Posts By jessicarmcdougall
Free Inquiry – Exploring Nature Final Post
As the last post of my inquiry topic, I would like to reiterate the importance of the outdoors for an individuals physical and mental health. Throughout this inquiry, I have provided information on my favourite activities and the reasons why I enjoy them. I have also included why these activities are beneficial to my physical and mental health. In addition, I have provided various videos and links to resources that I have found throughout my research on this topic that support my perspective on the outdoors. As I have stressed throughout this inquiry, the outdoors present several beneficial factors to improve an individuals physical and mental health.
Even though the weather can sometimes inhibit the opportunity of exploring the outdoors, there are various ways to seek fresh air despite mother natures conditions. In other words, a simple trip to a nearby balcony or backyard can provide relief to help improve a mental state. I find that taking deep breathes in the outdoors can cleanse your system and reset your mind. Also, in colder, rainy months, taking a drive (if you have a vehicle) can also help improve a mood. I find that visiting the beach and staying in your car can also help calm down a mood and allows you to collect your thoughts. Even when the weather is rainy, cold and windy, looking at the waves crash on the beach is relaxing and interesting view. Despite certain weather conditions, I believe that there are always ways to get outside, reset and calm down in nature.
I enjoy that all mother nature has to offer, and will continue to explore places around Victoria, B.C. Also, as aforementioned, I will continue to work on my summer bucket list. I am looking forward to many new hikes, new views, new trails, kayaking, wake surfing and outdoor exploration just in general. Spring and summer are the best months to start to enjoy the outdoors. I believe that the sun shining already improves moods and pulls people to want to be outside. After my previous blog post suggestions of different outdoor activities, I encourage every one to try some this summer!
Thank you for following me on my journey throughout this inquiry!
Free Inquiry – Exploring Nature #10
For my inquiry this week, I have decided to share the start of my summer bucket list of outdoor activities. Although my list is not complete yet, and I am unsure if it will ever even be complete because there are always new places to explore, I have a few various locations around Victoria that I am eager to visit.
As previously mentioned in a past blog post, exploring the outdoors has several various activities that can help engage with nature. Also as I have mentioned, kayaking is my favourite outdoor activity! This sunny weather this past week has me craving sitting in a kayak on the ocean surface, smelling the salty water and my oar break the water as I paddle. At the top of my bucket list is kayaking at Brentwood Bay. Here, you can kayak to a beautiful waterfall on the opposite side of Gowland Todd Provincial Park, or even paddle down the Tod Inlet. The Tod Inlet is a quiet and narrow passage that is very calm and relaxing to explore.
In addition to kayaking, I am also hoping to visit Mystic Beach, which is just past Sooke and approximately a four hour drive from Downtown, Victoria. It is a easy to moderate trail that leads to a beautiful beach with waves crashing on the shore, and also has a waterfall running off a cliff into the ocean. Another location is Goldstream Trestle, which is a moderate to difficult hike located in Goldstream, about an hour outside of Victoria. Once you reach the top, there is a Trestle that you can walk across. I am interested in both of these locations because once you reach the end of the trail or the top of the hike, there is something wonderful to enjoy. Whether that is a waterfall at the beach or a trestle to hike across, it provides an activity to catch your breath once completed.
I am looking forward to visiting both these popular locations. Although my bucket list of summer activities is no where near complete, I am primarily focussing on finishing this semester strong and then looking for more places to explore. Between the several assignments due, this inquiry allows me to do what I love most. In other words, it enables me to look up places that I would love to visit and record them to share with others. I am craving that feeling of submitting my last assignment of this semester, and having more time to research other activities that I can explore in nature this summer. Below I have linked websites for Goldstream Trestle as well as Mystic beach if you would like to check them out and explore them!
Note: Goldstream Trestle is currently undergoing construction to implement barriers on the outside to make it more safe for the public to visit. However, it should be completed to enjoy by summer 🙂
https://www.victoriatrails.com/trails/mystic-beach/
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/goldstream-trestle
Free Inquiry – Exploring Nature #9
In the past week, Victoria has experienced quite the diverse weather pattern. A majority of the week consisted of beautiful sunshine and blue sky, while one day had intense hail and cloud. The various weather patterns prompted me to think of different ways to experience the outdoors, even when it is wet and rainy.
