Stretching My Practice #tieyoga

Okay, it’s off to the races. I’m trying a new strategy tonight: blogging in 45 minutes or less. Since my last #tieyoga post and revised plan for regular practice via Haiku Deck, I have had more success with my #learningproject.  I've been more regularly practicing yoga and trying to focus on poses that will support the 5 key postures I identified as targets to improve on. 

Several key factors have contributed positively to my improved yoga practice over the course of this last week.  First and foremost, my Accountability Log, the log of accountability, my #tieyoga journal; it allows for a concrete view of my success (or shortcomings). I leave the Accountability Log  open on my computer (it’s just a basic word document) and as I log out of my yoga site, I open the document and plug in the date, the name of the video I used, running time, yogi’s name, and how it went.  Bam.  Done. And I know it’s there waiting for me on days I’m not so inclined to practice, which often (not always) kicks me in the general direction of the yoga mat.

 My motivation for practicing yoga at home has climbed to a more positive place; I think it’s because I am actually noticing some improvement in my flexibility…What? WHAAAT??? Yes, that’s right, increased flexibility.  That’s a good hook for me. I noticed a similar phenomenon with my #tiefit participation (the #notmylearningproject fitbit thing).  I am feeling so incredibly good with all my #tiefit walking, that I am currently getting out every day. I don’t want to miss a single day. I have set personal goals, such as nothing less than 10 km a day, 12 000 steps minimum as a daily total and walking to/from work at least twice a week.  While the #tiefit community drew me in, it’s now my own progress and improvement that is propelling me forward. Bingo.

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

Lastly, I follow my local yoga studio, Bikram YogaWestshore, on Twitter and Facebook and recently they shared these 3 photos to emphasize the progress we can make with regular practice over a fairly short amount of time.

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

 These photos inspired me to use some of the photos I started my project with, along with some I've taken more recently, in a different way.  I plan to create similar “collage” pics as a way to compare my own growth in my 5 targeted postures. It’s one thing to feel you've improved, but it’s quite another to see you've improved.  I’m excited to see what my #tieyoga growth looks like as I move through these weeks and weeks of practice. It is inspiring to me to see the personal improvements in these pictures over the course of one, two or three months!








It turns out that #tieyoga is alive and well when, a week ago, I thought it might have crashed and burned altogether. It’s challenging to have to figure out my own obstacles to learning and problem solve ways around them without other learners who are working on a similar thing. Many of our #tiegrad group are working on #learningprojects, but the projects are all so different.  Seeking out support from  my peers can be helpful when I am simply looking for a new strategy for my own project or trying to overcome a specific obstacle, but sometimes just to get going you need a buddy who is working on the same thing. Being part of a team is a huge part of our #tiefit success. Being a lone yogi at home has been my greatest #tieyoga challenge. 

In light of my recent shift, I’m now wondering if pursuing this #learningproject on my own is going to make success taste all the sweeter. We shall see….but for now, Namaste.

PS:  30 minutes for the writing. Pics & video took a little longer though.

#tiegrad: A Community of Collaborators share out their favourite tech tools

Last #EDCI569 class we started a session of tech sharing between peers. I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, how awesome is this?!”  I was inspired by my peers who introduced me to more than a few tech tools I was unaware of and, in reflection, I was quick to think what a great and simple ProD this could be;  sign up to share out a tech tool and present in mini 15-20 minute workshops with staff throughout a school or within a family of schools. I’m thinking I might suggest this at my own school—as an alternative, it would be a great way to start each staff meeting—have a 10 minute Tool Share presentation by a staff member or members (voluntary of course).

During our bluejeans session, my peers shared tech tools such as the iPad app, Explain Everything, which is a tool that is used interactively with a whiteboard or as a means of screencasting. It seems to have an endless number of practical features including animation, drawing, laser pointer, narration, etc. This is the tool I am most excited to play with. Another tech tool shared was Padlet, a creation and curation tool that works kind of like an e-bulletinboard (I think). It can be launched via Google, which makes it easy for anyone with a Google account.  This tool was shared by @MelodyLWatson who uses it as a way to curate student work in the context of e-portfolios. Desmos was also shared during our session and the Math/Science cohort members were particularly enthusiastic about this tool, an online graphing calculator, that seems to bring a new dimension to comprehension of Math graphing concepts (which, sadly, are beyond my humanities minded brain).

