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  1. karenatsharon

    ETMOOC 10 Years Later: Ten wonderful things ETMOOC has done for me

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     Hard to believe it has been 10 years since I first started ETMOOC.Why after all this time do I still engage with this community and with the people I met along the way? Because ETMOOC was the beginning of giving me a space to learn and grow,...
  2. karenatsharon

    Remote Elementary and Secondary Teaching

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    It's been awhile so forgive me for the long post but I feel I have to write something in the age of Zoom and remote emergency teaching because I am hearing a lot of horror stories coming from parents about what has been sent home and how much screen ti...
  3. karenatsharon

    The Wild West and the Feminine Role

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    So Western106 is winding down. The sun is setting as we ride out to the range one last time. I sat on my front porch and watched the cattle be driven by my door but didn't help in the round up of the herd.The West should have been a great topic to have...
  4. karenatsharon

    2015 in Review

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    So 2015 is on its last legs. What have I got done educationally this year? I didn't participate in any moocs, but I did stay connected with DS106, Postetmooc and TVSZ. So nothing new, just the maintenance of existing relationships. What did I do instea...
  5. karenatsharon

    2014 in review

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    Well today is the last day of 2014 and, as always, a time of reflection. This year, I have limited my time online, more because of life circumstances than through inclination.So what have I learned in 2014? I have experienced the loss of loved ones. I ...
  6. karenatsharon

    #dragonbovine

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    'Huh?' I expect you're thinking. What is #dragonbovine? It's a team in the latest installment of #TvsZ. In 6.0, the original teams were #teamnature and #teamtechnology, a new twist on the game. And #dragonbovine is a further hack of this change. Player...
  7. karenatsharon

    Why I Connect

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    So right now I am playing in the spaces of #ccourses and #olcmooc and both are dealing with the 'why' of connected learning. Of course, the glib response would be 'why not?' but this is a serious, serious question that deserves a considered, reflective...
  8. karenatsharon

    Why I teach

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    So #ccourses this week has asked the question why do I teach? And the answer is: Do I still teach? I am an instructional designer now rather than a face to face classroom educator. And I've never taught at a university, though I do teach adults. Now I ...
  9. karenatsharon

    So let’s Compare and Contrast

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    So here's the thing. This appeared on my Facebook feed today. A Grade 6 Washington D.C. teacher assigned her class a compare and contrast assignment and there has been major back lash because she was using a Scholastic text about Hitler and WWII to con...
  10. karenatsharon

    #TVSZ 4.0

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    Now I am big fan of #TVSZ, a zombie twitter game as you may or not know. I've written about it here and here. I've created movies (sadly more than one!) about zombies. So you can tell that I think #TVSZ is an wonderful learning experience. The brainchi...
  11. karenatsharon

    Education and Autism

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    It's World Autism Awareness Day.Autism and pervasive developmental disorder is a personal part of my life because one of my nephews, a lovely boy named Henry, was diagnosed with autism when he was five. I have to admit when he was a toddler I only saw ...
  12. karenatsharon

    Oral vs Written

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    I have finally watched the week four video. One last thought before I move to week five on the idea of "Is books making us stupid?" I write for many reasons. To keep records, to list what needs to be done for the day, to communicate with others, to wor...
  13. karenatsharon

    Books is Making Me Stupid

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    Confession time: I still haven't watched the video for topic #4. Instead I made a video on, you guessed it, "Books is Making Me Stupid." The title seemed appropriate.Since the question/statement has been rattling around in my brain all week I started t...
  14. karenatsharon

    I am uncomfortable….

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    with this week's topic! "Is books making us stupid?" Now I haven't even watched Dave's video and I haven't read anyone's post because in my mind I am thinking "Uh, no?!" and "Fix the grammar!" So I know Dave is being deliberately provocative to try and...
  15. karenatsharon

    Uncertain, Uncertainty and I don’t know!

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    I sometimes wonder why I bother to write my thoughts down as there are so many thoughtful responses and replies to the "uncertainty" question Dave Cormier posted this week in #rhizo14. Often I write to clarify my own thoughts on my path to figuring out the "I don't know, but I hope to find out/understand." And I read from the community to help me in that process and also from the sheer delight of seeing how other people think, because it is not how I think.

    There is Kevin's excellent post on how he views uncertainty which marries nicely with my ideas about change. It helps that one of the books that was recommended during ETMOOC (I think) was the "The Half Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know has an Expiration Date" by Samuel Arbesman. What we learn changes and mutates over time, as does what we teach. Where's Latin, for example? I only got one year of Latin because there were not enough students who wanted to take it ( I loved Latin too!) And yet Latin was the staple of higher education 100 years ago.

    I loved Jaap Bosman's post about the place of wonderment in uncertainty. I know I feel anxious and frustrated as I learn new things, but also exhilarated and I am soooo pleased with myself when I finally understand how something works. Learning something is rather like opening a present (and I rip my presents open rather than try and save the wrapping paper, though that has been changing too as I grow older!)

    Lou Northern's discussion about the place of ego and it's barrier to being open to uncertainty was a great read but I, like Frances Bell, was struck by this phrase "What am I assuming that makes me so sure that I’m right?" I love this.

    But really, I am not sure about the idea of embracing uncertainty. Life is uncertain at its core and the only way we have to deal with it's very unpredictable-ness is by clinging to certainties. When we teach in the elementary panel, we are encouraged to create a place of safety for the learner. Isn't that in conflict with the idea of embracing uncertainty? For life and sometimes learning are not safe. Can we only embrace uncertainty at a certain age? When we have internalized the reality of living in an uncertain world?

