Keeping it real!

I have mentioned previously about a course that I am currently taking.  The course delivery method is "on-line synchronous", this means that at a set time I meet on-line with my other classmates, who are in various parts of the world.  While this method of learning is new for me and I am enjoying the process, the title of this post, Keeping it real, it something that I am struggling with in this online context.  I have classmates, and we talk, however, I have only ever met one of them and that was at Technology and Education conference this past Fall.  So the classmates are real and our interactions are real but it just doesn't always seem real.  I miss getting to know my classmates and having conversations with them that are not necessarily course related - I feel that I am missing out a little bit on the community of a class.  I wish that I could really get to know the people with who I am working. I fully understand that on-line communities are very real, but I question if I am able to give all of the various communities, of which I am a part of, the real me?

I am thankful that HDCH is a great community and that each class is its own smaller community. Being intentional about "keeping it real" is a challenge that I, and maybe some of you, struggle with as our use of social networking and our on-line communities continue to grow. The great part is that we are called to be a community, God has created us to be communities of believers.  As the word community continues to have new and various examples, it is encouraging, and reassuring, that God is present in all of our communities.

Grade 9 Computers - BTT1O
Hold on to your e-waste! The grade 9 classes are well into their electronic waste projects.  There are many incredible projects taking place.  Mr. Brink and I have challenged the classes to not only understand what electronic waste is, but to really do something about it.  There are many different ideas like; videos being made to foster an understanding of e-waste, a song that will tell people about e-waste through music, Sunday School curriculum being made, e-waste video games, groups hoping to visit other schools and give presentations, an e-waste collection day, a children's book, Facebook pages and other ideas!  I encourage you to have a conversation with your grade 9 student and find out exactly what they are doing!

The e-waste collection at our school will be during the week of April 17th to April 21st.  Have a look at the UKnight for more details about the event.
Concurrently the grade 9 students are also researching various topics about personal information, privacy and security in a digital age.  This activity has students researching, formal writing reports and then taking their findings and presenting them to their classmates.  We are hoping to video the presentations.  I will try to post some of videos here when they are complete.

Grade 10 Communication Technology
For the last two weeks the Comm Tech class has been working are developing and refining their video editing.  Some the videos involved stop animation, constructing a reality from a different perspective, reversing video and other techniques. The class is just beginning their second module.  I will keep you posted and provide samples of their work!