In my position as Special Education teacher and Case Manager in a Distributed Learning school, I have some exposure to and knowledge of great tools, but coming up with ways to encourage learners to access and use them in this particular environment can be tough.  Much of my work is about supporting students to just get to school and to stay long enough to endure a conversation.  However, I have had some success using technology as a focal point for my students struggling with significant mental health issues.

One tech tool I've had a lot of success with is Haiku Deck.  While I haven’t used Haiku Deck to support presentation of curriculum content and academic learning directly, I have used it as a medium to reduce stress and take the focus off of the student when he or she is transitioning back into the school environment when significant anxiety has impeded his/her ability to attend.  In this instance, we often meet 1:1, have a low key chit chat (it’s mostly me who is chitting and chatting) and I try to get a sense of the student’s interests etc. I show them Haiku Deck on the iPad and create one, with the student’s input if s/he is willing; past examples include baking and snowboarding. It tends to be a fairly quick and easy process.  Afterwards I support the student to create one based on his/her own interest—the level of support varies somewhat, but generally I find even the most resistant students are willing.

Haiku Deck is available as an iPad app or in a web based format.  As well, it’s easy to send a completed Haiku Deck via email, or to share it via social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.  Much like Twitter, Haiku Deck doesn’t have room to ramble on; its premise is one point, message or idea per slide.  Users are encouraged to be concise as too much text will reduce the impact of the image. By choosing just one word—e.g. snowboard—a myriad of pictures are immediately generated. Consequently, the user ends up with a selection of photos to further inspire the text content, which can be anything from one word to several sentences. Other ways to use this tool could include: 

• KWL 
• Brainstorming 
• ESL
• Poetry
•  Summarizing
• Reflections
• Reading response
•  Create an outline
• Make connections between a Math concept to real life examples 

      Here is an example of the start of a KWL Haiku Deck:

Horses - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires


I’ve included my own Haiku Deck example, which some of you may have seen previously, as it’s a reflection of my own #tieyoga #learningproject. 

#tieyoga - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires


And, lastly, an example of a poem, a Haiku, in fact, written by yours truly, using Haiku Deck:
10 000 Steps - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

While the app has its own bank of shareable images, it also has the option to upload personal photos which is really useful if your learners have the option to take photos of their work or subject.  There is also a feature that enables you to control the slides from your smart device, which I have not tried, but would be handy if you were sharing in the context of a presentation. If anyone does have experience with that, I'd love to hear about it!

Sharing tech tools in the context of our own practice has been really helpful to me and made for the most meaningful learning around tech. Peer teaching in this way helps me to better pick and choose a tech tool in the most practical way and it's one more reason I value and appreciate my #tiegrad learning community so much. Thanks guys!

The Long Overdue Research Update

For whatever reason, overwhelm, lack of confidence, indecision, or, perhaps, sheer avoidance, I have been lacking in my research update posts. It isn't for lack of reading and thinking; goodness knows I've been doing a lot of that. So, here goes...the much anticipated update.

The positives: 

1. My #tiegrad reading group is an absolute god-send. While resources have been shared, I find that the greatest value gained from participation in the reading group is moral support. We seem to take turns encouraging and supporting each other from week to week, through periods of dead-ends or overwhelm, confusion about reference tools and theories, and balancing life between family, work, fitbits, research and blogposts. I am immeasurably grateful for my fellow #monkeyminds in #tieinquiry.
2. Finding appropriate research articles hasn’t been the problem I thought it might be. I’ve been using search terms such as

• educational reform
• inquiry learning
• personalized learning
• shifting teacher practice personalized
• shifting teacher practice 
• shifting teacher practice inquiry
• pedagogical reform
• obstacles reform practice teacher
• factors reform practice teacher
• teacher professional development inquiry
• shifting practice inquiry support(s)

     3. As I read through articles, certain themes have begun to emerge and have me thinking I need to narrow my focus.  Specifically, I am wondering if I should be looking at educational reform through professional development to encourage shifting of teacher practice towards the inquiry model focusing on collaborative inquiry as a means to professional development, or even more specifically, the use of purposeful and structured reflections, or access to peer mentors as ways to encourage a shift in practice.

