Rob

Rob

__**HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN IMPROVE LEARNER CENTERED TEACHING**__

I have whole-heartedly jumped onto the techno bandwagon as (much to the chagrin of many instructors) it is the wave of the future. I may not believe that all technology is great in the classroom but I have began using it in my classes nontheless. At the current time I have set up a class wiki for my Code level 1 students and routinely use clicker technology and WebQuests in the classroom as learner centered education tools.

I also believe that the college LEARN site will allow students who must miss classes the opportunity to cover the materials at home. I have signed up and am currently scheduled to begin online training in November. I have already began my online presentation training. We will be using the LEARN site to present the classroom. I have the added bonus of being able to communicate with the course designer (Rosemary Vogt) as she is located in an office directly across from mine in the N building.

When I have my students perform WebQuests they are allowed to use their cellular phones or the library computers. To set the WebQuest up I visit the websites to peruse them for correct information. I then present the students with a document explaining the the quest. The quest directs themn to URL's that they then use to search for information which they will use to help them answer five to ten questions about the materials covered in the quest.

The eInstruction "Clicker" questions have the students holding the clickers in hand. I either present them with a set of questions and answers shown on the overhead projector. The students have a set time to answer the questions and I receive instant feedback of their comprehension of subject material.

I will continue to search for new online methods of material delivery as I (like most students) find lecture to be extremely boring. The more work they are asked to do on their own... the more engaged they should be. They will also have added satisfaction of doing it on their own. This method however requires constant assessment and additional time by the instructor and I believe this is the biggest hurdle we face when getting instructors/educators on-board with technology in the classroom.

The 'Flipped' Classroom - How technology can be used to make assessment easy.
Hmmmm,

What a wonderfully weird idea for teaching. Post a few videos, power-points or articles on a Wiki or other such protected site (LEARN) and have the students watch/read the information.

I can just see the consumption of time and additional work required to first set-up the class, then get the students to actually view the information. As well, I still encounter students who are not part of the connected age.

On the flip side I can see a huge upside to this. Once the initial set-up is performed class time can be used for assessment and more practical learning. WebQuests and online information supplied by the instructor is at the students fingertips. Communication with their peers through a class Wiki, on Facebook or Twitter (the latter two of which I will never use myself) will allow them to learn at a pace I could not possibly achieve in the classroom.

As long as the information is well presented, instant assessment can be achieved when the class begins by supplying students with a quickie-clicker quiz to see which students bothered to do their work.

Support and encouragement can also be instantaneous as different methods can be shown to those struggling. Students that actually understand the materials can be supplied with hands-on projects to perform in class. More time can be spent on assessment and corrective measures than on lecturing and material delivery.

I read the article about the flipped classroom at the following URL. If the numbers represented are factual… this could be an exciting new tool in our ever changing arsenal.

[] - Left click on the image if it is too small.

I am always up for trying new ideas and therefore plan to begin using this method with the next intake of students in November. It may be a complete and utter disaster or it could be my best friend (eventually saving me much time and effort). Since I am to begin teaching online courses in November (as well), I do not believe this will be too much of an inconvenience.

Scott: No troubles Rob, it's good to hear a different take on things. I'm glad to hear that they get that kind of training. I was just talking about how far we would let them go of course before we reeled em back to what would be the "right" answer. I agree with the method as long as there is enough time for a learner to realize a mistake as opposed to having to rememeber that it was wrong. I think it would be ideal for concepts, but not so much for something like how a contactor actually works. Sometimes we don't have a lot of time to explore everything. See you Tuesday.

October 2.

Learning styles information is available through Glenn Hammonds booklet in EDUC-1092 Course Implementation.

October 9, 2012

Having completed my Prezi I can now really reflect on the affect CAE training has had on the way I deliver materails and the time saving it has allowed me once the original grunt-work was completed. The Prezi is just another tool I intend to have my students work with to present answers to WebQuests.

My own [|Learner Centered Prezi] has been linked.

As time allows I will also continue to develop my own classroom Wiki for Code 1.

[|A Blog for the Winnipeg Art Gallery]

[|A blog for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers]

[|Allaboutcircuits forum]

Weebly.com for WebQuests;

Po[|pple for Teaching Strategies in the 21st Century]

Scott: Thanks for the advice on Web Quests again Rob, much appreciated!

