Category: EDTC300 (Page 2 of 3)

A Learning Project Breakthrough!

March 10, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 6 Comments

I am actually really excited to share my progress on my learning project this week! It’s been a challenging couple of weeks in my life so this was a bright spot in what seemed like a never ending tunnel.

Traditional Métis beading has a lot of floral work which is why I started off with a simple flower as my idea for the jumping off point for my project. I think it was probably the initial, and continued, frustration with supplies and how time consuming the actual beading was that really turned me off from continuing on with any more flowers. I also scoured the internet for inspiration and although I have now strayed from tradition, this week I found something that made me feel proud.

Previously I shared a link to the Sask Culture website where I found some simple animal patters and some “colouring pages” with what resembled beaded decorations. The instructions for the activity suggested to choose your spirit animal, the animal you are drawn towards. The YouTube video I’ve shared below explains that a spirit animal is much more than just one you are drawn to.

Funnily enough, all I could think about beading was a turtle! But, for me, this was less of a spirit animal choice (although lately you’d think I was related to a turtle – slow moving and quick to take cover) and more of a representational choice. One of my favourite First Nations stories is the legend of Turtle Island. If you haven’t heard this creation story, please take a few minutes to read about it. There are different versions, but the major events share similarities.

Turtle Island by Ojibway artist Patrick Hunter

Prayers for Turtle Island print by Jackie Traverse

I printed the turtle pattern and shrunk it down by 50%. I spent some time colouring it in so I had an idea of what my beading pattern would look like before I got started.

This time around I was able to find a sturdier piece of plastic in my recycling and didn’t have to use a Slurpee cup! Yay me! Although, still kind of funny, I ended up using the plastic lid to a package of donuts my kids begged me to buy when I went to Costco last week! The plastic was a nice thickness and ended up working really well for my pattern.

Look at how cute he/she is on that green felt!

Using some tips from previously watch videos, I made sure I left some extra felt around the edges of my turtle and rounded the corners so that my thread wasn’t constantly getting caught on the edges. I was actually so excited at how well my outline turned out that I didn’t even remember to take a photo before I started filling my turtle in.

Although this little guy has been incredibly time consuming because I’m still SO SLOW (dare I say slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter??), I know I have improved! It’s easier to thread my needle, scooping up beads with said needle is easier and faster, oh and speaking of beads – the inconsistencies that I initially thought were a detriment have actually been sanity saving as I work on my little turtle. It turns out that when you’re beading in a space like a head or a foot, it’s actually beneficial to be able to choose a shorter, wider bead or a taller, longer bead depending on the space you’re filling in. Tension of the beads has also been something I have started paying attention to. For example, the turtle’s shell is stitched quite rigidly to the felt whereas there is some movement in the feet and head which made it easier to fill int he open spaces.

My success this week has been a real breakthrough. Before this week I felt a lot of frustration and very little motivation to continue on with this project, but now I have a renewed optimism! I even did a couple of little test flowers and a bee as practice because I just might want to create my own little scene once my turtle is complete! Until next week….

Learning Project – A Minor Hiccup

March 4, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 2 Comments

Weekends can be busy at my house. All three of my kids are involved in sports and weekends often mean travelling to tournaments out of town.

I was grateful that I was going to be home this weekend and planned to set aside minimum of one hour on Sunday afternoon and dedicate that time to my learning project, but let’s back up to Friday… my daughter fell ill with a stomach bug Friday night through Saturday morning which meant added loads of laundry and just being way more tired than usual.

Cue Sunday – did somebody say SNOWSTORM?! How about we dedicate some time to digging out from the snow that fell overnight Saturday and do some touch-ups throughout the day Sunday. By Sunday afternoon, I really wasn’t feeling well. I tried to deny it as long as I could, but one of my sons fell ill and then it was my turn. So, forget dedicating Sunday afternoon to my learning project!

My school division was named in the rotating strike scheduled for Monday, March 4. Instead of walking in solidarity, I write this post curled up in my bed hoping that tomorrow I will feel well enough to go back to school.

