Remote learning has been a journey filled with highs and lows. One thing that I enjoyed about online learning was how I could work off my own schedule and take breaks when I wanted to as it gave me more flexibility. One thing I disliked was the absence of face-to-face interaction. I miss seeing my friends every day and having conversations face to face.

I have been using my laptop almost every day for remote learning. Technology has been helpful as it’s how I attend online classes, receive assignments, communicate with my teachers and peers, and complete my work. Without technology, I wouldn’t have been able to complete assignments these past few months.

Although technology has aided my remote learning experience, it has also proved to be a distraction. I have found myself taking long breaks on my phone because there isn’t a teacher watching over me throughout the whole day. I have also had quite a few Wi-Fi issues these past few months which has been quite a hassle.

One core competency that I was already proficient in was Critical Thinking. A lot of my assignments have required me to do self-directed research and find reliable sources. One specific project being an independent essay outline for Science on the effects of climate change on Canada’s spheres. Critical thinking has definitely helped with my transition to remote learning.

One core competency that I have improved during my remote learning experience is Communication. Through communicating with TEAMS, emailing teachers, and arranging meetings with my peers, I have developed my communication skills. One example is a group video project on The American Revolution. We set up online meetings and worked collaboratively through shared documents.

Assignment 5: Hick’s Lake Retreat

(Unfortunately, we do not have access to the planning documents)

For our leadership class, our class planned a 3-day retreat to Hick’s Lake. We started planning on the first day of school and it was our second time meeting one another. We all split off into different committees and got to work. I was a part of the food and equipment committee. There were many tasks that we had to complete in order for a successful trip. For example, the food and equipment committee was in charge of planning each meal we would be eating on the trip and we did our own food shopping and food prep. We attended many leadership classes in order to prepare for our trip that would take place in the middle of September. The learning objective for this was to get an idea of what leadership planning would look like, to work collaboratively and get to know our classmates, and of course to plan a successful retreat.

3. I respond to the work or ideas of my peers in a way that is compassionate and productive

Since the first day of planning was only the second time most of us had met, there was a lot of teamwork within committees. We recognized that we all had to provide our own ideas and work together effectively in order to plan the retreat. We didn’t have a lot of time to do this, so I feel like responding to the work of my peers in a positive way came naturally and there was a lot of building off each other’s ideas.

8. I challenge myself to increase my technological literacy by working with apps, software, or mediums that I have not used in the past

Although I used my laptop throughout all of middle school for my classes, I had never worked with Microsoft Teams. On the first day of planning, I was introduced to working with teams. It was something new and unknown at first, but I quickly became familiar with it and now Microsoft Teams is something that I use on a daily basis. 

Assignment 4: Parts of the Cell Powerpoint

My Powerpoint Slides

This assignment required our science class to work collaboratively on a PowerPoint about the parts of a cell. Each person chose a cell part and made PowerPoint slides for the structure and the function of their cell part. I was assigned the chloroplast. After doing a few days of research and working on the PowerPoint, we all presented our slides to the rest of the class. The objective of this assignment was for collaboration with peers and to learn the parts of a cell in a shorter period of time.

1. I use digital spaces to plan and execute collaborative projects with my peers

Since this was a collaborative PowerPoint, we were using digital spaces to plan and execute the presentation. Everyone in the class conducted research on their own cell part using online resources. Afterwards, we all worked alongside one another online to create the presentation on PowerPoint online. There was a problem when one person changed the theme of their slides and it changed the theme of the whole PowerPoint. We were able to overcome the obstacle by suggesting that everyone make their own slides in a separate PowerPoint and add them into the group PowerPoint when finished. This made sure that even if your slides get altered or deleted, you can easily copy and paste your slides back in.

7. I design my work with consideration given to aesthetics and design, such a consistent colour schemes, symmetry or organization of visual elements, and overall layout

For my own PowerPoint slides, I created a theme that was simplistic but added design components into my work. I considered many options but went with a theme that would compliment my pictures and not distract my peers away from the information. I kept a consistent theme throughout my slides by keeping the fonts and design the same.

14. I ethically use content that is not created by me by using Creative-Commons licensed audio, video, or images and by properly citing these resources within my work

For my slides, I used images that were not my own. I used diagrams I found online for the structure of my cell part and the function of my cell part. I made sure to include the link to the websites where I found the images right underneath the diagrams on my slides.

Assignment 3: PTI Presentation

Presentation Script

PowerPoint Presentation

While reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, we were assigned a project where we presented a topic that was relevant to the novel. In small groups, we researched our topic, made connections to the novel, created a PowerPoint presentation, and wrote a script. My group presented Indigenous Women’s Rights. The idea of this project was to gain a further understanding of issues that First Nations people face that are relevant today.

9. I critically assess research sources for Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Purpose

Before taking information from different online sources, we made sure to check that they passed the C.R.A.P test. All of our research had to be from sources that were no more than 3 years ago. This ensured that we were talking about relevant information. Critically assessing your research sources is very important as information is always changing and knowledge from 5 years ago may be completely different from the knowledge that we have today.

10. I identify bias in research sources

There were many sources that we reviewed online about indigenous women’s rights. There can definitely be apparent bias in news articles or other online resources. We identified bias in the resources we came across online. We recognized bias for indigenous women and bias against them as there were many perspectives showcased in the research we conducted about indigenous women’s rights. As a group, we talked about the different viewpoints given by different people and we tried our best to collect information given from unbiased sources.

