Free Weekly Inquiry (March 19-25)
Welcome back to the very last donut rate and review! I am pleased to share that this inquiry has benefited me in more ways than one that I will now share with you, and additionally, which final donut I had rated and my top 3 favourite Tim Hortons donuts.
As I mentioned previously, Tim Hortons is my favourite fast food chain restaurant, and therefore, I had originally decided to try a handful of their donuts. I can positively say that trying a bunch of donuts taught me so much about the technology aspect of what goes into promotion for these donuts, the creation Tim Hortons website, and how Tim Hortons uses their brand to support many companies and gives charitable donations to programs across Canada.
As the last donut was one I was stuck on choosing, I decided to go with a theme donut to end this whole project: The Cadbury Mini Eggs Dream donut! I can truly say this was a perfect donut to end this whole inquiry, as it checks off everything I would want in a donut, and it was oh-so-delicious! This Cadbury donut is a limited-time spring edition donut that is a vanilla classic with an assortment of colourful sprinkles and white fondant frosting with the addition of several mini eggs to finish it off. This donut is a no-brainer 5/5 rating for taste, appearance, and customer service, being the perfect treat. Here is an image of this beauty of a donut:
I also created a little Canva image of my top 3 rated donuts to finalize my thoughts on the whole donut taste testing in which is my multimedia strategy this week:
Now, as this experience has progressed, I truly can not believe how much I gained from this inquiry project that was quite literally trying donuts – soon to find out it was much more than that. The technology world is something that even I as part of the Gen Z generation I struggle to keep up with the latest technology, but I hadn’t realized how important it is in everything, and I emphasize EVERYTHING. The way it is used in every aspect of our lives and also lives within the simplicity of a Tim Hortons is unthinkable to me but thankfully, I had learned so much about how to incorporate certain types of technology tools into my classroom as I showcased these donuts in many multimedia strategies. I am grateful in having support along the way and recommendations from peers for the donuts I tried, and really enjoyed this project throughout the semester. Thank you for following along with my rate and review! 🙂
Weekly Free Inquiry (March 12-18)
Welcome back to my weekly donut rate and review! This week’s donut is the one……the only….. classic chocolate dip!
Earlier this week, I was feeling stressed out and in NEED of a treat to get me through the day, so what better way to satisfy my craving than a Tim Hortons donut. It was comforting to know that by getting this donut I was also partially doing an assignment that made me feel a lot better, so yay!
The chocolate dip is a well-known classic amongst many others, but this donut is by far a favourite for me. If someone were to ask me, “Paige, which donut would you pick out of all the donuts in Tim Hortons?” well, I would answer with the chocolate dip. Simply delicious. Not too sweet, not too messy, the perfect amount of dipped chocolate and with the appealing price of $1.29, this donut is more than just a comforting treat, but a memory.
For this week’s technology aspect, I started to look more into the Tim Hortons website and stumbled upon these two images that showcase the chosen donut of this week, the classic chocolate dip, and a touching story behind a box of donuts. I initially thought to myself, wow, whoever is running the Tim Hortons website is making it look way more than just a fast food restaurant. Until I then realized it is more than just a fast food restaurant. Growing up, getting a box of donuts was a tradition in my family on our road trips or stopping to get treats on our way to family functions. Thinking about this advertisement made me think back on the memories I have attached to Tim Hortons, which is possibly why I chose to do this inquiry in the first place. Tim Hortons reminds me of a family-friendly business with the added bonus of being my all-time favourite fast-food chain. Overall this promotion of attaching memories to a box of donuts is such a smart idea and is honestly not even a fake promotion as I, too, have similar memories to the story shared in the image.
Good job this week, Timmies!
WEEK 9 – Weekly Reflection
Reflecting on this week’s prompts of gaming within education and how these types of games are useful in teaching students through manipulatives of technology, I learned that games can be shown in all subject areas and even showcase as a way of learning new information…..but what about the cons of games as well.