Unfortunately, after the health and weather we were dealt at the end of the week and throughout the entire weekend, I have no progress to update you on. Instead, I will leave you with a collection of photos that I’ve gathered that provided me with some inspiration and am hoping that this week is a better one, in many different senses!

More info and to purchase here: https://www.manitobah.ca/products/shaina-wambululu-forest-floral-framework

I snagged this screenshot and thought I had also saved the facebook page to be able to contact the creator of these simple, adorable earrings. Unfortunately, I did not save the name. I do know that the phone number listed on the card is for a city in Quebec. I love the simplicity of these earrings with the cute little beads and flowers. I want to try out a similar design, but will need to find the long, cylindrical beads before embarking on the bee journey!

Cyber Safety and Digital Citizenship – A New Era

March 4, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 2 Comments

Last week in our breakout rooms I shared with everyone in the group that I was pretty sure that I’m quite a few years older than most everyone in this class which means the internet was a new thing when I was growing up. We had six Mac computers in my elementary school library…… and they weren’t connected to the internet. One of our tasks in my computer class in junior high school (we had an entire classroom full of computers and had an entire class dedicated to learning how to type) was to create an email address – this was a brand new thing for us teenagers to have our very first Hotmail email address! I’d still be using mine today had it not been hacked and used to send spam emails from an IP address that pinged dangerously close to Buckingham Palace!

There was no discussion about cyber safety when I was in school. With the internet being such a new thing, there were far less threats out there than there are now. When you typed in a subject to search into good old Netscape Navigator, you got all of one page of hits and each of the links took you to a website that had information that actually pertained to your topic. Can you even imagine?! I’ve learned a lot along the way as the internet has changed into what it is today. Trying to explain to my own kids that not everything you see is actually what you’re looking for was something that was important to me. And with almost all research being done online rather than through the use of physical books at a library, it is so important to be aware of what you’re looking for and to know how to decipher truths from all the garbage that floats around in cyberspace.

Approaching digital citizenship and cyber safety in the classroom can be related to situations in real life. I think we all need to approach our online presence as we do our real lives. If you wouldn’t say the thing you’re about to post online to someone’s face, then you’d best reconsider posting it. Be respectful is always my main message!

Being mindful and setting screen time limits as an adult can be hard some days, but as we discussed in class, adults need to set the examples for children and model behaviours that we expect to see from our children and our students. I think it’s important to emphasize to our youngsters that it is important to be respectful of someone when they ask you to shut down an app or put away a device, whether it be at home or at school. I also think it’s important for kids to know that it’s actually okay to not have all of the same apps as their peers and they shouldn’t feel pressure to use certain apps just because the majority of others are partaking. I will use my own son as an example – he just turned 18, but about a year ago he decided that he was wasting (his word, not mine) too much time on Snapchat and deleted the app. Did he take some heat from his friends? Yep. Did he rejoin the world of Snapchat? Nope.

Jorgenson’s article The IRL Fetish hits on many points that I have thought about not necessarily in my own life, but definitely in my own children’s lives. A lot of younger people lack the “real connection” that comes from face-to-face conversation and some even struggle to hold a conversation or maintain focus. My first smartphone was the iPhone 4. Because I don’t care about having the latest technology, I’m sure I waited to upgrade my old flip phone until I could grab an iPhone for $0! My kids were never allowed to have my phone. When we went to the grandparents’ houses for supper, they were (and still are) expected to engage in conversation with the “old people”. When we would go out for supper on occasion, the kids were expected to engage in conversation or do some colouring, but screen time was never allowed at the table. I’ve had adults, mainly my kids’ teachers, comment on how nice it is to have a conversation with my children because many kids lack conversational skills these days. I do attribute that to my refusal to allow phones at the table and the necessity to engage in conversation. Being present and in the moment is much different than feeling the need to take a photo to document everything to be posted online to prove that it actually happened.

Ribble’s Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship were bound to need to change or evolve over time. The internet has changed so much over time that any recommendations or suggestions would surely need to be updated or changed. His nine core ideas are very much valid, and will continue to be, but he will likely have to tweak his wording again in the next decade.