12. I look at controversial issues or topics from opposed perspectives to gain more complete understanding

The research we conducted provided us information about the problems that indigenous women face every day. Indigenous women face violence, racial and social inequality, and discrimination, which are all controversial issues and topics. By looking at different resources online, we were able to recognize different perspectives on these issues. The perspectives we looked at included the family members of missing and indigenous women and the Canadian government.

13. I attribute credit to ideas that are not my own by preparing a Bibliography/Works Cited and by using in-text citations

A requirement for this assignment was to prepare a bibliography for the sources we used to collect information from as we are conducting research from different sources that are not our own. We also created a Works Cited slide for our PowerPoint presentation as we used showcased pictures that we found online that do not belong to us.

Assignment 2: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Vignette

Vignette Script

Backdrop Visuals

Our class read and analyzed William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We got into small groups and were challenged to choose a scene from the play to present to the class. My group chose Act 5 Scene 1. We were allowed to put a creative spin on our scene and while our group kept most of our scene the same, we took out a few characters and added. We wrote our scripts while keeping some of Shakespeare’s most famous lines. Then we memorized lines, got costumes and props, created visuals for our background, and presented our finished scene to the class. This assignment strengthened our ability to work effectively with peers and presenting what we learned about the play.

2. I tailor my work to appeal to my intended audience and use language and visual design elements appropriate for them

Our audience was our peers so our group made sure to adapt Shakespeare’s text in a way that would make sense to our classmates. We knew that we wanted to keep the general idea of the scene the same as Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but we modified the text. We used language that would appeal to our peers by adapting the Elizabethan English to phrases that are more commonly spoken today. Our group also altered a few of the character’s attributes as a way to add humor and creativity into our vignette.

5. I enhance the impact of my research or presentation through creative use of technology

Our group decided to add audios and backdrops as a way to elevate the quality of our scene. Although it wasn’t required to include technological aspects, we thought that it would add a lot to our presentation. We added sound effects like a lion roaring and trumpets to introduce the prologue. Along with the sound effects, we created slides for different scenes such as a stage, a graveyard, and a forest.

 

 

Assignment 1: Independent Novel Study

Independent Novel Study

Our task was to select a novel and write a multi-paragraph 800-1200 word response. I selected Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. During the reading process, I reflected on three different scenes and wrote about the character motivations within each scene. After I finished reading, I reflected on the whole novel. I wrote about the protagonist and assessed their growth throughout the novel. Then I analyzed the major theme that the book explores. I also wrote about any personal connections I made between the character’s conflicts and my own experiences and finally, I gave the novel an overall star rating. The objective of this assignment was independent work and reflecting on ideas present in literature.

4. I constructively build upon or synthesize the ideas of my peers

Although this assignment was an independent novel study, getting peers to look over and revise your work is helpful in terms of punctuation, grammar, and the overall flow of your writing. While I was working on this assignment, I asked a few peers to read over my work and give me constructive criticism. I built upon their feedback and applied their thinking into my work. My peer’s responses were helpful as sometimes you can’t see errors while viewing your own writing.

15. My work demonstrates a positive, productive, and empathetic worldview

I wrote about the major theme presented in the novel. The novel I synthesized explores mental health as the main character struggles with that every day. It talks about how her anxiety and OCD affect the way she wants to live her life. In the character appraisal, I wrote about how I feel empathy for her as anxiety and OCD are definitely things that are not easy to deal with and she still manages to stay positive through it all.

How might your digital footprint affect your future opportunities? Give at least two examples.

Your digital footprint could either positively or negatively impact your future opportunities. If you are looking for a job, your future employer will most likely do a quick background check by looking up your name on the internet. They may choose not to hire you from finding inappropriate posts on social media, immature and disrespectful comments, or any evidence that leads them to believe you are not a good candidate for the job.

It is important to understand that everything you post, comment, like, share, or retweet stays on the internet forever. A racist tweet that you tweeted 7 years ago can be found and traced back to you. You may argue that you’ve changed from the past and the person you were 7 years ago doesn’t amount to the person you are now, but what you did in the past is still attached to your name and will be for the rest of your life. Your digital footprint is always following you and that is why it is very important to be careful of what you say and do on the internet.

There is also another side to this and that is if your future employer finds positive and respectful information connected to you on the internet, they may be more inclined to consider you as a candidate for the job. Your university or college will also review your online presence. It would be sad if you met all the aspects your dream university was looking for, but to be rejected because of something immature you commented online.

Describe at least three strategies that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe.

A way to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe is to always think before you share. Before doing something online that could negatively impact you in the future, you should think about if what you’re going is how you want others to see you as. You want your digital footprint to positively reflect who you are as a person.

Another strategy is using privacy settings. Setting your social media accounts to private can be safer because you can view your followers, and control who sees your profile and your posts. Whether you have your privacy settings on, or your accounts are public, it is important to think about your digital footprint.

My last tip is don’t overshare. The only way to make sure to avoid negative effects from your digital footprint is don’t share things that you don’t want the whole world to know. Sadly, anything you’ve done online could be used against you and your past decisions do impact your future.

If you could go back in time, is there anything you would do differently online? Think of what type of advice you would pass on to your younger self or other students. How could you go about explaining it to them?

If I could go back in time, there isn’t anything I can think of that I would do differently. I think that what I put out online positively reflects who I am as a person and my digital footprint is safe and appropriate.

Advice I would pass on to other students is always think before you share, don’t post personal information, and use privacy settings online. To explain it and to get them to understand it, I would provide real-world examples and show that everything you put out online is traced back to you. Anything you post, like, share, or comment stays on the internet forever and that is why it’s important to take care of your digital footprint.