Coffee &amp; Chats with Chels

On 11/15/2022

“It is the year 2050 and technology has taken off within the realm of education…”
mmeCHelsea

Students think it is cool to “throwback” to being in a classroom. I mean how weird is that? Physically being in the same space, breathing the same air, using a PENCIL ON PAPER?!?!?!? I joke, but it doesn’t seem that long ago to me. Since then, things have drastically changed. Students are at home, in a classroom simulator, that allows us all to be there at the same time digitally. It feels surreal to see them sitting there “working on their laptops” as they join in from home to go to school, almost like being in a Virtual Reality (VR) game. It is also odd to see students be confused about how someone could’ve gone to school without a screen. They ask me to tell them stories about the “olden days” all the time… I am only 51 years old! I still believe I’m young, but they make me feel old when I get to look back to being in a classroom physically.

students sitting there "working on their laptops" as they join in from home to go to school, almost like being in a Virt... — the prompt: “students sitting there “working on their laptops” as they join in from home to go to school, almost like being in a Virtual Reality game” thrown into an AI Generator

The students laugh as I tell them about tests from “back then”… I mean, they’ve never had to circle a multiple choice question, hand in a paper written up, or had to write a quiz on paper before! It’s kind of silly to see them get so excited about it. Sometimes they ask me to give them an “old time experience” where we write notes on paper, just for fun! However, paper is not as easily accessible anymore and I can’t find it at any of the supplies stores as they’ve all “converted” into technology stores. We don’t really need paper, pencils, pens and the works anymore!

When I tell them about Zoom, the technology we used in 2020, they tell me they’ve heard about it before in their history classes.

The world is strange now, and I miss being able to sit in a classroom, the familiar building “smells,” and chatting with my coworkers at lunch. Teaching is different now.

Trying coffee from somewhere I’ve never had some from before!

On 11/13/2022

Over the reading break, my sister came to visit me. Now, when “E” comes to visit, I make sure to take her to drag brunch at the Vicious Poodle as it is so much fun and a big part of my identity! I reserved for this Saturday and made sure to get my favourite meal there – the Bacon Scramble (please go and try it if you can)!

I was sitting there and was asked what I wanted to drink. At first I thought, “hmmm I’ll just have water.” This is what I usually go for as I tend to not trust coffee from places that I haven’t heard were good before (I am a little picky with my coffee choices.) HOWEVER, this time I decided to step out of my comfort zone and thought about my reflections assignment. I thought, “what the heck, I’m just gonna try the drip coffee!” and it was actually pretty decent. Honestly, drip coffee is drip coffee so it doesn’t really matter where you get it from (which was a good realization to have and changed my views on whether or not I should “trust” coffee from certain places). Below I have added a picture of my coffee, and I will be going into why I love Drag Brunch at the Vicious Poodle so so much.

The coffee was great paired with the company I had!

No description available. — photo by mmechelsea

Reasons I love Drag Brunch:

The queens/kings are always so so kind, and always bring the energy (specifically in the morning, I mean how do they do it!) I saw Vivian Vanderpuss and Rogue this time – give them a follow on Instagram and support the drag community!
The queens/kings always start with a land acknowledgement and refer to places where you can educate yourself about local Indigeneity, as well as some organizations to donate or support! Specifically, I remember them bringing up Native-Land.ca which is a great resource as I have used it in the past!
The food is actually surprisingly great (usually when you’re going to an event you go for mostly just the show, but the food pairs so well!) The hashbrowns are particularly delicious…
The music they lipsync to is my style, and the costumes are always stunning! The queens/kings dress to impress!
It isn’t always the same queen/king pairings, so you generally get a good amount of difference between shows! I haven’t seen the same show twice and have been to more shows than I can count.

