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Making Non-Medical Masks

Hello! This post is going to be a change of pace from my regular teaching/librarianship content. Since schools here are closed down, I have been out of work (other than a few hours a week of online teaching and tutoring). One of the many things I've been doing to keep busy is making masks for friends, family and community. These masks have the following features: -Ties at the back for adjustable fit -Double-fold structure that creates a pocket into which a filter layer can be placed -A wire over the bridge of the nose that can be shaped to fit the face and removed for machine washing I find I can make a batch of about 10 of these in a day if I really focus. They are relatively comfortable (as far as masks go) and I feel they give better coverage than the medical masks. I feel fewer air gaps where droplets can get in or out. But be warned, they will make your face sweaty! If you're wondering about why you should wear a mask and whether or not homemade masks are for y
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LLED 462 Learning Log 4: The King of Denmark and the Naked Mole Rat

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LLED 462 Assignment 3: Digital Projects to Highlight Student Voice and Integrate Multiliteracies in the Curriculum.

Collaboration is a common theme in school these days. Connections between subjects allow students to form deeper understanding of the content and ultimately retain more of what they learn (Katz, 2012). However, as many teachers these days are already stretched for time, finding room in our schedules to plan collaborative projects with colleagues can feel like a big ask. High schools are particularly guilty in this area as subjects are often literally separated by room, materials, time, and teachers. One thing we can do is incorporate ADST (Applied Design, Skills and Technologies) into projects and lessons in other subjects, and your friendly local teacher-librarian can help with that. Collaboration can lead to some incredible lessons. Image care of WeAreTeachers . Your teacher-librarian can introduce you and your students to digital tools that can broaden the possibilities for teaching and engage students in a wide variety of ways. As Frank Serafini (2012) points out, "pri

Lesson Plan and Project: Use Glogster to Describe an Infectious Disease

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Lesson Plan and Project: Connecting Stories to the World Using Google's Tour Creator.

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Lesson Plan and Project: Making Scale Models Using a 3D Printer

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LLED 462 Learning Log 3: Digital tools for teaching

We've all been there, in a classroom full of students who just can't stay on task. Then you bring out the ipads, laptops or take them to a computer lab and suddenly they are laser-focused on what they are doing. Students these days are steeped in a digital world and often often this is where they feel most comfortable. Bringing digital tools into the classroom can greatly enhance our teaching and the students' learning, but how do we know what is best to use and when? Sometimes the options can be overwhelming and learning new tools can feel daunting. Below I have listed a few tools classroom use and given my personal opinion on how and why to use them. If you have used any of them before, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you have done with them and what you think of them! Student on iPad. Image care of apple.com Website Creation There are some great tools out there for creating websites, that are intuitive and students may choose them unprompted. As a