My How-To Play the Harmonica

So I am finally done my harmonica video. It took a lot of time and patience, but it is finally completed. I tried to use the plethora of different things we learned through out the term. The beginning process, I had to read through the The Hal Leonard Book, to pick and choose the most vital information for the video. I then proceeded to make a script, putting it into my own words. I then asked my boyfriend to use his digital camera to take a series of videos of me demonstrating the correct techniques, notes on the harmonica and a couple of different ways to play the harmonica. You'll notice a few giggles here and there, and trust me there were many takes to try and correct those giggles, but when someone is making ridiculous faces it is hard to keep your composure. I used windows movie maker to put the videos into the series I wanted. I edited them to the best of my ability. Hopefully you will get a giggle too. I didnt want to make the video too long, because as we have discussed before, videos that are too long, lose the viewers interest. I used audacity of splice my background music. I thought it was really important to add some other media such as the pictures and music so the video did not get boring. So I searched on google and Flickr to find the right photos. Another way that I tried to do this was change angles and also scenes.As you can see I went outside for some of the shots. Instead of reading out the keys on the harmonica I thought it would be neat to draw them in chalk on my sidewalk. Even though the sun was pretty bright that afternoon, I think it turned out pretty neat. I really enjoyed making this video and I learned a lot from it. I tried my best to keep it as interesting as possible and use the most interesting information as possible as well. I will be honest though, when you watch this video you will not be able to play like the greats, however like everything else in this wrold, practice makes perfect and I think this is a great way to start!

Pecha Kucha

Here is my Pecha Kucha presentation. I as unaware that we were be speaking in front of the class so I spent some time and definetly some patience in Audacity. For that reason, I am going to post this on my blog and then I will speak in class. It expresses the highs and lows of this journey, but that I am grateful for the experience and the knowledge nonetheless. It is kind of silly, but enjoy.

Social Learning Update

Well this has a been quite the journey. At the beginning of this class I was very skeptical about the online learning age. And to be honest I still am a little bit. It hasnt been easy however, I have learned many great things throughout this class from Dean, the guest speakers and especially my classmates. I have never blogged before but, like Dionne said I was also blown away by the power of it. I really enjoyed reading others blogs as I was able to gain new perspectives on certain issues. As an artist I always love other peoples opinions because I think they are an imporant aspect when creating my opinion. When hearing (or reading) others ideas, I feel that I can be a more well-rounded indivdivual. This is why blogging is great and why this class was also great. I may have never been able to know my peers opinions on things while in a classroom face-to-face. Whether we like it or not, some of us are out going and some of us are not. I am one that falls into the "not outgoing" catergory and I would find it hard to say some of things I have said in my blog. That is why I have appreciated this experience because I have had a certain type of freedom that I would not have had in the classroom. This is also why I think a blog for my one-day students is a good idea. So everyone gets a chance to speak and be heard. So thankyou to everyone that read my blog and I also want to thankyou for speaking out as well because it helped me put this online thing into more perspective and that is what social learning is all about!

Choices
Life is full of winding roads,
it's up to you to choose.
The flat lands may be easier,
but the hills...they have more views!
-Jody Bergsma

Tech Task #3

I was completely unaware that we had to write on one of the blogs from our Google Reader. Nonetheless I found an interesting blog this morning by a Teacher named Heather Ross from Saskatoon. She is an instructional designer at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology. Heather Ross wrote a really great blog called "Doomed by our love for the Drive Through?". It is about how there is a great loss in the communinty with the amount of time people are in their cars. We can do so much while sitting in our automoblies we dont have to interact with anyone (Tim Hortons and other fast foods, banking, gas etc.) All of these things are impeding our communication with the outside world. Sure, we give a smile here, a wave there and a $20.00 bill here there and everywhere, but like Heather said ( and I can not say it in any better words) the less we interact with the people around us in our communities "the less we care about their well-being and the less they care about ours". We need to start from scratch and let people know that there is some kindness out there and that people are willing to open doors and pick up their fallin change. Or even what Amber when helping the older woman with her bags. If this does not happen, will we all be stuck in our homes and cars and completely lose faith that humanity exists?
I was thinking this could go one step farther and Dean may not like this. But, online classes kind of follow this same pattern. We do not have face-to-face social interactions. A virtual smile simply does not cut it. At least our generation has has been exposed to both ways of the classroom, online and not. What about the generations in years to come? Will all classes be online? Will they have a good vocabulary, will they even know how to prounounce words? Will they know how to shake hands, or will they even have manners in general? Our world is changing so quickly and I do realize that online classes definetly have their ups and I am hoping that the downs that I worry about will not surface.
Please read Heather Ross' blog at: http://www.mctoonish.com/blog/?p=488. Also in this blog she put a cute video that portrays greatly what she was talking about in her blog. Check it out, you can't beat old cartoons, this one gave me a smile.
"The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention"
-Oscar Wilde