__**October 16, 2012**__

__LEARNER CENTERED APPROACHES - PREZI __ [|Learner Centered Approaches used in my classroom] - Prezi  I use a fair amount of learner centered delivery in my classroom today. as I find it engages the students quite thoroughly. I never (and I do mean never) need to badger my students for assignments as I only have them perform work during class time. They also enjoy doing their work as I keep my total lecture time to <10 minutes per hour of class time.  They seem to look forward to the clicker sessions and Webquests and I am currently evaluating the effectiveness of the other two methods I currently use (PRACTICALLY SPEAKING and CO-OPERATE TRAINING). Co-operate training (as the name implies) is my own term used for cooperative effort put forth in the classroom. I do not force introverts to work in groups as this may take them out of their comfort zone. I do however suggest that they collaborate occasionally to assist other groups or to double-check their work against others.  I also use differing forms of scaffolding, discovery learning and KWL learning to complement the tools I already use in my classroom. Setting these disciplines up takes a fair amount of work however it allows me to take on more the part of a moderator.  My classes are noisy as I allow my students to participate as much as they want in a group, while allowing the introverts to escape the noise by relocating to a different part of the campus to complete their work. They all have my Email address and are able to reach me by text as required. In this way I can offer those not within the class with the same support as those within the classroom. This is a great method for communicating with students who miss classes. __WebQuest URL’s__ [] []

[]

[]

[|http://webquest.org/index-create.php__]

[]

[]

**__Blogs__ ** [] []

[]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[]

__**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">October 16, 2012 **__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have never shied away from new technology if I truly believe it will assist me in the classroom. I will take chances which have found me in hot water (at times) with other instructors. Hearing about other instructors using the line”you should know that already... I’m not going to spend any time on that” makes my spirit sag. They obviously want to continue with 18th century teaching methods and do not want to be bothered with improving their own abilities or those of the students.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I also instruct with a lot of emotion and it comes through in my classroom. I recently lost what perhaps was my very best friend when my old dog passed away suddenly. It was totally unexpected as she has been healthy and happy. Nothing about Saturday was out of the ordinary so we were in total shock when she passed away early Sunday morning. I had an extremely hard time “keeping it together” yesterday and found I let the classroom get almost completely out of control. It was just that I needed time to grieve and was not able to. I felt as part of my soul had been ripped out, leaving a big hole in its wake.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That being said... I have always attempted to be ‘in tune’ with my student’s emotions. I truly do know the part emotions play in learning (both good and bad). This is the entire reason I really do attempt to help them in every way, shape, and form I know, or have learned in my time as an instructor. This is entirely true in my own case as I’m sure it is with the students. The CAE courses I have been taking have allowed me to fine-tune my “emotional radar” in order to take all things into account before confronting a student regarding their behaviour.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As all of my training and prior learning suggests... students learn better when they are able to flex their intellectual muscle. If we keep treating them like children, how do we expect them to be adults?

__**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Presentations; **__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Kyle Schewe** - Having been in a couple of classes with Kyle in the past (online and F2F) I have come to expect (look forward to) his consistent demeanour. It seems to me that attempting to have accounting students (many of which are strong CS and AS types) learn without lecture or instruction would be a hard sell indeed. Kyle seems to have pulled it off with the Scaffolding and Role Play approaches being uniquely effective - Good job MON!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Melanie** - Melanie always seems to be in very good spirits and it is a joy listening to her present materials. Her career seems to be a perfect fit for preparing instructors to deal with children. Role playing, organizers, cooperative learning... what perfect tools to use when attempting to grab (and hold) the attention of children. Well presented Mel!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Danya** - Isn't technology wunnerful? Though there were a couple of slight glitches [ol' slow-hand Eva (lol)] the message came through loud and clear... when used as a supplement to our own material presentation scaffolding, cooperative learning, KWL learning, et-al are a good tool to have in our teaching arsenal. Presentation was clear and concise. Nicely done!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Rob** - Expected the other students to actually read the information shown on the Prezi (after all... we were presenting "Learner Centered Approaches"). Did not explain clearly why he 'stresses' students from time to time by placing time-limits and scoring Rubrics on projects. Should explain to students how to make the Prezi presentation 'full screen' or how to increase the size of the presentation for ease of reading. A little rushed for time to allow all questions.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Bitia** - A personality like Bitia's would come across as warm and caring in the classroom. I also believe that her Prezi was interesting and 'cute' which would make it appealing to young learners and old alike. I'm sure Bitia (like all of us) found it hard to come up with true learner centered approaches but she shows three (#1 - Case Study - Real-time project), (#2 - Role Playing - that I could absolutely see working in a Laboratory environment. Outcomes and evaluation strategy on all but journal/blog entry. All outcomes/evaluations and statements and were clearly defined - action verbs well used. Very nice Bitia! [|Prezi]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Carol** - Nursing - #1 - Discovery Learning - #2 - PBL - #3 - Role Play

