Author: carlyheemskerk Page 5 of 6

Avocado Cookies

On February 12, 2020

Hey Carly’s Crew!

This week I was feeling extra adventurous and I baked some avocado cookies…Say what? Avocado in cookies? Yup, you heard that right!

I saw this recipe and I was absolutely intrigued. The ingredients looked simple, however, I was so curious to see how avocado and banana would blend together and form a cookie. I chose to skip the chocolate chips in order to keep them on the healthier side.

Here are my step-by-step photos:

Step 1: Preheat oven and line baking sheet.

Step 2: Cube avocado.

Step 3: Mix up avocado, banana and honey in food processor/blender.

Step 4: Add remainder of ingredients and mix.

Step 5: Scoop onto baking sheet.

Step 6: Bake for about 12 minutes and then let cool.

Difficulty level: 6/10

I already had all of these ingredients kicking around at home so lucky for me, I got to skip extra grocery shopping this week. Blending the avocado, banana in the food processor was the trickiest part because I had never used a food processor on my own before. I actually ended up using our Vitamix rather than a food processor. They were quick to make but holy smokes did it ever make for a chocolatey clean up! The batter got everywhere (as you can see in my photos).

Deliciousness level: 2/10

These “cookies” were a bit of a bust! They had the texture of a soggy brownie and zero flavour. They are super healthy though! Maybe if I added an extra banana they would have a bit more flavour and sweetness. Oh well…now I know!

In all honesty, I was skeptical to try these cookies. Avocado was one ingredient that I had on my mind map from the very beginning of my inquiry so I decided to brave it out. I don’t think I will make these cookies again. However, I will definitely use avocado again in my baking!

Next week is reading break yippee! The good news is I will get some time to relax but the bad news is that I won’t be posting a new recipe for all of my dedicated followers. Make sure to check back in a couple weeks and see what I end up creating 🙂

Bye for now Carly’s Crew!

Privacy and Safety

by carlyheemskerk

On February 11, 2020

In EdTech

Hi Carly’s Crew!

Today in our EdTech class we had a guest lecture from Jesse Miller. It was all about privacy and safety online… It definitely made me think about everything that I have posted online. In middle school, I remember we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about internet safety so this topic was something that I already knew a little bit about. However, Jesse made me really think about the repercussions of social media and how it will affect future employment.

One quote that stood out to me from Jesse’s slides that focussed on preparing students for the future and about how our job is to”…help children make sense of their on-demand media and online experiences, teaching & guiding how to uphold enduring values & empowering their communications expectations in the reality they live in…” Technology can be a scary topic due to all the security and privacy issues; due to this, many teachers are quick to push technology off to the side and disregard the conversations that need to be had. We as educators need to provide students with skills to set them up for the future and to do this we need to prepare them how to use technology safely. Technology really is the reality of this world! Jesse spoke about digital footprints, and digital literacies and it was super interesting to learn about because that’s what Claire and I have been researching for our EdTech Inquiry. We definitely took away some interesting points that we will incorporate into our next blog.

I googled my name and I did not find anything surprising or anything that was inappropriate to be online. With that being said, there were definitely some funny things that came up that I had forgotten about and I honestly did not even know that my middle school Prezi presentation on Canadian history was still out there. From now on, I know I need to be even more careful with what I post on social media but more importantly, what others post about me on social media. I am proud of the digital footprint that I have left behind so far!

For the last hour of our class we changed our focus to video editing. I created a green screen video with chickens swimming in the ocean. I used to make iMovies all the time when I was younger so I am quite comfortable with navigating the program. Creating the green screen video was much easier than I had anticipated but the program seemed to lag behind a bit. I am not sure if I had too many other tabs open but it was quite frustrating trying to move everything around due to the time delay. I am excited to use iMovie in a classroom one day to get students to create projects like book trailers and mini movies. I attached my movie for you all to see!

Next week is reading break so you will not be hearing from me! Don’t miss me too much 😉

Carly

Safe Screen Strategies

by carlyheemskerk

On February 11, 2020

In EdTech Inquiry

Hey Cloggers and Carly’s Crew! (Did you miss us?)

This week for our EdTech Inquiry, we are focussing on…

ONLINE SAFETY IN THE CLASSROOM!

Technology can be a scary addition to a classroom, especially with all of the dangers associated with being on the internet. Lucky for you guys, we have created a list of important strategies to keep you and your students protected online!

With regards to each and every tip, we believe teachers should educate students as to why this can be dangerous, and allow for students to engage in discussions and ask questions about personal safety online.

Tip #1: Don’t share personal information.

