I should be sleeping.

I don't know what's up with me lately but I've been staying up way too late at night and then paying the price by being extremely unproductive the next day. I think it may be that I'm suffering from the infamous"post-internship syndrome" that many of you probably have too.

So, right now I'm in the process of figuring out how to convert some of my word documents to pdf which is apparently quite the challenge with Word 2003. It seems that I need to download some compatabilty package from microsoft before I can utilize the 2007 word to pdf converter on the 2003 version, but who knows if I interpreted the lingo correctly anyway...I think I might give up for tonight (aka this morning) and go to bed and just do my converting tomorrow at school...

On another note, check out this quilt I came across a while ago. It is made entirely out of little mini hexagons (i think) sewn together to make larger hexagon patches and eventually to make the entire quilt...i think this would be a sweet way to discipline (perhaps torture?) those unruly students haha...



close up:



Pretty amazing skills!

Good night everyone.

The first dog I have ever not disliked.

Meet Duke:



Duke is my boyfriend Drew's dog. I usually don't like dogs, which I know is blasphemy in the eyes of some, but it's true. I tend to think that dogs...actually pets in general are kind of a strange phenomenon. But I might actually like a dog!

Duke is super playful and happy. He never get's growly or mean and he really enjoys gnawing on buffalo bones leftover from butchering. Yes that is a bison shin and hoof he is carrying.



This weekend Drew decided it was time to get Duke some new toys. The bones were getting a little nasty...so we went to petland and got him this rope/ball thing and a special bite proof dog frisby which was all very exciting. However, as I am not much of an animal person I was caught off guard in my little excursion to this pet lovers haven. I didn't realize there are so many animal products out there-it was like super wal-mart for pets-clothing, accessories, jewelry, food, beds, shelter and toys all under one roof. I honestly thought some of the puppy toys could have been used for actual babies and children...teething rings, rattles, chew rings-all in easy to see primary colors and sequenced in developmental stages(wierd?)...I should also not forget to mention the aisles and aisles of CLOTHING! There was even a SNUGGIE(the strange blanket with sleeves)for dogs!!

What ever happened to the days when dogs ate table scraps and played fetch with a stick??

Enough of my rant. I got to play frisbee and tug of war with Duke all Sunday afternoon in the sunshine. It was a good day.

PS- It was not my intent to offend pet product consumers.

Goooood night

Dear Spring, Can you please stick around til next weekend?

Okay, so I really feel the need to rant as I sit here on my bed,with sunshine pouring in, listening to the birds chirping and kids playing--having to sit inside and memorize special education trivia for a midterm tomorrow am...SOOOOO not fair. I really feel as though I am being tortured!! I mean for the past 4 months I've been locked inside because of frigid temperatures and no daylight...now the time has come for me to return to jogging and spending time outside and I can't because of this stupid exam...I think exams are terrible- if you need to know something out in the real world you don't need to search your brain trying to remember what you read in the text book, you ask somebody or google it, or go check out your textbook-that's why I believe in open book exams or no exams! Oh and also, I learned about this crazy little thing called "false memory" a week or two ago- where your brain actually tricks you into remembering things that don't exist!! Well why then in a psychology class where they should know that this little memory glich exists, would they continue to set students up for failure by giving multiple choice exams that require memory from single sentences in the text?! (can you say conspiracy?! ha)

Check out this gem of a cartoon:


Anyway, I better get back to the unfortunate, life draining task of studying...

The E-portfolio Q's would have been much easier!

WEBQUEST Proposal:

