Hi everybody!
I decided to make a video showing a bit of the behind the scenes of my Learning Project and chatting about my learning throughout the course! Take a look, and thank you to everyone who showed interest in my content!
Well a semester has gone by, and I have to say, I am really happy with the progress I’ve made on my Learning Project!
I have taken my Tower Garden from assembly to full bloom with a ton of homegrown veg. It has been a cool journey that has been a tonne of fun. Here is a summary of what I did…
Here I introduced the concept of what a Tower Garden is. I included the story of how my wife had bought this Tower used for a huge deal. The previous owner had never even set it up! I vowed not to let that happen to me and I am proud to say mission accomplished!
Starting Seedlings for Tower Garden
This week I started growing seedlings for my Tower. The video I decided to use was from the Tower Garden YouTube Channel. I wanted to start with info right from the manufacture to start. I have to say, I am not a fan of the official Tower Garden videos as they usually don’t have any voice over, just written instructions with music playing.
The 3rd week, I got my Tower set up. Out of curiosity, I took a look at the Tower Garden instructions on YouTube, and it also had no voice over instructions, and flew through things really fast. Instead, I found this video (also on YouTube) that I found much more helpful. It was great having a human who had experience setting these Towers up explain the process step by step.
Filling Reservoir and Adding Nutrients
This week, I tried out TikTok as a source of information! I had never used TikTok in any capacity, so it was a bit of an adventure! I actually found that the short format of TikTok actually worked well for instructional steps that are relatively small like this one.
I had some tomato plants that had been growing outside in my garden. I had planted them late and they weren’t going to survive to fruit before winter. I had brought them inside to live in my grow tent, but had seen people growing tomatoes on their Tower Gardens. In the spirit of using social media for info like TikTok last week, I tried out using Facebook Reels and found this Reel that was a perfect, quick explanation of the transplant process. It ended up working great and my tomato plant is thriving!
By this point I was getting tempted my the yummy green lettuce growing on my Tower, so I decided it was time to try harvest some! Since I didn’t want to just start pulling veg out of the Tower without knowing how, I took the time to read this resource of when and how to harvest. Since it wasn’t as detailed on removal as I wanted, I also checked out the Tower Garden video on the subject for extra guidance.
After having the chance to actually taste my lettuce, I was feeling a little down. The lettuce as good, but was pretty limp. I looked up explanations on why this might be, and found recommendations of adding a fan to the Tower to simulate the affect of wind on the plants. This is supposed to make the lettuce leaves grow firmer to resist the blowing wind. I am not sure if its the wind or just having more time to grow, but my lettuce has firmed up!
This week, I had the inspiration to transplant one of my strawberry plants that had survived late into November outside in my garden !I found an awesome resource on growing strawberries hydroponically on YouTube that covered transplanting and caring for strawberries. It was a successful transplant, and I am almost getting a berry on the plant now!
After transplanting the strawberry from my garden, I noticed that there was a few of the leaves that had been turning brown. I looking into reasons this might be using the resource from last week, and found out that the pH of the water should be close to 5.5 for strawberries. I hadn’t even checked the pH since filling the reservoir, so I found this useful instructions on pH testing from Keep It Watered that I used to test and adjust the pH.
After about a month and a half of growing, my Tower was in need of a refill. Inspired by our class on AI, I used Googles AI assistant Gemini to ask for directions refilling the reservoir. I was pretty impressed with the results!
So here I am, a semester later, and I have a constant source of fresh veg in my home. I am so happy to have had this opportunity to do this project. I discovered some things about online learning in the process. I still think that YouTube reigns supreme for content on how to do anything, but I would keep an open mind to learning from short form videos from social media sites too! I had success finding quality info from Instagram, Facebook Reels, and even TikTok.
Again, I am happy and grateful to have had the opportunity to do this project. it hadn’t been part of my classes, I don’t know how or when I would have found the time and motivation to make this happen! I would recommend a Tower Garden for anyone with a bit of green thumb and wanting fresh veg all year round!
Hey there!
