That’s a WRAP!

Holy COW! This semester has seriously FLOWN by. I can’t believe I am headed to my LAST class EVER today!

How did I contribute to our class and the learning of others? Let me tell ya! 🙂 

Before my ECMP355 class, building my PLN seemed like something that was so far away and so hard to do. It was awesome to have the opportunity to start it during a class with the guidance of experts. Although I feel like I have a good start on my PLN, I also know that it is something that I will be working on forever.

I used 2 main platforms to expand my PLN: twitter and my blog. In addition, I have also created a document to showcase some of my growth throughout this course.

MY TWITTER JOURNEY:

At the beginning, I was quite hesitant to use twitter. I had created an account previously, but never used it.. which led to me eventually forgetting my password and then maxing out my login attempt. I decided to just make a new account, and made it as @MissTStork which is strictly for Educational purposes.

I found myself just simply retweeting education articles and my peers tweets. But, I eventually got the hang of it and soon began to quote tweets, create my own and link my blog into them. I quickly expanded my followers to other professionals such as school administrators and classroom teachers. It showed me how easy it is to collaborate online and 1, 000, 000 minds are better than just my own! I also had the opportunity to partake in a few different Twitter chats – something I honestly had no clue about until I was in the middle of one!

Twitter became something that I started using for my personal use as well. I didn’t stray too far from Educational blogs since my name implies that I am a teacher, but I used it to help me enrich my PLP experience.

MY BLOGGING JOURNEY

Oh, blogging. How my feelings have grown for you.

I first created my blog during my pre-internship and used it as a tool to reflect on. I really didn’t enjoy it at the beginning. I think mostly because I was felt into it without much instruction. We used our blogs again last year and had the chance to really get walked through them – HOW HELPFUL!! I started to enjoy it more, but didn’t do a whole lot of it.

This year I have really come to enjoy blogging. I will admit, I don’t love having to blog about certain prompts, but I really enjoy it when it comes to my personal interests. I have truly seen the benefits of blogging and understand more how beneficial it come be when it comes to collaborating, building your PLN and connecting with others.

Many of my classmates generously commented on my posts throughout the semester. I really appreciated this because having conversations and hearing peoples opinions really helps me to learn.

I even had the New Fairfield principal comment on one of my blog posts! That’s the power of tweeting your blogs! 🙂

I had the privilege of reading and interacting with my peers on their blogs as well. Although we had the same prompts, it’s always interesting to see which direction people take with their posts. I learned so much and appreciated reading through everyones posts.

In the end, I found this course to really help me expand my mind when it comes to collaborating and building my PLN. I feel so grateful to have such amazing peers that helped me through this class. Thank you to everyone who has played a role in building my PLN!

Good luck to everyone in your future endeavours! I wish you all the best in your teaching careers and hope to run into you sometime to catch up!

 

 

 

 

Let’s Educate…

 

Over the last week, many of my classmates have been targeted by an online troll. I have just sat back and watched, and hesitated to make my own blog post about the topic required because I didn’t want to become victim as well.

This blog post isn’t to address the troll, or to talk about the things I “wish I could say to him”, but rather just talk about the importance of a few things.

First, we (and by we I also mean the Ministry of Education) need to seriously consider the way that we are educating our children about Digital Citizenship and creating their online identity. Yes, I get it, kids are starting to use technology at a younger age – so why the HECK aren’t we starting to teach them about DC at a younger age?

We need to show students/kids the dangers that can come with being irresponsible online. I don’t know what exactly it is going to take – but if it has to be harsh, then it has to be harsh. I also think we need to teach kids young to create positive online profiles. Let’s show kids how to “properly” use things like Twitter, Facebook, Google Drive, Snapchat, Edmodo – EVERYTHING! I feel a little confused as to why this isn’t already part of the curriculum, honestly.

Secondly, we need to take a step back and remember how we SHOULD treat people. It is so easy to get caught up with heated arguments – especially when we are hiding behind our screens. Far too many people, adults included, have no problem throwing out harsh language and rude comments that they would never say to someones face.

