me getting a month-long temp job, and more. While it has been a bit of a rough time, at least I could use all of the extra time I gained from being snowed in to start a bunch of crochet projects. However, it got so busy after those few days that I haven’t been able to finish most of them. A lot of them are quite close to becoming completed, but I just haven’t had the time or the motivation to do so. This is a bit odd since I apparently have the motivation to start new things, but it just is what it is.
Almost finished!!
As for the finished pieces, the first is this frog. The pattern was created by CabinInTheWoodsFR and I found it on the LoveCrafts website. It was easy to follow and outlined everything decently well. There were no reference pictures on this pattern other than the one on download page’s preview, so beginners should maybe try a different plushie or two before doing this one. In other words, get confident with reading and understanding patterns first.
Finished and looking dapper!
I think that the frog is cute! In terms of construction, this was a relatively easy project. It involved creating a large ball and then sewing a couple of very small pieces onto it. I did deviate from the pattern a little bit since I felt the pattern’s leg positioning looked too human, and I wanted to it look more like a frog. So, I just sewed the feet on the bottom and placed the back ones wider apart to give them a more frog-like look (as much as nubs for legs can actually do that). I also decided to use the plentiful felt that was left over from the Deadpool and Wolverine plushies to do the eyes instead of embroidering, because I felt that using the felt would be easier and take less time. I also added a top-hat because I felt that the frog needed an accessory. I think it looks quite dapper now. All I did for this was 5 double crochet stitches in a magic ring, 3 rounds of double crochet stitches in each stitch (5 total stitches in each of the 3 rounds), and 1 round of double crochet stitch increases in each stitch (10 total stitches in the round). This is in UK TERMS!
The sweater was almost finished here.
I also decided that my short-haired cat, Luna, needed a sweater so that she could brave the snow for longer. I followed this pattern by Niftynnifer’s Crochet & Crafts that I found on the ApronBasket website. The sweater was originally meant for a chihuahua, so I had to adjust it for my cat as I went. I was mostly successful. If I am going to be honest, the neck part of the sweater is a bit too long for her and I placed the stomach strap too far back on it. The sweater certainly works as intended, but it seems to just be a little too uncomfortable for her right now. I am trying to figure out some ways (and trying to find some time) to adjust the sweater so that the strap is less of a bother for her, but she is tolerating it (and me) for now. I truly do not know how well she will respond to this sweater over time, but I though it would be a fun thing for both me and her to try.
Luna with the pretty much finished sweater on!
As for the unfinished pieces, they are meant to be presents for my internship co-op teachers. I felt bad about not being able to gift them something last year, and I wanted to send them something this year to show my appreciation. I still am low on money due to the Inclusive Education Certificate that I am currently pursuing, but I now have a new skill that I can use to create something handmade that will hopefully come across as something more meaningful. Although, it is turning out to be more like a New Year’s gift with the mail strike and the fact that I might not finish everything before half of this month is over.
- The first unfinished creation is a dino that is in the Kipling school colours. I used the same pattern that I did with the last dino. I have this 90% done as I just need to embroider the blush and mouth. The frog is also meant to be a part of this gift, because frogs often represent wisdom and this co-op teacher had a lot of experience, taught me a lot, and is wise.
The front view of the unfinished Dino.
The side view.
- The second, third, and fourth unfinished creations are a mini murder of crows (yes, a group of crows is called a murder). Their bodies are finished, but, like the dino, I need to put some finishing touches on the faces. Eyes and beaks are all that’s left. I followed the duck pattern that I used for my very first crochet plushie creation.
The buttons in that lid are going to be their eyes!
- The last unfinished thing is the dishcloths. I wanted to give both of them something that could be used practically along with these plushies, and I figured that dishcloths would be something I could do that was faster and easier than other things. I used this pattern from Crochet Dreamz that I found on ApronBasket.
- I have created a test dish cloth. I switched the yarns too early, so the white border is a bit bigger than it should be. The stitches of the border also look lopsided due to the fact I did not place each stitch the exact same distance away from the edge of the piece.
