Digital story

The process of making this digital story was interesting. I wasn’t sure how to make this video at first and so I decided to wait until the last minute to do it. I ended up borrowing my roommate’s mac so I could use the iMovie to make my digital story. The metaphor was that learning is like being an athlete. That’s always something I went by growing up, practices makes me better. That’s what I did my digital story on.

I searched a lot of ideas in the process of making this. I wasn’t sure what metaphor I wanted to choose to make the digital story out of. It was cool to see what all metaphors can go into as being a leaner.

At first I wanted to make the story based on being a tennis player because I played high school tennis all my high school career and I’ve learned a lot of being a player and learner through tennis. I’ve learned a lot of life lessons through tennis as well and my coaches. One of my tennis coach was a math teacher and all of the coaches had lots of wisdom in their blood. One of the main thing I remember learning from high school tennis was that “You have to practice like you perform and perform like you’ve practiced. If you don’t give 100% in practice then there’s no way you can give 100% in games.”That’s what gave the me the idea for my digital story.

It was hard to figure out how to run a mac because it’s not what I am used to so I apologize in advance if the video isn’t turning out the greatest or playing right! I tried to find lots of photos and wrote the script. All photos were taken from google image and the song is under the sea from sponge bob. Enjoy the video and the song I picked for it, don’t hate me if you get it stuck in your head!

This is just the beginning.

In Digital Literacy class, I had the privilege of choosing what I want to learn for my Independent learning project. It was definitely different for me because professors usually choose what we learn for us but this project was different. I struggled at deciding what I wanted to learn at first. Independent learning project was awesome because we had no rules on what we can or cannot do. I chose to learn about crochet for my independent learning project and I am still happy that I made the right decision on crocheting.

From this project, something that I’ve learned about myself is that I can be patient if I want to. Crocheting is about being patient and getting every stitches right one at a time. There were a lot of times where I got really frustrated when I couldn’t get my stitches right or get the right count of the stitches but I got really into crocheting when I got the hang of it. While talking about patience I also learned that I just want to move right along once I learn something or get the hang of it. There were nights where I couldn’t stop crocheting because I just wanted to finish a project and move right onto the next one.

Motivation is a big key to crocheting as well as to any projects. If you don’t have the motivation to start the project then it won’t get done. I thought that it was pretty easy for me to motivate myself throughout the semester to work on this independent learning project. I picked crochet because I felt like I would enjoy learning about it and I did. It was easy to motivate myself to do this project because I love crafts and making things for people. There were weeks I struggled to pick up the yarn and the J-hook because I had a lot on my plate but I always get hooked when I pick up the J-hook. I always struggle at putting the project down once I pick it up. The best part of this project for me was being able to do what I wanted and whenever I wanted. It was nice to have an assigned time to work on this project weekly, I usually spend more time than what the class required because I usually get lost in the crochet world. The project was fun and I really enjoyed learning about crocheting.

I had a great experience with this independent learning project and I can see this project being in my classroom someday. I know homework is important in a math classroom, but I hope to only assign 2-3 short homework assignments a week and have students pick something they want to learn about for a semester. I think this independent learning project would also bring the relationship of my students together as well as with me. I had a fun experience in doing this project and I hope my future students will too.

A summary photos of the projects I’ve made from this semester.

Creativity in your fingers

This week’s learning is on creating graphics/visuals with technology. I enjoyed the readings we had for this week and getting to try out different websites for creating graphics and visuals. All the websites for creating graphics and visuals from this week are new to me. I’ve experienced different websites before in my other classes and the ones from this module are definitely ones to keep in mind when it comes to using it in a classroom. I enjoyed learning how to create fun visuals on different websites.

When I created my graphic/visual, I played around with a blank page. I usually don’t watch the tutorials because I am that type of person who just like to mess around and learn on my own. I also like to delete everything on the templates they have for starters to start with. With Piktochart, it was awesome to see that they provided a lot of pictures for users to pick from. I created a poster “The land of crochet” with Piktochart. At first I was going to create a presentation, then I thought a poster would be fun as well to present something short. I retrieved all the information from http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/know.html and the pictures were found on Flickr.com. Piktochart has a lot of different things you can create. There’s posters, presentations, infograph, etc. I enjoyed creating my poster through Piktochart and it’s so cool to see that there are a lot options to create presentations and posters now than just the simple powerpoint like how it was in my middle school/ high school years.

After trying out Piktochart, I moved right along to Canva. I loved Canva so much! The website reminded me of Shutterfly, except you don’t have to purchase anything and I’m sure the quality of the printing is way different but it’s a great website to just create fun things on Canva. Since I created a poster through Piktochart, I decided to do something different with Canva so I created a Christmas card instead. On Canva, there are business cards, resume letters, all kinds of cards, and a lot other fun things you can create. I really enjoyed Canva because I got to use my creativity. They had a lot of different fonts, backgrounds and different layout for cards. It was a fun project to play with and create.