First, as aforementioned, a majority of the week consisted of blue sky and sun. Each time I see blue sky and sun, I get restless being inside and crave the outdoors to soak up the good weather. The sunshine promotes my motivation levels and increases my mood immensely. Similar to last week, I again visited a local hot spot beach in Victoria. At the end of Cook Street Village, there is a long, beautiful beach that looks out onto the ocean and the mountains of Olympic Park in the States. It also provides a beautiful and colourful sunset. As it has probably been made obvious, sitting at the beach at sunset is one of my favourite outdoor activities. It makes me realize that no matter what sort of day that I had, it always comes to an end in a visually beautiful way. I was able to sit on a blanket, resting against a log and debrief about my day. While at the beach, there was several other people, kids and dogs all running around. It prompted me to think that although I am at the beach to unwind and reset my mind because of school anxieties, each person here also has their own story to tell. Sometimes it is nice to sit back and observe, and realize that everyone has their own situation going on, and that no matter what kind of day that you personally had, to always treat people with kindness and respect.
In addition to the beautiful weather this week, I was rather upset to see the sunshine streak broken when it started furiously hailing one day this week. It was on a day that I was rather stressed about assignments, and all I wanted to do was go for a walk to clear my head. However, I put on a couple sweatshirts and took a seat on my covered patio with a cup of tea. Despite the cold and the hail coming down very hard and loud, I was able to watch the hail and breathe in fresh air. Although it wasn’t the beautiful sunny walk that I had in mind when I woke up, it still enabled me to clear my mind while watching mother nature perform it’s thing.
The aim for this post is that even though the weather can throw a wrench into plans of seeking nature and the outdoors when your mental health needs it the most, even taking a breather on the patio away from technology can be beneficial. Watching the hail come down made me realize that even after a few beautiful days of sunshine and happiness, some days can be dark and gloomy. However, even a bad day is only 24 hours and will always pass. It is important to realize that even when our mental health is thriving, some days it will decrease. Being happy is not a straight pattern, it has it ups and downs, similar to weather patterns. The important thing to note is that the sun will always rise, and there will always be optimal opportunities to enjoy the outdoors!
I have attached a few photos of my sunset experience at Dallas Road. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Reflection Post #9
This week in EdTech we learnt about the importance of teaching students about coding. Initially, I was confused at what coding referred to. When I think about coding I picture random letters, numbers and symbols thrown together in sentences to fix a technology problem. However, I realized that coding can be enjoyable and is a good lesson to teach students.
As Mike Bernier, Former B.C. minister of education points out, “coding is a hands-on way of teaching students how to analyze a problem [and] determine the steps to fix it” and that coding is “an approach and a way of problem solving” (Lecture Slides, Week 11). I agree with this statement, because I believe that there are several diverse ways to teach students problem-solving methods, and that coding is a very beneficial way.
This below attached website provides several resources such as worksheets, diagrams, visual images and videos that provide background information on coding and how it can assist students when it comes to problem solving with technology. In addition, we learnt about a series of different games and problem solving techniques that utilize coding. I was most interested in the Scratch and Scratch junior games, but unfortunately I do not own an iPad or an Android. However, I was able to FaceTime a friend of mine in the program after class and she was able to show me her iPad screen so I could see what it was all about. I believe that students require diversity in their learning and instruction, and the more diverse ways that we, as educators, change up our lessons, it will consequently increase engagement and motivation levels. To the students, using a computer or playing a game is enjoyable to them and gets them excited, while they are simultaneously learning and benefitting from the assignment.
Free Inquiry – Exploring Nature #8
This week for my inquiry project, I decided to engage with nature and the outdoors by visiting a few different popular locations in Victoria. Since it is the end of the semester and assignment deadlines are on the horizon, I took some time to clear and reset my mind outside. As my inquiry has discussed throughout these blog posts, the outdoors and nature can provide several benefits to an individuals mental and physical health. Personally, sometimes after a long day in front of the computer screen I feel mentally drained. Because of this, I find it difficult to work up the energy to actually participate in a hike or do an extreme amount of physical exercise. Instead, I have found enjoyment and relaxation through taking a simple walk by the water to seek fresh air.
This week I visited the Esquimalt Lagoon, the Breakwater and Gyro Beach all in Victoria, B.C. The weather this week was beautiful, which already improved my mood by seeing the sun shining. I visited the Lagoon and Gyro Beach both during sunset, with a friend who is also in this program. We needed some time apart from doing homework and to clear our minds. The Lagoon was beautiful at sunset, and the salty smell of the ocean tied it all together peacefully. It was very calming to sit on a log and talk about things outside of school, and to remember that at the end of the day we are more than just students in University. We both have personal lives and external situations going on, and it was refreshing to be able to take some time to ourselves. Gyro beach also provided a beautiful sunset. It was very quiet at sunset, and it was soothing to sit and relax in peace and take in all that nature at the beach had to offer. In addition, the Breakwater was also an excellent place to unwind. It is a nice, long walk out into the water where you can view Victoria’s downtown from a different perspective. It enabled me to engage in some physical activity while walking down the cement path, while also relaxing my mind and easing my anxieties.