Make sure your students know that they shouldn’t be sharing personal information such as their name, address, birthday or school online. This includes sharing passwords with friends; no matter how close the students are, a password is personal and private.

Tip #2: Don’t talk to strangers on the internet.

If someone you don’t know tries to talk to connect with you via an online platform or chatroom, students should inform a parent or trusted adult immediately and allow them to deal with that situation. Stranger danger is just as important on the internet these days, as it is in real life! Students should also be informed that people online are not always who they say they are and they need to be extremely careful before they trust anyone.

Tip #3: Get students thinking about their digital footprint.

As soon as students start creating work online they are building their digital footprint. We need to teach students that everything they do online can be traced back to them and therefore, they need to be cautious and considerate. Teachers can help students decide what is appropriate to post online and what is better to keep to themselves. Students’ digital footprints are related to keeping their personal information secure.

Tip #4: Don’t believe everything you read online.

Students are often quick to believe that everything the read online is straight facts. In reality, the internet is not as credible as we may think. Due to the fact that anyone can post anything, students need to be critical when finding information on the internet. As teachers, we should encourage students to ask an adult or classmate for a second opinion if they ever get confused.

We hope you learned something about online safety! Teachers are responsible for finding where the resources store their data (and students’ personal information). This is just as important as finding quality online classroom resources when it comes to purposeful screen time.

Logging off for now,

Carly and COordt 🙂

Almost perfect…

by carlyheemskerk

On February 10, 2020

In Music

Hi Carly’s Crew!

I have been working on my piano lots the last couple of weeks and it is finally starting to become a habit that I fit into my everyday routine. I am feeling really proud of myself so far, however, there are definitely a few places where I am really struggling! To make it easy for you to understand where I am at with my practicing I will organize this post into two sections: apples and onions. Apples represent the things that I am doing well and onions will represent the areas where I am still having some troubles.

Apples

As of today I am able to play the whole song through with my right hand only! This means that I am right on track with where I need to be in terms of my growth plan.
I am able to play about 75% of the song from memory. This means I am not looking at sheet music or any videos.

Onions

In all honesty, I am very nervous to start using my left hand to play at the same time. I have spent some time trying to add it in slowly but I am finding it impossible to play two hands at the same time.
I keep rushing the timing of the song as I get more comfortable with it. I know that when I video myself I will be extra nervous, and rush even more than usual, so I need to practice and focus on the correct timing!

That’s all for now! Fingers crossed I will have figured out how to get my left hand playing simultaneously with my right hand by the next time you hear from me 😉

See you then!

Go Bananas!

by carlyheemskerk

On February 7, 2020

In Free Inquiry

Hey there Carly’s Crew!

Welcome to another week of my baking adventures. Following along with my muffin success from last week I decided to cook up some banana muffins (sans sugar).

Mashing up the bananas!

The final product!

Difficulty level : 6/10

These muffins weren’t terribly tricky but the elevated difficulty level comes from the complexity of the ingredients. I didn’t have any almond extract or almond milk at home so I took a quick trip to the grocery store and picked up some ingredients. For my bananas, I used frozen bananas and holy smokes, it sure is tricky to mash a frozen solid banana. I quickly learned that if you run it under hot water for about a minute while the peel is still on it makes it much easier

Deliciousness level: 6/10

Yum yum yum…these muffins were tasty, and you couldn’t even tell that they were made without sugar. Unfortunately, they were a little bit too dry once they cooled! It was an easy fix though, when I microwaved the muffins, the moisture returned.

I didn’t really plan to make muffins two weeks in a row but I was craving banana muffins so I thought I should go for it. To change it up from last week I focused on creating muffins without any added sugar. I found this recipe on a website that I had never heard of before but it turned out pretty well still. We live in an age where technology gives us access to literally anything in a matter of seconds. This had made it so easy for me to find recipes for just about anything I could ever imagine. I definitely have spent a lot of time just scrolling through recipe sites and bookmarking hundreds of recipes that I want to try one day. I have a hard time picturing what it was like before the internet when cookbooks were the only source for finding new recipes!

I had a stressful week but while I was baking these muffins I realized that all my stress disappeared for a little bit. This was a really good reminder of how fun and beneficial baking can be. After thinking about my experience with mental health and baking I figured there must be some research out there that looked into this topic. I found one study that recognized this experience as “culinary therapy”. Another article spoke about how baking allows you to feel in control and gives you a sense of purpose. Personally, when I feel overwhelmed after a hard day I just want to curl up in bed, however, baking gives me a chance to work hard on something and the end result is usually something delicious. The immediate reward of a snack or meal makes me feel proud of myself and I feel accomplished!