Final Project.

I haven't informed you to the fullest of my final project. What I plan to do is make tutorial on how to play the harmonica. I am going to take a video with a digital camera of myself explaining how to play, such as the different notes, cords, how to clean it, how not to clean it etc. I will use Windows Movie Maker to put it all together, with pictures I have found on the internet and also some songs that have the harmonica that I really enjoy. Since I have come down with a bad cold (got blood taken for mono today), I do not really have a voice to do this. I am going to have to wait until next weekend to film this. However, I have found all of the other information I need to use. So I think I will be alright. Thats all for now, I think I need some honey lemon tea and buckleys.

Podcastin' Problems Prevented.

Thankyou to Robin yet again. In one of her blog posts she gave a link to a site that turns my audio into an html and lets me embed it into my blog!It was under the blog title Skyping with Maria Knee. So here you go, my very first podcast. Music at the beginning is by a great old school ska band called The Specials. I hope you enjoy this and maybe find some of it helpful!

Set your goals high enough to inspire and low enough to encourage you.
-Author Unknown

podcast problems

I have finsihed my podcast, I am just currently trying to figure out how to put the mp3 onto my Blog. If anyone knows how, fill me in! Otherwise I think I am going to have to post it on YouTube, and then embed it from there. I really don't want to do that though, so if anyone knows of an alternative, I would love to know and would be very thankful!
In the meantime I will share with you an email I recieved the other day. I love nature so I thought this was pretty neat. As you can see to your right, is an iceberg.I cebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed
by layers of snow that react to different conditions. Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet fills up with meltwater and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form. When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can
freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a
green stripe.
I thought these were very beautiful. And even thought the weather has been nice lately, do not let it fool you, it is possible for it to get cold again. I do hate being a pessimist, really, but the bright side is, our earth wouldnt have these beautiful things without the feezing weather right? So thank Mr. Winter sometimes, because he needs some love too.

Google Maps

I had already made a map on Google Maps, for one of my videos. However, I did not go into full detail as I did for this one. As Amber said, I could not figure out how to do the video portion of the assignment. Anyhow, here is my trip to Jamacia!

View Larger Map

Educational How-To Podcasts

For my second and educational podcast, I chose "One- Minute How-Tos". I thought this was perfect for my final project and others as well and there were many helpful how-to videos. for example, How-to make a website, How-to get noticed on Flickr, if these apply to you, I really suggest that you download them because they are quick audios packed with information. The one I chose was "How-to Perform before an audience". For my Aesthetics Education class I have to perform a song I wrote and play the harmonica. Now, I have expressed in the passed that I have a little bit of stage fright, and I thought this would be very valuable to me. Some of the tips were given by a man named Ken. He is from Dallas Texas and performs something he called "bad attitude comedy" he said he has had encoutners of messing up on stage therefore he thought he was qualified gave these tips:
-assess audience, how old are they, adopt an attidue to fit with their attitudes
-embrace your fear, when you do this at least you know your alive
-practice your material till your sick of it
-persevereve till your done, even if you mess up like forgetting a lyric, it is okay. The point is if you dont try at all then it truly will be a failed attempt
accept the fact that you are terrified and do it anyway
-give self freedom to be horrible because if you do forget that lyric you will have experienced that moment of blankness and know how to cope with it for next time. You will always learn something new
-set up and survey the performance space before hand, then when you go back you feel more comfortable.
This short educational video helped me for a number of reasons. It showed me that everyone gets frightened on stage, at least once in their life. But if you hang in their, people will respect the fact that you had the courage to perform in front of them. It was also helpful because it gave me confidence to know that I already know my audience as they are my peers. I am guessing they will be supportive of me, whether they like my music or not.
These one minute How-To's are great, in addition to this specific video, as a how-to video in general, it will help me create my final project. These videos didnt supply or rather, fill their video with useless information. They were straight forward and too the point and this kept my interest. I think keeping it short and directly share my information.

