As I have continued to progress in my independent learning project, the more I enjoy myself. Last week I focused on getting recipes from close family and friends. I have baked a few of the different recipes given to me and it has been so much fun! For this week I decided I wanted to do a little more research on baking. I have started with simply googling things like “baking for dummies”, “intro to baking”, and other things of the sort. I have done several readings on just common sense baking and tips for simple baking practices. I have also found and watched a lot of baking videos. Watching amateur and professional bakers has helped me. I see the way they do things and their techniques and try to mimic them. On my own television I have started to record fun baking shows like “Cake Boss”.    

As important as practice, repetition, and actually baking is, so is simply studying it. I am a hand on learner but I decided that watching and reading about baking is only going to help and not hurt. I actually found the research really interesting and helpful. I also found cool likes like all the different ingredients and groceries you should always keep in your house because they can be used for SO MANY different recipes! Normally I am not a huge fan of research but when it comes to something I am genuinely interested in and want to succeed in, I get into it.

A recipe I tried this week was homemade fruit pizza. I made the sugar cookie dough and the cream cheese topping. It was so delicious! I could have probably eaten the whole pizza myself. It was so simple but so good. I have tried to stick to easier recipes because I do not want to get carried away. I think that the next recipe I want to try and make is homemade bread or banana bread. My mom always had homemade bread and it was the best in the morning with cinnamon sugar. I also loved her banana bread warmed up with a little bit of butter. One of those is going to be the next recipe that I try and take on. This is where it gets tricky though, because these recipes are the ones that my mom does not measure for, she just adds as she goes. I am nervous but excited to try it.

There was so much information given to us during this week’s work load. I ate it up. There were so many helpful and interesting resources given to us and I am excited to continue to explore them. One resource given to us was ds106. This is a site where you can go to do daily challenges that consist of writing, photography, drawing, audio, and video. They do different digital storytelling and get you out of your comfort zone. I haven’t quite gotten the hang of the concept or the website but I am still learning and exploring. I have spent some time on there, but would like to spend more time in order to get more comfortable and understand it better. I think once I do, it is going to help me out greatly. I am excited for the 20 day challenge.

Other things touched on this week were podcasts and digital stories. I had heard of podcasts before and have some friends that like them but had not really tried them out for myself. I listened to the podcast Dr. Death and listened to the whole thing! I really enjoyed it. I love reading but find myself too busy to want to sit and read consistently. With podcasts I am able to multitask while listening to it. I like the idea of digital story telling. It is between a video and a podcast, which can be beneficial to certain learners. I think just like with anything podcasts and digital storytellers can be abused and misused. Under the right circumstances, they can be great learning tools for students.

When we incorporate different learning styles like podcasts, digital stories, or the tools from ds106 it gives students a diverse way of learning. It can also help keep things new and interesting for teachers. Not only is it beneficial for student to learn from them, but also to create them themselves. Making their own digital story would be a great project for just about any subject. My biggest takeaway from these tools and resources was that there ARE these tools and resources available. It would be a huge waste for an educator to not utilize these. It makes a teacher better and students are getting the most information possible. What is so great about the ds106 is it forces you to learn new websites and strategies to make a lesson more rigorous than it originally thought out as.

My excitement for my new “homework” assignment has only gotten stronger the more I do for it. Since my independent learning project is about becoming a better baker, and doing something fun with those I love, it makes it a lot easier to make it a priority. This “project” is such a great idea and is a good way for teachers to get their students motivated and really into learning. When someone is passionate about something it makes them put more time and energy into it. With my project, I have started from square one of baking; recipes.

I got this really cute recipe book at my bridal shower last year. I had not put a lot of time into it at all though because I have been very busy. However, now that I am focusing on baking for my independent learning project, I have pulled it out. I called my mother and she gave me a bunch of delicious baking recipes that I loved as a child and to this day. I also got recipes from my grandma and my husband’s mom and grandmothers. It was really awesome to hear and learn some of their favorite family recipes and bonding with them that way. It is also good because there are some simple recipes and others that are more complex, so I can work my way up. Not only do I have a lot of yummy recipes but I also have a recipe book that I can eventually pass down to my kids and it will have generations of family recipes.

After I completed most of my cook book I decided to test out one recipe this week. The recipe I started with was a very simple and known recipe. The chocolate chip cookie. There are so many different ways to make chocolate chip cookies, but it does matter how you do it. The littlest ingredients make a significant difference and if not done correctly can make or break your cookie. Followed the recipe step by step, and yes I did use measuring supplies. I made sure to include the little tricks my mom does and was eager and nervous once I put them in the oven. When the oven timer went off I ran to get them out. After cooling a few minutes, I gave it a try and found myself feeling satisfied and happy. The cookies turned out delicious! They were not exactly like my mom’s but they were pretty dang good. I know that the more I make them the more they will improve!

