This semester is coming to a close which means so is my learning project… technically. This learning project has taught me many new skills, things about myself, my pallet, and much more! I have learned that cooking and baking may seem a lot more intimidating or harder than it is! I would say before this learning project I still cooked but it was the same meals and getting repetitive over time. This project pushed me to learn new recipes and skills. I got to try out different recipes that I have been wanting to try for a while from various cultures. I also got to explore many different formats that recipes are found on including apps such as Pinterest or Tasty. I also used websites, TikTok, and YouTube to help me find different recipes. This learning project also encouraged me to use different technology formats to display my information such as YouTube, TikTok, and my iPhone camera. I got to explore different editing programs like TikTok and iMovie to create videos to upload to my YouTube channel.
Learning Project – Week 1 – Salmon, Cucumber Salad, and Roasted Potatoes
- Laid out what my goals for the learning project were
- Made a meal I have made a couple of different versions of before
- Harvested potatoes from my garden
- Made a video to show my cooking process
For this week I used a recipe I found on Pinterest. I have made salmon before but never with this recipe. I enjoyed using this recipe. I also harvested my potatoes from my backyard garden and used this in my recipe. I learned how to video the process and upload a video to YouTube as well! I used this post to explain why I wanted to learn more about cooking and baking.
Learning Project – Week 2 – Birria Tacos
- Why I chose to make birria tacos
- Never done something like this before, so I was nervous
- Used TikTok to find a recipe
- Followed the TikTok step-by-step
- No measurements in TikTok which was a downside so I had to eyeball it
- Took pictures of each step of making the birria tacos
- Learned to modify recipes to accommodate my taste and what I had available
- One of the best meals I have ever made! My mouth is watering thinking of them!
- Much more cost-effective compared to getting 3 for $18 at Leopold’s Tavern
During this learning project post, I found a recipe on TikTok that was simple and had a step-by-step format for me to follow. Although, it did not have the measurements so I had to eyeball it. I also had to use different ingredients such as peppers because my grocery store did not have the ones the video had. Instead of making a video, I took pictures of each step and wrote a description of what I was doing.
Learning Project – Week 3 – Fettuccine Alfredo
- Made homemade fresh pasta
- Used a YouTube video for the pasta recipe
- Took pictures of each step and added the description
- Discussed what I could have improved on in the recipe
This week I made homemade fresh pasta with alfredo sauce. This recipe was very good and filling, however, the pasta was thick. I struggled to roll out the dough thin. This would have been better with a pasta maker to get the dough thin. One of the things I struggled with was uploading the photos to the blog post. I had to email them to myself, download them to my computer, and then upload the media on Edusites. That was a learning experience!
Learning Project – Week 4 – Carrot Cake
- Used an app called Tasty
- Reviewed the app and all of its features
- Used iMovie to edit the video with screenshots to explain how I edited the video
- Uploaded video to YouTube
- The perfect recipe for the beginning of fall and very easy to make
This week I made carrot cake. I used a recipe from an app called Tasty which had many features. Some features included filters for meal type, level of difficulty, occasion, diets, cooking styles, etc. It also clearly lays out the recipe’s ingredients, steps, completion time, servings, and more! You can see people’s comments and reviews of the recipes as well. I used iMovie to edit and show step-by-step how I edited my video, which I uploaded to YouTube.
Learning Project – Week 5 – Dill Pickle Soup
- Explained why I love soup
- Recipe from TikTok
- Wrote out steps for recipe
- Made a TikTok for the video
- Used TikTok’s built-in editing
- Uploaded TikTok video to YouTube
This week I made dill pickle soup. I enjoyed this recipe because it was perfect for fall and meal prep. I found the recipe from TikTok and also filmed it on TikTok. I enjoyed the editing as it was similar to iMovie.
Learning Project – Week 6 – Mac and Cheese
- TikTok recipe
- Soooooooooo delicious and will make it again!