Podcast of my choice

I love my ipod. I know I criticize technology but, truly my life would be less without music, and what better way to transport it in such a mini device as the ipod. I used to ahve podcasts on it as well, but my space got a little low so I had to remove the wonderous "Flight of the Conchords" so I could continue to put on my sweet jams. Nonetheless, I really liked looking through the podcasts and I also enjoyed that they were free :). So browsing through them the other day I found one that sparked my interest. It was Rolling Stone magazine doing reports on many artists which I love, like Paul McCartney, Al Green, so I subscribed to the whole thing. The one in which I will explain to you about it about the replacement of Conan O'Brian on the Late Show by Jimmy Fallon. Now, I think Conan is hilarious and am sad to see him go but, Jimmy Fallon ain't bad. He's never let me down on Saturday Night Live so I am hoping he can live up to my expectation and the Conan Fans expectations around the world. A plus about Jimmy is his house band will be the great hip-hop group, The Roots. They are a very talented band from Phildelphia, they play anything from blues to soul to punk to surf. I will leave you a little taste of their music from way back when called "The Seed". I chose this podcast because I love music, and Rolling Stone magazine, so what better way to get it for free on itunes, then to pay for the paper copy. HOWEVER, I will continue to buy the ones I am interested in because I think they are a collectors item and they have a lot of politcial and current event criticsm that I value, that you do not get on the podcasts. I will get the best of both worlds, I will be able to sample the music from itunes, and feed my brain with actually reading the hand held copy. I was not able to get the actual version of "The Seed" as it was disabled by request. I was able to get a live version, but please check out the real video if you like the live version, because the actual song and video are superb. I'll give you a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFb9UqELX8w
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Mentorship

My mentorship has come to an end. I recieved the students' final essays on Thursday with their grade on them. Maura Moritz had marked all of the essays and also done some corrections on google docs, so I could see what she approved on and what she didn't. Besides some grammar errors, and some structural issues, the essays were very well done. Two out of the three essays recieved a 90% and the other a 95%. All in all I think that those are some pretty darn good marks. I would be pretty excited if I recieved those marks. I hope that I contributed to those marks and helped the students learn a few things about essay structure and over all essay writing. I valued this experience and feel like learned a lot myself. It gave me an opportunity to better my skils of giving contructive criticism. Reading these essays also helped me in my essay writing becuase it reiderated things I have forgotten about. Thankyou to Maura Moritz for allowing me to help her students and to Dean for giving me this opportunity!

Oh! The Grandeur!

I had an extremely blessed and eventful weekend. On Friday, I anxiously awaited class to be over, as I had tickets for the "Whose Line is it Anyway?" show at the Dakota Dunes Casino in Saskatoon. It was simply hilarious. After the show my boyfriend and I tried our hand at one of the slot machines. Now we are not gamblers at all, but we thought we should try it once as we would probably never be back their again. So we limited ourselves to five dollars, we put the bill in one slot machine and came out with nine dollars, we thought maybe we would get even luckier so we tried another machine. We put in our nine dollar ticket and our luck slowly faded. We were down to two dollars and the rebel that Graem is bet it all, I pulled the leever the numbers started shooting up, to be honest we had no idea what was going on but, we ended up with 90 clams! Needless to say we were pretty excited. So we walked away with the money. On Sunday, the luck was still flowin through our vains. We get a call from my auntie and she had some excellent news. She had two extra tickets for the Eagles concert! Graem and I obviously accepted. I am a huge Eagles fan, but my wallet could not afford the show, so I was extatic. The show was amazing. They played all of my favorites, and they sound exactly the same in person as they do on their records. It was by far the best concert I have ever been to, and if I had 200 dollars, I surely would have gone. But since I do not, Graem and I will have to do something nice for my auntie. Anyhow, that was my awesome weekend, I hope everyone else had a great one too! :)

