Continuing To Reflect

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In class we have talked about some very powerful and unsettling topics around things like Cyber-shaming and digital footprints. After watching some class videos and discussions with peers, it has opened my thoughts on the importance of teaching how to navigate through the online world and the dangers that can be out there.

For many years, the internet has been this amazing tool with endless information. What we forget about, is the danger behind the internet and those who use it for the wrong reasons. I think it is important to educate yourself and others about the harm that can be out there. This is also why I try to distance myself from the internet, I feel we are disconnected from the real world because everything you need to know can be right at your finger tips. Don’t get me wrong!! I get it, find answers to those questions you have been wondering about, or the best stuffed chicken recipe, how about the workout routine that what’s his name shared on how to get buff quick. Where would we be, if we were left in wonder? What if you didn’t need to know the answer to that question? or maybe making that chicken how you see fit. Or what about just working out to stay healthy? I have seen many different trends, I wonder if there will be a trend to “disconnect”?

HERE’S THE THING!! As future educators, we need to adapt all the time, and as much as I want to have my class not depend on technology, I understand we live in a digital world and it is my responsibility to teach and guide my students how to navigate the online world. Which starts with me, I need to have  an open mind, educate myself, and challenge myself to grow with the digital world! I can only hope the dark side of the internet changes over time, but for now, I plan to teach how to navigate through the good and bad of the digital world.

 

Reading the Green, The Algorithm Is Here

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Hey all!

For this post, I wanted to share some tips on reading the green with putting! This time I used two different resources, One being a YouTube video and the other a short podcast from Spotify! Wondering why I titled “The Algorithm is Here”, find out below!

Let’s back things up first! Reading the green is used to help a golfer understand / predict where your ball is going to go on the green based on slopes, angles, and even which going with or against the grain of the grass! This is something most people from beginners to pros think is the most crucial part of golf. But is reading the green really something you need to be really good at? well… good news! the answer is NO! You do NOT have to be really good at reading the greens to be a good golfer. What a relief! I will say, being able to have an idea of where your ball is going to go is usually helpful in the game of golf! Here’s what I learned on this weeks on reading the greens!

As it was a late evening, I was on my phone listening to music on Spotify. I went to search for a new song, and as I was typing the search bar auto populated a search recommendation called “golf tips”. I think I panicked and dropped my phone on the floor because never have I ever seen anything in my search on Spotify that was golf related! Now I know I have been searching lots on golf and talking about to friends and family! So why not Spotify! I went ahead and listened to the podcast called “Reading The Green” by GolfTipsForBeginners. Here’s what I learned from the 3 minute clip on Spotify on tips for reading the green!

Putting against the grain- If grass is a light shade, you are putting against the grain, the blades of grass are pointing toward you.

Putting with the grain-If grass is dark, you are putting with the grain, the blades of grass are pointing away from you.

Look for the setting sun! Grain often grows towards the setting sun.

One of the more common things that was talked about is looking for slopes on the green, putting uphill will take more swing power, while putting downhill will take less swing power.

Another trick for reading the green is based on feeling with your feet! yes, you read that right! If you feel the ground is soft the green, it is likely to be a slower green that might take more swing power, while if it is a hard ground, it might be a faster green and take less swing power. Another thing to keep in mind is if the ground is wet or dry as this will change ball speed!

Now listening only did so much for me, I needed to see more on reading greens! Which is where I found a great video by Brad Faxon and his take on reading greens! Here’s the LINK if you’d like to watch how Brad reads greens! This is what I took from Brad:

1.) Reading the green can happen 25-30 yards out from the green looking for slopes

2.) Walk around the green looking at grain, not just from behind your ball

3.) Be aware of playing partners

4.) Instinct and visualization, based on feel and seeing your putt through

5.) ROUTINE!!

The most helpful tip is #5! Make your routine and stick with it! building consistency through routine will build your confidence when you have the putter in your hand!

Stay tuned for more!

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching Digital Citizenship

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So I’m sitting outside reflecting on some of the articles, thinking about digital citizenship and how I might approach it in my future classroom. I started thinking what grade should we be introducing these 9 elements of digital citizenship. When I was in school, I never learned about anything related to the 9 elements. Now there was restrictions but we as students were never really educated on the digital world. The digital world is such a big of our lives now, we need to educate our students about the digital world throughout their educational journey.

The main question from the one article “Character Education for the Digital Age” by Jason Ohler is “should we teach our kids to have two lives or one?” This is a question I had to sit on for awhile. I am someone who struggles with the amount of technology kids are using today. What I am coming to understand, is that it is better to educate our students throughout their educational journey with digital citizenship to help them properly utilize the tool of the digital world. If I want to answer the question of two lives or one, I am going to lean towards one. For my future classroom, I envision the “one life” approach where mixing their digital experiences with their learning and understanding of community, values, and responsibility.