I decided to make a Google Slides presentation of all my interactions with peers throughout the semester. I must say, I did not use Discord very much, but I was able to have good interactions with people in the comments sections of my blog! I feel like I was able to make an impression on my classmates and answer some questions they had, especially about my Learning Project.
Cheers!
Jerome Schmeiser
Hi everybody!
This week, inspired by our talk about AI and AI tools, I decided to see how well AI could do at helping me with my learning project! It has been almost 3 months since I started setting up my Tower Garden and growing some veg. I filled the Tower on October 17th, so over about 2 months, the water reservoir has gone down and is nearing empty. There is a float on the top of the reservoir that goes down to indicate the water level/usage.
I was having fun using Google’s AI assistant Gemini for my other blog post this week, so I thought I would see how I would do if I asked it for help with refill instructions. I figured this was a pretty safe task to assign to AI since I had done it once already, so I could troubleshoot! So I asked Gemini and here is was I got…
Here’s how to refill your Tower Garden reservoir:
Materials:
- Hose or watering can
- Tower Tonic A and B (if needed)
- pH test kit (optional)
- pH adjuster solution (if needed)
Instructions:
- Remove the reservoir lid: Unscrew the lid from the top of the reservoir.
- Fill with water: Use a hose or watering can to fill the reservoir with cool water. Do not overfill. The water level should be about 3 inches below the top of the reservoir.
- Add nutrients: If you’re starting a new grow cycle or your nutrient levels are low, add the recommended amount of Tower Tonic A and B to the reservoir. Follow the instructions on the product packaging.
- Check and adjust pH (optional): The ideal pH level for your Tower Garden is between 5.5 and 6.5. Use a pH test kit to measure the pH of the nutrient solution. If it’s too high, add pH- down solution. If it’s too low, add pH+ up solution. Follow the instructions on the pH adjuster product.
- Replace the lid: Screw the lid back onto the reservoir.
- Turn on the pump: Plug in the pump and ensure it’s working properly. You should see water flowing up through the tubes to your plants.
Additional Tips:
- Water quality: Avoid using softened, heavily chlorinated, or very hard water, as it can harm your plants.
- Nutrient levels: Monitor the nutrient levels in your reservoir and refill as needed. You can use a nutrient tester to check the levels.
- Water temperature: Use cool water to fill the reservoir. Hot water can damage your plants.
- Pump maintenance: Clean your pump regularly to prevent clogs and ensure optimal performance.
Remember:
- Always follow the specific instructions that came with your Tower Garden model.
- If you have any questions or concerns, consult the Tower Garden user manual or contact customer support.
By following these steps, you can keep your Tower Garden thriving and producing healthy plants.
Now most of that was solid advice! In fact I only notice small details that were wrong that really aren’t important. The first was, there is no screw to for the reservoir, just a cover lid. The second was there isn’t tubing you can see the water flowing through, it rains down from the top and the tubing is all concealed. But other than those minor details, I think this is a perfectly fine set of instructions! I am pretty impressed.
Unfortunately I don’t have a garden hose running anymore since its finally full on winter, so I will be hand bombing about 6 milk jugs full of water into the tower from the sink. Oh well, small price to pay for all the fresh veg!
Cheers,
Jerome
This week I decided to take some time to try out a few different AI image generators. I was struct by some of the examples of AI generated photos we saw in class and wanted to try my hand at writing prompts for them.
I tried out DeepAI, it was ok but had adds and wanted you to buy a premium account for the full experience. I got a pretty decent picture with minimal effort on the prompt (medium sized grey cat sits on desk while owner tries to work on laptop)
I tried to use Microsoft’s new AI image generator called Designer but it wasn’t available through my U of R Microsoft account.
Next I tried Google’s image generator using their Gemini Assistant and this one was good. It worked with my Google account, so that was convenient, although they did have an option for a premium version. I tried out the same prompt and was happier with the outcome.