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
-G.K Chesterton

Tech task 12

This tech task was a little challenging for a few reasons. There are an abundance of pointless videos on youtube thus it was hard to find one that met the criteria of this assignment. I thought I would narrow my search and look through commercials. There must be a point to them as they are advertising their item and it must be visaully stimulating for the viewer to consider their product. So I thought it was a good starting point. I found this car commercial and I quite enjoyed it. It was entertaining, and there are many neat angles they use to convey the comedy of the commercial such as long shots, medium long shots, medium and close ups. I liked how it began with their day and the vehicle was the first thing on their mind. When the woman went into the shower and got electrecuted, I liked how they put the camera in a different room, this was obviously to get away from showing the unrealistic event that occured to her, but it was a good idea to show it possibly from her husbands view. I liked that they played tricks on eachother to prevent one another to driving the vehicle, the angles they took, when the man had his hair lit on fire was cool, how they showeed his reflection in the mirror. It was also neat at the end, when the man is driving away and he looks in the rear view mirror at the explosion rather, than us seeing the actual house. They used actions instead of words and I liked that as well. Its also a great song that they chose, "So happy together" by The Turtles. At first we are lead to believe that the song is representing the man and wife's love for one another, but we then realize that it is actually their love for their car. All in all, it kept the viewer intrigued and it must be a good car, if the couple is more intersted in it, then eachother. Kind of sad, but it follows the theme of the commercials unrealistic and comedic nature.

Mentorship

Hello Everyone, right now I am going to do a Mentorship update. I believe that the students are coming to an end with their essays. They are all very well done. There was a lot of revision stages, which I have learned is very important, in University, and simply in everything. Here's a look at how we have been communicating for the past 4-5 weeks. I really enjoyed going through Google Docs, it was a little hard, seeing as I didn't know much about the students, but I thought the process we used to communicate the essays, was easy and effective. I would like to use this method with my students, if I ever have the opportunity. I am still waiting for one more essay today, I think. They all may completed now, and the one that I am waiting for may have thought that they do not need to do any more revision. As you can see, this is a flaw with using Google Docs, and not knowing the students very well. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed reading their essays and offering my help.


A hug is a perfect gift- one size fits all, and
nobody minds if you exchange it.
-Ivern Ball

I'm Goin' Again.

I had been looking at a variety of different sites to do my second story with. One of them was Bubbleshare, and I thought that I would give it a shot. So I joined up. Bubble Share was a little bit easier than Voicethread, but that being said it isnt as interesting. I simply typed in the story rather than speaking it, which can be a plus or a minus, depending on how you look at it. I liked the voice bubbles in Bubbleshare, and also you can add little icons into your slides which I thought was neat. I do not know if this is as entertaining as my other one, but, Bubbleshare didn't stress me out as much as Voicethread. I again, couldn't find where to add music. But one of my videos applys to a visual learner, and the other applys to an audio learner, therefore I am happy with both of them. Embeding both stories was made very simply by both sites even though they were a little different. With Voicethread, it was put right into my blog, where as with BubbleShare, I had to copy and paste the HTML. A plus with Bubbleshare was that I had the option of choosing what size I wanted my story to be displayed in. They both have their pros and cons, much like everything else!
BubbleShare: Share photos - Easy Photo Sharing

Goin' Up The Country

So, I have done tech task eleven and it was kind of a challenge for me. As I had said before, I wanted to use voice thread. I think it is a really great tool to use in the classroom as people can comment and doodle, two things art students probably like to do. Nonetheless I had trouble setting up my video. It is most likely because I am not the most computer literate person out there, but it did take me awhile. I found how to record my voice, but I could not see how to add music in the background. So I just played the song while I spoke. It may be a little bit choppy, but I still like the outcome of the story. This story may not have been the best for voicethread, but I can see it would be useful for many other kinds of stories, such as Dionnes. You just have to click the exit box, and play if it doesnt show up right away. I got all of my photos, from flickr, but the one map from google maps and the last one is my own.Anyhow, I hope you like it, this song always makes me happy, it is by an old band called Canned Heat.

patience is a virtue, right?