A clip of part of the show, go check one out!

video by mmechelsea of Vivian Vanderpuss

REMINDERS/TIPS

Bring $5 bills to tip the drag queens/kings! There is no cover charge, but you should tip the queens/kings for all of their hard work (especially because you aren’t paying the cover!)
Please stay silent and do not chat while the queens/kings are performing! When you’re in a theatre, you don’t chat so try and wait until there is a pause!
BOOK. IN. ADVANCE. (usually a few days before if you can)! Drag Brunch is super popular so to ensure you get seats, you kind of have to book a table in advance!
Get there early so you can eat your food earlier! Waiting in line earlier means you get a better chance of being served first! That way, you get your food before the queens/kings even come out.

Overall, between the coffee and friends, “E” and I had a great time- and a great cup of coffee!

Cheers,

Chels

THE AEROPRESS: the process of learning how to use a new coffee device!!

On 11/09/2022

Photo by Marta Dzedyshko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-faceless-barista-pouring-hot-water-into-aeropress-coffee-maker-7421229/

Intro & to start us off:

filmed by mmechelsea on Iphone8

The pour!!

filmed by mmechelsea on Iphone8

The final results…

filmed by mmechelsea on Iphone8

Overall, I think the Aeropress is a super great travel item to have, as it is portable and has everything compactly together. Honestly, I’m considering buying one to add to my collection of Gadgets! Thanks G for letting me use this awesome tool, and I hope you all enjoyed the videos 🙂

In terms of tech, it was kind of hard to send myself the videos I took on the Iphone 8 to my laptop… This is something I will be looking into, as it was a little bit of a difficult process! I ended up Facebook Messenger sending them to myself and then downloaded them to my laptop from there. My email would not let me send the files!

Cheers,

Chels

BCEdAccess & Access for Students

On 11/08/2022

Today, Chantelle came and spoke to us about BCEdAccess, and we were able to hear from Chantelle on her experience & the things BCEdAccess does.

The link to the BCEdAccess site is here. Below I have made a podcast on my reflections of this visit, and highlight how inaccessible it is for parents to get assessments for their children.

ACCESS… NOT SO ACCESSIBLE?

mmechelsea talks on BCEdAccess

I am curious as to what has been done to help with the issue of assessment costs, and long wait periods… I’m definitely going to be doing some inquiry on the several difficulties with getting assessments as I find this heartbreaking & upsetting. I have my own struggles with my neurodivergence, and only in adulthood was I able to access help. As future teachers, we need to think about how we can create an inclusive classroom for ALL (not just because we know about students with certain IEPs). Normalize a holistic school experience, with opportunities for every single student!

Online or Offline? My opinion on online learning

On 11/01/2022

I believe that education should be both accessible, and multimodal. What does that mean for my opinion on online or offline education?

For me, I think a blend of online and offline learning is helpful and more well-rounded to all students. As someone who has a shorter attention span, I empathize with learners who need constant different stimulation to succeed in education.

FOR EXAMPLE:

When the pandemic first started I really enjoyed being able to learn from home. I was able to navigate and try new things, and I didn’t have to take the long commute to school each day. As time progressed, I struggled to focus online, felt lonely, and wouldn’t even bother to change my outfit. I found myself to be less productive, and it was hard to navigate online ed with roommates around me!

HOWEVER:

I see the perks of online education. I myself am privileged because I am able to get myself to school. I have access to a bus near my house, and I could drive (if I wanted to pay insane parking fees, but that’s another problem). I do find connection with others to be more effective, and it does not add to my anxieties. Yet, I cannot assume that everyone has the same privileges or ease to in-person education as I do. This is why I believe blending the two, or even just simply giving an online option to join into a classroom is the best option for education! Some courses (like a tech course) could be done online as it makes sense to have a class based on learning digitally to be digital.

At the end of the day, the things we do as teachers (and as teacher candidates) are SUPPOSED to be student-centered. My opinion doesn’t really matter once I’m a teacher, because we should be focusing on the students we have and their needs first. Education is not a selfish career, and we must keep our students at the forefront of the things we do!

Reach Higher Michelle Obama GIF by Better Make Room — https://giphy.com/gifs/bettermakeroom-JOqx940HplhqXJBsV9

Latte Art… my worst nightmare

On 11/01/2022

As a barista, there is pressure to be able to do the most intricate, beautiful latte art. When experienced and professionally trained baristas do their art it can look easy. However, it is very difficult for someone (me) to do it!