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Darrell** - WTS

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Andrew** - WTS

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Aaron** (first Prezi); #1 - PBL - Engine rebuilding - no outcome on Prezi - but regards to history of engines, technology, etc. of internal combustion engine - students should gain experience in removing and installing engines. #2 - Simulations - actual problems to troubleshoot and solve - No outcome stated - students find faults and perform tune-ups and diagnose fuel and ignition problems. #3 - Discussion Boards - allows students to stay in touch via texting, computers, etc. Students helping students. - Outcomes are stated clearly for this slide. Well done for time #1 - welcome to technology! <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Cindy -** Slick presentation - enjoyable (with music even)!; Early childhood education. #1 - Role Playing - Kids take on different roles and share information etc. Outcomes clearly stated. #2 - Discovery Learning (Animoto) - (Had blue screen so I was unable to glean information from this portion of the presentation). #3 - Cooperative Learning - Students learn about child development theorists - make props or use guessing games - outcome clearly stated. Evaluation straight forward. A wee bit busy to follow for someone with my cognitive capacity but neat nonetheless. Good job Cindy! <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Don -** Clearly delivered materials. #1 - WebQuest - AC resonant circuit - Layed out clearly - Evaluation stated. #2 - Cooperative Learning - Power Factor Correction - Outcomes stated with action verbs. #3 - Simulations - Troubleshooting - Constructor (simulator) - All outcomes covered with lab evaluation for final. Easy to follow and well delivered. Well done!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Harry** - Hydro - #1 - PBL - Project is laid out in a clear step-by-step fashion - Outomes clearly stated for this particular scenario - Evaluation based on submitted information and requirements - #2 - Discussion - Lists a reality based scenario where all does not go well - Outcomes stated with clear expectations - Evaluations based on how employees handle business owners who may be affected by outages - #3 - Role Play - Learners are supplied scenarios where customers may be affected - Outcomes clearly stated taking customer service into account - Concise and straight forward. Very well done!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Stephen** - Learners At The Helm - Skype presentation - Prezi - Graphic Arts Instructor - Evaluations stated as quizzes and projects supplied to students - #1 - Cooperative learning - Outcomes clear with collaborative learning - Are you an AR personality Stephen? (lol) - Evaluation holds group and individuals responsible for project - #2 - Case studies - Students apply skills to real world problems to find solutions - Evaluated on written analysis- #3 - Role Playing - Problem customers, resolving issues, etc. - Customer service - Action verbs used well - Evaluated on learner bahaviour and how they 'play the part'. Well done!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Johanna** - Stylist - #1 - Role Playing - Have students play role of stylist and client - Outcomes clearly stated - Evaluation based on interaction with the 'customer' - #2 - Case Study - creating colour formulas - Outcomes brief and to the point. Evaluated - #3 - Cooperative learning - Colour wheel - Outcomes stated - create wheel with clay showing colours - Evaluation - peer critique is a great idea. Nice job!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Ruth** (Early Child Development) - #1 - Personal timeline - Journals - several key delivery methods shown - #2 - WebQuest - Beautiful page set-up - Cute images spur interest - How long is the webQuest - timeline = 4 hours - Many steps - very comprehensive (includes teacher page) - Rubric for evaluation as well as check list - #3 - Cooperative learning - Controversies of child development - rubric for evaluation - Slick presentation. Nicely done!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Derek** - PLC's - #1 - KWL learning - student generated drawings and programming - troubleshooting - Outcome is stated - #2 - Scaffolding - Shows to start and weans the student off of assistance - Good outcomes laid out - #3 - Simulations - project wiring - troubleshooting and think-on-the-fly mentality - clear delivery - outcomes stated clearly - evaluation is ongoing (not shown). Well done!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Scott** - #1 - Webquest - delivery very relaxed and straight forward - #2 - Blog - Discovery learning - Scaffolding - #3 - Cooperative learning outcomes and evaluations stated clearly with peer evaluation to reinforce learning - #4 - case study - et-al shows how many learner centered approaches can overlap when delivering the information. The most comprehensive of all approaches. Great job mon!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Michele H** - Early Childhood Development - #1 - Role Play - be their mentor - role play - behavioural reflections - #2 - Cooperative learning - symbolic play is then combined with lecture/discussion - in groups - working on models of their centres - requirements must be found on their own - Outcomes clear and concise - #3 - Journaling - used to help in teaching students respect - relate work experience through a journal - Evaluations are immediate and clearly stated - Clear voice and brilliant presentation!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Watercolour Painting__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Winter Scene and Northern Lights__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">October 10, 2012