Aloha everyone, I say that because, today in Saskatoon it is not blistering cold. It is a mere, -10. I know it is strange for us to be adapted to such cold, even to the point where we think below temperatures is warm. Anyhow, I love the winter nonetheless, the blue sky against the white ground and the frost make a lovely scene.
The weather is not really what I wanted to talk about today. I was going to begin doing 50+ ways to tell a story assignment. I read a few blogs before starting, such as Dionne's. She said that she really enjoyed Voicethread, so I decided to check it out. She was right, it is a really neat site, so I decided to join up. I wanted to check the criteria for the assignment before I began to be fully sure about what I was doing. But, when I went to do so, the site was not working! I tried on my boyfriends computer, and mine, numerous times, but I think the server must be down. I guess my assignment will have to wait a little bit longer, but I will keep checking the site throughout the day. In the meantime I will play around on Voicethread and check out some other sites that Alan listed.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

facebook frenzy and final project

I understand that facebook has become a universal way of communication. I understand that my students in the future will probably use facebook. I think as being a teacher it may be a good tool to use, as I know I use it on a daily basis. I would be able to communicate with my students outside of class, on a seperate account. I am worried about the industrial revolution, but I know that I ahve to embrace it. When we were talking in our group, I had said that when I was a child, I was given and piece of paper and crayons and was let free. Instead with todays age it seems as if students are prohibted to a paint by numbers. Their imaginiation in constricted to technology and hopefully I am wrong. Creatity may get lost and that is what worries me.
Alan Levine also seems to be worried about stiffling creativity. I really enjoyed his presentation, here is his blog: http://cogdogblog.com/
For my final project I will be making a tutorial video on how to play the harmonica. I have been learning how to play for my Aesthetic Education class, and I think it would be really neat to combine technology to it. Dean suggested that I use imovie, but I am not too sure. I am thinking that I will look at the different options Alan Levine gave us. There are many options so I'll have to do some exploring!
I know some of you are feeling overwhelmed with school right now. But there isn't much longer left to hang in there, and maybe this will help.

Oh, busy ones, whose souls grow faint,
whose tasks seem longer than the day?
It doesn't take a cloistered saint
to find a little time to pray.
-Author Unknown

miles and miles away.

Hey everyone, as Robin just did, I'll give an update on my mentorship. It is going really well. I am helping 3 groups of about 5 English students from Maura Moritz's class. They have class every tuesday and thursday and send me their essays over Google Docs. I reply back to them the same way. As I said before they are writing essay on the novel " A Brief Moment in the life of Angus Bethune". They are sending me their essays and I am to give them feedback. So far their essays are wonderfully done. I have been telling them what i have learned throughout the years about writing essays. Such as, supporting your statements with evidence from the book such as quotations. Also, using corect transitions and exlpaining to them that each word they choose to put in their essay, must be put there for a reason other than to fill up space.I am giving them praise and constructive criticism that they can take if they wish. I really enjoy reading their essays and they have done such a good job, I feel like I have read the book. They are not quite finished yet, as I think some revision for proper grammar and some more quotations is needed. I enjoy helping them out even if I am not an English major. I feel like I have some good insight into essay writing since being in University and hope that my advice will help them with this essay and in the future.
Anyhow, I am missing home today, so I think I will go and listen to some Buddy Miles to fit my bluesy mood.


Knowledge is not the same as wisdom;
wisdom is the application of knowledge.
-Heather Kaitlyn Barclay

Glogster

Tech Task #10 is finito, and I really enjoyed doing this assignment. Glogster is like doing crafts on the computer. I think this would be a great tool to use in my classroom. Kids could create collages about themselves and their interests therefore I would be able to learn more about them. Even how they spaced their pictures and the ones they chose would allow me to understand where their artisitic abilities lie.Picking 4 phots was a challenge, but fun nonetheless. Hope everyone is having a good break!

