For my blogging mentorship, I chose to comment on Kathy Cassidy’s grade one students.  I was interested in working with her grade one’s because I am beginning to think I would like to teach in an elementary school rather than a high school.  I love to be very creative and do crafts with young children.  I also think young students are more likely to enjoy being taught and like their teacher.  For my mentorship, I tried to blog to a number of students once a week.  I tried choosing and commenting on student’s blogs that seemed to have fewer responses than others did.  In my comments, I tried to relate to them with my own life by creating conversation of similar interests and asking them questions in regards to their blogs.  I also commented on their grammar skills.  Although I commented approximately once a week to some of their blogs, I did not get a response.  However, I still have a better understanding of how blogging and blogging mentorships can benefit a child’s learning.  Specifically, they will see how many people have read or viewed their work which will make them more proud of what they do and take their work more seriously as they  get comments about their work from people around the world, not only by their teacher, classmates, and parents.    

            I also tried speaking to Kathy`s Class on Yack Pack but they must have not been in the classroom when I was in.  However, one night close to mid-night as I was doing homework, I suddenly heard a voice say, “Hello, is anyone there?  This scared me at first not realizing I still had Kathy Cassidy’s blog page open on the task bar.  Therefore, I went to the Yack Pack and clicked on it replying, “Hello.”  From there I realized I was talking to a young 11-year-old student of Ms. Hayes in New Zealand.  This student learns and interacts with students in Kathy Cassidy’s classroom.  Therefore, I began to make conversation about who I am and why I was on the computer so late at night.  This student laughed when she found out that I was still up at mid-night doing homework.  We also talked about our day, our interests, and our hometowns.  We also talked about the weather and time difference.             

Looking back on my mentorship, I wish I had spent more time trying to be more creative with my comments.  I think I should have made a voice thread or done something unique for the students to be interested and engaged into my comments.  Anyways I think I will have many opportunities to experiment with things like this in my future.  I look forward to posting my own students videos and works on the computer in my future as a teacher.  I think this not only engages the students but also the parents into the schools functions and goals.  I am sure all of these students parents are very proud of their children’s work and recognize Kathy Cassidy for the extra time she puts into this blog in order parents, friends, and family to view their activities, progress, and accomplishments over the year.  

            Above all, I think learning about blogging mentorship and classrooms that have their own blog page and personal pages was a very positive experience, even though I struggled to get responses.   

Click Here to visit Kathy Cassidy’s Grade One Classroom

I’ll be happy to get some feedback

Here is my  Voice Thread:  Painting Journey

I finally made my first podcast, however at the 1 minute point it cuts out.  Therefore I never got to add into my podcast that the cake tastes even better with a cup of chocolate chips baked into it.  On top of that Ellie put chocolate icing to make it even better.  

Click here to listen to my first podcast!

On March 5th, in ECMP 355 I was introduced to podcasting.  Podcasting is completely new to me.  Podcasting is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers.  The term podcast, like “broadcast” can refer to the series of content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting.  I find them very interesting but because I am new to it I find it hard to find good podcasts.  It is now April 2nd, almost a month later, and I finally found a couple. 

Here they are:

 1.  Eat Right!  Food 4 Life  (speaks about balancing your diet and uses McDonalds meals for example)
2.  The Ellen Degeneres Show (I think this podcast is short and does not tell you much, but I think her show is quite funny)