My relationship with the internet, cyber security and digital citizenship is very different than my children’s and my students. Being forced to adapt to the changes that have happened over the last thirty years has been beneficial as a learn as you go and a learn as you grow process. These days I just want to wish parents “good luck” as they navigate this new era of digital madness!

Why not, Minot?

February 26, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 7 Comments

Ahhhh…. Reading Week. A welcomed break from the hustle and bustle of everyday school and learning life.

This week has offered some opportunities for catching up, reflecting and even a trip to the USA with my kids. Don’t get too excited for me – I live as close to Minot, ND as I do Regina, but there is lots to see and buy in Minot that you will never see or buy in Regina!

First (and always) stop? Qdoba. Never been? I liken it to a Mexican subway. It never disappoints.

{Check out the size of that bowl! How many avocados do we think are in there?!}

Second stop? Hobby Lobby. Never been? Think American version of Michael’s. I decided I really wanted to see the beads I planned to use for my project in person rather than ordering online and being disappointed in colours, sizes, etc. Hobby Lobby did not disappoint in their bead supply options! Look at all of the beautiful colours! And they were on sale!

I ended up settling on a small selection of multi-coloured beads rather than choosing individual tubes of colours. To get started on an actual project I would consider showing others, I do believe these beads were a good choice. But, I also think I will be stopping at Michael’s during my visit to Saskatoon to grab an even bigger selection of beads should this next beading attempt go well.

Once I got started with the new beads, I was interested to find the inconsistencies in sizes in these beads as well. There must be a trick or a “best source” that seasoned pros use! My second attempt definitely went better than the first, but I’m still slow as molasses in January (so glad it’s not still January!) when it comes to working with beads and thread and felt, etc, etc! I do feel like this process would get easier and I will get faster once I’ve practiced this craft some more!

I don’t love the colour pink, but I’ve decided I’d like to try to bead an animal using the pattern I found previously, and I wanted to save my greens and blues. Here’s the petal I completed with my new glass beads. It’s a very slight improvement, but blood wasn’t shed, tears weren’t shed and no bad words were expressed….out loud, anyway!

There’s Always Time for smore Learning

February 12, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 2 Comments

This week I decided to try out smore to chronicle my learning project progress. I’m not very brave when it comes to technology or learning new apps or websites, but my school uses smore for our newsletter so I thought I’d give it a try.

Honestly, I didn’t love this platform.
There are lots of templates to choose from that others created and shared in a number of different categories, BUT you have to work around the information they’ve used in the newsletter as well as the format they’ve created.
It was difficult for me to edit the first template that I chose which caused me to be frustrated (when I was already frustrated with my learning project!) so I ditched one template and started a new, blank newsletter.

Progress is saved automatically, which is great, but I didn’t like that there was no ‘preview’ option. I like to see what things are going to look like before I hit ‘publish’! I also wish there had been an undo button when I accidentally clicked and dragged a section that I had completed and never was able to move it back to where I thought it belonged.

With your free account, you only get to create three free newsletters before it asks you to upgrade.

The cost isn’t cheap, but if you planned to use it regularly then you could probably justify the subscription. And, with regular use, I’m sure the entire site and process becomes easier to navigate and edit.

I do think that this tool could be used in the classroom to create fun weekly or monthly newsletters to send to families. The template I ended up using was suggested as a classroom newsletter and provided space to add photos with descriptions of what was happening in the classroom. My school already uses this platform to communicate our monthly school newsletter to families, but it would also be easy enough to use as a classroom communication tool.

There are plenty of options to add links to your newsletter, some templates even had moving graphics embedded in them. You’d never move up to the top of the SAMR model using a tool like this, but with adding in different links or including videos or inviting parents and students to view documents where they could edit to provide feedback would at least move you off the shore!

As for my learning project process, please make your way to my newsletter, created with smore, to reveal the blood (literally) and tears that occurred this week.

With the Aid of Paper

February 5, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 1 Comment

It’s pretty interesting the sources of inspiration and help one can find when they are least expecting it. After doing some more research into needle sizes and bead options for my learning project, I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Excited still, but overwhelmed. So I decided to do a little more digging into ideas for patterns and colours – the things that would make this project manageable and winning for me. Ahhhlong came a beautiful post with basically exactly what I needed for inspiration and templates to use in the classroom!