 A personal learning network (PLN) is something that every teacher should have and make a priority, in order to make themselves the best teacher they can be. When first hearing the term “personal learning network”, most people start thinking along the lines of a website or something involving a computer. However, someone’s personal learning network is actually a group of educators or resources that someone keeps close to them to help them better themselves as an educator. People in a PLN can be past teachers or mentors, coworkers, professionals, parents, and more. You want people to help you, encourage you, but also be honest with you. Being able to take constructive criticism is essential because then you know the areas you need to work on and better. I found the following site to be very helpful with explaining what exactly a PLN entails: https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/what-is-a-personal-learning-network/

When I think of my own personal learning network, there are a few people and things that come to mind. The first person I thought of was my dad. I look up to him for many reasons, but he is a teacher himself. He was a professor at BYU Hawaii, University of Northern Colorado, Chadron State College, and now an adviser at Aims Community College. So many students enjoyed him, he is a hard worker, and would be honest with me. He is always full of wise advice and I know he would not lead me astray. Another person that comes to mind is one of my best friend’s parents. Both his mom and dad are teachers in the Chadron Public School system, and his mom is an elementary teacher, which is exactly what I want to do. I know that she would give me a lot of great advice, techniques, and share her experiences with me to learn from.

What I found exciting and encouraging was that the teacher community is so strong, positive, and supportive. After following different people on twitter and blogs, I realized that everyone is looking out for each other and sharing their own discoveries and experiences for everyone to learn from. Everyone has one goal in mind and that is to better themselves and the education system, and I think that is awesome. Every job has its ups and downs, but to know that people are probably going through similar struggles as you in your profession is comforting. I know that developing a strong personal learning network is important and will help me in the future, especially when I am struggling. It is a great thing because your PLN is something that you can continue to build on throughout your whole career.

My life the last four or five years has been very busy! I have always had a fulltime job or two jobs and have always been a fulltime student. On top of that I juggle spending time with my husband, friends, family, maintaining the ranch and home we own, and more. I love my life and all its busyness, but I am excited for this project because it forces me to do and learn something that I have wanted to for a long time; baking. It seems like a silly thing but it is very important to me for more reasons than one! I do a lot of cooking at home and I love trying new recipes. However, baking is something that does not come so easily to me and I want to change that! I want to be someone that people bring up my homemade cookies, bread, or treats for being the best.

My mom is a phenomenal baker. She is the type of person that does not use any measurements and does it a little bit different every time but it comes out better than the next. She makes fun of me because I use measuring cups. Growing up we always had homemade bread for breakfast, homemade cinnamon rolls for holidays, homemade pizza dough for American Idol night, homemade sugar cookie decorating on Christmas EVE, homemade dinner rolls at Thanksgiving, and more. She has had the same old dough maker since before I can remember and refuses to get or use a new one. She is the reason I want to learn how to be a better baker.

A lot of my childhood memories involve seeing my mom in the kitchen baking something delicious that my whole family and I will sit around together and enjoy. To me, baking makes me think of home, my family, and love! As a wife and future mother, baking is something that I want to do for them. There is something about the smell of fresh and homemade baked goods, especially on a chilly day that makes you feel so happy and satisfied. Baking to me is more than just knowing how to do it well. It is something that makes me feel like a homemaker. Baking is also something that I will and can do for the rest of my life! I am excited and thankful for this opportunity to do something that I am passionate about and enjoy! After this project, hopefully no more store bought baked goods!

Figuring out how to teach students while keeping them engaged and interested can be difficult. Many teachers are riding the line of lecturing too much or not enough. No teacher wants to bore their students, but there are times where there seems like no other option but to lecture. However, after I read the articles and watched the videos on using TED talks effectively it really opened my eyes. There are many positive and different ways to take advantage of TED talks and teachers should learn how to do that. TED talks are an effective way to encourage and promote discussion on difficult or controversial topics. They help students generate new thoughts and ideas and the more they discuss the more they come up with.

Another important teaching technique to keep in mind and utilize is encourage your students to play. Contrary to popular belief, children learn a lot from “playing”. It is not necessarily mean going outside and playing on the playground, but it means give the students the freedom to explore new ideas. If we are strict and constantly limiting what students can or cannot do, we take away their creative and imaginative thinking. When they play with new ideas, opinions, or viewpoints they can end up getting more out of the discussion.