The challenges:

1. While finding articles hasn't been a problem, finding the time to meaningfully scan, read and absorb their content has been more difficult.  
2. Determining my curation method and organization of information has been daunting. I still have not confirmed my referencing tool.
3. Figuring out the best way to incorporate or refer back to my theoretical frameworks is on the back burner. I'm hoping it will become more apparent as I work through my articles. Originally I was considering constructivism and social theory as my two main theories, but now I'm leaning more towards constructivism and connectivism as mypoints of reference.

I’m hopeful that, as I continue to read through the many articles, the themes that surface will help to guide me towards a logical outcome.Perhaps I should continue to look at the big picture, considering the whole idea of educational reform in the context of the BC Ed Plan—obstacles that impede and strategies/practices that support teachers shifting their practice.  Thanks to Jason Fisher, a member of our fab #tiegrad cohort, for encouraging me to map out my research ideas. My brainstorming so far, in the form of a coggle.it mindmap, looks like this:

 Looking at this mindmap overhwelms me, but it also helps me to recognize the importance of narrowing the scope of my research topic/question. I'm hoping to refer back to it as I work through my process. In the meantime, I will soldier on.

We all have a story to tell...

Stories upon stories line the bookshelves of my imagination and memory…Or at least they once did.

The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.  

― Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings

I was inspired by last Thursday’s EDCI569 class when Alan Levine was guest presenter. The topic?  Digital Storytelling.  I've been aware of the term, “Digital Storytelling”, for quite some time, but admittedly, wasn't entirely sure that I knew exactly what it was. I was reassured by the discussion that ensued; "digital storytelling" is what it says it is—the telling of stories using technology.  The age-old tradition of storytelling, which has seen rounds of evolutionary shifts over time, impacted by various technological advances, continues to be an integral aspect of culture.

 After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.  

― Philip Pullman

The concrete (and exciting) examples provided by Alan during our session were somehow reassuring to me. I was reminded that storytelling can be a fantastically creative commentary on our world, time, and our own experiences.  However, I also came to the realization that, as educators especially, many of us have reduced the concept of “story” to the very limited framework of “beginning, middle and end”.   If we consider some of the greatest literary works of modern times, such as Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights or James Joyce's Ulysses, or thinking of films such as Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, all told in a nonlinear style-- no tidy beginning-middle-end format--yet so much of what we present to our learners centers on the this premise of order and calculation.  Much like many people decide early on that they can’t sing or draw or play sports, I suspect a number of people quickly decide that they can’t generate a great story. I was reassured and reminded during our class discussion that we all have the potential to be skilled storytellers in various contexts and felt encouraged to consider my own abilities in this rite.

In reflecting these past few days, I suddenly realized that my own quirky fitbit video updates are, in fact, examples digital storytelling. Who knew? I’d been creating and participating in storytelling of my own and didn't even have the awareness to realize that my efforts qualified as storytelling. Since @cogdog’s presentation, I've been exploring some of the DS106 website as well as other sites to look at other examples of digital storytelling.  I’m most awestruck by the work that is created as a representational image—because of the visual artistry—and the fact that it reminds me that a painting, a photograph, a sculpture—are all examples of storytelling.  Over time, and I mean a really long time, I have naiively accepted that a story is a story in that more traditional sense. I appreciate many forms of art, but have forgotten to consider the story each piece may be attempting to tell.  I agree with Liane Loepky who shared in a recent blogpost the idea "that storytelling somehow becomes this programmed piece as students get older. What begins in Kindergarten as a game, as a fun, imaginative activity, somehow becomes a formulaic story with the ‘beginning, middle and end’” restrictive framework. 