The second reading was also very cool to see the different apps and websites of comic books/strip creation tools. I have the bitmoji downloaded on my phone and it’s pretty fun to be able to create your own person. The other apps I haven’t tried to play with, but they look like fun apps. I can definitely see these apps and websites in my future classroom as a project. I know the Piktochart and Canva would be great for projects because students can choose whether they want to do a poster, presentation or other ways of projects. They get to choose what they want to make and I think that’s what creativity is. I think they should be able to choose what they want to make and how they make it(with strict rules). The comic book and pixton are also a fun way to create something as well. I think I could even use the comic book or pixton to teach a short lesson in my future classroom. This module was a fun module, the only challenging part was to decide what project to make with so many different options! I know students will enjoy making projects more using these tools.

The challenge is on.

The name of the video above is called the “Crochet quick and easy blanket tutorial.” Don’t be fool by the name like I was… Or maybe I just wasn’t ready to move onto the more difficult pattern in the crochet world yet.

This pattern is a beautiful pattern and after watching it I thought it would be easy to crochet. The pattern is an easy pattern once you get the hang of it, I think what got me was the counting to five part. In this pattern, it switches between two stitches. This blanket starts with chains of fives plus six more. After the row of chaining, it goes five stitches of slip stitch and five stitches of half double crochet then repeat. The patterns of the stitches are the same for two rows then it is the opposite for the next two and switches every two rows. It might be easier to watch the video than reading my explanation over it.

Photo CC-Xiyun

Without any practice on this pattern, I thought it would be a great idea to buy twelve bundles of yarn and get started on the blanket. I struggled within the first row, I either lost count or did something wrong because the stitches weren’t right. I started over from the beginning and watched the tutorial a lot while crocheting. I restarted on the project at least over six times before I realized that I need to practice more on the pattern. I was tired of restarting over and over again, I thought of giving up on the pattern and watched some more videos. I watched a lot of other tutorials and still just want to try this one out. I finally decided to just start on making a square using this pattern. I was worn out by the fourth row, I spent a lot of time this week trying to get this pattern figured out and it still didn’t turn out right. Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch the video close enough or just losing stitches… However, I did watch the video a lot this week to try to figure the pattern out. I’m determine to get this pattern and successfully make this blanket for a Christmas present.

I watched a lot of videos this week for my independent learning project and also found a lot of different blanket patterns. If this pattern absolutely doesn’t work out this time, I think I will try this easy beginner crochet blanket.

I will have to be completely honest here, I think I will probably end up making a blanket with the second pattern instead of the first pattern. I think it’s better to practice before moving onto more difficult pattern. The yarn I picked for the blanket was also the wrong kind of yarn, so I had to return all twelve of them back and I am planning on getting the blanket yarn. The challenge of crocheting a blanket is on!

Serial podcast? Hmm…

Screenshot by me

When it comes to listening to podcasts online, I have the least experience in. I struggle listening to other things while doing something else. I get distracted very easily, so I hardly listen to anything while getting stuff done. The only listening I do is music while cleaning but I am definitely not one of those people who has music on all the times. I know a lot of my friends who has to have music or a TV show on while doing homework. It drives me nuts doing homework with background noise because I can’t concentrate at all. When I have to get stuff done, it has to be done in a peaceful environment.

I am not very good at focusing on one thing so listening to the podcast was hard for me. My hands has to be doing something all the time, if I’m listening to music then I’m usually cleaning. To me, music is a different thing compare to other things. I can’t focus on audiobooks or podcasts, I usually get distracted by my phone if I listen to those things and totally ignore what I am listening. I tried my very best and gave what I could to listen to the podcast this week. As soon as Pandora was loading, I pull my nail filer out and started doing my nails. You probably think the podcast has already lost me from the beginning, however the podcast I listened to was about US army in Afghanistan. The podcast was something I like to listen to and gain information on so it got my attention. So I successfully finished my task for that part. I understand how serial podcasts can be used in classrooms and how effective in learning it is for students. It could benefit students in building them to be a better listener and the podcasts can be good knowledge for students to take in.

I know with elementary students, most of them usually like story time. The teachers usually read students books aloud or have students read them aloud in the classroom. Podcasts reminds me of that but in a grown up way, which it fits great with the middle school through high school group of students. The digital stories was cool to watch and listen to, I like seeing images and listening to the story at the same time. That also goes back to the reading aloud and reminded me of the elementary age of teacher reading a story book with images.