It is really sad to me that so many adults give kids heck for bullying or being mean to other students, but essentially do the same things online.

I am not sure if this makes all that much sense – but like I said, after the events that took place this past week I just had to kind of “rant”.

Thanks for listening!

 

I have an ADDICTION!

Ok – it’s true… I think I am officially ADDICTED to Yoga!

But, before I go on, I do need to be honest. Blogging is hard for me. I LOVE working out and Yoga has become part of that routine. I just have a hard time “talking” about it afterwards.. especially when I am just actually typing about it on here.

This past weekend has been FULL of family time, good meals, and a few too many chocolate treats :). I continued to workout through it all, but today I woke up feeling pretty gross. I really didn’t want to do anything, but I made myself do a quick Yoga workout and I am SO glad that I did!

I read this article the other day about the numerous benefits Yoga has. It talks a lot about how Yoga increases endurance and flexibility, builds strength and helps create muscle definition. I have definitely noticed myself getting stronger. There are a few poses that I really struggled with at the beginning. They require you to hold your body weight in a rather awkward position for quite a while which is hard to do if you don’t have much shoulder strength!

The article also talked about how Yoga has such a positive impact on our overall health. It stated that it teaches us how “…to be still in a world consumed with chaos”. I read that and it hit me like a wall. It is so true. We constantly just go, go, go. Whether we are running our kids to their events, we are constantly doing homework, or we are busy with work. It is so rare for us to take time for ourselves anymore (which is quite sad).

I have found Yoga to be the “me time” where I just can clear my mind and not think for a while. It is amazing how hard it is to actually shut your mind off. I know I have tried to do this before, but always seemed to fail.

I am so glad that I have found something that truly allows me to release the tension and negativity out of my body.

 

From Toddler to…. Teenager?

I just finishing watching the documentary Sext Up Kids and I am literally in SHOCK.

This documentary discusses the idea that our society has become so sexualized and the fact that children are growing up WAY TOO FAST! Young girls are growing up believing that they need to offer sex in order to get boys attention – and this theory is starting at a younger and younger age. One of the (many) reasons that they believe this is becoming such an issue is because of the sexualized content that young kids are being exposed to. They use the example of girls playing with barbie dolls that are wearing short mini skirts, tons of makeup and have unrealistic (and disproportionate) bodies.

At first I had a hard time agreeing with the documentary when they said that Barbie dolls are, in a sense, brainwashing young girls. I kept thinking “well all of my friends played with Barbie’s and we didn’t grow up sending naked pictures or sexting”. BUT – I now realize that barbie’s are only a SMALL part of the problem!

You literally walk through stores and pass magazine covers with half naked women. You can turn on the TV and see explicit sex scenes. You go on the internet and can access porn at the click of a mouse. It is literally EVERYWHERE. I simply typed in “explicit music videos” and this website was the first one that popped up. Finding videos of half-naked women wearing the least amount of clothes (if any) is WAY TOO easy to access!

 

Don’t get me wrong, I never went around looking for this stuff on the internet when I was young, but I feel like it wasn’t THAT easy to access. Obviously it was there – maybe I am just being naive? I don’t know. But either way, it’s a scary world out there.

One thing I want to touch on is the whole “Barbie Doll” playing a large role in all of the “body image” problems young girls are starting to acquire.

One of the things that freaked me out the most about this film is when they talked about how young girls are being exposed to such sexual content and trying to copy it at such a young age – I am talking like 8,9,10 years old. They were showing toddlers playing with Barbie dolls, which made me remember that I had once hear that Barbies would soon be changing. I couldn’t remember the exact details, so I decided to look them up and came across this article. Essentially, Barbies are being made to be more “realistic”. Mattel has created “project Dawn”. They are on a mission to make Barbies more diverse, multi-cultural, and have more “realistic” body shapes. Since this, these dolls are now offered in petite, curvy and tall body types, many different skin colours, different hair textures and different styles of make up. The company is stating that they are making these changes for many reasons, one of them being that “…she’s a bad role model for girls and has an unrealistic body image.”