Priceless

I have created my Mastercard video. I was unsure about what to do, but I thought this was an appropriate subject because, well I simply love my dog. I found photos off flikr of torn up couches etc. but, the last photo is of my dog, Tessa. She is a golden lab, and she reeks havoc all of the time, though we have never caught her in the act. I used Windows Movie Maker to create this, like the others and I really enjoyed doing it. I hope you like the final outcome of Tech Task #9!

How To Save The Earth

While looking for presentations I fell upon this one. This slideshow does not only have wonderful photos it is something that I am passionate about and that people are trying to deny. Our world is dissolving before our eyes, and this beautiful place we call home is going to be gone before we know it. We should appreciate what we have been blessed with, and our land, nature, water, everything that mother nature provides us should not be taken for granted. So watch, enjoy, reduce reuse and recycle!

How To Save The Earth

View more presentations from Melvin Pereira. (tags: about the earth awesome)

Mentorship

I have recieved an email from Maura Moritz and her students. I will be working with ten students mentoring them with their essay regarding Chris Crutcher's short story about "Angus Bethune".He is an author and this is the link to the preview the book they are reading. It touches on alot of sensitive subjects such as weight and sexuality. http://www.amazon.com/Athletic-Shorts-Six-Short-Stories/dp/0060507837 .I am excited to begin working with them, and have begun researching the story. This is their agenda for their term. They do some really neat things for example, one day they got to bring their mp3 players to schoo I know I never got to do that in highschool. But it just adds to my undersntading that schools are changing, and technology is really big part of that change. http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/TEACHERPAGES/MrsMoritz/ElementsofCompositionI/tabid/1913/Default.aspx
Anyhow, hopefully I will be a helpful tool in their classroom! I have not heard from my other mentor yet, but maybe soon.

Today, I am feeling like a little like Alex. I am overwhelmed with the stresses of homework and that school is demanding. For example, the teachers of the classes I am to be mentoring have not emailed me back yet. I would like to begin blogging and know my mentoring fate. I know that patience is a virtue and I understand to the fullest that these teachers have a far larger load than I. Hopefully, it is simply that time is not on their side at the moment, and I will receive an email soon. I am excited to begin this journey. Just stressin' a little, hopefully it is simply my obsessive neurosis. Dean if you read this, maybe some guidance would be helpful and appreciated.

P.s- Robbie, if you read this, you are hilarious. I enjoy your humour, post it more. :)

Last night I dreamed that I ate a ten pound marshmallow. When I woke up, my pillow was gone. Remember... always dream big.
-Tommy Cooper

Smart Board Presentation

The Smart Board is s-m-a-r-t! This method of teaching may not fully apply to a visual arts class, but I am sure that it would come in handy. There are a few aspects to the smart board I really enjoy such as; the classroom can project video output, students can interact with digital content, annotate thinking, sharing files with parents is a great way for parents to be involved in their child's life, instruction can be easier, being able to share information and it can apply to the multiple intelligences. In a visual art classroom I would be able to show the students art from around the world. It could be by students or artists from the Romantic period, you name it and it is an accessible teaching tool. I really like the fact the information can be posted to a website after for further studying. Video conferencing outside of school is neat to. This could be very useful for students who find it difficult to concentrate in class they can go back and find information on their own time or go over what was taught that day or even contact the teacher for more explanation. I remember when I was a kid and even now, when I fall behind in a class I get very stressed out, I would have longed to access my teacher because my worries are always heightened in the evening, when it feels like time is running out. I would appreciate questions to be clarified. Visual Arts will be very much hands on but the smart board is too. I can really appreciate the art world that can be exposed to my students and hope that I will get the chance to try it out someday.

winterwonderland

Even though Sasktoon brought on the cold the feeling of warmth was in the air.

Sasktoon held an event called Winter Fest that had ice scultpures, entertainment, and lantern making. My love and I made our lanterns and then proceeded to walk around river landing. Making the lanterns was easy and fun. It was something I would like to do in the classroom. We got to learn about the Chinese new year which is another reason it would be good to do with students. They would learn about new cultures which is also something I value. As we walked the moon brightly shone off the river while the glistening snow reflected the warm red glow from our lanterns. It was lovely. In this photo some lady insisted on taking our picture in this ice chair. She was nice though, and I am glad she did.


