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EDI 336 Inquiry Project Post 5

OK, now I have definitely hit a difficult patch one session earlier than I though I would. What I thought would be really difficult for me was putting together the left hand part and right hand part of “Juanita”. As it turns out, the right hand part was a bit challenging on its own. There is a bit of jumping around that I found counterintuitive:

Piano 4

I am starting to experience some concern that playing the two parts simultaneously is going to be one of those skills one needs to develop from a young age or not at all. Given the fact that I am old enough to be past what the global average life expectancy was when my still living (albeit almost 104) grandmother was born, I am starting to think thoughts along the lines of old dogs and there ineptitude with regard to new tricks.

I am not going to lie; it took a lot of practice and several takes to make that video.  The only way I can This experience has me feeling pretty apprehensive about piecing them together tomorrow. Rather than just immerse myself in an overwhelming pool of frustration, however, I think I will find some inspiration and look up Youtube Videos specifically about learning to play left and right hand parts together.

EDCI 336 A02 Week 8: Educational Games

This week, we explored whether educational games could be an effective tool for learning. We started by evaluating the criteria for what makes a good educational game, which included that its level of difficulty should be challenging but not overwhelming, which is very similar in principle to Lev Vygostky’s concept of the zone of proximal development, which states that students learn best when exposed to material or skills at a level that is just beyond their current knowledge or ability. This theory component is very much in line with my own thoughts on game development as I developed activities during my career in child care and writing my book of original games for kids.

Today we tried out two educational game activities. The first was a game entitled “Bad News” from getbadnews.com, and the second was a virtual escape room using Google Classroom, in which the puzzle we needed to solve in order to escape was based on questions about Bad News and other educational game resources, such as Minecraft.

Bad News was very interesting, fun, and creatively put together with a lot of great humour, and therefore really seemed like an excellent means of getting students interested in learning about the fake news industry and keeping them engaged as they develop online media literacy and critical thinking skills. The game pokes fun at Twitter, Partisan News networks, bloggers, President Trump, and conspiracy theories and anti-science rhetoric in  a way that is both educational and funny. I think I would like to try having students play this game, others, or maybe even similar games I make myself!

 

EDCI 336 Inquiry Project Post 2

I am conservatory-trained as an opera singer, and I am proficient in playing guitar, harmonica and ukulele. I can read music and have a moderate knowledge of musical theory. However, proficiency in playing the piano has long been a glaring gap in my musical skill and knowledge. Through my participation in musical theatre, I have spent a great deal of time around people who play piano very well, and I have often thought that becoming at least competent myself would be a very worthwhile endeavour. In addition to being one of the best ways to accompany myself singing and an excellent mode of songwriting, playing the piano at least a little bit would allow me as a TOC to fill in for the occasional music class when they absolutely can’t find anyone better qualified.

Fortunately, I already have a keyboard right in my bedroom, which I have previously used only for finding my notes when practicing songs. I will also have no trouble finding a mentor, as many people in my life, including my dad and one of my best friends, are quite skilled on the keys.

I have opted for a mixed approach, with some written resources, some online resources, and some autodidactic techniques. To start out, I printed myself a piano chords chart and learned the basic major chords:

Piano Chords Major

 

EDCI 336 Inquiry Project Post 1

Upon hearing about this inquiry project, my first instinct was to pursue a personal weightlifting goal: to break the Olympic world records. By that I don’t mean the men’s 96 kg (212 lb.) records; although I fall into that category I am too tall, (relatively) thin, old and inexperienced to have a chance. Rather, I would want to achieve the far more attainable goal of breaking the world record for the smallest weight class of women. Unfortunately, access to gyms at which I could train for my goal has been severely restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic, so I decided not to get into a project I might be unable to complete due to factors beyond my control. You and your tiny but surprisingly powerful frame win this round, Chen XieXia!

Chen Xiexia of China competes in the women’s 48kg weightlifting event during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Gymnasium in Beijing on August 9, 2008. She won ahead of Sibel Ozkan of Turkey (silver) and Wei-Ling Chen of Taiwan (bronze). AFP PHOTO/JUNG YEON-JE

SO, what could I do that was under my own control? I’ve had a practice three section staff (pictured below) in my closet for a year or two, and always thought it would be cool to be able to do some fancy martial arts tricks with it. However, it is about 7 feet long and, combined with the length of my arm, requires more room to swing around safely than I have in any room of my house. Going into a project that could be derailed by terrible weather was not a great prospect either.

So, what could I do that would be a passion project for me, and that is not contingent on factors beyond my control that could derail the whole thing? Learning Piano!