Blog 1: 

This past Sunday, I was able to attend my Vietnamese church and catch up on what activities they were planning. I found out that this year, we are combining our church with the Vietnamese church in New York - something we haven’t done in a while. I am also now participating in the children/youth Christmas choir and doing a teen skit. We are still in the process of deciding what the skit is and how we can best send the Christmas message to the audience 

Blog 2: 

I had a few ideas for the song we are singing, “Do You Hear What I hear?”. Since the age ranges from 5 to 18, I thought it would be a good idea to emphasize the different aspects our group brings. I suggested that the kids sing the first stanza, the teens sing the second, and we all sing the third together. Everyone agreed because it switches things up and adds texture to the song. 

Dave’s Educational Blog 

• Social constructivist and connectionist pedagogies, etc, are centered on the process of negotiation as a learning process
  • There is an assumption in both theories that the learning process should happen organically 
• In the rhizomatic view, knowledge can only be negotiated
• Horton and Freire (1990) argue, "If the act of knowing has historicity, then today’s knowledge about something is not necessarily the same tomorrow.
• Knowledge is changed to the extent that reality also moves and changes
• Information is the foundation of knowledge
• The rhizomatic viewpoint suggests that a distributed negotiation of knowledge can allow a community of people to legitimize the work they are doing among themselves and for each member of the group
• Knowledge can be judged by the old standards of “I can” and “I recognize” 
• If a bit of info is recognized as useful to the community or proves itself able to do something, it can be counted as knowledge 
  • The community then has the power to create knowledge within a given context and leave the knowledge as a new node connected to the rest of the network 
• Through involvement in multiple communities where new info is being assimilated and tested, educators can begin to apprehend the moving target that knowledge in the modern learning environment 

Unwelcome Innovation: 

• To better communicate the value and variety of people’s skills to employers so that its easier to connect with and improve job outcomes 
• The conception, theory, and adoption of badge-based alternative credentialing initiatives starts back from 2011 
• In 5 years, much has been written and even more time spent developing the theory and practice of alternative credentialing via badges 
• The premise behind all of the badge and alternative credential projects is the same: that if only there were a new, unified way to quantify, describe and give evidence of student learning inside the classroom and out, employers would be able to value those skills and illuminate a path to job outcomes 
• Badge adherents aim to address the “value” and portability of badges by attaching proof of skills to the badges themselves
  • Same idea behind the e-portfolios 
• Connecting students’ skills and ambitions to the pathways to a career is a big deal

(I double dipped by making 2 of my blogs of this week about the readings) 

#Dosomething #Write #Reading #Week1

I will be teaching how to download the Spotify app onto your MacBook through a screencast. 

• Good teaching is being knowledgeable, empathetic, engaging, and communicative. I think as a teacher, being able to connect with your students is vital. It establishes a safe environment in your classroom, allowing students to feel at ease and comfortable. 
• A good lesson is when a teacher is clear and engaging. Presenting a powerpoint is important because it can get a teacher’s point across. However, without anything to visually show or allow students to engage in the lesson can be boring. I think it’s important to have group work or physical activities where students can actively see and engage in order to better understand the lesson. By being engaging, it helps students to participate and stay focused, keeping them interested. 

#write #week1

Good teaching is when the teacher takes into consideration the diversity of students and their learning style. A good teacher will implement lessons that incorporate a multitude of learning techniques so all of the students can learn appropriately. He/she must always take feedback and evaluate what works for their classroom and eliminate what's hindering the learning process. Easy going, understanding, caring, and willing to help. 

I am going to teach you guys how to begin and maintain a healthy skincare routine that best works for you. I will do so by using a combination of blog posts, pictures, and videos about the best products out there, and my personal favorites/recommendations. Through the process of teaching, I will be welcoming in feedback and criticism in order to better accommodate everyone's needs. 

Case study outline:

Using Deign to Cultivate Personal Skills and Serve the Community 

• Bertie County is the poorest county in North Carolina 
• Home to the community-focused nonprofit group Project H Design; uses the power of design and hands-on building to catalyze communities and public education from within (headed by Emily Pilloton and Matt Miller)
• Studio H is a public high school “design/build” curriculum; it was the country’s first design, vocation, and community service program in public highschool - mission is to encourage design thinking in a classroom without resorting to being a “glorified art class” 
• Studio H was founded as an official community college course where high school juniors earn college credits and have the opportunity to partake in a paid summer internship as well. Each semester focuses on a small number of large communist projects, which students design and build from start to finish 
• Miller and Pilloton designed studio h’s curriculum as a specific extension of the work they had strong doing in berry county and launched in 2010 
• Studio H borrows from Project H design’s six overall design tenets, a group of principles (6 values that they can always come back to) 

1. There is no design without critical action
2. We design With, not FOR
3. We document, share, and measure
4. We start locally and scale globally
5. We design systems, not stuff
6. We build

• Studio H opens opportunities for students, teaching ; didn’t write this program to recruit next generation of architects, but to leave students something as they go on with life

#week3 #learnsomething #read

• Monday: This week, I focused more on my eye. I started off with eyeshadow, using a light brownish color rather than something bright. I applied the color in my crease, blending back and forth in wind wiper motion. Then I took a darker brown and focused more on the outer corner of my eye to accentuate the shape of my eye. I blended that dark color into the previous color. After that, I decided to step outside my comfort zone and add some color, experimenting. I took a gold champagne color and with my ring finger, I pressed it onto the middle of my lid. My finger seemed to keep the pigment more, getting as much color as possible. I blended that gold color into my crease & and the outer corner. I left a gap under the brow bone so the eyeshadow wont seem too out of place. 