- I also had to literally test this cloth as a dish cloth, because I do not have the best yarn. The cloth works just fine and is okay in the washer and dryer at normal/medium heat levels with other things. It did seem to shrink slightly, but it was not noticeable until I literally measured the length and width of it. Jeanette’s Blog Post did tell me that acrylic yarn is okay to machine wash as long as it is not going to get washed constantly, gets washed with other things, and is not dried on an extreme heat. If these things do happen it could get more rigid and less soft (it is the opposite of that right now). I mean, realistically the dish cloth being a little bit rigid is a good thing as that should help with getting rid of the hard stuff on dishes more easily.
My (mostly) successful test dish cloth. I used a yarn that changed colour as it went, and it somehow came out with this cool diagonal pattern!
Thank you for following my learning journey, and I hope you enjoyed seeing my creations as much as I enjoyed learning and making them!
Up Next: How Far I’ve Come
The AI that I chose for my test was Perplexity. I was intrigued by the search engine aspects of it and wanted to see how accurate it truly was. Admittedly, I was very skeptical at first, but I found that it was fairly accurate. Perplexity does give you a good snapshot of the answer you are looking for; however, the simplified answer it gives sometimes misses some crucial background information (in my opinion). Granted, I was only using the free version, so maybe the paid version will give that elaboration.
The Perplexity Home Page
Despite this issue, I think that Perplexity could be a really great starting point for students. Yes, the initial information that is given is lacking, but it also cites its sources and gives you access to a bunch of relevant links that provide even more information. This helps to somewhat combat the lack of context issue, but you actively have to click on and look at other sites to ensure that you would get the added information. Some people will not end up looking deeper, but you may be able to combat this particular issue by training students how to use Perplexity and what your specific guidelines are for its use.
The first half of one controversial question.
Another issue is that Perplexity, at times, really likes to cite Wikipedia. Although, it seems to avoid doing this unless you are looking up something more pop culture-related. The other sources it brings up are largely reliable (I got links to CDC webpages, Government of Canada webpages, Harvard webpages, research articles from PubMed, and more). The AI will also turn to relevant research articles instead of opinion pieces when it comes to biased, controversial questions. I asked Perplexity questions (based on hateful rhetoric I have heard) like “Do vaccines cause Autism?” and “Are minors getting gender affirming surgeries?”. The AI answered these questions will a bunch of reliable evidence and even formatted additional questions to go in a more productive, non-rage bait, not hate-filled, objective, and research-based direction. I did only play around with a couple of these questions, so maybe it will go wrong with other questions. However, there was only objective, research-based fact when it came to the questions I asked.
The second half of that controversial question.
Note: I have encountered students who have asked me these questions or ones like them, and, while they would take my word for it more times than not, it would have been nice to have something like this in my toolbox where I could pop their question in and give them the resources and knowledge they need to have an informed opinion.
Moving on… For students that struggle with Googling, getting started with assignments, or finding relevant and reliable resources for assignments, searching on Perplexity would be a great place to start. Students could use this to just figure out if there is enough information out there to support a thesis or write about a certain topic. They could use it to find all of the sources required for an assignment. They can use Perplexity to find differing theories and look into those further. Perplexity is everything that a regular search engine is, but it gives you an even better, and often more reliable, resource list than any Wikipedia article would likely have.
Relevant Questions related to a relevant question related to the controversial question.
However, you 100% will have to make it clear to your students that they cannot cite Perplexity itself due to the lacking context issue. Plus, the AI is pulling information from many sources and citing it right beside specific pieces of information. Giving the credit of that knowledge to Perplexity with proper sources right beside the generated information would just be plain wrong. It is also far more work to cite something that someone else has already cited as you have to show where the original idea or discovery came from.
The big question is: Would I allow the use of this AI in my classroom?
Explanation short, I would allow students to use Perplexity in my classroom. Just the fact that I am saying this does mean a lot. I don’t hate AI, but I certainly don’t trust it especially when it comes to search engine-type things. Despite my enthusiasm, I would absolutely have to train students on the proper use of the tool and ensure that I was clear on how I wanted them to use it. I would also try to ensure that students are double-checking the reliability of the sources that are recommended by Perplexity. The AI seems to have the ability to cite sources that are not always the most reliable, so I would want my students to be aware of what to look for to make sure that Perplexity is not leading them in the wrong direction. Essentially, if you have students that are old enough to properly use an AI like this once they understand your expectations for using it, there should be no problem with letting students use it.