The purpose of this post to illuminate that not all outdoor exploration requires an intense workout where you are left sore, drained and sweaty. Instead, I am hoping to highlight that even a simple walk at sunset or during a sunny day can positively impact an individual’s mood and mindset, while also providing a light physical activity.
Below I have attached a few photos from these adventures. I find that when I take pictures during these explorations, I am able to look back at them and remember what it felt like to be there during that time. It is easy to look at the photos and get lost in the feeling of what it was like during that experience, and remember the positive impacts that nature has when you are in need of some rejuvenation!
Reflection Post #8
In class this week, we discussed the positive and negative outlooks on learning online. To begin, I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed discussing this in class. Since classes have been online this year, learning has looked a little different. Each class has been lectured via zoom, which can be rather difficult for some classes. Instead of being able to meet your professors, peers and engage in real life experience learning, it has all been communicated through our computer screens. Although it has been quite the adjustment, I believe that online learning has been a smooth transition to deal with our current times. I appreciated discussing this topic because we were able to hear our classmates thoughts on this matter, discuss how it has been more helpful and also discuss how it has negatively impacted our learning.
Personally, I originally found online learning very difficult. I have always been one to ask questions during lectures and learned better through personal interaction in face to face learning. However, now that we are almost wrapping up our second semester, I can confidently say that it eventually got better. Professors have been very engaging and helpful during these times to ensure that all students are aware of deadlines, course material and have given us extra time in class to complete our assignments. It has also shown all of us how important technology is and how to properly execute lesson plans through different online platforms in order to teach desired outcomes. I found that it was beneficial to create a plan for myself when it came to being in class and completing homework, so I was not left staring at a screen for hours. This allowed me to distribute my time sitting in front of my computer and while doing homework accordingly. It can be straining on the eyes to stare at a screen all day, which is why creating a plan felt needed.
With the enlightening news that classes will be in person in September, I am sure that everyone is relieved and excited to get back into our learning norms. I believe that this year taught us all patience, acceptance and understanding when it came to learning online, and is definitely an experience that we will not forget. See you all in September!
Free Inquiry – Exploring Nature #7
Over the past few weeks I have been researching the benefits of the outdoors on an individuals physical and mental health while discussing my favourite physical activities in the process. As I have aforementioned, my favourite physical activities are hiking, kayaking, snowboarding, wake surfing and exploring new trails. I enjoy each activity for its own individual reason, and I believe that each activity holds its own positive benefit for an individuals well-being. However, I have also realized that they are several opportunities to combine certain activities to reach optimal health benefits in a diverse way.
Consequently, I understand that some individuals may not enjoy physical activity or the outdoors in general. As I have stressed regularly throughout this inquiry, every individual can benefit from nature as there are various activities to engage with in the outdoors. However, some activities can be combined to provide diversity in activities that focus on more than the just outdoors itself. For example, Lindeman Lake in Chilliwack, B.C. is a short and easy hike that leads to a fresh water lake. This hike enables individuals to participate in exploring a trail and hiking up an easy to moderate hike in the forest. As the hike continues, it eventually leads to a beautiful lake that is open for swimming. For individuals who do not enjoy hiking in general, this hike may be enjoyable because at the end there is an opportunity to swim, which is another great activity to do outdoors to boost physical and mental health. Also, in the warmer summer months, this hike is great because the lake provides an opportunity to cool off once it is complete. In addition, it is a great spot to hangout at for the day and to participate in a social hangout in addition to getting physical exercise, which is great for an individuals mental health.
In addition to Lindeman Lake, there are several other hikes that can promote hiking activities that also lead to a lake or a swimming opportunity. When hikes are also associated with the activity of swimming, individuals may not even realize that they are getting hiking benefits in the process of reaching the lake. Some examples of other hikes like Lindeman Lake are Cascade Falls in Chilliwack, Garibaldi Lake in Whistler, Thetis Lake in Victoria and many more I have yet to explore!
Here is a link to a description of Lindeman Lake.
https://www.outdoorvancouver.ca/lindeman-lake-hike-chilliwack/
Reflection Post #7
For this week’s class, we were honoured to have Tracy Humphreys, guest speaker, lead our class lecture. Tracy taught us all about technology and inclusion in classrooms, which I found very beneficial. Tracy works for BCEdAccess Society, which is a volunteer-run program that serves families of students with disabilities throughout B.C. This program helps families of complex students relate together by highlighting challenges that they possibly may face while receiving education in B.C. Schools.