Interior Design 30 is often offered as a pure Practical and Applied Arts (PAA) Course (meaning it is not combined with other PAA subjects to make a survey course) and 100 hours of study are needed to obtain credit. Students enrolling in this type of elective generally do so because they have an interest in the field or are exploring different career options. In my experience grade 11/12 students choosing Interior Design are dedicated to learning in the subject area, are motivated by the practical nature of assignments and want to be present in the class. As an educator, I believe it is important to maintain the excitement and interest students have for the subject and provide a learning experience that meets their expectations as they enter the course. Few things are worse than watching students lose their motivation and passion to learn because of mundane, inapplicable concepts and assignments. Students taking Interior Design expect the course to look like what they see on TV; that design is just picking out furniture and paint colors and putting them together, thus it is important to emphasize that good design comes from learning fundamental design theory- and that all designers need this background before they can succeed. Because I don’t want students to lose interest as we explore theory, I think it is beneficial to keep projects practical in nature and have students play the role of interior designer as much as possible. To reflect the nature of the “real world” I feel that it is also important that students need learn to work collaboratively in real world situations as this is what most design firms would require of employees. My overall aim in teaching Interior Design is to have students simulate the experience/work of an interior designer as much as possible so they stay engaged with the content and finish the course having a good idea if interior design is a career path they may take. To begin this WebQuest students will need understanding of various modules covered in the course. They will also need to know how to use PowerPoint, design software and Microsoft Word. Use of search engines and websites is essential. This WebQuest is designed as a final project that will bring together the course content in a comprehensive project.

Saskatchewan Curriculum for Interior Design 30: http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/interior30/index.html

Modules to be explored in WebQuest:
(WebQuest is designed as a final project so it will require knowledge from many modules)

Module 1: Design Fundamentals
Module 2: Openings, Windows, Window Treatments, and Doors
Module 3: Treatment of Walls and Ceilings
Module 4: Floors and Flooring
Module 5: Furniture and Appliances
Module 6: Accessories
Module 7: Developing and Designing a Floor Plan




Question…

Can you meet the needs and wants of a new client while staying within a budget?

“Analysis: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.”

Students will need to examine the client’s budget and preferences and look for essential information that will guide future decisions.

Students will need to consider the client’s home floor plan and logistical needs before making purchasing and furniture arrangement decisions.

Students will need to reflect on the elements of design and how they influence choices.

“Synthesis: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.”

Students will choose furniture, color schemes, flooring and accessory choices will meet the needs of the client. They will arrange the floor plan/furniture to meet client’s needs.

Students will need to make decisions that show they have considered the elements and principles of design and other course content.

“Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.”

When making design choices, students will assess whether they meet or fail to meet requests, desires and budget of client. The ability evaluate decisions will reflect on whether the “firm” was able to meet the needs of the client.

They will need to judge whether their choices create a harmonious design.

Blooms Taxonomy info from: http://www.nwlink.com/~Donclark/hrd/bloom.html

This WebQuest will be important to students because they will be able to bring all of the course content together and step into the shoes of an interior designer working for a client of a design firm.

Teaching Activities:

Students will need to look at a transcript of an interview with a client, and determine the most important aspects of this interview that will guide decisions.

Students will locate an inspiration room used to guide decision making.

Students will go online shopping for various elements needed for the room they are designing and keep track of their purchases on a data sheet. They will also save copies of the images they are purchasing.

Students will develop a floor plan their room.

Students will chose a color scheme for their room.

Students will put all of these elements together in a PowerPoint presentation.


Resources needed:

Human:
Anyone who assist development of site and answer questions

Software:
Home Designer Suite 6.0 (or any other floor plan design software)- students need to design floorplan
PowerPoint- students need to develop presentation
Microsoft Word- to develop interview transcript, recordkeeping/data document
Corbis/flickr/Google Images- to find images for the webquest
Dreamweaver- to design WebQuest

Online Sites:
hgtv.com/ratemyspace- for student inspiration
floorsfirst.com- source for students
flooringcanada.ca- source for students
homedepot.ca- source for students
potterybarn.com- source for students
restorationhardware.com- source for students
ikea.ca- source for students
sarahrichardsondesign.com- for student inspiration
rona.ca- source for students
livinglighting.com- source for students
jenish.com- for teacher to find a floor plan representing home of client
eplans.com- for teacher to find a floor plan representing home of client

Evaluation of WebQuest:

A rubric will contain 4 levels that will assess various criteria involving:
- ability to meet needs/preferences of client
- ability to stay within budget
- ability to maintain good records
- ability to create a harmonious design
- ability to create an appropriate floor plan
- ability to work as a team (small and large group)
- ability to present all information in a pleasing way (ppt)