Week 2 in Review: Choosing a Genius Hour Question

          This week I struggled to decide on a Genius Hour question. In the end I chose "How do I make and care for a terrarium in my room?". I chose this question for a few reasons. First, I have had an interest in succulents ever since I worked at a garden centre a few summers ago and have been very excited about terrarium's since I learned about them (on Pinterest!). However, I have been putting off trying to make my own because although I worked in a garden centre, my knowledge of succulent care is still very limited and I also would have had nowhere to put it.
          When we were first told to start thinking about our questions I was stumped! I really did not know where to start. But when we were given the example of the student who had always wanted to run a marathon it made me think about things I have wanting to do or achieve. I remembered terrarium's and wondered if that would be a good place to start. I knew it was something I was interested in, this assignment would force me to devote the proper time to understand the task and, most conveniently, I just finished redoing my bedroom and would be able to personalize my question by making it specific to my own living space.
          From here I started making my plan (in my proposal pitch slides I tried to input a timeline from the 'ReadWriteThink Timeline Tool' I used in my PBL badge but unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to insert a PDF so I made my own instead). Before I can start the hands on aspect I need to understand a little more about terrarium's. So, I decided my first step will be to research different types and styles of terrariums as well as what is involved in making them. I decided that having a solid foundation will give me greater success so my second step is to look into terrarium care online speak to the owner's of the garden centre where I used to work. Finally, once I've gathered enough information and made decisions on what I think will most appropriately suit my bedroom I can take the student approach and start looking for the most financially efficient stores that sell the products I am looking for. And lastly, I can use my newfound knowledge to carefully create the perfect terrarium for my freshly redecorated bedroom!
          As a teacher candidate it is my responsibility to make sure I keep up with my timeline goals. However in a classroom it would be more difficult to ask the students to ensure they are completing each step on their own without reminders. If it were my classroom I would have the students log daily or weekly journals(depending on the guidelines of the Genius Hour assignment) to ensure they are achieving their goals. A journal would also help them write down and adjust any problems they may experience.
          One of the things I'm enjoying most about this Genius Hour project is learning how to use the many applications offered by Google! If I were to implement a Genius Hour project into my own classroom I would utilize these tools (ie. Draw, Slides, etc) during the planning and execution phases. I would also use Powtoon for classroom activities. Although I am not fully aware of how it works yet I found it very interesting to play around with. It's a unique way for students to present their ideas and encourages creativity!

Let's Talk About Copyright

          The use of anything from the Internet (for example but not exclusively: images, photographs, articles, etc.) puts you at risk for copyrighting. In order to use any piece of information or item found on the Internet you must first obtain permission from the original publisher/author/creator. Although this information sounds daunting it is not that hard to acquire items that have been released for public use. For example, Creative Commons and Google both provide search engines that allow you to refine your search to ensure the images being looked at are appropriately copyrighted. In Canada we also have a set of ‘Fair Dealings Guidelines’ that allow educators to use online information in their classroom as long as they follow the specific parameters. This allows teachers to provide students with expansive information on their subjects without infringing on copyright laws.
          As a teacher I think it is most important to reiterate the fact that items found on the internet are just like personal items in the physical world. Just as we would not take something that belongs to someone else without their permission we cannot take information from the internet without being given the OK. Students need to be made aware that although the internet is a phenomenal resource, the people responsible for providing said information to us should not be taken advantage of. We need to ensure students are conscious of the consequences of copyrighting just as they would be conscious of the consequences of theft.

Inkles, Paul. (September 25, 2011). “Business Baby Pointing” (photograph). Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/dumfstar/8553474140/in/photolist-e2QMS5-5yiSCH-abfPT5-28rtGN-fvT5PN-5b495D-pyrM81-bqVQtj-6WtbrL-e2QMHQ-8vBVTe-5ZM4Kq-8vEXjo-bFrCvg-4m5ojv-8vEXd9-8vBWaH-5r6ss8-8Jzfg7-8Vy1nk-3oxYh-9iEkhF-euR54b-8vEXtU-8vEXmG-8GmvbX-6naKtj-68mS5h-CH3be-6wnx18-8vEXbY-5bwe6M-8vEXpw-8vBVYn-7LRPcs-8vBVWt-5mP2XB-hcbzps-62Yv2h-99XWwh-8uVTTM-8vEXvJ-5k2wrs-7Cj5Uu-A8zQK-6T2Wt9-hccN5T-7M6JDi-fefJT-nfSTMX

Intel Free Press. (April 13, 2011). “Child With Apple Ipad” (photograph). Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Child_with_Apple_iPad.jpg

Welcome Post!

         My name is Kate Williams and this is my first ever blog post! I went to Western University (or the University of Western Ontario as it was known for my first two years) for my Undergraduate degree where I studied English and Geography. I spent my first three years studying in London, Ontario and my fourth year on exchange studying in Birmingham, England. My year abroad kick started my passion for travel; from the first day I arrived in England until the present day I have consistently had at least one trip booked or in the planning stage - I definitely consider myself a travel bug. 

         Teaching has always been my goal career and although I would have loved to continue traveling it was far more important for me to come home and get started on my career path. I am in the Junior/Intermediate stream and my teachable is English (although I would like to expand on this with my geography background). I'd really be happy teaching any grade, but my ideal age group would be between grades 7 and 10. This is a result of my own personal experiences in these grades and how much the drive and passion of the teachers I had effected my desire to learn. I believe the experiences we have during those grades have a large impact on the major decisions we make during our educational careers. I would love to have a hand in helping shape students’ educational paths as they begin high school. I have also heard many people are less willing to teach such hormonal ages and I feel as though my passion is in teaching in general rather than in teaching any one specific subject so I would be happy to take on the challenge!