With the semester coming to an end, it is time for my final entry into my learning project. The learning project assignment in EDTC 300 was an amazing and unique experience for me, and gave me the chance to learn about a skill I didn’t realize I would enjoy so much and look forward to pursuing in the future, this being cooking. Being enrolled in the field of secondary education allows me to study a wide variety of topics and key themes, although cooking was one I did not believe I would be able to learn so much. Utilizing a series of online tools and platforms helped me out greatly and always left me wondering about different perspectives of others which could help me in my journey. Many of these online platforms I will use to assist family and friends while they are cooking and guide me through new dishes. Despite times where I struggled to find a source that could assist me, there were a series of highlights including finding new and unique online sources and articles, familiarizing myself with platforms such as Feedly, Tik-Tok , and the Youtube editor. Doing this has helped me become more comfortable with creating and being involved in different videos. As well, each week had a new step with new tools to work with.

Week 1: There Has to Be a Better Way to Eat!

When presented with the ability to select any topic that related to my interest and could be developed online, I must say that I was stuck thinking of what to select. Due to the growing presence of the internet, there are many different choices. I selected upon cooking as I was in a difficult spot when it came to making my own meals and it was something I had a bit of experience within High School. I established a baseline through a family recipe and the meal “Shepherd’s Pie!”

• In this week I came across my first challenge and I was able to resolve it through the use of Twitter
• I refreshed my experience with the Edusites platform. Before this it was based on my ECS 100 experiences and field placements.
• Another reason why I selected this topic was to assist others who could be in a similar position as me.
• COVID-19 has affected certain aspects of meal time, including the ability to eat with family and friends.

Week 2: There has to be a better way to eat: Making Progress

In the second entry, I knew cooking was going to be the focus on this assignment and selected Shepherd’s Pie, a dish that is a favorite in my family. After this, the next step was to make sure the proper ingredients were selected and get ready to go shopping. The first major online resource was introduced in the form of Googling different sources related to my project, for example the Canadian Food Guide.

• In this week’s post I took the opportunity to look at other examples of this meal, varying from different restaurants as well as other recipes that were common for others.
• By highlighting the different ingredients it would provide more context into the following week’s posts.

Week 3: The First step of Creating on YouTube: Knowing the Ingredients

The focus of this week allowed me to select the YouTube editor as a tool to assist in documenting progress in my learning project. I selected this platform as I found it easy to use and it allowed for different changes to be made to my video. There are 5 sections clearly broken down that guide the content creator in enhancing their video. I was able to edit, trim, and adjust my Youtube video to make sure the audio flowed smoothly. For this week I also headed out to the store to get what I needed to physically make my meal and take a series of photos.

• I uploaded my first official YouTube video.
• Applied the YouTube editor to the SAMR model in relation to the modification category as it allows for changing the core structure of different assignments to be video based.

Week 4: Understanding Different Perspectives

In this entry, I highlighted the process of taking my ingredients and then started cooking certain parts ahead of time, for example my potatoes, various spices, vegetables, and meat for the next step. The highlights for me in this entry included familiarizing myself with Youtube from a viewer perspective and watching a video guide on how to make Shepherd’s Pie. As well as I had the chance to log into a Tik Tok account and see how others on the platform were making their meals, and if any different perspectives were being offered. I was able to find a great Tik Tok source which explained how to make a Mexican inspired dish.

• I checked other Youtube videos for different perspectives and methods of different kitchen based tasks, for example loading the dishwasher.
• Confirming some of the different tools I would need.

Week 5: Cooking Time

For this entry I really focused on expanding my series of YouTube videos in order to continually highlight my progress in making my Shepherd’s Pie. I decided to continue to work with the YouTube editor as the process of taking photos and videos from the desktop. I found dragging items into the upload section was becoming easier and fluid. As well for this week I was able to adjust more settings in my Youtube videos as for both video 1 and Video 2. I was able to release it in high definition. In this week I was able to apply different points mentioned in class about believing different sources and how it impacts our ability to obtain and recognize the information. This could be seen through how pop culture could display a different form of Shepherd’s Pie and how history leads to one perspective becoming dominant over others.

• In this week I also continued to expand my experiences with Tik Tok by finding different examples of how to effectively clean up and organize different kitchen items.
• My Shepherd’s Pies were fully assembled and then after getting them properly prepared I was able to place them in the freezer for later use.

Week 6: Bon appétit!!

Moving into my final week of the learning project, my meal was finished and all prepared to be served for dinner. I wanted to expand the importance of social interaction during a meal and how spending time with others allows us to make more memories and enjoy ourselves.

• I had the chance to utilize Feedly as a resource to help me find a dessert that I could have with my supper and keep in mind for later use. Upon research, Feedly had a number of food based articles with easy to follow recipes.
• Using online research platforms such as Microsoft Edge I was able to find a number of articles that highlight the importance of eating as a family and the benefits it can have for both children and parents. The prominent benefits that I believe come from eating with others is the social interaction.

Where do I feel my Cooking skills are at?

Before the start of this semester and EDTC300 I didn’t have much experience in the field of cooking, but enough where I could prepare different items to get me through different assignments or term papers. It was unfortunate as I spent time cooking throughout High School and enjoyed my time when doing different tasks in the kitchen. By having the chance to work with different online tools and resources, such as articles and videos I see that the opportunity to learn more about this topic is easier now than before. I look to apply many of the news skills I taught during this in future semesters and believe that I will become more familiarized with different platforms such as YouTube and Tik Tok. This assignment was unique and really enjoyable as it gave me the chance to pursue a concept I never pictured returning to.

The key resources and support tools

1. The first tool that I found to be useful and enjoyable to use for my learning project was Tik Tok. Before the start of this class I was aware of Tik Tok as a social media platform although I never had an account or watched any content. After my third entry for this assignment, this changed as I was able to see different ways to make Shepherd’s Pie, properly organize different tools around my house and compare how others would do different tasks. This inspired me to keep Tik Tok in mind as a future educational resource.
2. YouTube is a growing platform which many of us have experience on and use often. I found it a great tool for easily creating personalized content and then sharing it with others. As an educator, YouTube can be used to watch videos that relate to our lessons or for students to share content.
3. Feedly is a great resource for anyone who could be invested into cooking as upon a simple search there are hundreds of different recipes and choices to follow. I look forward to seeing what options I can use from Feedly in the Future.