3.  Holograms Get Art Talking (This one is a must see!  Very interesting)

            Thinking that I will soon be going to a Salsa dance and knowing that I will not recognize anyone besides my friend, Saara, frightens me.  In particular, I am somewhat shy when it comes to meeting new people, especially peers.  This alone will challenge me.  In addition, it frightens me knowing that I will be attempting something entirely new.  At the same time, it excites me that I will get a chance to learn how to Salsa Dance.  Recently, Saara and I both realized we have the same interest, an interest for Salsa dancing.  Therefore, we both choose to enter the Latino Group for our dance presentations.  We also did some research on the internet and started to learn and practise a routine off a video clip.  This was fun at first until we began to run out of room practising in our small apartment.  Therefore, we decided to take some Salsa lessons.  First, we begin to meet with Juliana, a talented Salsa dancer from Columbia, on a weekly basis to learn some of the basic skills.  After my first class, I realize that many of the steps are similar to Jazz steps.  This made me think that Salsa dancing was going to be an easily accomplished skill; I am formally trained in Jazz.  In contrast, the constant hip movement seems backwards to what I have previously been taught in Jazz class.  This threw me completely off guard, making me look very awkward at times.  Ever since my first class, there has been a lot of laughter.  The laughter arises due to my un-intentional “new” positions and movements in the process of learning the steps and style of Salsa dancing.  I have come a long way since my first class and feel quite comfortable doing the basic steps of Salsa.I also participated in a UR-Fit Salsa Dance Class.  For me this was a review to what Juliana had taught me, however being introduced to a dancing partner was new.  I was partnered up with a male in his late twenties.  At first, we had communication problems.  For example, if one of us would make a mistake half way through the routine, he insisted that we must start all over from the beginning.  On the other hand, I thought we should go over the step where the mistake kept on occurring.  After he repeated to make this mistake at a particular point in the routine, he finally realized why I was trying to get him to start from his troubled point.  Eventually we overcame this barrier and seemed to advance more quickly.  Another aspect that we struggled with was to stay synchronized.  My partner struggled to hear the rhythm of the music. As a former dance instructor, I have dealt with this before and because of this experience, I was able to help him.  Therefore, my partner and I started to feel and see progress in our form and confidence level. The night of the Salsa dance arrives.  February 9^th, 2008 I enter the Eagles Club Hall.  As we pull up to the Dance Hall I get slightly nervous, questioning myself, “what on earth made me want to try this?”  I enter the hall and it reminds me of a wedding because of its decorations and friendly atmosphere.  The majority of the people are in their early thirties.  However, few of these people are dancing.  I think of this in a positive way in which there will be a lot of room for me to practise.  On the other hand, I think that everyone will be able to see me dancing like a penguin.  My second thought overrides and I head toward the tables to sit with Saara, as we both become too afraid to dance.  As everyone else begins dancing, the two of us become spectators.  In particular, I focus my attention on our instructor and her partner, Louis.  My jaw drops in amazement.  I hope that I will eventually look like that.  Their movements are very quick while obtaining smooth and flowing patterns.  Their bottom half of their body moves almost uncontrollably while their upper half remains pulled up, having a polished and confident presence.  Next, I realize almost every female on the dance floor is wearing stiletto heels.  This again amazes me because this style of dance is performed so quickly and no one seems to be stumbling because of her shoe style.             Later on, I visit with Juliana, my dance instructor.  She informs me that the music is “horrible, it’s not good dancing music.”  This comment surprises me because I could hardly tell any difference from the music Juliana used for my dance class.  Just as I start to feel settled in I am asked to dance by Louis.  I reply, with an unsure “yes.”  On the dance floor, he begins to lead me by pulling and pushing on my hands lightly.  He also starts at a slower pace adding more advance steps and turns, as I get the hang of it.  Eventually, I forget about people watching me and enjoy the dancing.  In general, dancing takes my mind off everything else that is going on in my life.  It is like a form of meditation and relaxation.  After dancing the first time, I go back and sit down to visit with Saara feeling confident with my dancing progress.  It is then that I realize that I spent much of the time looking down at my feet in order to follow my partner’s steps.  I also realize that I forgot to move my hips during most of the dance.  Although I lacked proper structure, I still progressed in my skill of Salsa dancing while having a lot of fun.               As I earlier said, the atmosphere seemed similar to a wedding.  The reason for this is that the group of people I was with all demonstrated optimistic attitudes.  For example, those who taught and danced with me never once said any words of my lack of skill.  They said things like, “you’re a good follower, you’re improving already, you’re almost as good as me and I have been doing it for fifteen years,” etc.  For these reasons, this atmosphere turned out to be an excellent learning environment.              As a result, my exposure to Salsa dancing was a very thought provoking and positive experience.  Interacting with people from another culture, in this case, Salsa Dancers from Columbia has opened my mind and eyes.  In particular, it made me become more appreciative for other cultural practises.  I have come to understand not only the basics of their dance style but also their lifestyle.  In addition, it has made me want to continue my Salsa lessons and further my own learning’s on other cultural dance forms.  In connection, living in a multi-cultural society, Canada, it is important that we learn about other cultures.  When doing so, I think it would be a more fulfilling experience if people/students could interact with real people rather than learning entirely through textbooks, magazines, the internet, and newspapers.  This was a perfect learning experience for me as it focused not only on Rhythmics and Dance (KHS U of R class) but it all focused on areas based around all four areas of the Arts:  Dance, Music, Drama, and Visual Art which I need to learn about as I am enrolled in the Arts Education program.  Beginning with Dance, I started out learning the basic steps not paying attention to my body’s style and form.  After feeling comfortable with the steps, I began to add in appropriately styled arms and body movement.  For example, I wore stilettos, moved my hips in a figure eight, and kept my arms above my waist at all times.  Salsa music is usually very fast and upbeat.  Therefore, I first learned the steps without music.  My instructor said, “Quick, quick, slow”, instead of counting the steps until I was ready for music.  For me, dancing to the music was twice as much fun than without.  It made me motivated and determined to get the steps right and on beat.Salsa dancing is known for its strong and proud appearance in both, men and women.  Thus, there is much Drama focused in the style, especially in the dancer’s facial features.  I struggled to portray the correct look as I rarely kept my chin lifted.  Instead, I did the opposite; I watched my partner’s feet to learn.Salsa dancing focuses on visual art because its style is appealing to the human eye.  In particular, each step is linked to another to produce a captivating routine.  Visually I, as a dancer, had to practise and train my body to move with a flowing and polished look.  In addition, Salsa dancers traditionally wear costumes to portray a specific mood and style in relation to the routine.  Salsa dancing was an appropriate choice for me because it took me out of my comfort zone.  In general, the style of Salsa Dancing made me uncomfortable because of its “sexy look.”  At first, I felt very uncomfortable with all of the hip movement, especially in front of the dance class.  However, each week got easier as I got better and as I understood the style better.  In relation, I better understand and acknowledge the importance for learning about different cultures.  As a potential teacher, I think it is important to be an ongoing lifelong learner.  Therefore, it is my responsibility to understand as many cultures as possible so that I can teach my students that our country, Canada, is truly proud to be a multicultural society.  Lastly, Salsa Dancing made me become more comfortable and appreciative for Salsa dancing.