• Wednesday: I watched a video and learned from my friend the next step of eye makeup which is eyeliner! Eyeliner is the black drawn line on the eye that can form my eye shape. It makes a huge difference by making my eye pop. I started off simple, drawing a thin line rather than a wing on my eye, using liquid eyeliner. However, i start to progress and draw a slight wing, making sure both of my eyes match. I do this by extending a line from my bottom lash line. After I match my wings on both sides of my eye, I close/connect the end of my wings by drawing it down creating almost a triangle shape to get that wing figure. It turned out average because i didn’t try to do a big wing. I went for something more simple and easier. However, since it was only my first time doing eyeliner, my hands weren’t steady so the lines weren’t that clean. 

• Friday: Today, I focused on my eyebrows. My eyebrows were a little difficult to do because it wasn’t clean. However, I was still able to shape it and apply the product lightly, yet dark enough to look natural & fill in the sparse areas. I had some trouble with the front of my eyebrows bc the hair is lighter and I kept filling it in too much. I tried to outline my eyebrows with concealer to hide the hairs in order to make it look clean. However, you can still somewhat see the hair. Overall, I thought that it came out average. Next time I just need to clean it up in order for it to look flawless and work on applying my brows with a “lighter” hand. 

#week2 #learnsomething #write

• Monday: I decided to learn how to do makeup this month, starting off with a “beginners foundation routine” video. I started with foundation because it is the base of the face before you apply anything else on. I learned that my skin is more on the dry side so I need a good moisturizer that’ll smoothen out my skin before I apply makeup, otherwise it won’t blend easily. I also learned to use a flat brush in order to get that flawless, airbrush effect. I learned that you have to also powder your face after you use liquid foundation in order for everything to set, otherwise it can rub off more easily. The color my mom has is also a little lighter than my natural color, but I didn’t have trouble applying the product. I now know that for next time, I just need the right color. I also used some of my moms concealer to hide any scars or red spots on my face. I didn’t do too good of a job with the concealer because some of my scars still showed. i have to work on my blending & also look into other brands. However, I think for the most part, the foundation/base of my face looked blended & natural. It didn’t look too caked up, just liked i hoped for. 

• Wednesday: The next step after foundation, I decided to learn about contour, highlight, and blush which is basically the details that accentuates my face. i learned that contour enhances the sculpture of my face, highlight balances contour out with a glow, & blush adds color to my cheek. When I tried to contour, I used a darker shade to create that shadow look, emphasizing my cheek bones. However, rather than the contour structuring my face, it looked unnatural and out of place. I might have used a color that was too orange & used too much of it. However, I liked the highlight because it added a natural glow, especially when the light hits my cheek bones. i learned not to add too much because it would have looked too glittery. I applied a slight blush on the “apple” of my cheeks to add color. I didn’t do too much because i thought it would have looked unnatural with the contour and highlight.  

• Friday: Today, I applied all the techniques I learned with foundation, contour, highlight, and blush together. To do something new, I also tried to curl my eyelashes. My lashes are very short so it was difficult to curl. I learned that if I looked up & pressed the curler against my eyelids, it would be easier and faster. I had to pinch my lashes a couple of times with a good amount of pressure in order to get the curled effect. I then applied mascara, which i found to be a lot of easier. Mascara really made a difference to my face because it accentuated my eyes. Overall, my face makeup looked slightly better and I improved on my contour. It still looked unnatural but I used a lot less so it wasn’t too much and used a darker tone instead of an orange tone.

#week1 #learnsomething #write

I think my identity as a learner depends on the subject I’m learning. If it’s something that doesn’t grab my attention, I tend to hold back & put in little effort in exploring that subject. For example, I take music history this semester. It's not something I find interesting therefore my identity as a learner for that subject is considered to be a lazy student. I'm not excited to learn and I tend to doze off in that class. I overall don’t try really hard. However, my math class, I think of myself as an average learner. I aket my notes, do my hw early, and I study for hours before a test. Although the course is hard, it’s something that keeps me interested because I am curious to find the answer. 

#week3 #write

My quantified self mainly consists of how i manage my time. I set aside time for my hw & an estimation of when I should be finished. I also make sure I give myself as much free time as possible to relax & not be stressed. If I’m hanging out with friends, I track my time by how long I’m out & when I should be home. Overall, time management is everything and it’s something I like to keep track of during my everyday life. I also keep track of how many chapters/pages I read whenever I'm at work, setting aside a goal to reach each time i read. I keep track of how many episodes I wanna finish within a day/week if I'm binge watching a show. While i drive, i like to keep track of how many songs are playing or how much gas I'm using. I don’t necessarily keep track of my followers, but I do like to track who likes my pictures. 

#week2 #write 

#Participate #Selfie 

For my selfie, I decided to write down my workouts from the previous week. I very much enjoy going to the gym with my friend Sam to relase any stress from school and work.