Watch this video to see the transformation of Barbie over the years and the reasoning behind why they are changing the product.

I think that this is a great step in the right direction to help show young girls that not only does your body not define you, but you are not defined by your body shape. Skinny is not the only body type and it definitely isn’t the “only” way that women should look. But, I think that we, as a society, have a ton of work to do if we want to reverse this idiotic “trend”.

What do you guys think? What other steps can we take in order

 

How on EARTH…

This week we were able to blog about ANYTHING we wanted. Normally this would stress me out and I would have to ponder for days. But, I read this blog post my colleague wrote the other day about how trying to find resources online can be OVERWHELMING. It was something that I related to INSTANTLY, because I seriously feel like I spent most of my time in internship sifting through websites trying to find “the perfect tool”. Well, for the first couple months – but by the end, I resorted to what I knew and the resources my co-op passed on to me!

SO – my topic is How on EARTH are we supposed to find resources when there ARE SO MANY?!

It’s funny because the same day that I read the above blog post, my fiancee (who is also a teacher) joined Pinterest in hopes to find some new Phys. Ed games. (He has been forced to see a lot of Pinterest lately with our wedding planning, so I am surprised he gave in to getting an account haha! :D) Within a couple of minutes of looking on Pinterest he slammed his laptop shut saying that there is WAY too much stuff. As a 25 year old, he was literally overstimulated.

During my internship I found a website called EdSurge that helped me tremendously (my colleague also linked this website to her post, so it must be good!!!). It has categorized resources by grade level, subject and things such as curriculum, etc. It also has this area that has information and resources for “teacher needs” – so planning, assessment, collaborating, etc. which were REALLY helpful as a new teacher!

Technology is GREAT. I think that our world would be lost without it, so it is important that we are teaching our students how to use it properly and respectfully. I also think that it is important to use technology while teaching. BUT, I also think that it is important to use your time wisely (haha), and for me, I felt like I was just doing too much “browsing”. SO, as much as I love technology – I think I will need to be very mindful of my time!

#MyClassChat

OK – TO BE HONEST, I don’t personally enjoy Twitter for my personal use – maybe I haven’t given it a fair shot, maybe I am not using it properly, I am not quite sure. BUT I do think there are EXTREMELY beneficial ways that we can be using it in the classrooms.
We all know that (for the most part) students are growing up using technology on a regular basis. I am not totally sure if it is safe to say that “most kids have twitter”, but I do know that they would be willing to try it.

#MyClassChat on Twitter is a way that students/classrooms are able to connect with others all across Canada. From my understanding, one classroom “hosts” and poses questions, while the others tweet back answering the posed questions. A single hashtag is used to link the conversations together, which makes it really easy to search!
Here is an example:

Although I haven’t done this with my own class (during internship), I LOVE this idea! I do have to say that when I try it (in a MY class), I will do it as a classroom like shown above – I wouldn’t have students tweeting from their own accounts.

I have, however, taken part in a an #STARSchat – which essentially is doing the same thing (just take out the classroom part). We had one a couple weeks ago while #BellLetsTalk was on and discussed Mental Health. The questions asked were very effective and definitely made everyone think deeply about the issue. It was INCREDIBLE seeing HOW MANY people participated!

I truly think that these CHATS are an amazing way to incorporate social activism in classrooms! I think that in the future I will get in contact with my fellow colleagues and friends who have their own classrooms and host some!

Does anyone have experience with their own #MyClassChats?

 

 

Reconciliation – Will it ever end?

On February 24th, Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair performed a sold out presentation. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be there for it, but thanks to technology I streamed it live from home!

First, I want to state how phenomenal this presentation was – I can definitely understand why the auditorium was so packed! My attention was grabbed right off the start and I truly felt like I was sitting in the crowd.

To start the presentation, Sinclair asked for all residential school survivors to stand. When he did this, I felt the palm of my hands start to sweat and my heart started beating fast. His tribute and recognition to them was moving, and definitely set the stage for his presentation.