To break it down, I believe it is important to teach digital citizenship. If we are teaching our students about right and wrong in our classrooms, we need to teach the right and wrongs of the online world.

 

Keep the Tempo!

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This week I wanted to focus on my tempo when I am putting!

Tempo is how long your swing takes from the moment you pull the club into the backswing then follow through. I often wondered if there is a certain tempo you should use when you are putting. So I decided to get to work and start trying different tempo speeds. I tried many different speeds from slow to fast and really found that it didn’t really make to much of a difference for me other then it just felt uncomfortable!

I went golfing the other day on a course to try and put some things I learned into action. I think it was a good idea not keeping score that day because I wasn’t playing good and especially struggling with putting. As I was trying different tempos, I was starting to get frustrated because it seemed everything I tried wasn’t working. I went home and started to look up some videos and found a great trick to keep in mind when thinking about putting tempo.

Izidor Marik is a golf teacher at a golf course in the states and helps makes tutorial videos on YouTube with the account Rhythmic Golf. I would recommend checking their channel as they have some great videos on everything golf related to help you and your golf game!

I was intrigued when I was scrolling their channel and found a putting video that was titled “How To Find Your Perfect Putting Tempo By Using A Metronome”. Growing up playing piano, Metronome is something used in music to keep the tempo of a song. I NEVER would have thought it could be used to help me with putting. There was only one issue! I don’t have a metronome anymore! Ohhh but the internet is a wonderful place! You can actually just google metronome on and it has one for you!

So did it work?? well not exactly as I thought. No, I didn’t just use the metronome and my putting got better. I will say it did make me feel more in control. What I did learn, was that putting tempo is really a personal preference. I used the video as a guide and found what was comfortable for me!

Tempo is just a piece of the putting puzzle! Stayed tuned for more to come!

CHANGED WORLD NEW CULTURE

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RAPID RISE NUMBERS DONT LIE

Technology has for many years now been on a rapid rise with the amount of users being connected online. It’s more common to see young kids connected online outside and inside the classroom. I was blown away while reading some of the stats of how much teens are using social media and what this could mean for me as a future educator.

INCLUDING WESCH

For myself, I have more recently declined my use of social media. I was getting a feeling of being overwhelmed and almost controlled by social media. Although, after watching Michael Wesch and the video “An anthropological introduction to YouTube” I started to see the good again and the true reason why we can access this tool. It was understanding that technology isn’t just about consuming but actively participating and building things like community, expression, and identity. I am trying to shift into a celebration mindset of the new wave of empowerment and the unimaginable possibilities using technology, allowing for us to connect in ways we have never connected before.

STUDENT CENTERED GUIDING

When I think of technology in the classroom the first thing that came to mind was student centered learning, which focuses on meeting the needs of each student, including their interests, and adapting towards different learning styles. The reason why I think this is important because if our students are interested in various technology apps, games, etc..we can utilize that interest to spark engagement with our students. For example, I was teaching a lesson on environment and pollution, where students would draw a healthy environment and a polluted environment. I had one student who came to me and said their not good a drawing. We ended up being able to use an Ipad app that allowed for him to create the environment. My point being we need to set up our students for success and that can mean making adjustments to learning styles, incorporating technology and most importantly finding those interests. As educators, we can use the tools and resources we have to help guide our students learning.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Screen time, distractions, and misinformation are all things that could potentially be challenges you faces with technology in the classroom if not approached diligently. That being said there are some amazing opportunities where students can connect with others, share their voices, and have an meaningful learning experience! I hope I can find a balance when bringing in technology into my classroom and help guide students. I want to embrace the potential it has to create critical thinking and meaningful learning experiences.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The digital world isn’t going away anytime soon, rather then me resisting it, I need to re-think how I plan on teaching with it and how my students can learn from it. I think with technology our classrooms can become a place of creativity, connection, and have a meaningful impact with students.

CHECK THIS OUT!

Here is an interesting take by Maylin Zhu on Finding Balance In A World Saturated With Screens.

 

Puppet Pals 2

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Have you always wanted to create cartoons for a school assignment? what if your cartoon could help learn and create amazing things?? Look no further then Puppet Pals 2! This resource is fun and engaging for students!

With Puppet Pals 2, students can allow their imagination to come to life by creating their very own cartoons! Where characters are picked from standard curriculum which allows for students to learn valuable lesson without even knowing. Puppet Pals allows for students to engage in curriculum through a unique and fun app!

