Emily's Notions

 Looking back at this summer I don't regret a single thing, especially taking time and adding this course to my to do list. I was able to rest and recharge for the upcoming school year, connect with people I definitely would not have on my own, and learned more about online tools and tech. It was a great experience, at times a little stressful because who actually enjoys writing papers, but still it wasn't that bad. So if you asked me, I can confidently say if I could do it again, I'd do it the same. I hope all of us in EME 6414 are able to keep in touch with each other through various platforms and our other classes. -EKD signing out for the last time this semester

For the last week I've been binge watching Boy Meets World on Disney+ and I don't regret it at all. This was one of my favorite shows growing up and I was obsessed with it. My parents never let me forget that I  was convinced I was going to Pennbrook for college when I was 8. The characters in this show were so relatable and funny. They were always there for each other and each episode had a subliminal message for the viewers. Of course in all sitcoms there's a wise character who serves to teach and guide the other characters, usually younger than them. The Karate Kid had Mr. Miyagi, but Boy Meets World had Mr. Feeny. I hate to admit it but this character was part of the reason I wanted to be a teacher when I was younger. He was always the one getting everyone out of trouble, and the one people came to for advice. He seemed to always have everything under control in any situation. I admired his ability to selflessly care for those he came across and the relationships develo...

 This summer has truly been a time of reflection and restoring myself. After an extremely stressful year teaching online while also attempting to survive my first semester of grad school I was definitely exhausted. One of my friends from work told me about her experience with hot yoga and how she felt great after each class. After much debate I decided that I would book my first week of free classes and see what happened. What I didn't know when I got there was that I would find myself constantly wanting to go back. My first class was rough and I have the flexibility of a steel rod so most poses were challenging, along with the 98 degree room. However despite these challenges I kept going back and while I'm not the equivalent to a pretzel, what was hard at first has become easier. Hot yoga has made me more aware of myself and given me a clearer mindset. Each day I'm reminded to show up for myself and give my mind time to take a break from the work. Now I know that life gets...

If you've been on any form of social media for the last 6 months (mostly tiktok and instagram) you've probably seen the "How it started vs How it's going" Challenge. If you're unsure of what this is allow me to explain. Basically this meme represented a bookend of an event or something that has occurred. Some people use this to represent their relationship's progression, others use it to show their progression (or lack of) with a skill. The beauty of this meme is that the second image really doesn't even need to make sense. It is literally there to let the viewer take whatever their own meaning is.  For this challenge show us the start of your summer vs now! Some inspiration below:

As this summer starts to wrap up, I've been thinking about this class and my takeaways so far. While there are several, one that stood out the most to me was flexibility. The tools used in this class are popular, flexible, and versatile. All things that one looks at when looking for a new tool to fit their needs. I never thought I'd say this but I've started incorporating some of these tools into my Etsy store.  Instagram and TikTok have definitely proven to be fantastic marketing tools that help small businesses build an audience, but the behind the scenes portion is also important to factor in. Reddit and Twitter have been tools highlighted throughout this class that I found useful in connecting with other creators, as well as being a wealth of information.  Does anyone else have a small business or side hustle? Have you made any of these connections? Any tools you absolutely love to use?

  One of this week's challenges asked us to take an account we use or a body of text. I was fairly active on Twitter at the beginning of this class so I chose that account. Right away I notice that I obviously used the #eme hashtag often, and accounts of my classmates that I regularly interacted with are included. Other words that jump out at me are the ones that clearly demonstrate I am an elementary school teacher. In being one, I'm also no stranger to word clouds. I often use them with my upper elementary students during writing assignments and during reading small groups. Sometimes they are used to represent main idea and others are used for writing brainstorming. Overall, I wasn't entirely surprised by how my word cloud turned out, but it was still fun to make. I'm debating making one with my blog URL. 

 I'll be honest, when I see the word project listed as an assignment I immediately start thinking of what to do. I love projects, especially those that are hands on. While online learning has obviously changed how projects can be created, the creativity options are still endless. For the produsage assignment I've been thinking long and hard about what I want to do for it (probably overthinking tbh). While I'm still hammering out some details I've narrowed down my tools options to Flipgrid and Padlet. I've used flip grid with my students before and it's produced some great engagement. Padlet is one I'm still playing with but have an idea of how to use it in this assignment. What are some plans you have for your assignment?