What have you done to “expand your horizon” in the arts?

Coming from a small town there was little diversity.  Therefore, living in North Residence at the U of R has been a great experience academically, leisurely, and educationally for me.  At the end of August 2007, I moved into 4-bedroom apartment.  Marie, a friend of mine from Annaheim, and I were the first to arrive to our  “home” for the year.  For the next week, the other two bedrooms were left empty and we wondered who if anyone would be moving in?  The following week, another girl moved in with us.  She was a student from Siast.  Therefore, we did not see much of her because she was gone everyday from 8:00am. Until 4:30pm and when she was home she spent most hours in her room doing homework, or chatting on the phone with her friends.  However, when she was out of her room we got along well.  Almost a month had gone by and still the fourth bedroom was empty.  Each day we discussed who it is going to be, all three of us were very anxious and curious to meet our new roommate.  In contrast, I also started to like the fact that our last roommate did not move in because I then got my own bathroom.  In addition, we also had more space in the fridge, freezer, and cupboards.  Furthermore, the three of us got along really well and we thought a fourth may not?  The last week of September, I walked into the apartment and I realized the fourth bedroom door was open, immediately I had to see who it was.  It was a Korean girl.  Thus, I assumed she could not speak English so I waved to her and said very slowly, “Hi my name is Deanna.”  She looked at me funny and replied by saying, “Hi, I’m Ellie.”  At this moment, I still thought she only knew the basics to English language so I continued to speak really slow and clear as she continued to look at me strange.  Soon after a short conversation, I realized she had been here last year and could speak English fluently.  Ever since, I know not to judge people by their race in regards to which language they can speak.  Turns out Ellie and I have became close friends and have a lot in common.  Specifically, she likes to joke around, try new things, and keep our apartment very organized and clean, just like me.  Now we joke around about our first impressions, how different we thought we would be,  and how polite we used to be to each other.