He discussed topics such as residential schools, segregation, assimilation and the NEED for reconciliation. It’s funny, we have talked about all of these issues TONS throughout the four years of my degree, yet it is something I still feel very uneducated about. Perhaps because I have no ground to stand on…. I wasn’t involved in it directly so I have a hard time picturing how horrible life in residential schools actually was, or what the relationships between white people and First Nations peoples looked like. Either way, these topics (although spoken about often) always make me feel uneasy and unsettled.

During the presentation, Joseph Nayowhow tweeted this out:
*If you don’t follow him on Twitter already, you need to!

How amazing is this message? It warms my heart and makes me so hopeful knowing that someone who has gone through so much (residential schools, especially) has been able to not only forgive, but focus his energy to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.

As a future educator, I find it so important to continue to educate myself on these issues and topics. It is unknown how much of a change I will make, but not trying is worse than failing.

 

Cowboys vs. Indians

The Battle of a Little Big Puck is a traditional hockey game that has taken place in Maple Creek, SK (my hometown!) for 34 years. The game is made up of two teams. One team consists of any local ranchers or farmers who are (or have been) members of any rodeo association. The second team are all members of the Nekaneet reserve which is located 41 kms south of Maple Creek.

During the first two periods of the hockey game the teams wear standard hockey gear. But, after the second period flood, the players come out wearing their traditional clothing. As you can see from the pictures below, that consists of chaps, head dresses, cowboy hats and any other piece of clothing they wish to use.

Indians

Cowboys

 

The point of the game? To celebrate the coexistent of these two groups of people and our heritage. Dale Mosquito, a well respected member of the reserve states that “this hockey game is a point of pride for the people of Nekaneet, whose ancestors lived here long before the cowboys arrived”.

As I am sure you could have guessed, this celebration has brought on many comments accusing my town, and the people in it, of being racist and continuing to segregate the Indians from the white people of the community. My personal opinion? IT DOESN’T CONCERN THEM!

As you can imagine, coming to University and being told that reffering to First Nations people as Indians is politically incorrect. Selena Taypotat, an Executive Assistant for Chief and Council of the Nekaneet First Nation was asked if they were offended by this term. She stated”No. That’s what we used a long time ago, our First Nations are Indigenous people, it’s politically correct… but no, we’re just Cowboys and Indians out here and it always has been, you know.”

I have spent the last four years trying to figure out where my town has gone wrong. How are there so many uneducated people?! WHY can’t they see that we are continuing the segregation and allowing history to repeat itself?!

It wasn’t until this past hockey game that I finally understood it. I hung out with the players after the game and it just all made sense. The Indians were bugging the cowboys, and the cowboys were taunting the Indians. This is a true celebration. We are all apart of one community and we all love and support each other.

BOTTOM LINE – I am PROUD of where I come from and I support what this hockey game stands for. It’s as simple as that!

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? COMMENT BELOW!

I am posting 2 articles below that I would LOVE for you to take the time to read.
http://onlyagame.wbur.org/2012/03/10/little-big-puck-hockeyhttp://www.swbooster.com/news/2016/2/23/hockey-a-key-component-of-bridging-cultural-gaps-in-rural-saskat.html

 

 

 

My 30 days starts NOW!

Yay! Today is the day that I started my 30 day Yoga program! I know that in my last blog post I had mentioned starting it much sooner.. but Yoga is NOT enjoyable when you have a sinus infection (yes, I found this out the hard way).

Today’s video was just over half an hour long – which is totally doable even if you lead a super busy life! I did my yoga session right when I woke up this morning and I think it is the perfect time to do it! I woke up feeling quite groggy and unmotivated for the day. It allowed me to slowly wake up and just focus on me for a while! After this morning, I have a few things I want to share with you!

I thought I was stronger!
Something I NEVER thought about was how strong your shoulders have to be to do Yoga! It’s crazy how shaky my arms got while holding certain poses, especially the Down Dog Split (AKA: Three legged dog)!!! I am really looking forward to tracking my progress through the next 30 days to see if I see results (hopefully my shoulders lean out and look stronger!).