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We thought watercolour painting would be an easy way to spend an afternoon, after all... how tough can watercolour painting be? You’d be surprised.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We will begin our journey with the talents of a local artist, Sylvia Russell. Sylvia was nice enough to allow us use of her how-to DVD “Northern Lights - The Northern Way”. It is a 54 minute video and is a must see for beginners (and experts alike). In the video she explains what supplies are required to perform this project. A shorter video is available at [|Watercolour with Sylvia Russell]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After a quick check on the internet for local Art Supply companies, a little road trip was made to three of them located in the Northwest part of the city in the St. James (Polo Park) area. Total shopping time would be in the area of 75 minutes (including travel) however our instructor (the talented Ms. Kathy) was kind enough to let us use her supplies. Anastacia Spiridakos (entrepreneur and amazing artist) was unable to fit her schedule to ours and was unable to provide live instruction on the project. [Her daughter appears as the starring female lead in the new NBC hit show “Revolution” - produced by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias, Person Of Interest)].

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Links for the art supply stores visited appear below.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__Artist’s Emporium__] [|__Gale’s Wholesale__] [|__Michaels__]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A first attempt on October 10th produced a laughable effort which was recorded (in segments). As hard as the instructor tried (Kathy), Rob was not able to grasp exactly what she was putting on paper. Her explanation was right on the money, however Rob could not put instruction to paper. Three videos were made of this first attempt and will be downloaded as the project progresses.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Since scheduling conflicts have not allowed our actual instructor (Anastacia Spiridakos- Sia) to ‘do her thing’, we scheduled October 13th as our first lesson together. Personal tragedy interfered and the date was rescheduled to October 15th. Bitia arrived at 7:00PM sharp.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__October 15, 2012__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After introductions and small talk we began our projects. Project one has us painting a wintry scene featuring various colours of blue. This is the first paint project shown on Ms. Russell’s DVD.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Materials were presented us which included;


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1” flat brush, #10 round brush, #5 round brush, #2 round brush
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">140lb cold press art paper (Arches)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Paint palette containing 12 different watercolours
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Azure blue paste watercolour
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">White “gouache” watercolour (for snowflakes and additional detail)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Drying sponge
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Plastic ‘base’ (Foam PVC, Coreplast, or the like)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Paper towels (lots and lots of paper towels)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Plastic four compartment ‘cheese holder’