Before this inquiry I had never considered baking to be anything more than just a hobby! Of course, I am still mainly focusing on the nutritional benefits of baking but I think it is also important to recognize the mental health benefits that accompany baking. Next week, I will be working on some protein cookies so make sure to check back soon!

See you then Carly’s Crew xo

True or False? Screen Time Kills You

by carlyheemskerk

On February 5, 2020

In EdTech Inquiry

Hey Cloggers and Carly’s Crew!

We’re back with our screen time inquiry project and we have some juicy information to share! If you like tea, this is the post for you 😉

Today, we’re going to present you with some common (and some less common and just plain funny) misconceptions and myths around screen time.

So here we go…

Misconception #1: Screen time makes you stupid.

Okay, boomer. This is a bit of a stretch (or more than a bit…) There is no evidence that points to a negative correlation between success and screen time. Screen time has zero effect on brain development or a human’s ability to learn and process information. This statement is so behind the times… So as Ariana Grande would say – thank you, NEXT!

Misconception #2: Screen time makes you unhealthy.

There is definitely a possibility of being unhealthy, but this has less to do with screen time and more to do with simply not taking care of yourself. Anyone in literally any occupation can become unhealthy if they do not take the necessary actions to stay healthy. There is, once again, no direct correlation between the two. Think of it this way, if you don’t spend any time on screens, that does not automatically make you a super healthy person. You have to personally work on staying healthy whether you use screens or not. In fact, there are so many technologies that can help you stay fit and remind you to take care of yourself. Let’s move on.

Misconception #3: Screen time makes you socially awkward.

If this is true, then we must be pretty socially awkward. But, luckily, it’s not. *Phew* Obviously, if you isolate yourself from people, you might struggle to connect with others. Nonetheless, technology doesn’t affect this. It can even help people increase their social skills through online chat rooms, emailing, and blogging (yay, us!) There are so many occupations these days that require you to communicate with people through technology so learning about it definitely isn’t holding you back in any way. And in the end, there’s nothing wrong with being a little awkward. 😛

Misconception #4: Screen time results in an earlier death.

Well, if this is true, we would probably be dead because we live for the blog. Since we can’t predict time of death to begin with, there’s not really any proof to back up this point. And to be honest, we’re sure that one round of Papa’s Cupcakeria won’t send you to the morgue (P.S. we played a round and we’re still not dead…)

So as you can see, there are so many crazy misconceptions about screen time. The reality is that screens are apart of daily life so you might as well learn how to use them effectively. As Peter West would say – “The amount of time a child spends in front of a screen is not the problem. The type and quality of the material on the screen is the problem.”

Be smart folks, and don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

Logging off for now,

Carly and COordt 🙂

Diving into Educational Technology

by carlyheemskerk

On February 4, 2020

In EdTech

Hi Carly’s Crew!

This week we were back in the classroom learning about various educational technologies. We began the class working in groups of three and giving peer feedback to each other about how our blogs are coming so far. Lucky for you guys I got lots of really positive comments…clearly this blog must be pretty great 😉 Don’t worry, I also got some constructive feedback about how to make this blog even more AWESOME for all of my dedicated followers. One of my goals for my future blogs is to incorporate more photos (especially in my baking).

Katie, Lauren, Lauren and I chose to research iMovie trailers.Everyone had 45 minutes to research their topic and then we took turns presenting. It was super interesting to hear about what our classmates researched and watch how everyone chose to present their knowledge. Our group chose to use Google Presentation because we were already comfortable with it. My favourite part is the plethora of fonts, colours, themes etc. that Google has to offer. It is also perfect for working collaboratively because multiple people can work on it at the same time! One thing I learned about Google Presentation today was how to change the privacy settings so that everyone can see it.

iMovie allows for students to share their knowledge using photos, videos, audio recordings and words.

That was all we got up to today in tech class! Check back next Tuesday to see what else we learn on our educational technology journey.

Screen Time with Carly & Claire!

by carlyheemskerk

On January 29, 2020

In EdTech Inquiry

Hey Cloggers and Carly’s Crew!

We’re teaming up for our EdTech Inquiry project. As you are currently reading this blog (on a screen), would you ever think about the brain cells you’re losing? Or maybe the ones you’re gaining. Screen time has such a negative view in our current technology-centred society; but, is screen time really bad for you? We’re hoping to dive into this topic as well as look how we, as future educators, can effectively incorporate purposeful screen time into our classrooms!

Our society revolves around technology, and so it is naive of us to simply say that technology shouldn’t be apart of classrooms. Although we would love for our students to play outside all day, they must also have an opportunity to work on a skill that is so necessary in everyday life. Screen time is so much more than simply playing games on a computer and we want to give students the opportunity to learn, discover, and grow via technology.