    Certain things are certain for now. The sun will rise and fall, everything born will die, gravity still works, ice is cold. So should we only teach the concrete, for only that is true and all else, fleeting and ephemeral?

    I don't know.
  16. karenatsharon

    ETMOOC Anniversary and Noam Chomsky

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    Well, Tuesday January 14th was like old home week as the ETMOOCers gathered around our twitter feed (#etmchat/#etmooc) and chatted about what we had accomplished since starting ETMOOC. Quite a buzz! Some people described it as a high school reunion! As...
  17. karenatsharon

    2013: A year of learning

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    Hard to believe that 2013, a year of incredible growth for me, is in it's last days. I've learnt so much, connected with some tremendous people through various MOOCs, starting with MOOCMOOC and ETMOOC, participated in Open Spokes and DS106, brushed by ...
  18. karenatsharon

    Video: Life stories

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    Well I've been off line for the last few weeks as my mum fell off a step coming out of the dentist and broke her right hand. She picked herself up, got into her car and as she phrased it "waited until I felt up to driving home." The next day her hand w...
  19. karenatsharon

    Lip dub

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    So I created a lip dub for the daily create. It's more complicated and less complicated than you think to do. First I had to pick a song about the radio. Thanks to my son Philip's suggestion to sing the Monty Python song "I bet you they won't sing this...
  20. karenatsharon

    The 3Ts Cooking Show: DS106 Recipe #4 Debreziner Sausage with Salsa Cruda Dessert: Honey Apple Pie

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    Welcome to the the Three Ts Cooking Show where we explore taste, texture and thyme, because we always have time for cooking. And time for true friends! We’re your hosts, Rhonda Jessen and Karen “Bossy” Young.


    Recipe #4 Debreziner Sausage with Salsa Cruda:

    Serves 4-6 people
    For this recipe I modified (hacked) this recipe from Fine Cooking.

    4 Debrizener sausages
    1lb of penne pasta
    2lbs of tomatoes, chopped, with seeds removed
    1/2 sweet onion, chopped
    1 bell pepper, chopped
    1/2 English cucumber, chopped
    1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
    1/3 cup dill, chopped
    1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
    1 clove fresh garlic, minced
    1/2 cup virgin olive oil (good quality)
    salt and cracked pepper to taste.

    Combine all herbs, vegetables and oil and let rest for at least 15 minutes. If you want to change the flavour profile a bit you can also drizzle some balsamic vinegar over the tomato mixture.

    Put the pasta water on and salt the water if preferred. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.

    Warm the sausages on the stove until heated thoroughly. Debreziner sausages are already pre-cooked. Remove from the stove, slice thinly and add to the salsa cruda.

    Drain the pasta, shake to remove the excess water and add to the salsa cruda mix. Stir and serve.


    Honey Apple Pie:

    This recipe is from Margo Oliver's Weekend Magazine Cookbook published in 1967. Truly one of the best cookbooks I have ever used. I cannot recommend this cookbook highly enough. It's so good I am attempting to find copies for each of my sons! 

    Apples today are sweeter than the apples used when this cookbook was published. The apples from my parents farm that were planted over a 100 years ago are much, much tarter than today's apples. There were many more varieties and apples were a staple for both cider (hard and soft) as well as cooking. As you couldn't trust the water to drink at least you had cider, wine or ale. (Read the Pleasures of Slow Food for a great discussion on what happened to apples after WWII) So this is one of the few recipes that I cut down the amount of sugar she uses.

    For the pastry, I prefer to use a food processor to cut in the fat. My hands are not cold enough to rub the fat into the flour and create the tiny fat beads that make for great pastry. And remember, resting your pastry in the refrigerator is crucial prior to rolling it out. Let it warm for about 10 minutes before you roll it out.

    Standard 2 crust Pastry

    2 cups flour
    1 tsp salt
    2/3 cup lard or 3/4 cup shortening, chilled
    1/4 cup ice water

    Place the flour and salt in the food processor. Spin for 5 secs. (Or just place it in a bowl and stir with a fork.)
    Cut up chilled fat and place chunks on top of flour. Pulse five times and spin for five. (Or coursely cut in the fat with knives or pastry blender into the flour.) 

    Pour flour/fat mixture into a bowl and spinkle 1 tbsp of water into the flour at a time. Use a fork to mix it in until all the flour is damp. Gather into a ball and press firmly. \

    Divide into two, shape into a ball and flatten slightly. Chill for half an hour.

    Remove from refrigerator and let rest for 10 minutes to half an hour. 

    Roll thin on a floured board or pastry board. Roll from centre rather than back and forth. Roll out until 1 inch larger than the pie pan. Lift on rolling pin and ease pastry loosely into pie pan. 


    Honey Apple Pie:

    Make 1 batch of Standard Pastry.

    Heat oven to 425 degrees.

    1/2 cup of sugar
    1 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated is better)
    6 cups of sliced peeled apples
    1 1/2 tbsp butter
    1/2 cup liquid honey
    1 tbsp grated orange rind

    Roll out pastry and place in bottom of pie pan. Mix sugar, nutmeg and apples. Place in pie pan, dot with butter.

    Roll out remaining pastry and cut into 1/2 inch strips. Moisten bottom edge of pastry with water and make a lattice top with the strips, sealing them to the bottom pastry. Turn bottom pastry over the strips and flute to make a high edge. Cover edge with strips of aluminum foil to prevent browning.

    Bake for 50-60 minutes or until apples are tender and the pastry is golden brown. 

    Combine honey and orange rind. Remove pie from the oven and pour honey minture through the openings in the lattice when the pie is baked. Return to the oven for 5 minutes.

    Serve warm or cold.





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