The BCEd Access Society helps provide education to families by promoting equality and inclusion for all students. In our lecture, Tracy touched on the fact that some parents deny the use of technology and are against its use in the classroom. However, especially in our COVID-19 times where face-to-face gatherings should be limited, the use of technology in classrooms is more vital than ever. Technology is growing and expanding everyday, and can be a rather useful tool to implement into classes to enhance students learning. In the lecture, we engaged in a discussion regarding how students with learning disabilities can strive and learn better with the use of technology. Personally, I shared a moment from when I used to work in after school care. There was a child who had troubles speaking until she/he was the age of 4-5, and until then she/he could only say particular sounds. However, with the use of an iPad and pictures, she/he was able to communicate better with the teachers and eventually learned to read the words of what she/he wanted to say. I am sure that they are several more various stories that individuals can share relating to a moment where they believe that technology can help students with complex needs to strive in a classroom. With proper support and access to these resources, education systems can help students succeed in all aspects of their lives, as well as continue to progress these types of learning methods.
I included the link to Tracy’s website, as I would like to possibly use it in the future as a reference.
Midterm Music Blog #3
My action plan goal by March 1st was to learn a short section of one of three above mentioned songs that I hoped to learn on the ukulele. I strived to also learn parts of the additional two songs, but it also took several hours to learn basics of the cords and strum effectively.
When I first started learning Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol on the ukulele, it was my first song to ever practice myself. Because I am a beginner, I made sure to provide myself with time to get my fingers adjusted to the chords as well as get comfortable with strumming. After several hours practicing the physical chord movements, I began to practice sections of the song. I found a well-demonstrated video on YouTube that demonstrated the song very well and easy to follow. The first part of the song is more of a finger-picking through the chords opposed to just a strum. Because of this, I just learnt the chorus of the song first to learn it by strumming. It took me longer than expected to learn the chorus because my fingers were getting used to the pressure on the tips of them by holding down the chords. I also realized that I was probably pressing too hard initially because I was trying to ensure that it sounded correct. I noticed that when I would play along with the instructional YouTube video, I could recognize what song I was playing rather well. However, when I would play on my own, it did not sound as good. In addition, it was difficult to maintain strumming properly while also singing and ensuring that I have the proper finger positioning and moving them throughout the song in a timely manner. It was definitely an adjustment by trying to multi-task singing, strumming and proper finger movement. I first tried to ensure that I had the chords figured out, and then tried moving my fingers through them quicker and quicker in my transitions. It was hard to do while not looking at my fingers, and often led to me having to start over. I tried to not get frustrated with this, but it took several hours of practice to be able to master. I also found that when the playing was going well, there was always one little thing off about each performance. Over several hours of practicing this songs chorus, it took a decent amount of time to be able to multitask these skills. It seemed easier said than done to be able to do. However, after several hours of practicing this same chorus over and over again, I believe that I have the chorus to this song figured out pretty well and can efficiently strum, sing and position my fingers accordingly. In regard to my other two songs, I will continue to practice their chorus’s now that I have the strumming and finger transitions figured out. Although each song is challenging in its own way, I believe that I now have the basics sorted out and will continue to practice to the best of my ability.
Below I have attached a video of myself playing the chorus section of Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol on the ukulele in accordance with my action plan goal. Hope you enjoy!
Midterm Music Blog #2
My second goal for learning my ukulele was to be able to recognize and understand the proper chords. In addition, by February 8th, I was also hoping to be able to read sheet music and therefore have my three desired songs picked out that I was hoping to learn to play by February 15th. It took several hours of hard work and dedication to efficiently understand the chords, memorize them, and be able to recognize them in sheet music to learn my desired songs.
Throughout this course, each week we are required to watch provided videos and complete a music literacy worksheet that corresponds to the video. Because of these assignments, I was able to learn the basics of reading sheet music. However, I noticed that while researching different songs for my practice, most videos show visual pictures of how to hold your hands on the ukulele while telling you which position to place your fingers in. Although I am still learning how to read sheet music, I personally find it simpler to learn while looking at a picture of which chords to use and how to position my fingers.
While researching songs to learn for the ukulele, I had a difficult time narrowing down three particular songs. I found that every slow, relaxing and calm song sounded so beautiful on the ukulele that I wanted to learn them all. One of my favourite types of music is indie music, which I believe sounds lovely on the ukulele in particular. Also, I found that faster pace songs also have acoustic versions that sound beautiful on the ears when played on the ukulele. Because of these findings, I found it difficult to choose only three songs. However, I began to narrow down songs that I believe were easier to learn since I am only a beginner. After learning the chords to the point where I could play a short section of a song, I began to see which songs that I could play the best. One of my favourite songs is called Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, which is the first song that I decided to learn. It consists of only three different cords, and fast and slow up and down strumming. After several hours practicing this song, I managed to learn the chorus rather well. In addition to this song, I have also been practicing playing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” because it only consists of four cords, and is a song that elementary students are hopefully familiar with. My third song that I have been practicing is “Somebody that I Used to Know” by Gotye, because it also consists of only four cords, and is a calm and relaxing song to play in the classroom.