Our goals are to learn how to incorporate technology effectively and how to have a healthy balance between screen time and real life experiences in the classroom (that being said, you can have great experiences with technology, but nothing replaces face-to-face conversation). The more we educate students about technology and how to properly use it, the safer they will be online when there’s no one monitoring their usage.

Some areas of focus/research for the next couple of weeks include the following: screen time in primary, middle, and secondary classrooms; pros and cons as well as common misconceptions; and what makes screen time effective.

So join us on this adventure! We can’t wait to learn more about our future classrooms and how we can prepare ourselves as educators.

Logging off for now,

Carly and COordt 🙂

EdTech Week 4

by carlyheemskerk

On January 28, 2020

In EdTech

Whew! Today’s EdTech class was an exciting change up but it made for a busy day…

We took a field trip to PSII – Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry in Downtown Victoria. The school was founded by Jeff Hopkins and we got to listen to him speak about what makes PSII special and the importance of inquiry based learning. I grew up in Victoria and until today I had never known what PSII had to offer, in all honesty, I didn’t even know it existed. All in all, I had a really great experience learning about PSII today but I am left with lots of questions still. It’s important to remember that it is a high school and that the students that attend it are much older and more responsible than young elementary students.

I think that the inquiry based approach to conquering the curriculum is super cool! It allows students time and freedom to learn about what they want, not just what the teacher wants. Personally, I believe the model at PSII resembles the real world much better than a public high school does. For example, when students need help they are expected to approach the teacher and schedule an appointment that works for them. Students also get to participate actively in the community by going on field trips to local parks, gyms and other facilities. This model gives students the opportunity to be held accountable for their work, however, the model requires an immense amount of self-determination and diligence.

I love that the students get to work at their own pace whether it is individual, collaborative or under the guidance of a teacher. Realistically, this model would be impossible in an elementary school. Early elementary students rely on their teachers and the structure of a classroom. With that being said, there are definitely some take aways that would be a great addition to an elementary school classroom. I think that a guided inquiry project would be perfect for elementary students! Additionally, this model does not fit seamlessly into university. How can you go from having completely personalized learning to entering university and sitting in lecture filled with 200 other people?

I tried to picture myself at PSII and if I’m being honest I don’t think it would be a good fit for me. I love having a timetable and set classes. I would feel overwhelmed without having much guidance from my teachers. I love the idea of being able to choose what interests you in order to complete the curricular competencies but I definitely would need some teacher guidance to get me started. After a few classes on a big idea, I would love the chance to dive deeper into a topic that interests me.

I highly recommend going and checking PSII out. Here are some of the posters that highlight the core values that PSII focuses on. I wonder if you guys would have liked to attend high school like this? Would you ever like to teach in a model like this one?

See you next week!

Free Inquiry Week 3

by carlyheemskerk

On January 28, 2020

In Free Inquiry

Hey Carly’s Crew!

Today is the day you have all been waiting for! I made blueberry muffins!

Please don’t mind the less than perfect photos…maybe my next inquiry will look into becoming a better photographer 😉 Anyways, lets get down to business.

Difficulty level : 5/10 – easy peasy, lemon squeezey!

These muffins were quick to make and used ingredients that most people have hanging around the house. Next time I make blueberry muffins I will be extra careful to fold the blueberries in, instead of stirring them. In all honesty, I was surprised how purple the batter went because I thought I was being careful…oh well! There is always next time!

Deliciousness level : 7/10

The oatmeal in these muffins definitely added a finishing touch. Not only were they delicious, but they were filling too. It was more than just a sweet treat! The blueberries were sweet and yummy but they’re also filled with antioxidants so you can feel good about eating them.

These muffins were definitely not the healthiest thing to make it. However, I wanted to start with making something that wasn’t too crazy and out of my comfort zone. I really loved using yogurt in the muffins and I definitely will use yogurt again in my healthy baking journey.

If you have never used a silicone muffin tray you are are missing out! I read on one of the health blogs that they are life changing, but I didn’t believe them so I went out and bought one. Let me tell you… they truly are life changing. For one, the muffins popped right out once they were done baking, no fuss and no mess. I didn’t even have to grease the tin or use muffin liners. Also, the tray created perfectly sized muffins that work for a grab and go snack. Treat yourself and go buy a silicone muffin tray!

I would absolutely make these muffins again! I am excited to try making some more adventurous snacks so make sure to check back next week to see what I come up with.

I better get back to baking…bye for now!

P.S – Check last week’s post out if you’re curious to see what recipe I followed!