Although I still plan to start “small” with a simple beaded flower, these animal designs are patterns that I look forward to gaining enough confidence to try beading something as intricate!

Thanks to living in a smaller, rural centre, options are incredibly limited for crafting supplies (amongst other things!). As much as I like to shop and support local, sometimes that’s just not possible when it comes to specific tasks such as the beading project I’ve chosen to pursue. Amazon has been my go-to when it comes to searching for necessary supplies and the price is right, Bob!

Fingers crossed that my supplies show up soon (nobody is trusting the UPS tracking any day of the week!!), but in the meantime I will be watching videos on different beading methods (I had no idea there was going to be so many suggested beading methods. Yikes!) and using my paper guides to map out the colour schemes I plan to use.

Looking forward to getting started on this project and sharing some actual photos from my real-life progress!

Culture of Participation

February 5, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 0 Comments

It is almost unfathomable to think about how much the internet and our digital world has changed since the internet was launched. Our class discussion regarding the reaction of someone from the 1950 being plucked from what they know and dropped into our current digital culture definitely sparked some thought about what I see as some of the biggest changes to our digital lifestyle. There are times where I feel like I can’t keep up with the changes in technology – and I haven’t turned 40 yet!!

{Pictured above is my dad, left, born in 1949 alongside his brother, in this photo dated 1952}

One of the first points that caught my attention in the YouTube video featuring anthropologist Michael Wesch was when he shared his example of collaboration and likened it to a travelling across time and space. In Wesch’s example, he collaborated with a musical artist from the Ivory Coast of Africa while he worked in the basement of his home in Arkansas. This was one of many examples of the creation of global connections that Wesch spoke to in his presentation.

In terms of the culture of participation in the classroom, there are so many online resources and opportunities to connect with others that we might never have had the opportunity to connect with. My students have participated in SK Live Arts presentations that offer live learning opportunities such as completing an art project led by a Métis artist and a theatrical presentation led by a teacher and actress. We’ve also participated in some interactive science presentations led by instructors in Ontario. These have been wonderful learning experiences and opportunities!

I feel like there is some added pressure on schools to ensure that they have up-to-date technology and infrastructure to support the lean towards digital use in the classroom. Seeking out these online learning opportunities to stay current is also important, especially if you’re a school fighting to maintain or build enrolment.

A lot of re-thinking has happened when it comes to education.

It was a forced rethinking (thanks? Covid), but there are so many more opportunities for accredited classes that are available online. There’s no way I’d be able to finish my degree without these online class options! Our class is an example of this new culture of participation. Here we all are, each Tuesday evening, logging into an online Zoom Room from wherever we all may be (you will find me chilling in SE Sask!) to participate in an online class.
Pretty cool opportunities to be had thanks to the internet!

The balancing act comes back to limits, for me anyway. I don’t use TikTok for this very reason.
I waste fifteen minutes of my life watching cat/guinea pig/dog reels on Facebook when they come up! Although I do think helpful and relevant info is being shared some of the time, my algorithms are definitely not picking up and delivering anything useful!!

Métis Beading: The Very Beginning

January 30, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 1 Comment

Does anyone even remember what we did before we had the internet to use as our go-to?

Yeah, actually I do because the internet wasn’t generally used until I was almost a teenager!

How did we survive or accomplish anything before YouTube?!

Library, card catalogue

We went to the library and searched the PAPER CARD CATALOGUE to find A BOOK with the information we were looking for!

Coming from someone who doesn’t access nearly as many tech gadgets/websites/apps as I maybe should, YouTube has been an amazing teacher in other subject areas, and when it comes to my Learning Project, it’s proving to be most helpful.

When I introduced myself as a beginner, the internet has confirmed and reminded me that I am most definitely a beginner. I’ve sewn buttons back onto clothing before or mended a small rip in a favourite pair of mittens, but when it comes to accomplishing something creative with string or thread AND beads? Next level difficult!