I can see how using both podcasts and digital stories in classroom can be beneficial to students. I know in my classroom, there might be times where all students are done with their work in the class period and have some down time. That’s where I would use podcasts or digital stories in my classroom. If students don’t have a book to read then I will play the podcasts or digital stories and they can draw or do something quietly while listening. One possible disadvantage I could think of would be that they might not concentrate well or be bored with it depending on what podcasts it is. I think it would be cool to have students create podcasts and digital stories, I could see a project on that in my classroom while adding on math techniques.

I personally might not listen to podcasts until I have to or have time to but who knows, I might end up listening to it someday and like it because they’re a great learning tool to have.

Attention log

Both photo CC-AT Photography

As soon as I saw the attention log, I knew I was in trouble. It has distracted written all over the log. I knew what the end result was going to be before I even started the attention log. I am that kind of learner who gets distracted very easily but somehow can get stuff done before the due dates, roughly. I have short attention span, I get distracted not only by my phone but also by food as well as the things I am surrounded by. You would think I would be smart and have my desk cleaned and organized so I don’t get distracted easily by the surroundings but it’s the opposite. I have coloring books, calculator, notebooks, Bible, whiteboard, and of course I can’t forget food on my desk. I like to snack as I do my homework and have my phone by me. I noticed that I try to put my phone away from me so I won’t get distracted by it but if it rings I will stop everything I am doing and go answer that text. Right after I answer the text, I will naturally open my Facebook account and check it. It is a horrible habit and I am trying really hard to break that habit.

Like I said, I knew what the result was going to be like before I even did the attention log and the result didn’t surprise me at all. I can’t sit still very long but if I get into something then it’s hard for me to get out of it. I noticed that I have zero motivation if my assignments aren’t due that day. I usually push myself more when I know my assignments are due at midnight and that’s when I am more focused. I am really good at knowing my due dates however, I am bad at doing them ahead of time. I know it’s bad to procrastinate and wait until the last minute to get stuff done. I noticed the environment could also be a big thing in my learning. I might get more stuff done if I go in the library instead of doing it in my bedroom where I am distracted by food and other things. I just feel more comfortable doing homework at home and haven’t thought of trying to do homework at different places. From the attention log, I noticed that I move around a lot and change my position of sitting in my chair while doing homework. Like I said, I can’t sit still in one position.

I knew what kind of person and learner I am before the attention log assignment, but after keeping track of the attention log I realized that there are a lot of things I need to change in order to become a better learner. I know if I step out of my comfort zone and go to the library then I might get more stuff done than I do at home. If I turn my phone off during homework time then I probably will get homework done faster. This all ties with using technology mindfully and I need to do that often.

Using technology mindfully-What a challenge.

Photo CC- Marcelo_valente

Using technology mindfully is a big challenge for a lot of people because almost everyone has a smartphone or a tablet at home. I know grandparents or even elementary students who has a smart phone or at least have a Facebook account. Using technology mindfully is a big challenge for people because of how advanced everything is in this world. We feel like we fall off of the earth if we don’t have our phones in our hands for one day. “When I wasn’t with my phone I felt different, like I was naked all the time.” mentioned by Aceret from the article “What Happens When Teens Try To Disconnect From Tech For Three Days.” That is how most people feel when they don’t have their phones with them. I know a lot of people freak out when they can’t find their phones and I’m guilty to say that I feel the same way when I don’t have my phone with me all the time. I am starting to be better at using technology mindfully because I am a full time student and have two jobs but there are a lot of times where I am distracted by my phone. I am one of those college kids who checks their phone in the morning to wake themselves up and check it at night before bed. When it comes to using technology mindfully, I am far from it.

After watching videos and reading articles on using technology mindfully and the consequences it brings when we don’t, it really challenges me to be mindful about using technologies. The article of teens trying to disconnect from tech for three days spoke the words right out of my life. If I didn’t get distracted by my phone everyday then my homework would be done so much quicker. If I didn’t have Netflix, then I wouldn’t of waited for the last minute to do everything else. There are a lot of times where I turn my phone off and hide my Ipad so I would focus on doing homework but it still doesn’t happen all the time. In fact, I got distracted so many times by my phone while doing my homework assignment for this class.

Paul Miller’s TED talk was a great example of using technology mindfully. He stayed off of internet for a year thinking that he could get a lot of stuff done and when he came back, he was overwhelmed by the result. I think people should be on internet and social networks, it is just a way for people to stay connected with others now. I don’t suggest people being on their phones all the times because they do miss out on life. I think there should be a good balance between the two, which leads to using technology mindfully. Technology is great when you use it mindfully.

I downloaded the moment app and found out that I am on my phone a lot when I am not at work. It helps that I work so much and I can’t have my phone with me at work so that gives me time to enjoy life outside of the technology world. I think we need to stop muti-tasking as soon as we can because it is a distraction. You can never fully have your attention to something/someone if you’re scrolling through Facebook/Twitter news feed or texting someone.