If I'm being honest, and I really should be here, I think that I'm more occupied with trying to come up with something insightful or entertaining to impress other people with instead of just writing. This is a blog that not many people will see, and more especially when I'm not even working on it. I need to practice what I preach to my students and just get into the habit of reflecting and getting my thoughts out there. I won't promise that they'll be in any logical significance or order, but if the goal is to write then I will have at least achieved that.
What's Your Star Wars Number?
I can't really begin to describe just how absolutely psyched I was to see Star Wars Episode VII. From the moment they first announced the project in 2012, I was thrilled to be able to see a new, updated effort to revive a franchise that I have loved since I was very young. I have vague memories of seeing bits and pieces of Episode IV as kid when Super Channel was more of a thing. It just stuck with me and I grew up loving those movies, and ultimately felt the disappointment that many other fans experienced with the Prequel Trilogy. I enjoyed them, but not in the same way, and Episode VII represented a chance to rekindle that feeling of wonder and amazement that I remember feeling as a kid. And boy... did it live up to the hype.
I bought my tickets for opening night a full two months before the release and had a countdown in my classroom where I eagerly ticked down every single day. By the time opening night arrived, I couldn't stand the thought of having a terrible seat and waited with a few friends for over 2 hours outside the theatre (so worth it). From the moment the lights dimmed until the credits began to roll, I couldn't help but feel like they had done what they set out to do. I was excited and overwhelmed, in fact, that even though I got home quite late in the evening I couldn't fall asleep and just sat in my living room trying to process all the excitement, anticipation, and new questions that I had. Two days later I saw it again. And again. And ultimately enough to tie my previous record for most theatrical viewings of a film, which remains at 5.
Excessive? Perhaps. Do I regret it, though? I think you know the answer. And only 321 days until Star Wars: Rogue One! (Yes... I have another countdown up...)
The Witness on PS4: I Want That!
With limited time and a more discerning eye, I'm often on the lookout for new gaming experiences that will be different from the standard fallbacks that so often dominate the industry (looking at you, CoD). This is a new release that has really caught my eye, and I'm actually thinking about incorporating some of this into future blogging just for the heck of it.
Here's a trailer.
I can't say if it's necessarily featured in the game, but I'm also really liking the music. Something about a good cello evokes a certain grandness that I've always enjoyed. The song can be found here.
Project-Based Learning: I survived!
At the beginning of the school year, our middle school team was able to take advantage of a two-day session that gave us an introduction to Project-Based Learning, or PBL. At the time, I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about it... I liked the idea of seeing kids take ownership over their own learning but I wondered how successful some would be with the lack of traditional structure.
A colleague and I came up with the idea of focusing on the Age of Exploration and having kids plan out their own voyage to the New World, based on the context of being in Europe/Spain shortly after the return of Columbus from his first journey to the Americas in 1492-1493. We would supplement their traditional learning about what happened with story excerpts to help paint a clearer picture of what life at sea would have been like at the end of the 15th century, have students write their own journal entries documenting and describing the experience, and ultimately pitch their proposal the Catholic monarchs of Spain.
Having tried the idea and processed the successes and failures, I can at least say that I'm not a PBL noob. I played around with a new approach and learned some things about how I need to approach this context in the future, as well as how I can more effectively foster that understanding within my classroom. I suppose it's a good thing that I didn't feel like I was so done with it, and I've actually been thinking a fair amount about how I can improve the project moving forward.
I don't always take the chance to play in the classroom. I still worry more than I should on whether or not I've sufficiently covered required content and just how much of a balance I can have between student and teacher-directed learning. I'm glad, though, that I tried.
I Bought a New Minivan
Pretty self-explanatory, but it's the first brand new vehicle that I've ever owned. It was definitely time to put our previous van, a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan, out of it's misery. After putting nearly 150,000 kms on it, the time felt right.
So I got me one of these bad boys...
In my defence, minivans are very different from when I was a kid. They're cool now... right?
~Mr.T
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