I had an idea for using this tool as part of a descriptive writing lesson in class. The students would write out a detailed sentence or two using practicing their knowledge of adjectives, verbs, nouns, and then generating them on the Gemini to see the result. You could even tie this into art and have the students try to recreate the image that the AI produces.
Here was my attempt!
A large, black bear, slowly wonders along a quickly running stream. In the distance is a sunset with red, pink and yellow colours that light up the sky. There is a evergreen forest on both sides of the stream…
One of the barriers I thought of to this lesson was the access to technology. In the classroom that I am currently pre-interning at, they current don’t have access to any tech, and I am sure that could be the cases for many classrooms. Instead of having each student enter their prompt, an option would be to have each student submit their prompt to the teacher, have them enter the prompts and save to photos, and maybe even print them out for the students!
Hi everybody!
So last week, right before we got a big dump of snow, I noticed some strawberries still growing in my strawberry patch outside. They were even starting to flower, so I thought, why not try transplant them?
One week later, and they are still alive!
I noticed some brown spots on some leaves though, so I wanted to see if I could optimize my Tower to be a little nicer to my strawberries. When reviewing the resource I used last week on transplanting strawberries, they mentioned I should have my water pH between 5.5 and 6.5, preferably closer to 5.5. This made me realized I hadn’t even checked the pH since I first got to the Tower filled with water over a month ago. So I looked up some resources on how to check and adjust the pH!
I found this website called Keep It Watered that had some useful information on it not only for checking/adjusting the pH, but also on weekly maintenance (that I will do starting now!). I liked this website. The explanation was a short and sweet explanation with links to further information on how pH affects your plants. The website suggested to “Use the pH test kit to test the pH of the water in the tub. Put 5 ml of water from the Tower Garden into the vial. Drip 5 drops of the solution into the vial and compare the color with the test strip.”
So I grabbed 5ml in my little vial, added the drops and waited a few seconds. I was close to 7.5, so pretty far from 5.5. Luckily I can adjust!
I added 10ml of the acid that comes with the Tower Garden set up. I wanted to do as suggested by the Keep It Watered website and start with 10 ml and measure the pH again before adding more.
I’ll let that mix overnight and check it again in the morning!
Cheers,
Jerome
I was reflecting on digital literacy this week, and was realizing the massive shift in where people get their information that has occurred over the course of my life. I’m 35 going on a 65, but I grew up in 90s and 00s. I remember my early childhood, my parents (mainly my dad) were avid news consumers. News came in by the local paper, on the radio (always tuned into CBC) and on the TV in nightly news broadcasts. But by my teenage years, that had began to shift, news began appearing on websites. By my 20s, social media had began to take off and the shift towards a digital mediascape became unstoppable. The challenge to identify credible content was about to become much harder.
The smell test: Educators can counter fake news with information literacy. Here’s how. highlights a Stanford University study that “underscored the challenges of media and social media education for kids. Students’ ability to evaluate information on the Internet is “bleak,” according to the report.” Teaching student’s to think critically about who they are consuming content from on social media is a must do for teachers. We can help students identify their influencers and the effects these people have on their identity. I had an idea to do this kind of work in grade 4 attached to outcome USC4.5 : Examine how identity (i.e., self-concept, self-esteem, self-determination) is influenced by relationships that are formed with others. There are multiple indicators in their that I think lend themselves well to digital literacy topics.
Digital literacy has become increasing important as our media and news sources have shifted off the printed page, radio, and television screens, and into the digital world. News sources have become so varied, with our views becoming increasing narrowed. And the truth is, we like to have our biases confirmed. The Why do people fall for fake news? resource was engaging resource talked about identifying bias in ourselves and our news sources. I think this is a useful tool to teach to our students at the earliest opportunity, so they can become more aware of their own beliefs and how they might have taken form. The resource has fun graphics and videos which I think would be good for students to go through.