How can this be used in the classroom?

Puppet Pals 2 is a great tool to include in your classrooms because of the many different things you can use it for such as:

  • Instructional videos
  • Retelling historic events
  • Story telling
  • Book reports
  • Brainstorming
  • Assist ESL learners with language and fluency

This is a tool I would definitely consider bringing into my classroom because its a fun and unique way to include technology into my students learning! The two things I really like about this app is the story telling option and the ability for it to assist with ESL learners. This is another great tool that can be used as a learning strategy!

Back to the Basics of Putting

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Lets get Started!!!

I was thinking of where to start in this putting process because I already have a basic understanding of putting. I thought it would benefit me if I went back to the basics! My first resource is a YouTube channel called Top Speed Golf by Clay Ballard. The one I picked to watch is one of his golf lesson videos called Putting Basics.

During this video, Clay breaks down an introduction of putting covering the basic information to get someone started. The video highlights and details four key components for putting which are grip, stance, ball position and stroke mechanics, and tips for a smooth stroke.

1.) GRIP: How to hold the putter

Convectional Grip– Used by most golfers

Left Hand Low– Opposite to the convectional grip by place left hand low on the grip

The Claw– A grip that can takeaway common faults in many golfers, the claw allows for the left wrist to be locked, while the right holds for control.

I tried some different grips on the putter and realized that the “Claw” and “convectional grip” work best and gives a feeling of control and stability.

2.) STANCE: How far apart you keep your feet

Wide Stance- Is okay, but can tend to lose rhythm when putting

Normal Stance- (like talking to someone) or just inside shoulder width apart.

One thing I’ve noticed, is that your stance can be in many different forms as long as its comfortable and works for you. I went with a normal stance which was comfortable and worked for me.

3 & 4.) BALL POSTISION AND STROKE MECHANICS: Where to have your ball placed between your feet and the mechanics of your upper body when swinging the putter.

Ball Position– have ball centered in the middle so if you drew a line back, it it would end up in the middle between your feet. This helps with the ball rolling end over end which is what pro golfers do to create the best roll of their ball. One of the keys of ball position, is having your eyes above the ball, not behind, in front, off to the side but above the ball. In the video, Clay gives an example of how you can tell if your eyes are in the right position by taking a object (ball, tee, etc) from your eyes and dropping down. If your eyes are in the right spot, the object should land right on top or in the target line of the ball.

Stroke Mechanics- Many golfers including myself have heard of the “pendulum” or “grandfather clock” mechanic of putting. During the video, Clay mentions this is totally fine to use this method..BUT!!!! There are little adjustments you can make so you are getting that end over end roll. I had a learning moment during this part of the video!! The video mentions how when pulling back the putter, you want it closer to the ground..compared to when following through, the club is coming up. This allows for the ball to get a better roll.

Overall this is a great resource and helped remember some key tips and tricks when putting. Even though I had some understanding of putting before, I still had some learning moments such as where your eyes need to be over the ball when putting. I had some challenges this week because I strained my neck and wasn’t able to grab my putter other then to try some grips!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Torn Between The Screen

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Technology is a big part of our world right now and in some ways it’s hard for me to wrap my head around, especially being someone who loves the outdoors. That being said, I do enjoy the mindless scrolling of Instagram, snapchat, and playing videos sometimes. I rely so much on technology with my school and my journey of becoming a teacher that it worries me sometimes if I’ll be able to keep up with the rapid changes of technology.

Video games would be the most distraction but during this time I am usually catching up with buddies who are online, were basically having a group phone call and it makes us feel all connected even though we are all living in different places. I have set timers on my tech to help reduce my screen time, which I find really helps give me a que that I need to take a break from the screen.

It is hard finding a balance for the two..I use technology for a lot of personal well being but also for mindless scrolling. This is where I am “Torn Between The Screen” because I use tech in some ways to educate myself on things that are usually spent without tech. For example, I’ll look up camping tips and tricks on google or see them on Instagram, but when I’m out camping I am far from connected to my phone.

When I was thinking about technology, I started to watch some Ted Talks on Youtube and I found a very interesting Ted Talk by Darlene Damm. Darlene discusses the good and evil of tech. Where do I stand with technology?? I’m not sure..still torn between the screen.

 

 

 

Putting to Perfection!

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Hey all!

I was all over the map with debating what I was going to do! It started with a garden then guitar and many other ideas! I have always loved to golf even though I struggle often when I golf! There is no better time to get better then right now! I am going to be improving my putting skills hopefully! For me, it is usually a guessing game when I putt, just get on the green and hit. I’ll be looking at things like form, pace, and reading greens which will hopefully improve my putting!