That's A Wrap!

The sixth and final week of the Genius Hour Project is here! I can finally take a moment to announce, “that’s a wrap!” like a famous Hollywood director. With all the filming and editing I’ve been doing lately, I certainly feel like one (a very underpaid one, that is). In my younger and more vulnerable years, I used to want to be a film director. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Genius Hour project in the sense that I was able to live my Jane Campion fantasy.  

OpenClipart-Vectors. (2013, October 6). Clapperboard [vector illustration]. Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/2dtsEEt

As my other posts indicate, I chose to answer the question "Can sound heal stress?" for my Genius Hour Project. I specifically studied the strange and fascinating genre of sound known as ASMR. Studying this phenomenon was not only interesting, but also rewarding. I discovered a new tool that I can use to combat stress in every day life. 

I now have a little YouTube channel devoted to continuing my creation of ASMR and Educational videos. I am amazed and humbled by the welcoming reception I have encountered from YouTube, and in particular, from the ASMR Community. I have some how managed to amass almost 600 followers, which may be small in comparison to ASMR-tist pros like Maria (gentlewhipsering channel), but to me, it is incredibly humbling that hundreds of people are supporting my creative content! 

I now feel a sense of confidence that I never had before, in terms of using technology in the classroom. Not only can I create educational YouTube videos for students to watch, but I can also use tech based tools like Today's Meet, Powtoon, and Socrative. Not only do tech based tools make my job as an educator more robust, but they also make learning more engaging and fun for my future students! 

Collaborative Learning

There is really no end to the list of resources that educators have at their fingertips for Collaborative Learning, thanks to the internet. For example, the image above, generated using Wordle, is an example of Collaborative Learning that can be used in the classroom. While I generated my Wordle using information related to my Genius Hour Project, a collaborative learning Wordle could be something generated by having every member of a class insert a word or sentence related to a topic so that a word cloud could be made. It would be a good way to see what common words or phrases students use in terms of a given topic, and it would create a sense of cohesion so that the whole class is able to contribute to it. 
Another really cool tool for Collaborative Learning that we used this week is Today's Meet. This is a website that allows for Backchannel discussion during lessons or in-school activities. Students can contribute to a lesson by posting their thoughts, feelings and questions about a topic, and classmates are able to see these posts and respond. For example, if a student has a question about something a teacher is discussing in class, they could post to Today's Meet and have another classmate answer them in real time. Also, instead of having student's raise their hands to answer questions or share reflections, a teacher could ask students to post to Today's Meet. I would have loved to use this tool when I was in elementary school. Participation was never a strong point for me, as I was quite shy. When teachers asked questions in class, I usually knew the answer, but was too shy to raise my hand and share in front of the whole class. Had Today's Meet been used, I would have been able to share my thoughts and knowledge, as it is less intimidating to make a post, than to speak in front of peers. I would love to use Today's Meet in a class of my own one day!

A Bad Case of Stripes Quiz

Genius Hour Research

It looks like YouTube is going to be my new best friend for the next few weeks. My Genius Hour project seeks to discover if sound has curing properties. So far, I've learned that hundreds of thousands of people believe it does - and they're convinced that ASMR is the key to this theory. YouTube is populated with countless ASMR videos, designed to utilize sound for relaxation purposes. I've set up a channel where I will interact with YouTube's robust ASMR Community, in order to experience sound's healing power, and to create some healing sounds of my own. I'm also interested in engaging both ASMR-tists (ASMR content creators) and ASMR listeners in discussion, so that I can learn about their personal experiences with the phenomenon.

I've subscribed to the channels of various ASMR-tists so that I can looks for patterns and trends in successful ASMR videos. My next step will be  to create a video of my own that explains what ASMR is, and why I am researching it. I will also need to gain subscribers of my own, so that I can engage with them in discussion about what works and what is not helpful in creating sounds with healing properties. Hopefully I can interest enough of the YouTube community, so that I can get a decent amount of feedback on my experiment.