 This class has definitely made me more aware of the groups and online communities I belong to. Going back to the beginning of this course we covered active vs passive participants. I've noticed that in these different groups I am mostly an active participant in those communities that have minimal conflict and treat other members respectfully. These communities often have lively discussions and welcome different perspectives, which encourages other members to participate. Other communities where participants are combative and aggressive towards other members are where I am less of a participant or not at all. One could argue that sometimes these online portrayals are also an accurate representation of their in person components. I'm curious do you believe this to be true? Have you experienced an online community that encouraged particpation or discouraged it? 

As summer dwindles down and the days pass, it's hard to believe we're already in July. Teachers know that  with this month, comes back to school commercials and emails from admin about professional development/ preparing for the upcoming year. How does summer move so quickly? It feels like just yesterday I was packing up my classroom for the summer.

Trello appeared on this week's tool list with the explanation that it involves collaborative list making. As someone who loves to make lists and relishes the ability to cross out things on my to do list, I knew I had to look into it more. While my time on this tool has been minimal, I like the overall set up. I especially like the collaboration aspect which will be helpful when working with others in a group or on a project. Some aspects of this tool also remind me of pinterest, due to the usage of boards and organizing.  Have you tried Trello yet? What do you think of it?

 Okay if you've followed along with my last few blog posts then you know that my family is on a roadtrip through the eastern portion of the United States. My dad being the history buff decided that this upcoming Fourth of July should be spent learning more about American history, while also touring presidential homes. Of course in true #dailydunks fashion, I will be including pictures of what we ate.  Pennsylvania and Virginia were by far the highlights of our trip and had the most occur there.  Virginia  -Visited Charlottesville, Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello, James Madison's home Montpelier, and James Monroe's home.                                  -Ate so much good food. Restaurants are labeled beneath the pictures   The Whiskey Jar, Charlottesville VA                           The Virginian, Charlottesvill...

My family's road trip continues and if you know my family then you know that stopping at ballparks on the way to our destinations are a must. There truly is no better feeling that watching the sunset in a stadium, eating classic favorites, and taking in the atmosphere.  I listed some of the stadiums we visited, both minor and major league. If you follow @thedailydunks on instagram then you may already be familiar with these places! Rodger Dean Stadium (Jupiter, FL)  Okay technically this one is local to us, but I had to include it. First Energy Stadium (Reading, PA)  A minor league Phillies team with the best crab fries, also where I spent many summers as a kid. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia, PA) An absolute must for a Phillies fan, but I may be biased here. Also water ice beats dippin dots. The Diamond (Richmond, VA) Home of the Flying Squirrels, a Giants minor league team. No food pictures for this one but the chicken tenders were solid, however the stairs to get int...

 Looking back on this week, I definitely wanted to review the tools that have been discussed in this class. At the beginning of this course I wanted to do anything and everything related to tools and badges. Now being almost halfway through the summer I realize that I cannot in fact do it all. It's important to note that there are a plethora of tools out there for users. How and if you use them depend on your needs. It's kinda like going to a grocery store and standing in the bread aisle. There's lots of different choices and sizes depending on your needs and tastes. Ultimately you're going to pick something that you want or try something new. The same goes with tools, you don't know if you're going to like it unless you try it.  Some of my favorite tools in this class so far Twitter- love being able to connect with other people and follow different twitter chats Symbaloo- definitely going to be using this with my students Padlet- also going to try this with my ...

If you couldn't tell from the title, I'm on a family road trip through the east side of the United States. Although this was partially inspired by my aunt's funeral that will be taking place this week, my family is using it as an opportunity to reconnect and visit some new places. We haven't taken a road trip together in forever and yet being squished in the backseat of the car with my siblings still feels the same, actually it feels more cramped since none of us are no longer small children. Being on this trip has made me aware of the different norms that occur, as well as the unexpected that arise (all the hotels were booked in Raleigh, my sister ate all the snacks, etc.) It is nice though to travel somewhere new and have that free and clear feeling.  I plan to update throughout this week with places we visited or restaurants we ate at (check out @thedailydunks for that). I've been following some different twitter chats about travel and state park tours, but if an...