Also on the topic of identifying bias, this teacher created Worksheet: Bias in the news was a resource I thought could be useful. I like the idea of having identifying bias in headlines from traditional media sources (CBC, Global, CNN, BBC, Fox, etc etc.) then mixing in social media posts as well to identify the bias their too. I thought this resource did a great job at discussing all the different was that bias can appear (Bias through placement, by headline, by word choice and tone, by photos, captions and camera angles, through selection and omission, through the use of names and titles through statistics and crowd counts by source control). The details on all these ways bias can appear were great and I learned new things to look for when dissecting an news article.
Hey all,
So I was in our backyard this past weekend playing with our daughter. We were enjoying our unseasonably warm November when I noticed that some of our strawberries in our strawberry patch were not only still growing, but still fruiting!
I had seen people online growing strawberries on their Tower Gardens, and knew from experience I could transplant a seedling (my tomato plant is still thriving btw). So I looked for some info on how to transplant and care for strawberries, and found this great video on my old favorite, YouTube! It is a video by the channel Green Food Solutions that details how to not online transplant strawberry seedlings, but also goes into care for the plants. It wasn’t the most slickly produced video I have ever seen, but all the info was great and they had good visuals! Very lucky to have found it.
Anyways, I got my strawberry cleaned up and soaked it and a cube of rockwool in some water.
Then I cut the cube to wrap the seedling. The video specified that I needed to place the rockwool up over the roots to give them the best chance of staying moist, so that is what I aimed for.
Now I get to fill in one of the empty lettuce spots on my tower!
Cheers!
Jerome
Hey there!
This week I wanted to take the time to share a story from last week when we were talking about our digital footprints! I took the opportunity to Google myself (I never like the way that sounds) to see what came up. First up was my LinkedIn profile, which is funny because I absolutely never use that social media site anymore. I still have myself listed on there as a Lab Technician from my previous career, so I guess it is time to change that.
I got a bit of a shock when I kept scrolling and further down and saw my name attached to another page from a previous employer. The page was an info page for The Bud Bash, an adult cannabis themed night that the employer was putting on in April of 2023. I was working for this employer at the time, and because I have a passion for gardening, both indoor and outdoor, I volunteered to bring my grow tent and set it up at the event so people could learn about indoor growing.
I didn’t, however, agree to having my full name advertised as a local cannabis growing expert, which is exactly what they did. I noticed the plan to put my name out like that before the event happened, and immediately asked my employer to take that info down as I did not consent to making my name public, or being billed as a cannabis expert. I was assure they would take out my information from the event page and I took them at their word…
Which was dumb of me I guess because that info never got taken down and had been still available under a search result for my name for over a year now!
Anyways, right after class I was emailing old bosses to get them to take the page down. The event page is gone but my name still comes up in Google searches and it is linked to that dead event page. I’m still talking to that employer about getting that taken down too, but we will see what happens!
Moral of the story? I guess make sure you are explicit about what you do and do not want your name attached to!
Limp… When has that every been used to describe something desirable? But that is where I am at with my lettuce. Despite my lettuce looking super green and tasty growing on my Tower Garden, now that I’ve started eating it I have found that it has been lacking much of any crunch that I usually like from my lettuce. I mean, this seems like a small complaint, given that I already have fresh lettuce to eat whenever I want now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t optimize the experience!
So I started looking for reasons my lettuce would be wimpy and any solutions that I might be able to do for that. I went to my old faithful source for everything, YouTube, and found this video from the channel IGWorks . They use a different hydroponics system then the Tower Garden but the advice still applies!
I took the suggestion to add a fan to my Tower Garden like this video advised to simulate wind for my tower. The idea is that the wind will make the plant grow firmer to steady itself against to wind, making firmer lettuce! If that does work, they suggested I can always give me lettuce an ice bath before using it to crisp it up that way.
I found another Short video on YouTube that had a great idea for the fan, which was to plug it into the time that comes with the Tower Garden. This is an outlet that has 2 plugs, one for you pump to make it turn on every hour or so, and the other for whatever you need, so why not plug the fan in there so it will run an the same timer as the pump?
And here is the final set up! I might try get another fan to blow on the other side because there isn’t much flow there, but I think its a good start!
Cheers!
Jerome
