Wrap Up

I finally completed my TED Talk where I had to reflect on what this experience was like for me. It was interesting thinking about how I took a topic that I had NO idea about, and opened myself up to learning more about it. I think that TED Talk could be a very good way to assess a student's learning. It is a more interesting way of having the children share their learning. It would also allow for parents to view their child's learning and how they express themselves. The only issue with this is that this does not fit in everyone's comfort level. I was NOT comfortable filming myself and talking into a camera with no one around. From here, I would have to start thinking of other ways I could assess students that were not totally comfortable with this method. At the end of the day, I want my students to learn. They are able to be successful even if they are not comfortable in front of a camera. For some students, assessing them based on a TED Talk would actually not be the best way to capture what they learned.

One thing I really liked about this assignment was that I had the ability to teach myself something in a way I was comfortable with. In this case, I needed hands on and visual instruction in order to fully understand how to do the oil change. If I had chosen to bake a pie, for example, I may have watched a few videos of someone baking a pie but then would have completed the task all on my own. For this task, I could not do it without direct instruction. I also thought about the difference in consequences of being unsuccessful at this task. For example, with a pie, at worst I would have burned it. With an oil change, I could have caused some serious damage to my kiwi! Even though my final conclusion was that I would never do this on my own and that it is worth paying for it to be done, it was still a good experience to see what goes into an oil change; something that all car owners have to deal with. For these reasons, I think as a future teacher I would encourage my students to do something like this because I could learn from them and about them.

Completed the Task!

I completed my genius hour by doing an oil change on my car! It was an interesting experience. For the most part everything was similar to the research I had completed. I can honestly say that it is worth taking it to the auto mechanic to have done. Just jacking up the car was a struggle! I also did not like crawling under the car! The experience may have been different if the car had been on the hoist and I was able to walk underneath it. 

I took many pictures so I look forward to compiling them, reflecting on the experience, and sharing what I learned.

Advice from the Pro!

    After making some notes from WikiHow on how to do an oil change, I decided to consult a professional (aka my brother) to see if the information I found was accurate. I was not too concerned on how accurate this information is because I am only using research as a way to get an idea of what I am doing. I will be following the direction of my brother when I complete the task… I do not want to ruin my kiwi!!

    I mentioned earlier that I had found 25 steps of how to do an oil change. I wrote these steps down and had my brother read over them. He said that the steps were pretty accurate; he just had a few modifications he would make. Here are some of his suggestions:

• ·      Make sure the wheel blocks are going on the rear wheels
• ·      Make sure the jacks are going under the jack points (which led me to the question, “where the heck are the jack points?!”)
• ·      Need the following supplies specific to my car

o   New oil (3.8L)

o   New filter (Hyundai PK1)

o   Drain bucket

o   Oil filter

o   Wrench

o   17mm wrench

o   Tire pressure gauge and air chuck (who’s chuck??)

• ·      Recycled oil is not a good idea because it is not great for your car!

    I learned more from talking with my brother about this process than I did from looking on the internet. I’m starting to realize how strange it is to be in the vulnerable position of having no clue what you’re doing. I think we become comfortable with doing things we understand and know completely that we forget to challenge ourselves and learn something new. This process has taught me that I want to make a commitment to learning something new on a regular basis; maybe one new thing a year. This could be something small like knitting or sewing, but something to keep me challenged. I am looking forward to finishing this process and seeing how I feel after I have done something new!

Genius Hour Update

This last week I have done a little more in depth research on how to do an oil change. I came across a website that had broken down an oil change into 25 steps in five sections… talk about being overwhelmed!! As I started reading the steps, I realized that these steps had been extremely broken down into some steps I felt did not need their own step for, and was actually not as overwhelming as I had originally thought. I was able to find some pictures that were useful to my understanding, but I still do not think that I could ever do an oil change by myself just based off of this research.

Reading through the research I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I NEED pictures to understand anything related to cars, I do not think I could ever be an auto mechanic, and, the most important, that I do enjoy being challenged. Looking at a task that I really have no idea how to do, I realize that this is something that is challenging.

Moving forward, I am going to start comparing the research I have done with my brother’s knowledge. I want to see if there are any differences between what I researched and how he does it. He has been an auto mechanic for about five years, so I imagine he has some shortcuts!

Not a Box!

Hey there!


In class we watched a read aloud of a book called "Not a Box". The story was about a bunny rabbit who kept making new things from a box. The idea was that it does not take much for children- or anyone for that matter- to be creative; we just need to look at things in a new way. I found this to be very inspiring and could be a fun task in the classroom to challenge the students to think outside of the box!


Completing this task in class, I turned my box into an oven! I realized it was not the most creative, however, I have always enjoyed baking so it seemed appropriate! I definitely think that this would be something I would use in the classroom as a way to encourage creativity and also may help me get to know my students.


Below is my picture of my oven!

Research, Research, and More Research....

Through my research, I came across many different sites that explained how to do an oil change. Many gave advice about not skimping on the oil or the filter you use as this is an important part of making the car run. I found out some of the tools and materials I will need.

•    Wrench set

•    Rags

•    Rubber mallet

•    Safety glasses

•    Engine oil

•    Oil filter

•    Oil filter gasket

•    Container for used oil

It was interesting to me what a rubber mallet was needed for. It turns out, it is used for helping the wrench unscrew the plug.

I came to understand the basics of an oil change. In general, here are the steps (with no use of technical terms!):

1: Jack the car up

2: Undo the spot where the oil is (still unclear as to where this is!!)

3: Let the old oil drain out into a container that can be disposed of properly

4: Put the cap back on

5: Change the filter

6: Put in new oil

These steps seem very basic, but as we can see, I am still unclear about a lot of what goes into an oil change. Reading it online did not give me the understanding I needed because I was unable to visualize these parts of the car, as I am illiterate when it comes to vehicles!

Even though my research was useful and helpful, I do not think I would be able to do this without the assistance of an auto mechanic!

Greetings!

Welcome to Miss. Watson’s Words! This blog is just that! It will include information I am currently learning about technology as a teaching tool and my practical use of it. I am a fifth year Concurrent Education student. I have a passion for learning as well as teaching. This blog will allow me to combine my love of both by teaching what I have learned and I cannot wait to share it with you!

There is some really interesting posts to come so keep checking in!!