Games are known to be fun and engaging activities that the majority of students at the elementary-high school level invest their personal time into. Some games are more informational than others and can be directly targeted for school-based use, such as “cool math games”, any kind of board games, or dice and card games that can be applicable for teaching students math in a more appealing way. I believe that incorporating games into lessons is important because it highlights the use of recall memory or pattern recognition. It can also be informational in the game we tried during class, the “Bad News” game that informed whoever was playing of fake news using big and popular titles such as the president of the United States, Joe Biden, or big corporations such as NASA. Of course, games can also be a bit dangerous in finding information that younger students should not have access to or those types of games that promote aggressive behaviour that a student could impersonate into their own behaviour that causes later problems.
There is also a discussion of the award system through those online games. Games can provide healthy competition amongst students, and with online games, the reward for winning is usually not a physical object and more so a colourful big letter picture expressing “WINNER” or “TOP SCORE” that generates the use of rewards in a more stable way I think just because every student can achieve a score or be a winner if challenging themselves, in which for teachers can be super helpful in motivating all students. This can also backfire and cause unnecessary competition or behavioural problems in students that could possibly result in doing games as a leeway to grab students’ attention and, therefore, not be as educational.
As games can be beneficial to learners in promoting informational websites or providing learning tools for different subject areas, teachers should be aware of how they are using games within the classroom and make sure there is a specific objective that connects to the learning aspect. Super fun playing all the games during class, and I felt like I gained a new perspective on gaming within the education system.
Weekly Free Inquiry (March 5-11)
Welcome back to my donut rate and review! We are at our halfway point now in the semester and I am excited to talk about another Tim Hortons favourite: The Boston Cream donut!
The Boston Cream donut sores in popularity amongst all ages – for the most part. The settling price of $1.99 for this classic donut was dipped in chocolate frosting and piped with a favourable cream, making every bite of this donut worth every bit of money.
Though mentioned below that this donut was not in my top ratings when I was younger, I have come to enjoy this tasty and very sweet, tasty treat to now give it a fair rating of a solid 4/5. The Boston cream has just enough of everything that every bite feels like a dance party in your mouth, which who doesn’t want that for their cheat treat of the week! The customer service was lovely as usual, got it before work as a little snack and it just hit the spot. A scary amount of sugar, though but that’s all part of the experience right? (220 calories and 18g of sugar)
In regards to the technology aspect this week, I chose to do another screencasting video to showcase the Tim Hortons online website. I talk about certain aspects of the website I like and how it also is accessible to those who are visually impaired. However, I also critiquce the website in their updated pictures for each donut and my own theory behind it. (a must watch!)
Another little side critique I have as well is the bags for the donuts are TERRIBLE, if not the mini boxes I usually get it in as it took off my icing, as showcased in the pictures I also have chosen to include in this week’s reflection. Maybe now it’s fewer calories than intended, HA.
WEEK 8 – Weekly Reflection
Welcome to week 8!
In regards to Tuesday’s lecture on social media privacy, consent, and internet safety, I feel as though I have learned so much in just a short amount of time.
Jesse, our guest speaker, was super informative about what the online world looks like for those who are in primary all the way up to high school – and most importantly, how to properly handle situations in addition to teaching students about good online role modelling. After the Q&A portion of the class, I was impressed with my fellow peer’s comments and questions about social media from a teacher’s point of view. Our generation is highly consumed in technology, and teachers are not just role models in their own classrooms anymore, but to a bigger and more public platform such as Tik Tok (very popular). I constantly see videos of teachers posting content about their classroom, students, and their “teaching life” so to speak, and how internet safety plays a huge role in that. I really thought about the concept of forever when Jesse was mentioning that anything can be traceable once posted to the internet, and that got me to analyze how and what I want to post on my social media accounts going forward. For example, who I am following on these platforms, who follows me, what pictures I have posted, and there is too much personal information on these platforms – important to recognize when in about years time when I am applying for teaching jobs. Jesse was fantastic in answering all our questions, and i was personally fascinated to how much as a society, we are growing in technology.