Hacking is another technique to encourage your students to do. Some teachers can feel threatened when a student may provide help or ideas that make their lesson or teaching better. Hacking is essentially just that, making something better than before. We have all heard that teachers learn just as much as their students or more, and I believe that fully. If students can contribute to a lesson or lecture and make it better, then we should be all about that. Showing and discussing TED talks is a great way to enhance and “hack” a specific topic.

I really enjoyed learning more about utilizing TED talks to their fullest potential and in a way that is most beneficial for students and teachers. It is great that they have tutorials for showing teachers how to do certain things. When I was in high school, one of my favorite things was discussing different topics in a class-wide setting and hearing other viewpoints and opinions. It is also a good way for students to learn how to respectfully and calmly discuss with others that have different beliefs than their own.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-rigorous-discussion-routine-petra-claflin

The term digital literacy often has little meaning to most people. Part of that is because a lot of people do not understand exactly what it is. Digital literacy is the ability
for a person to compose, find, evaluate, and investigate information through
some type of a digital platform. The concept of digital literacy has shifted
and changed throughout the years and that is due to the fact that technology has
become more advanced and part of peoples everyday lives. Digital literacy has
become more accessible and is more inclusive. As time goes one, it will only
increase more and more resources will be available. Just in recent years there
have been more technological outcomes than in the past decade.

There are several important elements when it comes to digital learning. One
major element is comprehension. Knowing how to work and navigate through the
different digital components is essential. Another element to keep in mind is
the fact that majority of digital media connects in some shape or form. In one
way or another, a single post usually stems off of another. Knowing what connects
and what does not is crucial to keep in mind. Another crucial element to keep
in mind is that digital literacy is not a replacement for things like reading
or writing traditionally. Digital literacy should be incorporated in with the
traditional way of writing and reading. There are strengths and weaknesses to
doing this in a digital format and not, but if we utilize the strengths in everything,
everyone will be better off.

When it comes to digital literacy, I feel that I know how to navigate most
digital platforms well or learn quickly. When there are changes it typically
does not affect me too much. One thing I would like to learn or do better is
utilizing more tools and resources better. I stick to what I know and what I am
comfortable with rather than branching out and using tools that would be more
beneficial. In order to become more effective digital learners and uses is we
need to be patient, eager to learn more, willing to try new things, and doing
our best to be more comfortable and fluent in it. The more we use digital
literacy the better we do, just like with anything else. Just because we are
not familiar with something, does not mean we should stray away from it. Keeping
up with the “times” is essential.

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/11/09/what-is-digital-literacy.html

School for me has always been a love/hate relationship. When I first started thinking about five key moments or experience that made me the learner I am today, I thought it would take me forever to come up with them. However, I was wrong. There are very distinctive moments in my years of learning and education that stick out to me. The first experience I can think of took me back to my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Claussen. I had just moved from a new state to her class and I was scared, uncomfortable, and shy. Mrs. Claussen did everything she could to make me feel comfortable, safe, and cared for, which ultimately opened me up to learning. I realized that when I do not feel comfortable or confident, I can tend to shut down. The older I got I would put myself in situations or places where I knew I could do my best learning.

Another experience that came to mind was in sixth grade when my English teacher made us do a quiz and activity to show us what type of learner we are. Even to this day I remember the different activities and at the end where the quiz said I was a kinesthetic learner. As soon as I got the results, I knew it was one hundred percent correct. I do my best learning in a hands-on way, which I began to use to my advantage. Next, I went through a phase where I felt that school and learning did not matter. I felt that sports and myself were cooler, therefore I did not put extra effort into things like academics or clubs. I realized I had to get over myself and realize that learning is essential, and school is important. Once I came to that realization, I began to care more about my work and my extracurricular activities.

The fourth experience that helped mold me as a learner was that I came to terms with the fact that you can learn something from everyone. Not one person knows everything and often, any single person can teach you something you did not know before. To me, this was eye opening because I realized that you do not even have to have higher education to teach someone something. Depending on how people were or acted towards me, I would immediately disregard anything they would say to me or try to teach me. In some shape or form, everyone is a student and a teacher. This last experience really taught me something important. In high school there was a boy three grades below me that had a hard home life and moved from school to school due to family issues. I made it a priority to reach out to him and simply show him that I cared. A lot of times you learn a lot more in school than just what you are there to learn. I realized quick that I could learn a lot from him, which caught me off guard. I learned that when I am passionate about something, in life or in school, I give everything I can to that. If I am passionate about a subject and put my mind to it, I can do it.