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A basic watercolour palette was used and different shades of each colour were obtained by mixing the colour with black or a combination of different colours. Bitia and Kathy settled on blues as their colour theme as Sylvia’s instructional video indicated. Their colour choice made for beautiful scenes which can be enjoyed as part of a christmas theme. Rob wanted to portray a darker, more sinister wintry scene with cold winds blowing. We began by marking, folding (several times), and tearing our paper so the final dimensions were roughly 6” (150mm) x 8” (200mm) a this would allow us a finished size of 5” x 7” which can be mounted in a picture frame or mat. After the paper was prepared, we taped it to our foam PVC and coreplast mats using masking tape.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We next marked the tape approximately 70% from the top of the picture. This is the point at which the ground meets the sky (our ‘horizon’). We were now ready to proceed with the first step... wetting the ‘sky’ portion of the paper.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Taking our 1” flat brush we wet it in clean water and began drawing the brush across the painting from left-to-right and vice versa. We wanted to sufficiently wet the upper portion of the paper to allow for more even absorption of the paint. Prior to painting we were to tip the painting at an angle to determine if any puddles had formed. If there were puddles we would use paper towels to sop up the excess water, if none formed, we were ready to put paint to paper.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wetting our #10 brush thoroughly we began to spin the brush into our base blue paint to moisten the paint. We then withdrew the brush and (using the lid to our paint palette as a makeshift easel) dispensed the paint onto the lid using circular motions. We continued this wetting of the brush and paint mixing until we had a sufficient amount on the lid to be completely opaque. After cleaning the brush in water we continued the same operation with the black paint and (in Rob’s case) the green paint.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__PUTTING BRUSH TO PAPER__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The following steps were used to produce the painting;


 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The blue and black inks were mixed to obtain the base colour for the evening sky. The top (wetted) portion of the painting was covered in the blue/black paint (darker at the top of the sky and lighter at the bottom).
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Streaking in the paint strokes gives the impression of blowing snow swirling in the sky.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We now used a hair dryer to completely dry the painted portion of the paper (so no running between paints occurs). The back of the hand is used to check the painting for dryness.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We were now shown how to paint conifer trees (evergreens such as spruce, fir, pine, and the like). The trees are to be located along the sides of the painting per the instructions of Ms. Russell in her video however artists are encouraged to display artistic freedom in any case. Painting conifers is first done by making the trunk (starting at the top of the tree). From this we make branches using short sweeping motions to work our way down the tree, making the tree branches wider as we move down. As a general rule, odd numbers are best to use when making stands of trees. Make the trees shorter as you paint to give the impression of distance and depth to the painting.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We next use a wetted brush (1” flat) to drag some of the colour from the base of the trees and sky to apply ‘texture’ to the snow, making it appear as if the snow has drifted somewhat.
 * 6) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kathy now showed us the art of painting deciduous trees (Oak, Maple, Apple, and the like). Since it is a winter scene, the trees are painted without leaves. Deciduous trees are painted in the foreground once again adding depth to the painting. The method most prescribed is T-B-L-T. This anagram should be read from the bottom up and stands for Trunk, Limbs, Branches, Twigs and should be painted in that order. This is best shown by the image below;




 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Once the deciduous trees are painted we have created further depth in the painting.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tufts of grass and weeds are now painted to give the painting even more character.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A nice touch involves scraping some of the paint off of the trees where the branches meet the limbs and where the limbs meet the trunk. This gives the appearance of snow collecting in these areas.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The final touch involves the splattering of gouache (a special formulation of white paint) to give the appearance of snow falling in the picture.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Several short videos were made during our class and will be compiled and distributed on DVD’s to those interested in following the exercise. Several photos were also taken to keep track of the lesson. Our lesson took slightly over 2 hours to complete the first picture. We have one more class scheduled for Monday October 22 at which time we will be painting our Northern Lights picture... stay tuned!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline;">__October 28, 2012__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Materials;


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The same materials and palette of paints used previously on the ‘Wintry Scene’ painting
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ultramarine Blue, Prussian Blue, Indigo, and Paynes Grey. (Cotman).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Friday night brought the second of our two paintings - ‘Northern Lights’. Kathy purchased mats for our finished paintings and the night began in the usual manner. As Kathy and Bitia ‘caught up’ we prepared the work area. A drop cloth was placed on the table and the materials were arranged at our places. We once again tore our paper to accommodate the size required for our 5” x 7” paintings. Tonight we are using the James Richeson 140lb cold pressed paper. It has a slightly different texture than the Arche one used previously. The Northern Lights painting will combine reds, yellows, and greens along with the blues and black used previously. As well we will be using a combination of four additional colours (in paste form dispensed from a tube) mixed in a medicine cup.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The proportions of the paste watercolour paints were as follows;


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ultramarine Blue 50%
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Prussian Blue 25%
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Indigo 20%
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Paynes Grey 5%