 I was reading an article the other day about how parents of children feel that the internet is a completely environment than when they were kids. Personally I'd have to say that they're right. The internet has expanded and evolved into a giant. It is always changing and growing with the users that interact with it. In this day and age people can log on to their computers and search anything and everything, with instantaneous results. That type of instant gratification is unmatched, especially once it becomes part of your daily routine. Kids today are so used to immediately being able to find answers, and it isn't always a bad thing. With my students, I stress the importance of quality information over quantity, as well as using the internet for productivity. I also am required to discuss online safety and netiquette with them, which is definitely a huge thing especially since the majority of my students have social media apps such as tiktok, instagram, twitter, etc.  I oft...

 Has anyone noticed that when you're in a good mood everything is great, but when you're in a bad mood it's the end of the world no positivity in sight? Just me? Okay maybe I'm too dramatic for my own good but after keeping track of my mood for the past month I've noticed 2 things, 1. When you're good, you're great 2. When you're not good, you're not great Your mood is affected by so many things throughout the day and the majority of them are unpredictable. If you're like me and you want to always be in control, I've got some bad news for you. In my experience, in order to gain control of things, I've had to give up more of it that I'm comfortable with. I ended up reading this article from Forbes about positivity and productivity. Basically the main takeaway from this is that your productivity can be affected by how positive you are. The article gives some good tips on how to battle this. I've tried a few and they seem to work (t...

As the weeks pass in this class I continue to feel more and more engaged, as well as connected with my classmates, though we are not together. This type of classroom community is something I wish I could bring to my own students. Maybe with some practice and of course trial and error, I can do so. In all honesty I found myself to be struggling even harder this week to participate or even bring myself post on the blog. I've been experiencing so many changes in my life recently and it's quite literally exhausted me. It's strange that in this hectic time, I've found comfort in expressing myself on this platform, even when I initially don't feel like it. The tools we've covered have slowly but surely become a staple in my daily social media interactions. Never in my life would I have thought I would have been more than a lurker on most platforms, but here I am doing just that. 

Earlier this weekend I did something that I've been telling myself I'm going to do for the last year. I finally took a break and detoxed from social media and the internet. Thursday night I turned my phone on do not disturb (except for emergency calls from my favorited contacts of course) and I did absolutely nothing. It was such a free feeling that was first overwhelmed by FOMO (fear of missing out) and guilt (should I have been checking snapchat for the umpteenth time today???). As the weekend went on I felt better and better. The guilt subsided, my anxiety wasn't as high from constantly checking what everyone was doing, and I didn't feel that post screen time hangover/headache from being on my phone all day. I actually felt present in the moment. I went to orangetheory both days and didn't feel the need to post my pyramid. I also went to a minor league baseball game friday night with my friends I hadn't seen in forever. It was so fun to catch up over hotdogs ...

 Every time I write my reflections each week, I either feel like we haven't been in class for very long OR that we've all been together forever and have created a small learning pod of people we've never met. It's wild to me how much we've covered in such a short amount of time. It's even wilder how much I've connected with complete strangers. This just goes to show that classroom community and environment is a concept and not something that is bound by four walls. In my opinion the freedom of direction in this course has led to more genuine interactions and exploratory learning than I've ever experienced before. I feel as if I am collaborating with people I've known forever, and look forward to new updates on our twitter hashtag. This is something I wish more courses incorporated into their learning process, as it has made a world of difference in my engagement and understanding.

 Writing my paper this week has brought community norms to the forefront of my thoughts and it's been stuck there for days. Initially when I first started working on it one movie came to mind, the 2004 iconic Tina Fey classic, Mean Girls. Now I'm sure you're probably thinking "how in the world is she making that connection?" well it's actually pretty simple. If you've seen the movie once or twice (or at least 50 times like myself) you know that the story revolves around Lindsay Lohan's character moving from Africa to the suburbs of Illinois. It's here where she attends school for the first time, aside from being homeschooled, and meets a variety of different types of students that make up her high school. In my opinion Tina Fey did a great job creating all of the different communities and environments in the school. Ultimately though, this is like every other teen movie at the time where the new girl gets in with the popular students and is ultimat...