Make this about YOU!
About halfway through the video I was starting to get a little frustrated with myself. I consider myself to be athletic and somewhat flexible, yet I couldn’t hold some of the poses as long as Adrienne was. I found that I was just dropping to my knees and watching her and thinking ‘I can’t do it so I will just jump back in once she changes poses’, which is absurd! I finally reminded myself that today is the FIRST DAY of the program! I KNOW that by the end I will be better and be able to hold the poses and follow her much easier. This is my journey and I should not be comparing myself to others!

This instructor is amazing!
I feel like I lucked out by finding this Yoga Camp! Adrienne (the instructor) is amazing! Her voice is soothing and she does such a good job of really explaining the poses so I don’t feel like I need to keep looking up to see what she is doing!

If you want to see a bit of a breakdown of some of the Yoga poses that I touched on in this post, follow this link.

Question for all of you who have done Yoga: Did you notice changes with your body? What kind of Yoga did you do? I am thinking of literally taking ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos, but that also makes me nervous!

 

 

Digital Identity – You Mean It Isn’t Common Sense?

Digital Identity is something that I have actually come to be very passionate about. Growing up with my mom being a teacher, I have always been extremely careful with what I put on the internet. I can actually go as far as guaranteeing that you won’t find any swearwords coming from my Facebook account. I’m sure that my “ways on the internet” have come from the many lectures I got from my parents about how “unproffessional and uneducated” it looks when people are swearing and being rude on Facebook. Don’t get me wrong, I am not afraid to express my opinion, but I always make sure to do it in a professional and respectful way.

When I was thinking about what I would write in this blog post, I realize that I refer to Facebook quite often. I do realize that our digital identity refers to essentially all platforms of social media or websites that we are apart of, but since Facebook is definitely where I spend the majority of my time, thats where my brain seems to take me.

Professionals and their Digital Identity 
I found this post that talks about the reality of our digital identity affecting our careers. This is something that many people should educate themselves on! It really is mind boggling to me that even though this is public knowledge, so many people post outrageous, unacceptable an inexcusable content online – with their name attached to it! Whether or not we think it is right that our careers can be affected by what we put on the internet, it’s the harsh reality and the ways of our time. And, as frustrating as it is to some people, if you don’t want your job to be at stake, you best show proper etiquette while being online!

Now, what does really bother me is how much higher on the pedestal teachers are placed. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand, and appreciate, how much influence teachers have on children and how closely we are watched and copied. I think that as teachers we need to be very careful about the message we are sending when using social media, and be aware of the ways we express ourselves. I do recognize that other professionals are ‘judged’ for what they put on Facebook or Instagram, but it seems that teachers are the professionals that have to literally walk on egg shells.

My feelings towards this are kind of two-fold. On one hand, I completely agree that as teachers we should not be putting pictures of ourselves drinking or partying. BUT, I also think that other professionals should be held to the same standard! Do I really want to go to the hospital after seeing how hammered one of the nurses got the other night? Mmm.. probably no more than I would want to send my kids to school the Monday after seeing a photo of their teacher while they were intoxicated!

Just to break it down, my point is… ALL professionals should be conscious and selective of what they put on the internet. Whether you are a teacher, engineer, custodian, bank clerk, whatever it is. End of story.

 

Students and their Digital Identity
I think that it is really important for us to help our students start creating their online identity in a positive, mature way. The reality is, that by the time our students start looking for jobs and careers, hard-copy resumes not exist anymore! This article talks about the importance of creating your online identity as a student. I can’t help but agree with her that students need to start getting positive things about themselves online. The fact that your friends, peers, family members, etc. play such a role in your online identity is actually quite scary. So, the sooner students can learn about different platforms to use and different ways to share about themselves, the better!

I also think that by helping students create their online identities earlier, we can help them to understand why it is so important to use the internet, apps, social media platforms, etc. responsibly. I personally never thought growing up that someday I would be creating a blog in hopes of it bettering my chances of getting a job. But, since this is the new reality, kids need to realize how much of an effect their identity is going to play in their adult life.

The cyber-world is a scary place to be. Educating ourselves and our students on how to stay safe and be responsible online is something that I plan on taking extremely seriously!