A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead. 

― Graham Greene, The End of the Affair

I’m excited about digital storytelling and the opportunity it presents to repeatedly redefine and stretch what qualifies as a story. I’m excited to encourage and nurture creativity and storytelling in learners who might not believe they can tell a story or have a story to tell.  And, I’m perhaps most excited to continue telling stories with a heightened awareness of my own role as storyteller, to tell my stories in different ways using different tools, and to rediscover my own creativity. 

The assignment suggestions on the DS106 site have left me buzzing. While I don’t have my own “classroom” as a Special Education Teacher, nor much opportunity to direct learners to specific learning activities, I am looking forward to sharing the possibilities and inspiration with my colleagues. The highlight of our Digital Storytelling discussion for me, however, was my own epiphanic moment that I am, still, a storyteller with many stories to tell. My bookshelves are, indeed, very full.

3.5 Week Update: My #tieyoga Practice

In my last blog post I touched on the fact that my online yoga practice, while regular, was feeling unfocused. There are many different styles of yoga, many different postures, variations of the same posture between styles, and many different, often personal, approaches to teaching yoga. All of these things impact my own practice significantly. Personally, I would like to see my practice become less random in terms of my choice of "class"; I'd like my choice of yoga practice to move to a more intentional and thoughtful place. It was as I reflected on all of this that I realized I was lacking in adequate "prior knowledge"! My yoga experience, previously, has been limited to participation in Bikram Yoga, which is a fairly rigid sort of practice (details are below).  As a learner approaching her learning subject independently, I recognize that there are certain factors that will contribute to my success (or lack thereof), consistent with the Learner Control Principle discussed in Chapter 21 of Richard Mayer's (editor) book, The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (2014).

Katharina Scheiter, author of the chapter, explains that learner control as a learning approach is more likely to be successful if "learners possess high levels of prior knowledge." (Scheiter, 2014, p. 487)

So, in the spirit of Learner Control Principle, I thought it would be a good idea to research and learn a little more about the different yoga styles.  With some help from Becky Ward's article called, "14 Styles of yoga Explained Simply", I'm building my knowledge base to allow me to make better decisions and choices as a learner, thereby maximizing my success (ideally)! Yay me! What I've learned about different yoga styles follows here:

Ashtanga & Power Yoga—These are both high intensity yogas that incorporates cardio by flowing from one posture to the next. Ashtanga is more traditional and includes the same sequence of poses every class or session. Power Yoga, in contrast, varies the postures from class to class and does not include the more spiritual aspects of traditional yoga. These are similar to Flow, or Vinyasa Yoga, mentioned below.Anusara—Similar to Iyengar but a lighter approach that is more personalized, not quite so serious. Students of Anusara yoga are encouraged to move through the poses in a more personal, expressive way. 

"Hot Yoga - Wikipedia Profile Picture"
by HealthZone - The Star. Licensed under
FAL via Wikimedia Commons - 

Bikram—This is the type of yoga that I have experience with already. It takes place in a hot room, where the temperature is maintained at somewhere around 100-105 degrees and humidity is just a way of life. Imagine doing yoga in a sauna for 90 minutes. There are 26 postures and each one is done twice; it’s the same sequence of postures and the instructor is required to follow the same guiding dialogue for each and every 90 minute class. Thus far, it’s still my favourite yoga option. I recognize aspects of Hatha and Yin yogas in the Bikram method, and it helps, somewhat, to explain my attraction to the Yin style.

Hatha—Hatha yoga, characterized by one pose followed by the next at a relaxed pace, is a basic style of yoga and great introduction to the practice. Hatha emphasizes mindfulness in its approach.

Iyengar—This is a traditional yoga that often utilizes props and instructors/yogis specializing in this style take bio-mechanics into strong consideration in guiding a student’s practice. There are brief pauses between postures. This type of yoga is recommended when recovering from an injury.