In addition to the online browser of what I saw when I typed in my name into my computer. A bundle of what appeared to be the same blonde women with glasses. Though there were different last names, the name Paige I find not to be a super common one, it was interesting to see how common it was for blonde women. Atlas, I also expressed my gratitude that no pictures of myself came up just because I like to have my accounts private to the majority extent. However, still trying to find this magazine, which I was in during middle school for my dance company at the time, which I remembered to be a funny picture that I would like to find now that I am much older.
I really enjoyed this week’s lecture and listening to Jesse’s presentation, which I will definitely take into account during my time in the classroom.
Weekly Free Inquiry (Feb 26-March 4)
Welcome back to this week’s donut rate and review! This week we have what is supposed to be a light, sweet-tasting treat: The Honey Cruller donut
First things first, I was disappointed in this week’s donut tasting. The Honey Cruller, also known to be classic, was none the more than just sad and even, dare say…. a waste of money. 🙁 (well, Sophies money, actually, as we both tried it together for my blog)
With the lowest rating of a solid 1.5/5, this donut was promoted to be sweet, delicious, and, well, definitely not nutritious, haha, but a staple for some Canadians to-go order with their coffee; a very big letdown. Though the price was around the same as the others, It was airy, crunchy, and unpleasing to the eye. Though the customer service was fast, and the donut seemed to be fresher than my previous tastings, it did not by any number, beat the taste. Normally, I am not a huge honey fan, but I do like it some foods if done right. Needless to say, this donut is not one I would talk about. I give credit to the Tim Hortons website as they perceive this donut to look like the softest and sweetest donut in their glass case, but sadly it was just the opposite – maybe it should not have been crunchy now that I am analysing my tasting experience….
In regards to the technology aspect of this post, since this donut is a classic from one of the first-ever donuts to be showcased at Tim Hortons, I decided to compare it to a very popular food rating site: Chick Advisor. As shown in the image, the reviews that honey cruller was given were exceptionally high in comparison to my review. With a 4.6/5 rating and a scrumptious-looking picture of the donut posted on this website, mine had tasted and (when biten into) looked nothing of the sort. Just by personal preference, of course, this honey cruller was not my favourite donut though being publicly fantasized in how “good” this donut seemed to be for other costumers. I added an alt-text on my images to describe the photo in immense detail that I thought would be a nice touch in this weeks multi-media insertion.
Thanks for reading this weeks inquiry post and stay tuned for next weeks donut rate and review!
WEEK 7 – Weekly Reflection (Feb 26-March 4)
Welcome back to my blog for week 7!
I personally really enjoyed this particular week, even when I initially heard the word coding and math, which made me worrisome at first, it was surprisingly easy to create and super fun. Down below, I have included the link to my customized and well, coded (how cool!) flappy bird game and additionally my certificate. Despite absolutely hating the idea of having to code and use math as well, this activity really made it so much more than that, with the added benefit of becoming more knowledgeable of our technology and being interactive with the material that I would love to bring it into my classroom one day.
In regards to my views on coding and computation, for the targetted elementary grade level being grades 2-4, these types of coding games would be a perfect introduction to the very basic knowledge we have as a society about technology. With hands-on and self-directed activities like this, though the primary age will not be able to code their own game as I did, I believe doing this as a class activity would do them a world of good as there as many added benefits such as team-building, problem-solving, and a tremendous amount of creativity is embedded into using technology in a younger classroom. Students can learn at this age how significant technology is in our everyday lives, and for them in the games that they play online if any. It is important to educate students on a safe internet experience, thus with coding can be tricky but manageable in attempts to teach different subjects through coding and computation to enhance their learning growth and maybe even spark up interest in coding at younger ages that, of course, would be super beneficial in this society. As we are already aware of how fast technology is evolving in our world, using it to learn about math abstractions playfully can really make a difference in a student’s perception of how they view coding and math (likewise, my NEW perspective on coding and using math in technology after today’s class).
https://studio.code.org/c/1882536967
Weekly Free Inquiry (Third Week Feb 5-11)
Welcome back again to this week’s donut rate and review! This week we do not have a super special donut, but one I have never tried in my 19 years of living – the sour cream glaze donut!
