December 14, 2021
Trade newsletters
Now that I am no longer working in my trade full time, I rely on reading cookbooks, subscribing to food publications, and chatting with industry colleagues to keep up to date on what's going on in my industry. Another great source of information has been emailed newsletters. I can keep my finger on the pulse of my trade, and this helps me stay connected to the new trends and keep it real for the students that I teach. The way I see it, I am preparing the students for a trade that doesn't exist yet - what I lived as a cook is in the past, and the next generation of cooks will create the trade using the fundamental trade knowledge that I give them. What I experienced as a tradesperson is not necessarily the world that they will know so in order to prepare them. I need to be aware of the current reality of my trade. What do you do to keep connected to your trade? Do you subscribe to trade newsletters?
To share sources of trade newsletters, I have created a Wakelet that has some of the newsletters I subscribe to. Click here to see the collection of newsletters. Wakelet is cloud-based software that I use to bookmark and organize online resources. It is free and it can be downloaded as an app or installed as an extension on Chrome, but you do have to create an account. (I just use my Google creds) It is also collaborative, so... would you share some of the trade newsletters that you subscribe to? All you have to do is click on the link below, join the Wakelet, and paste in the links to the sign-up page for the newsletter!
Click here to add your newsletter sources to the Interesting Trade Newsletters Wakelet
Thanks for your contribution, and happy reading!
📱👩🍳 Robin
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Want to see how I made it? Here is the how-to video!
45 minutes - but don't worry! I created chapters so you can watch it in bits and pieces!
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How to create an interactive, clickable lesson using slides or ppt
For our very first installment of the DIY column, this is something I have been asked about many times. An interactive lesson is a document that presents the learning of the day in a visually stimulating, participatory and logical manner. By clicking through each page, the student stays focused on the material presented on that slide. It uses the principle of gamification where the student is challenged to learn the material by completing tasks, watching videos and engaging the information in activities, and clicking on embedded links. This type of lesson can be used both synchronously or asynchronously. Because of the flexible delivery, it is a great example of differentiated learning in practice.
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Have you heard?!? The tech guys have found a great online & in-person teaching tool: Miro. According to James, it stands out because it is a flexible, easy, multi-use brainstorming mind-mapping super tool that has some amazing features that get those creative juices flowing! It is visual, interactive and encourages collaboration between participants! It is the Swiss Army Knife of whiteboarding software! Oh yeah, and it is FREE! (Google Education users - it is already integrated into your Google keypad!)
Cool, huh? Do you want to talk to them about it? They can walk you through it! Book an appointment with them by clicking on the banner, or by contacting them via their website or directly by visiting their Bookings page.
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What is digital literacy?
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Well, broadly speaking, it refers to the skills a person has to effectively consume, create and communicate using technology. Think about it this way: when you are using your cell phone to find a YouTube video for your students, or adding pictures to your Facebook page using your tablet, or composing an email on your laptop, all these activities and mediums use different aspects of digital literacy. There are the tangible skills of knowing how different software works: what buttons, icons and drop-down menus do what; what formatting, inserting, embedding or sharing is possible, and how the average person can navigate between software and hardware connectivity, meaning you understand that when your phone starts doing weird things, you need to look at the settings and see if there is an update to be installed, not sign up for your Ph.D. in Computer Science. Digital literacy is also about intangible, decision-making skills: You are deciding what paths to take to find information, if the content is valid and how you want to interact with and share it. The YouTube video that you share with your students - you judged that the content represents well what you want them to see, and isn't a hack job. The pictures you shared on Facebook - you have decided that they respect the amount of personal information that you are willing to make public. The email that you are composing - you have decided on the subject matter, the structure, the grammar and the tone, staying aware of social etiquette associated with that type of communication. Once you have made those decisions, then you have to decide how you want to share the information and how the receiver will interact with it, keeping in mind that social context is EVERYTHING but social cues are often missing online.
Make sense? Kinda, sorta?
In a nutshell, digital literacy is about how fluently you understand how to apply social principles associated with sharing, creating & collaborating when you interact with the hyper-connected, virtual world. Remember the rules you learned in Kindergarten? Be kind & don't fight; be curious & learn; respect people & things, and share with others? Imagine that applied to the internet, and it gives you a good idea about digital literacy. Well, part of it, anyway. The other part is digital citizenship, but we will talk about that next month!
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Comings & Goings
- March 16, 2022 After last year's success, RÉCIT VT and RÉCIT AGE are putting on another great ACE conference this year! Click here to sign up & see what will be presented! 🤫 psst - Voc Talk live will be there! 😎
- January - February 2022 With the help of James at RÉCIT VT, I am giving some specific workshops in centres on Google for Education plus, UDL, digital portfolios and Smart TV software & hardware. If you want to know more, click here to drop me an email!
- Ongoing If you are familiar with Eric Curts' Control Alt Achieve blog, he has a great free webinar on using Google sheets in really creative ways - click here to check it out
🎉🎤 Voc Talk Live 🎤🎉
11:00 - 16:00
Come on down and let’s have a chat about teaching! What cool things are you doing? What knots are you trying to work out? What tech issues are you or your students having? I would love to hear about it and help brainstorm some solutions! Would you like your centre to host a Voc Talk live? Drop me an email!
Link to join virtually: Click here to join the meeting
Dates and locations: Click here to see it in calendar format
- December 14 @ VACC
- December 16 @ SHADD
- December 21 @ VACC
- December 23 ... just kidding! You're on holidays! ❄️
- January 6 @ PEC
- January 11 @ VACC
- January 13 @ SHADD
- January 18 @ PEC
- January 20 @ VACC
Would you like to subscribe to the calendar with the dates, location and virtual link? Click here!
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That's all for this month. If you have any comments, suggestions or points to discuss, please send me an email by clicking on the link below. Better yet, come and see me at a Voc Talk Live session!
Have a great month,
📱👩🍳 Robin
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