Therefore, love moderately;long love doth so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.
- William Shakespear

To be rich or not to be rich, that is the question.

First of all, everything Sir Ken Robinson said about schools killing creativity is simply true. He stated that we "stigmatize mistakes". If we did not make mistakes we would not learn and nothing would be new or creative . Also he states, "that we create a heirarchy of subjects", concentrating on the most useful subjects for the work field and discounting the options for fine arts careers. We need to "celebrate the human imagination". Creativity is a way to express ones self and release inner emotion which is one of the most beautiful actions that one can do. Why would we ever want to hinder that?
I also watched, Benjamin Wallace: Does happiness have a price tag? This journalist was supplied with a budget to go around tasting and experiencing the worlds most expensive luxuries. He sampled wine from 1947, called Cheval Blanc, that he said wasnt all it was hyped up to be. He was given apair of 800 dollar jeans made from the finest organic fibers of Japan and he said that he has not had one compliment on them in the months that he's had them. He tried numerous other things such as soap with silver leafs embeded, white truffles, kobe beef for 160 dollars, and when it arrived it was tiny. This man got to try a plethora of things that millionairs and billionaires experience everyday. While we sit in our dorms eating cans of soup that cost 1.00. Are those people happier than us? At the end of this mans presentation he said that a gathering of people were sat down and given a vairety of wine to sample. Each bottles price was marked falsely. The cheapest was labelled most expensive and so on. While these people drank their wine, they were also given MRI brain scans simultaneously. Not only did these people say they enjoyed the one with the higher price tag, but their brains scans said so too. This is hard for me to comprehend. Possibly everyone is different. Maybe if you have the money to spend and are willing to splurge on ridiculous items then it could possibly be rewarding? But I also think that those people should have MRI’s to get their head out of their you know what. With all the people suffering around the world how can one be so self-absorbed that they must spend so much money on material things. If the most expensive things make one happy, they do not know true happiness. As true happiness is completely free. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/benjamin_wallace_on_the_price_of_happiness.html
To comment on a peers video; Alex's about war photography is truly a jewel. In our aesthetics class we were speaking about an aesthetic (beautiful) experience. Now, beauty comes in many shapes and forms. I think that you have an aesthetic experience if you stop for a moment, realize and appreciate all of the wonderful things you and your life have been blessed with. James Nachtwey's photography is beautiful, not only because of the composition or the angle but, because we realize how lucky we are. Also because, as Alex said, "he is spreading a powerful message of hope, and help for others". http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/JAMESNACHTWEY-2007_high.flv
K-12- Online Conference: Leading the change, Overcoming Entropy by Louise Maine
Entropy= chaos. Move from an disorganized pattern to an organized one.
This video was about how to kickstart change in the classroom, while promoting a healthy balance of energy, responsiblity, encouragement and support. Maine states "From entropy comes opportunities. To decrease entropy, we must uninvest in the conventions of previous ways of schooling." Much like Sir Ken Robinson, Maine sees creativity as a way to learn experience and grow, which is what education is all about. Maine also says "Talk about what you know, even if you do not consider yourself an expert." If you have confidence in your presentation and you put alot of planning intoit , the students will recognize your effort and hopefully see value and give you respect. Maine explains about the importance "for visual aspects" because they create energy, which also applies to the multiple intelligences. Encourage students constantly. If they fumble, they must try again and must be assured that mistakes are all part of the learning process, and that "the path need not be so narrow" meaning there are many ways to do things. Also in relation to Sir Robinson whom stated that from mistakes comes the unique Maine to encourages students to "Take risks, solve problems, and overcome obstacles". As a teacher "continual reflection and feedback" are very imporant to make students feel they are moving forward instead of backward; "be a coach".
This video showed me that being a teacher takes alot of time, energy and creativity on my part. I value hardwork and I know that it will always be worth it in end. To help at least one child find their inner selves or their inner creativity will be a mission accomplished and happiness that money cannot buy. http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=345