As per the name, this donut was not special but definitely a benchmark in my journey in trying a variety of different Tim Hortons donuts as I had never tasted this donut before until recently for this weeks inquiry. The reason for never trying the donut before today was mainly because of the name of course because sour cream in an actual donut does not sound at all appealing. However, I was proved wrong when I was encouraged to try it after proceeding to get my friend Sophie the donut that happens to be her favourite. (another shoutout to soph)
The sour cream glaze donut was tasty, fulfilling and perfect to eat as a snack. Due to the slightly crunchy edges, the donut curves up to which you can break off the perfect piece. I would give this donut a solid 4.7/5 as it lived up to his high reviews from my peers (in week three video of what everyone’s favourite donut was). This donut has inspired me to chose donuts to review that I have not either tired before, I remember trying if it has been that long since I have had it or, go for the crazy fun decorative ones that are special-cased donuts. As humans, when we find something we like we tend to stick with it not bother challenging it to something that could live up to its liking. I believe that this post should inspire others to try something new as the sour cream glaze donut has now become one of my favourites – even after 19 years of never trying it. In regards to technology, this donut I see not far as much promoted as other classics on the Tim Hortons website nor on the internet as the many controversial opinions on how not tasty this donut is and that the more you try it, the worse it becomes. It has come to my knowledge that despite opinions from most customers, or internet reviewers, this donut should still be displayed as a tasty treat that everyone should give a chance to try. This is one of the beautiful things about technology is having the website be neutral to those opinions who agree or disagree that this donut is beyond good.
Here are some pictures I took of the donut this week! For the self-portrait photos, each has a description to ensure the multimedia purpose of this week’s post. 🙂
WEEK 5 – Weekly Reflection (Feb 5 – 11)
Reflecting on this week’s blog prompts, the SAMR theory of technology adoption framework and how sketch notes can help schools and teachers all around to implement a more engaging and meaningful way to use technology within the classroom.
Technology has only grown bigger as educational institutions are furthering away from the traditional use of learning and teaching in classroom environments. It should be viewed as a safe and resourceful tool for students, specifically in the elementary grade levels – of course, the effectiveness heavily relies on how each model is used. Regarding looking generically into each model, the overall benefit for students is that it can be modified to a more accessible introduction to technology recourses (commonly used ones such as any google affiliated software, youtube and online tools). This framework also supports modifications to those classroom environments that need more technology support for specific students. Technology is not about redefining how a student will learn and be equipped to it in the classroom, but how modifications and simple technology strategies that career to each student as well as have additional benefits create thus a more interactive and safely introduced technology usage in the classroom – this being the ultimate goal of using technology in elementary schools.
Concerning the use of sketchnotes in the classroom, using sketchnoting in the classroom can be an effective way to encourage learning and engagement among students, with the use of using sketchnotes to identify concepts in a more comprehensive way that students can adjust to their learning style, with the added benefit of fostering their creative outlook. For a grade two/three classroom, using sketchntoes can be a reflective tool to use when going over different concepts in math, science, socials or anything that has a “big idea” that students can expand on in their own imaginative way in showcasing what they took from the lesson or what still needs to be taught. Sketchntoes can be a resourceful student and teacher skill that increases student engagement with content and a great way to find an early start to how each student learns best (ex., with more words, more pictures, fewer words, bigger pictures, organized and spread out, technique wise) – there are endless possibilities to how each student can make their own sketchnote.
Here are my examples from this week’s use of Canva and my own interpretation of sketchnote!