Lucky for me, there are experienced people out there who are also able to share their knowledge in manageable steps for people like me. Miss Chambers has posted a series of videos on her YouTube channel that are simple to follow, well laid-out and have a clear goal in mind that she sets out to accomplish during the video duration.

This project definitely seems like something that will challenge me, but won’t frustrate me to the point that I want to toss all of my supplies into the garbage and set it on fire. My plan for this week is to choose a pattern that I can follow easily, most like a simple floral as depicted int he video preview, and decide on the colours of beads I plan to use. Once I have a list of materials, I’m going to get everything ordered online. We have very few options in town that I’ll likely have to order everything online unless I time it right to grab my supplies the next time I’m in the city.

Watching a couple of short tutorials has definitely sparked my excitement for this project!

Tech Habits of an “old lady”!

January 30, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 0 Comments

Last week’s class was very interesting to me as I watched names of apps pop up in our discussion that I have never used, some I had never heard of. Welcome to the life of someone who basically avoids technology and is likely many, many years older than the average student in this class! My kids razz me on the daily for not knowing things they figure I should know about the internet and technology world.

Besides checking my email and Facebook on my phone, in my personal life, there are very few apps I use daily or regularly. My kids are all busy with sports [GO EXTREME!] so TeamLinkt is a mainstay on my home screen. My kids’ school division uses Edsby and just this fall I finally broke down and downloaded the app. It’s really starting to seem like my kids are the reason I need access to technology most of the time!! At work (I work at a school), we use YouTube almost daily, but tech access is limited during the school day for my students. Every once in a while we throw in a Blooket to switch things up!

I float between TeamLinkt and Edsby to stay on top of managing and organizing my kids’ schedules. Personally, I’m a pen and paper calendar person. I generally have a note open on my phone to jot a quick piece of information down, but that all gets transferred onto a paper calendar where everyone in our family can take a look at the craziness that is our lives! I’m only a part time student while working nearly full-time and don’t feel the need to rely on tech to manage my life.

Even though Facebook is considered an old person app, it’s my go-to for time wasting. And it truly is a waste of time filled with ads and suggested pages and external websites. Rarely do I see anything posted by an actual friend. I’m an avid Pokémon Go player as I walk every day, so that might also count as a time-waster, although I feel less guilty about the time spent on that app since I’m getting some exercise in the process. My phone charges in a different room in my house so I’m not tempted to pick it up after I’ve gone to bed or if I wake up in the middle of the night. I should probably leave my phone in a different room at other times throughout the day so that I am more productive in general!

Is there anything I’m missing out on living my old lady lifestyle in this tech focused world??

A Path to Understanding: Métis Beading

January 22, 2024 / Chantelle Turner / 1 Comment

When Dr. Hildebrand first mentioned this course involved a project where we could choose to learn to do almost anything, Métis beading was one of the first ideas that came to mind.

Beadwork, bag, Métis, Cree

After taking my first Indigenous Studies class, I was inspired to learn more about our First Nations and Métis cultures as I attempted to understand and appreciate the beauty that the people and their cultures have to offer us. Having learned more about Métis culture over the last few years and being exposed to images of the amazing beadwork of our Métis people, I know this is a skill that I would like to attempt to learn! I love colour and am a big fan of flowers, both of which seem to be a mainstay in Métis beadwork.

My daughter has suggested that I make her some earrings during this project, but I’m hoping to be able to complete a number of smaller projects throughout my Learning Project. I did a quick internet search and there looks to be some great online resources with video tutorials to aid in my progress. One of my coworkers, and someone I’m lucky enough to call a friend, completed some Métis beadwork projects through lockdown in 2020 and offered her help should I need it. Friends are great, aren’t they?!

As for my project outline, my first step is to finalize one project that I’d like to complete. Next would be to make a list of supplies I’ll need to complete the project and where I can purchase those supplies, whether that be locally or online. I plan to watch a number of video tutorials and hope to find some articles to read on the topic as well to guide me through this process. I plan to start with a simpler design and project and if it proves to be more manageable than I anticipated, I will challenge myself with a more intricate design. But don’t hold your breath on the intricacy piece!