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We were also supplied an art magazine and a watercolour ‘how-to’ booklet. In the magazine there was a great article on the different brush types and practice exercises for five different types (Flat, Round, ). We practiced the different types of strokes for about ½ hour on scrap paper to sharpen our painting skills. We then proceeded with our painting.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As usual we marked our tape along the right and left sides approximately 3/4 from the top masking tape. (Once again this will be our ‘sky’ portion of the painting. We then used our 1” flat brush to wet the paper (dragging the brush from right to left then back again until the top portion of the paper was wet).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We now set the background to our sky using a combination of blue and black from the palette colour set. The paint was applied darker at the top and lighter toward the horizon (3/4 of the way down the page). We used a hair dryer to dry this first coat and using the back of our hand... checked the paint for dryness. Once completely dry we applied our colours for the actual northern lights. Green, yellow and red were used here and the colours were applied randomly to the sky area.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After once again ‘drying’ the painting we began applying the detail paint from the mixing cup. This was also applied in a haphazard fashion to the sky area, blending it with our brighter colours as we went. To give the sky “dazzling” effects we used a stroking motion to apply water from a spray bottle to the sky area. This blended the colours and the lights took on the shapes and luminescence as the actual lights one may see overhead on a winters night. Once again we dried the painting to prepare for the finishing touches to the snow covered area at the bottom.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Trees and grasses were now added to the painting. Conifers were added to the right and left margins (once again working toward the middle of the picture). The painting was dried again and the deciduous trees and grasses were added to give the painting character. (Rob commented that his scene reminded him of late night snowmobiling in Alberta). <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The final touch was once again in the form of ‘Gouache’ splattering on the painting to simulate snow. At one point it appeared that Bitia was splattering more gouache on Rob than on her own painting (leading to a good laugh by all).

The project was videotaped over its entirity and DVD's are available for those wanting to learn more about watercolours and the work required to complete any project.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(A personal note from Rob)

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I had never considered myself to be artistic and though my wife has been painting on and off for a couple of years, I never really had interest in doing it myself until this project presented me the opportunity. “I had a blast”. It was fun, messy, interesting, and fulfilling. Even though I will most likely not pursue this any further I am glad I did it nonetheless.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It also makes me realize how proud I am of the talents of Bitia and my own wife Kathy. They are mainly CS personalities (as they needed to be in their chosen professions). I think it would be so hard for someone as regimented as them to think outside their own comfort zone and create such beautiful pictures. Kathy showed us several of the paintings she has done in the past and I was shocked by how beautiful many of them were. Bitia painted two absolutely beautiful paintings though she had never picked up a brush prior to this project.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I would recommend this passion to anyone looking for an “escape” from everyday life. It was five hours of the most relaxing time I have spent in recent memory. It also helped me get over the death of my dog and that (ladies and gentlemen)... is definitely a feat in itself.

__**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">October 30, 2012 **__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ruth - Skipping; Ruth has a strong voice and is always easy to identify with (not aloof). Nice presentation and animation and the gif's and animations were cute. Only a portion of the project was devoted to the skipping project however some very helpful information was offered regarding the interfacing of materials from one manufacturer (apple) to IBM based software. Some Eworld limitations were evident in her attempt to interface the presentation with tools used in the Eworld. Videos were a good touch. Research information very helpful.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Drop Boxes - Google 5GB of storage. **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Derek and Scott - Choosing windows; Real life scenario (Derek is actually doing this). Important information on energy ratings of Jeld-Wen manufactured windows. Great presentation with many visuals and a great reference for various window types and styles. Project time visiting suppliers and manufacturers well spent - **learner centered approach**. A fun Mutt-and-Jeff type presentation - I really found this presentation helpful and enjoyable.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Michele Henderson - Redecorating with Fabric; Animoto video - extremely enjoyable. Music choice was energetic (Bugs Bunny style). Step-by-step process was very helpful and easy to follow. Interesting display, engaging, and made me think about my prior experiences when re-upholstering our own furniture. A fantastic alternative to power point. Well done and follows along the project guidelines quite closely.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bitia and Rob - Watercolour Painting;