Jivamukti—This style of yoga includes lots of chanting in Sanskrit and incorporates a strong foundation based in very traditional and spiritual beliefs. 

Kripalu— The theme of Kripalu is three-fold based in developing awareness, acceptance and growth from your body’s own journey. It emphasizes reflection and awareness in your practice moving towards the holding of postures for extended periods of time. Meditation is also a feature of this style of yoga. 

Kundalini—This style of yoga keeps the body moving continuously with demanding poses. Kundalini is a term that translates to “serpent” and it’s meant to release this serpent-type of energy from your body. Think of those places in your back where you hold tension and stress; that would be the serpent energy. Kundalini yoga’s goal is to tap into that and get it moving so it can be released.

Kundalini Yoga Principle
Image from http://www.crystalinks.com/kundalini.html

Prenatal—Many women choose to practice yoga when they are pregnant; it’s a calm, gentle activity that can easily be adapted depending on the needs of the mom-to-be. This style of yoga can be practiced from the first days of pregnancy, right through postpartum/recovery stage. I used to work in a midwifery practice and the midwife often commented that women who were active in a strong yoga practice generally had an easier time moving through the stages of childbirth and recovery.

Restorative—Restorative yoga does just that—it restores body, mind and spirit. The blogpost where I found a lot of information on yoga styles described this yoga as “group nap time for grownups” (MindBodyGreen.com)! I like the sounds of that! It sounds kind of like Yin Yoga on steroids; you hold just 4-5 different poses for up to 20 minutes each. Restorative Yoga utilizes props and other modifications as needed.

Sivananda--The description of this style of yoga makes me believe it might be one of the more holistic approaches, incorporating "proper breathing, relaxation, diet, exercise, and positive thinking" (MindBodyGreen.com) with the goal of achieving a lifestyle that supports healthy living. It's a relaxed practice that follows the same 12 postures (asanas) each session.
Viniyoga--Similar to Anusara Yoga, Viniyoga is somewhat personalized, but I think the similarity ends there. Educators should be excited by this yoga style which emphasizes differentiation and adaptation based on the individuals needs and strenths. At the basis of this yoga style is a focus on contracting each muscle group prior to beginning the stretching of the posture. In other words, Viniyoga values a good warm up.

   Vinyasa-- Similar to Power Yoga, Vinyasa is derived from Ashtanga yoga and developed 

   out of the aerobics era of the 80's.  This yoga is sometimes called "Flow" and requires        more of a degree of stamina and fitness than something like Hatha yoga would.  It gets      your heart rate up and involves continuous flow, from one posture to the next.

   Yin Yoga—This yoga’s name has its origin in one side of the yin-yang concept and              focuses on long, deep stretches. The postures are held for approximately 5 minutes and      this style of practice is known to alleviate pain and stress. There is significant             emphasis on breath and breathing.

In moving forward, I'm going to consider what it was, specifically, that I liked or didn't like about an online yoga session. While I think it's important to try out different styles, I also think it's important to focus on the ones that are the best fit for me.  I admit to starting a video session and stopping it in the first five minutes more than once (okay, maybe more than 7 times). I recognize that I was jumping in to some videos without an understanding of what they were offering me.  As a #tieyoga student, it's important to know my own preferences and be able to make decisions based on the information available to me in the synopsis for each video. I believe I'll be able to make more informed choices after learning more about the various yoga styles. #tieyoga is definitely a work in progress!

References

Scheiter, Katharina.  (2014). Learner control principle in multimedia learning. In Richard E. Mayer (Ed.),  The cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (pp.487-512). Cambridge University Press. 

Entering into week 3 with #tieyoga -- An Update

This week I thought I would try something different. This is a little out there for me--oh my goodness, listening to my own voice is not my idea of a good time--so thanks in advance for enduring!  I don't think I'll blog this way again, but it was good to try.  So, here I am, on Soundcloud, bringing you "Entering into week 3 with #tieyoga -- An Update."

And once you've had the pleasure of listening to my audio-blog...enjoy this fun Harold's Planet cartoon, Yoga For Wine Lovers!