tools for the future

With the very knowledgable and helpful, Robin Howell, I was able to figure out the tech tasks. I was able to get my igoogle page set up and she also showed me how to make a spreadsheet. So, thankyou very much Robin, it is greatly appreciated.
After looking through Google For Education I realized there were many great tools and aspects to the site. First of all, you know that I am not a huge fan of technology but the Google Book Search is a way to combine technology and the old fashioned way of doing things. I think Blogger is a great to gain perspectives of other teachers, which I previously stated that I value. The classroom activties are great for new ideas too. I like Google maps and earth as well. I love learning about new cultures and I think I will be able to acquire insight into some new heritages, maybe thinking of new projects or art ideas to do with my students.

There are many great tools for education on Google For Education. I am positve I will be using it in the future.
Here's my survey:http://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=pBE2LZfrfFYN1Lbq-2KjoJg

A wise old owl lived in an oak;
The more he saw, the less he spoke;

The less he spoke, the more he heard.

Why can't we be like that old bird?
-Edward Hersey Richards

bummer dude.

Lastnights class was horrendous. Over dramatic? Perhaps, but I was upset, as I hate falling behind. I was probably getting on some peoples nerves, and I quite apologize. But due to my poor internet connection I failed to hear and see most of the presentation. Due to that fact I am left in the dust and the recording is not posted either. So I am sitting in the dark, simply knowin nothin'. Next time I will have to go down to lab, a lagging computer just aint my cup-o-tea. Hopefully, setting everything up isnt too difficult or time consuming. Maybe I will be able to view the recoring soon. Anyhow, I'll give it a shot this weekend.

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.
-Joseph Addison
(So, I'm sendin you both)

The first.

Yesterday, was my first experience with an online class.
I am still undecided if I fully enjoyed it or not. For these following reasons:
CONS

-I tend to get a tad worked up when things do not appear to be working for me. I get in sort of a panic, if you will. So, I was quite worried, when I was setting up my mic and that failed, and then my blog failed. But, a love of mine, that I was with at the time, who often encourages me to relax, helped me to do so, and figure some things out.
- It was quite fast paced. I was trying to set all of these things up, while listen and read the conversations happening as well.
-I was nervous and frazzled and wasn't able to ask the questions that I had. Others did ask some of things I was wondering, but I hope I do not get penalized for lack of participation to the degree of some of the others.
PROS
-I learned alot of new things, in which I had no idea about before. Though, the information is still a little bit fuzzy, I hope I'll be able to manage.
- I found it very neat that we could be speaking and learning from someone who is not only across the world, but has a new perspective.
- As a teacher in the works and artist I value opinions and perspective so I think this class will be a great host for both of those things.
So as you can see I am stuck with equal pros and cons. It is was nice to see people helping eachother out, I know I appreciated it. I think I will be ready to give it another go. Next time I will know what to expect and will be better mentally prepared. Thats all for now.

Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain.
-Helen Keller

To whom it may concern,

I have come to Regina in hopes to become a highschool art teacher, yet I travel back home when the weather blesses me with clear skies and dry roads. I am from the beautiful city of bridges, Saskatoon.You may ask, if you love Saskatoon so much, why did you come here? Well, the answer is simple; the Education program in Regina is superior to Saskatoon. Nonetheless, the experience of leaving the nest has left me sad and lonely yet it has granted me with responsiblity, strength and knowledge in my field of study; though I have much to learn.
I am a happy-go-lucky kid, hopelessly stuck in the 70's. I haven't been brought up to be very familiar with technology. Thus, I would prefer to paint and make paper cranes, sing and play guitar, instead of surf the net. This does not mean in any way, shape or form that I discount, discourage or am ignorant to the fact technology is a great tool for a plethora of things. I am here and am thankful for this experience and opportunity and am eager to learn.
I will leave one quote I find valuable at the end of each of my blogs. These will be from, "The Footprints Book of Daily Inspirations" by Margaret Fishback Powers. The quotes help me get through each day in some way. Hopefully, you may find some serentity or insight in them aswell. Peace and Love.

You are in the right key, when you sing the praise of others.
-Heather MacGregor