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cindy Streifel - How to operate a Jackhammer; Prezi presentation with Animoto supplement. Research based with scaffolding from an instructor. Personal pride and effort also called into play. Important information for those not involved in the construction industry. Used tools she was able to obtain through further research. What we know or think is not always actually what happens. Definitely Project Based Learning.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Melanie - Personal tragedy driven; Learning about stroke and what to do when it happens. Identified risk factors and impact of stroke on the body. Learned from the need to do so. Things taken for granted. Used technolgy for communicating with other family members (concerned with what was happening). I am very much able to sympathize over Melanie's ordeal. How quickly life issues can throw many curveballs at you. Compelling presentation. Did not follow the project guidelines however the story was very compelling nonetheless.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Don - Video Editing - IMOVIE used - Theme based (Music Video) - Search and found Youtube videos on using IMOVIE - Green Screen tutorial - Absolutely learner based. Excellent presentation - great visuals - __**Top notch!**__ May have gone over the 5 hour limit on this project but a superb effort nonetheless - **beautifully done!**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Carol - Homemade Sushi - Prezi - From shopping (and the challenges this brings)... to the actual process of making the roll. Specialty store has the materials required. A little hard to hear the presentation (perhaps a microphone hook-up next time) but a great way to spend an afternoon. Well laid out from start to finish - definitely a learner based approach. Shows how this could be used as a teaching aid in the classroom.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Harry - Power Point - Geocaching - treasure hunt using GPS coordinates. Hunt begins with the Geocache.com website - all information and coordinates to be found are on the page - Sign logs and make certain all materials are returned to their resting place. Use of this would be a little difficult to incorporate into a classroom based course, but would definitely be of use to workers who perform their duties in the wilderness. Pricey to get into for many if ones smart phone does not have an application for GPS. This would be fun to try!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Stephen - Sewing - How to sew/make repairs to clothing - Prezi - Making a cushion using a pillow form as a base for the project - have buttons, zippers, needles, and thread at the ready. Walk through from beginning to end - the presentation was a little hard to follow with anecdotes eating up a little of the time. The presentation was however very enjoyable - I think Stephen would be a blast to have as an instructor. Lots of information and much work required to check and recheck the work. Brings into account how fear of failure or breaking something may come into play in the classroom.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Johanna - Prezi - Cooking Lasagna - Having cooked lasagna many times in my life I have just realized I took this ability for granted. I am married to a wonderful woman who had never learned to cook before we were together. I can definitely sympathize with Johanna (and empathize with her husband). This project (once mastered) should take less than 1 1/2 hours from start-to-finish. I can see however how much time it would take someone new to cooking to make this dinner. Scaffolding by her husband?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Danya - How to Pay it Forward - Power-point - Do something nice to others makes others want to do something nice to someone else. Be attentive - help when needed - Do something nice for strangers - Uses 'pay it forward' letters to 'nudge' people into doing a good deed for another. I am unable to understand how this would be a five-hour project however doing good toward others (no matter how small) is very noble indeed. To good deeds do we need to show up 'Prepared'? As Danya mentioned a couple of times the whole effort is not well received if it is contrived in any way. Big heart - good cause - very noble!

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kyle - Prezi - Smartphone applications - Learning how to oopen up all of the features on the phone - about 20 hours to do the project (and Kyle is tech saavy) - How long would it take the regular schmuck to do this? I doubt anyone but the most skilled tekkie would not attempt this. I really liked this demonstration however as it shows how Android O/S phones can be made to really do the most for their owner. Most of this was above my head as I really only use a cellular device for basic communications - Having taken other courses with Kyle, I know how useful this can be to many users.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Darrell/Andy - Power Point and overhead - tuning and stringiing a fiddle - by ear or by digital - fiddle as compared to the violin - minor and major keys - sharp or flat - I always enjoy Darrell's presentations but was pleasantly surprised by Andy's humour and presentation skills. 5 hours to learn everything needed prior to even beginning to play. Fun, entertaining and engaging.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Aaron - Plant Cloning - Prezi - I love to garden so I was very interested in this video. Excelllent ideas for pruning (precisely sterilizing tools before hand to prevent infection) - grafting, seeds, cuttings, cloning gel (Wal-Mart) etc. Get cuttings from low on the branch - keep moist - not wet - cut at 45 degrees with a scalpel - good ideas - well presented and easy to understand. Project was to be done on something not yet attempted before but I am glad Aaron presented this material - it was helpful.