I have been listening to ASMR content every night before bed, and I'm already noticing undeniable results. It's much easier for me to take mind off of any worries when an ASMR video is playing quietly as I lie in bed. Something about listening to the mundane sounds of a whispering ASMR-tist's nail polish collection is oddly relaxing. I could certainly see myself reaching for my headphones in the future, when I am stressed over assignments and due dates. Furthermore, I fall asleep much faster when listening to ASMR, as opposed to when I simply rest in silence. I'm becoming convinced that I'm on to something. Some people take pills to cure insomnia, but maybe all they need is a calming voice whispering in their ears as they close their eyes. Or at the very least, it could certainly compliment any prescribed medication.

I plan on filming and uploading a video to YouTube this week, so stay tuned for my post!

Copy RIGHT

Image sharing dominates modern social media. How many times have you clicked a photo on Facebook and hit the "Share" button? How often have you come across the same meme, posted and reposted thousands of times on Instagram? Thousands of times every hour, internet images are posted, reblogged and re-uploaded on social media. Yet we hardly ever think about the origin of these images. Who "owns" an image on the internet? Are we "stealing" a photo if we save it to our computers and reuse it on the internet, in a school project, or on a blog? 
Often we are violating copyright laws without even realizing it. Technically, every original image is copyrighted by the author of that image, and is protected by copyright laws, even if a copyright notice is not given. In order for the public to use an author's original image, permission must be granted. Fortunately, many authors of original works wish to share their creations with the public. The Creative Commons Copyright allows authors to share their work with the public, so long as proper citation has been given and the work will not be used commercially. 
It is important for students to learn to check the source of the internet images they intend on using. Consider a student searching Google for an image of children using a computer, intending to use such an image in a classroom slideshow. It is not enough to simply Google "children and computers" on Google Images, and save whichever desirable image appears. Students ought to select the image of "children and computers" that they like, and then click "view page" so they can find the original source of the image, and therefore locate the copyright information. If an image is trademarked or held through strict licensing, it is not appropriate for student usage. However, if an image is subject to a Creative Commons licence, it is suitable for usage, so long as the student provides citation (ie, provides credit to the author/source of said image). 
For example, here is an image of "children and computers" found on Flickr, distributed via Creative Commons and cited appropriately:

Ribeiro, L. (2008, June 30). Children at school [photograph]. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/XJffOT

Another example would be of this "children and computers" image located via Google Images:

Kozuch. (2008, March 18). An OLPC Class in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia [photograph]. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Laptop_per_Child#/media/File:OLPC_Class_-_Mongolia_Ulaanbaatar.JPG

Hello! Welcome!

My name is Erika, and I am currently studying as a Teacher Candidate at Brock University. Part of my studies include an introduction to Genius Hour and other digital platforms for learning. My blog will be archiving these explorations.

If you are unfamiliar with Genius Hour, click here to view some student resources that will help spark your creativity! 

Speaking of creativity, wouldn't you agree that music is a guaranteed way to inspire? I'm going to leave you with my absolute favourite song in the world, Head Over Heels by Tears For Fears. Hopefully it will spend some inspiration your way! 

Now I realize Tears For Fears might not be the preferred pop du jour, but I have a penchant for anything retro. If you can't appreciate Roland Orzabal's crooning, hopefully you can at least enjoy the nostalgia. Or at the very least, it might remind you of one of my favourite films, Donnie Darko; a film which is perfect for this time of year. There's nothing like a spooky movie to put you in the mood for autumn and Halloween! Technically I think I may have surpassed the Halloween's target audience age years ago, but it still remains one of my favourite days of the year. I have a passion for makeup and fashion, but it extends beyond everyday glamour. I love costuming and special effects makeup, and Halloween is the perfect excuse to exercise those creative areas for me! 

Aside from all things spooky, I also love reading, drawing, crystals, aromatherapy, and loose leaf tea. If you haven't guessed it, loose leaf tea is the inspiration behind the name of this blog. One day, if I'm lucky enough to have a classroom of my own, I suspect I may be known on campus as "that teacher who's always carrying a cup of tea"!