Although my milk quality is great, it is much more than just the quality of the milk to make a pretty latte.

What is a Latte?

also called caffè latte [kaf-ey lah-tey; Italiankahf-fe laht-te]. hot espresso with steamed milk, usually topped with foamed milk.
Dictionnary.com https://www.dictionary.com/browse/latte

It is important that I define what a latte is to scaffold our learning, and also to reiterate that a latte is hot espresso with steamed milk. The steamed milk is added to the espresso, and is the part that gives you your latte art design. I have watched a couple of videos and have decided that for me, I need to focus on one design at a time.

The design I’m working on currently is a heart. Although I’m not allowed to film/take photos at work, I believe I have improved greatly, thanks to this easy video below!

Latte Art For Beginners: How To Pour Heart (Latte Art Tutorial) 🖤 by European Coffee Trip

I love this video because they go step-by-step on what to do to ensure that your foam works. It took me 4-5 times using this method before I was able to do a very lopsided heart! I also practiced on paper with a pencil, and would recommend practicing the motions on paper in advance. As well, using 3 percent milk was easier than oat milk or other non-dairy milks in this process.

Although I’m not perfect, I know that giving myself some slack and patience within the process is my own key to success! It’ll take time (just like anything) and one day I may be the “skilled” barista.

Until then, Cheers,

Chels

Mapping out Coffee!

On 10/31/2022

https://worldmapofcoffee.com/#13/48.4290/-123.3246

Where should I go that has good coffee on Vancouver Island? I think about this question often as there are tons of different places, but not a ton of actual customer information… I tend to hear things by word of mouth, but what happens when I am travelling somewhere else? especially a new country?

Out of curiosity, I did some research on what I could do to find customer reviews on coffee shops around the world. To my surprise, a map of coffee shops exists online! I have attached the clickable map for your interest, and I’m going to tell you about what I’ve discovered…

things I’ve learned on the clickable map of the world 🌎

There aren’t a ton of options for viewing customer reviews in Victoria on this map… so it isn’t quite relevant locally here yet!
The map has tons of data in Europe, and the States, and not much in China and in Finland…
The map isn’t the most user friendly, as it is hard to scroll in and out cleanly
The map gives you both directions to (on Google Maps) and links you to the website of the coffee house
It actually doesn’t give you much data on reviews from people

OVERALL:

I probably wouldn’t use this, as it doesn’t seem to be user friendly and I don’t really travel often. However, the idea of this is really cool and I respect the effort that has been put into this project!

Using a clickable map of the world for a classroom (obviously not about coffee) would be a great idea for a socials, French, or English class. I can see how something of this variety could work in my own teaching!

Photo by Nguyen Tong Hai Van on Unsplash

Cheers,

Chels

PowerPoint photo editing: so much fun!

On 10/25/2022

This week, we used PowerPoint to edit and put things together to practice the skills of editing an image (just like in Photoshop!) I have to say, I loved this activity. I think because I’m familiar with the tool, I had an easier time navigating this editing form. I had never thought about using it this way in the classroom, but I am happily surprised! I love that it can be as fun or as serious as needed, and it is a tool that can easily be used in the classroom in both of these ways.

Below, I have included my silly image of a king mole grabbing at a bowl of oranges! I was feeling particularly inspired today.

Powerpoint edited by mmechelsea, pictures sourced online

Idea for using this in a French Classroom

The first thing I thought about using this tool for in my future classroom is making a silly, fun image and having students explain what the photo is in French! That way, students can have some creative liberty while also getting to the learning goal of oral practice. How fun would that be for any level? The pictures will allow students to build their vocabulary while using technology!

Tell me and I forget,
teach me, and I may remember,
involve me and I learn.
Benjamin Franklin

I appreciated this lecture and loved creating my own idea based on the fun and inspiration I had from my professor. I am even going to try and use PowerPoint for my future reflections and/or free inquiries!

Ed Camp – my thoughts!

On 10/25/2022