ETEC540: Text, Technologies – Community Weblog

Hello Everyone,

My name is Deanna Stefanyshyn and this will be my sixth MET course. Last term I took 3 courses so I am welcoming the break from trying to juggle the load. I am currently a teacher in the Vancouver School District in a new role as the computer prep teacher 3 days a week and grade 6/7 the other 2 days. This is my first time having a role with computers so I am excited to be able to apply some of the things I have learned in the MET program.

When I am not teaching or working on MET courses I spend most of my time trying to keep up with my 4 year old daughter. Among other hobbies I also enjoy running and completed my first (hopefully of many) marathon last year.

I chose this picture because I am finding it fascinating the difference in the ability for my parents to use computers vs. my 4 year old daughter. Often we are so ingrained in how to do something that it takes a lot for us to think outside the box. I am really excited to explore the history of writing and how it has evolved into what we are currently experiencing today.

Image by Tilemahos, used under Creative Commons: Attribution license, September 6th, 2012.

Hello everyone! This is my ninth MET course, which will mean I complete the program next semester. It has been a great program so far, but I am really excited by this course. I find the combination of history (figuring out the evolution of reading, writing, etc.) and technology to be a perfect fit for me. This makes sense since I have a B.A. as a Joint Major in History and Humanities (with a Concentration in British History) and a B.Ed. During my B.A. I also studied abroad and took an interest in paleography and the classics, both of which have randomly been useful in my four years as a teacher in Coquitlam. This year I am teaching an adapted Humanities program, an adapted Reading Recovery class, and providing one on one support in my school’s learning center, all at the secondary level.

This image embodies several of my interests and at the same time represents the course, to me at least. When I learned to speak and read Ancient Greek (the text shown in this image) I found it funny that my instructor told us to type our assignments in the font called “Symbol”, as that font is made up of characters from the Ancient Greek alphabet. This collision of an ancient language and a modern technology astounded me, yet it was a useful option throughout those courses and is still something that I take advantage of. The main question that this inspired, however, was why or how an ancient language was turned into a font – is it used that often? Do people realize that they are typing a language when they utilize this font? Was the demand for Ancient Greek high enough to warrant its creation in the computer world? Whatever the reason, I find it incredibly interesting to consider that this is a digital image of a document from the third century B.C.E. that was posted on a website, accessed via laptop and the Internet, and shared on a collaborative weblog. Through all of this mingling of past and present the image travelled from Greece (Thessaloniki) to Vancouver, to who knows where and the first thing that came to mind when I saw it was “Symbol font!” Curious, isn’t it?

Hello. My name is Chris McKenzie, and this is my eighth MET course. I teach English to high school students at an all girls’ private school in Vancouver. This year, I’m also beginning my new role as the Coordinator of IT Integration, so it’s my job to help the teachers continue how to learn how to use IT to advance their pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning, and (among many other things) to help coordinate the roll out of our 1 to 1 program next year. I love teaching English, but I’m also excited about my new roll as well.

I have a wide range of interests such as hiking, reading, geocaching, and cooking. I chose the above image because I like how decorative writing used to be: how it fused visual art and text together.

I’ve been looking forward to taking this course, and it looks like I won’t be at all disappointed because I find this type of material to be fascinating.

As a final note, I found it difficult not to write a comma after “Hello” and then continue on a new line. I was thinking about how even in this new medium, I’m still clinging on to old conventions. I’m going to try my hardest not to provide a salutation and my name at the bottom of this post.

Good Evening Everyone,

My name is Joy Penner and I am taking my fifth and sixth MET course. I’ve just returned from five years of teaching grade three in Beijing. I now have the luxury of focusing on finishing my degree this year and will also do some substituting. Initially I was interested in this program so I could upgrade both my skills and thinking about technology in order to help our small school grow in this area. As I have now moved back to Vancouver, I still have the same goal in terms of growing in my thinking, planning, and use of technology for teaching, but I have broadened my focus to include post-secondary, online education. I have the opportunity to help set up an online program for students living in China and am planning on gleaning as much as I can in the program to help me think through this venture. I have learned much already just by being a student in an online environment and look forward to gaining some more theoretical and technical expertise.

I chose this picture because in some ways it sums up my relationship with technology. I am definitely nowhere near the age of the person in the picture, however I did not grow up with computers, or even a type writer for that matter. I taught myself to type after high school and have continued to learn as new technology has developed. I enjoy exploring all kinds of technology and love the way it can be used to spark interest in learning for my students.