- Took photos of each step and added descriptions
This recipe was one of the best things I have ever made. There was a reason why it was trending on TikTok. The TikTok creator’s video was easy to follow and not difficult. I took photos of each step and added descriptions.
Learning Project – Week 7 – The Grinder Sandwich
- TikTok Recipe
- Best sandwich I have ever made
- Will make again
- Took photos of each step and added descriptions
This recipe was one of the best sandwiches I have ever made. I could not compare my sandwich to the ones I would get at restaurants. This one is better than the bought ones! There was a reason why it was trending on TikTok for many months! The TikTok creator’s video was easy to follow and not difficult. I took photos of each step and added descriptions.
Learning Project – Week 8 – Shakshouka
- TikTok Recipe
- Different cultures I have never explored cooking
- Will make again
- Took photos of each step and added descriptions
For this week, I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. I landed on try Shakshouka because I had come across it on my TikTok for you page. This was a simple dish but very flavourful. I liked that you could add whatever spices and seasoning you wanted. I took photos of each step and added descriptions. I have already done this again since writing this post!
Learning Project – Week 9 – Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes
- Used family recipe
- Wrote out each step and included a picture of the ingredients card
- Made a video and used TikTok
- TikTok messed up my video when I saved so I had to re-edit everything again…
This week, I made chocolate cream cheese cupcakes using my family recipe. I made a video again through TikTok, but when I went to save it to my camera roll it duplicated and messed up all of my edits. Then, I had to re-edit everything I just did. This made me not really want to use TikTok as a video maker anymore.
Learning Project – Week 10 – Pinwheels
- Used Pinterest to get inspiration
- Narrowed it down to a ham and cheese recipe on Pinterest
- Wrote down my recipe
- Had a step-by-step process with pictures
- Review of recipe
This week I made pinwheels for my mom’s 50th birthday party as an appetizer. This was very popular and they were all gone by the end of the night! I took photos and wrote descriptions for each step.
Takeaways from my learning project:
- Visual Media: I enjoyed using visual media often on YouTube or TikTok to find recipes. I preferred this because they had steps for me to follow with the video so I could see what they were doing. Compared to a website where there were just descriptions of what you are supposed to be doing, it is much more beneficial to have visual media. I also loved using YouTube or TikTok because you could see how many views, likes, and comments the video had. If it was a pretty popular recipe then you had a good indication if the recipe was going to be good to follow. In addition, I could also look at the comments to see if other people liked it.
- Creating Visual Media: Throughout my learning project I always had my post support through either a step-by-step process with images or a YouTube video. I think that this was based on my personal preference since I saw the benefits of finding visual media for my recipes. It also taught me a lot about how to upload photos onto Edusites. I also got to learn about different editing tools such as iMovie and TikTok. This was a learning experience in itself because of all of the different buttons.
- Apps: I got to use a variety of apps throughout my learning project. I used TikTok, Tasty, Pinterest, iMovie and YouTube. All of these apps I used for different reasons. I used TikTok to find different recipes and record/edit myself making these recipes. I used the apps Tasty and Pinterest to find recipes. I used iMovie to edit the videos I created of making the recipes. Finally, I used YouTube to help me learn new cooking skills and upload my videos to my channel.
- Navigating Edusites: At first, I was struggling to create my site and to add all of the different menus, pages, and posts. However, once I got the hang of it I enjoyed the process of posting my blogs and sharing it with others. I think this taught me a lot how since we are living in a digital world, we should be putting ourselves professionally out there on the internet. I think this would be a great way to integrate technology in the classroom as well! I enjoyed understanding what makes a good blog post by adding links, titles, videos, and pictures to my posts.
Thank you to my classmates for all of your comments on my learning project blog posts! I enjoyed reading them all and hope you take some time to try out new recipes like I did! There are so many amazing resources online that helped me throughout my learning project. This learning project has inspired me to try out new recipes, learn new skills, and try out foods from cultures I have never tried before. I will continue making new recipes even after this class has ended. These new skills and recipes I have learned I will take away with me for the rest of my life. Thank you for reading throughout my learning project journey!