 Our roommate that went to Siast moved out at the end of December, due to her practicum in a different town for the following semester.  Thus, we became, once again, very anxious and curious to meet our new roommate.  She was a girl named Saara, from Finland.  Once again, she could speak our language perfect.  She also has a lifestyle and interests that are very similar to ours, so all four of us get along great! Now, the only thing I am not looking forward to about this semester ending is that I will no longer be living with these great roommates that became close friends.

I do have to mention the two cons about living in residence:  1.   I feel I can never get away from university life I think about my homework constantly.  2.  I miss having a yard, lawn, and a window to open.  However, I think no matter where I live in a city I will not have the yard I had living on a farm. 

First there were 2then there were 4 …3…and back to 4 (I will post a picture soon of the new 4 of us here)

In 2003 Gymblast came to our school.  After they handed out a brochure about a Calbreak Trip that takes place over the Spring Break (Easter Holidays).  That year my brother decided to go on this trip with a friend.  He had a great time and recommended it to me and my friends. In 2005 my friends and I went on the California Breakaway trip.  Ever since there has been more and more students each year going from our area and school. 

Click HERE to view our journey.

 Here is a video of our trip in 2005:

At St. Matthews we go to a new classroom each week.  It is nice to learn how each classroom functions differently according to the age of the students and teachers way of teaching and organizing the classroom.  However, I sometimes wish I was put in one classroom throughout the semester so I am able to gather a better sense of how the students progress in their learning’s.  I also think it would be nice to get to know the students better.  This week I was in the Grade 2 classroom.  Here is one thing that happened during the day.  During story time, the teacher reads aloud to her students using a great amount of expression for the characters, in this case the Big Bad Wolf and the Goslings.  The teacher reads quite loud and therefore the principal can hear what is going on outside of the classroom before he entered (the entire class is sitting in the corner near the classrooms door).  Thus, when the Big Bad Wolf was about to knock on the goslings house in the story, the principal abruptly knocked on the classroom door.  At the same time, he opened the door with a growl scaring and exciting all of the children.  Then the teacher suggested that all the children squawk like a goslings in reply.  This episode happened three times throughout the novel.  After the story was over the teacher discussed with her class how they should do a fun trick on their principle in return.  She explained and made sure all students understood that revenge is normally not a good thing but in this case, it is okay because their principal would appreciate their trick in a fun way.    This expressed how their school promotes a relaxed and friendly environment.  Furthermore, they often use a sense of humour to create a feeling of comfort and a sense of belonging to their students.  At St. Matthews School, the teachers and principal have close relationships towards one another and towards their students.  Lastly, this got the students more engaged to the book. 

The SARM Trade Show is held each year during the Annual Convention in March.  This convention normally draws around 2,000 people with the majority being reeves, councillors and rural municipal administrators. The show attracts many different companies, government agencies and special interest associations for the benefit of the delegates.  We encourage you to take the opportunity to meet the present decision-makers of rural Saskatchewan, the people who direct the annual expenditure of nearly $200 million in municipal goods and services.

On March 11^th 2008, my Dad suggested that I would come to the convention for the evening entertainment.  That evening, I visited with my Dad and a couple other members from the R.M.  While I was there, we discussed about the latest graders.  At first, I wondered why I went but later on, I found it quite interesting, especially hearing it from a bunch of old technological illiterate men.  The new graders do not have a steering wheel or hydraulic levers, but instead is entirely controlled by two hand held joysticks.  At the convention they had this grader on display and beside it they had two replica controllers.  These controllers were set out for people like my Dad to test their ability to use them by following an obstacle course on the T.V. screen (similar to a nintendo racing video game).  My Dad, like many other men over the age of forty found it nearly impossible to stay on the “road.”  however, the younger men found it difficult but manageableto stay on the road the first time round. 

           After listening to my boyfriend, Justin, go on and on about how great Rich Dad Poor Dad is, I began to think of it not only on a personal level but also how it could be incorporated in to the educational system.  Because I do not have time to read the book, I was able to access more information about the book by watching and listening to youtube videos.  For those of you who have not heard about the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, here is a video that helps explain its message: 

Do you think students should learn how to manage spending and investing money in school?